Overview:
"If you were to get a handbook on what's the path to the presidency, I don't think that the handbook would start by saying, be an African American named Barack Obama."
–Barack Obama
In the 2008 presidential election more than 66 million Americans (53% of all voters) cast ballots for Obama. An unprecedented ninety-five percent of black voters, forty-three percent of white voters, and sixty-six percent of Hispanic voters cast ballots for Obama and made this historic election a reality. Obama also captured the hearts and minds of young people bringing a new generation of voters to the polls. He garnered sixty-six percent of voters under thirty and seventy-one percent of first time voters. Some have noted that his speech "A More Perfect Union" compared to other compelling historical speeches such as Abraham Lincoln's speech "A House Divided" as well as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, John F. Kennedy's speech on religion and Dr Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech. (Alter 2010)
Many of my students were excited when Barack Obama became the first African American president of the United States. Like many teachers, I capitalized on this excitement. After his historic inauguration I had my students compose letters, offering the President suggestions for improving education and living standards. They wrote Obama odes; did critical readings of news articles and compared and contrasted Obama with Jay Z, who both spent time in single parent households. I even had my students critically read and respond to Obama's back to school speech in September, 2009. These teachable moments were not sustained over an extended period but did engage students to read, write and think topically about issues related to race and politics.
I had previously contemplated creating a lesson on race using Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech, but was reluctant, because I was not sure how I could appropriately engage my sixth grade students in such complex topics of race and identity. However, I think that with over a full year of the Obama presidency complete, it is critical that my students explore excerpts of his speeches on race and make an inquiry into what it means to be black in the 21st century.
Barack Obama's election as President of the United States of America gave rise to a new era in American politics. Derrick Dingle, editor of Black Enterprise, says "Obama's bi-racial identity, international upbringing, broad education, and history of public service made him the ideal candidate to help shape the new political landscape of a more diverse America" (Womack 2010). To ascend to the highest elected office in the United States, Obama had to use effective rhetorical tools to address some of the divisive issues of race and convince Americans that he was uniquely qualified to lead the nation.
The essential question for this unit is: "How persuasive is Barack Obama's effort to inaugurate a post-Black Identity for Americans?" This unit is intended for students in grades 6-8, but could be adapted for high school students. While the unit will be anchored in the persuasive genre, it will integrate multimodal literacy practices through reading, writing and viewing social studies content. I will teach such concepts as rhetoric, free speech, and civil rights. This unit will guide students' inquiry into how Obama and other orators persuade and influence societies. Students will explore what rhetorical tools are used to address issues of race. Through the study of persuasive speeches students will be able to inquire into what Obama's presidency means in a post racial America.
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