Narratives of Citizenship and Race since Emancipation

Rationale:

This unit will be taught in my Advance Placement Government and Politics class. This class is taught as a survey class to seniors who plan on attending college after their completion of high school. At the conclusion of the course, a comprehensive examination is given for college credit. Although any student may enroll in the class, because it is taught as a college course, finding students who have the potential and ability to be successful in the course is not an easy task. Many students are intimated by the amount of work that is required of them.

In addition to having difficulty enrolling students in the class, poor writing, comprehension and lack of prior knowledge can also pose a problem when trying to present lessons that will challenge students' critical thinking skills. Typically, students who have a genuine interest in taking the course will put in the work necessary to survive the class. In an effort to prepare students for the end of course exam, I have to build into our schedule time to accommodate the diverse writing abilities and comprehension skills of the students in an effort to improve student performance on the exam.

In the Advance Placement course, we study the general concepts used to interpret the US government by examining specific examples that test our knowledge. In order to complete this task, students must become familiar with the different institutions, groups, beliefs and ideas that were used to formulate and create the Constitution. Students also become familiar with a variety of perspectives and explanations for various behaviors and outcomes. At the completion of the course and unit, students will be able to:

1. Identify and understand important facts, concepts, and theories pertaining to U.S. Government and Politics.
2. Understand patterns of the political processes and behavior and their consequences, including the political effects of political structure and procedure.
3. Critically analyze relevant theories and concepts. Students must also be able to apply them correctly in the appropriate context, and develop their own connections to subject matter.

Traditionally, we begin our study for this government class with the Constitutional Underpinnings of United States Government. In this unit we examine the type of government that is established by the Constitution. Students gain knowledge of the historical relevance of the Constitutional Convention and they examine the ideological and philosophical ideals from which the framers drew inspiration when creating our government. However, when I start the year off with an introduction to the U.S. Constitution and the people who wrote it, students are almost immediately turned off. In an effort to keep their attention and to make the subject matter relevant to them, we will start with the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties unit.

In the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties unit, students gain an understanding of the development of individual rights and liberties and their impact on citizens. Students analyze and become familiar with the judicial interpretations of the Constitution on various civil rights and liberties. Students should also understand the legal, social, and political implications of social issues following Supreme Court decisions. In addition, students will be able to discuss the impact of these decisions as they relate to racial segregation, rights of minority groups and women. Students will also examine how the fourteenth amendment has been used to extend protection of rights and liberties and be able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Supreme Court decisions particularly those effecting the questions of African American citizenship. In teaching these units out of sequence, I hope to allow my students to build a connection to the laws and decisions that have been made, so that they may enjoy the freedoms and benefits afforded to them. I want them to understand that they can be valuable participants in society while making historical connections to their African American heritage.

Since the election of Barak Obama, students have shown interest in government, when we discuss the office of the presidency. However, few of them have registered to vote and although many my students are exposed to the great works of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, fewer students are aware of the contributions African American women made after our emancipation and during the suffrage movement. In the study of African American Life after the Civil War and the struggle for full citizenship, the focus is primarily on the contributions of the few men we are required to study such as Frederick Douglass, W.E.B Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, and Martin Luther King. The role of African American women is but a footnote in American history. There are only a handful of woman who are required to be taught. In most cases they are not presented in the forefront of the movement in the fight for citizenship and equal rights for African Americans.

My unit "An Introduction of African American Participation in Citizenship" will introduce students to the men and woman who began to speak out before the Civil War. Women like Maria Stewart, Sojourner Truth and Martin Delany who traveled and lectured on the ills of slavery and the women's Suffrage movement. Students will also examine the political organizations that were created and utilized to help African American voices be heard.

Students will be asked to respond (in writing) to several essential guiding questions to introduce them to the unit topic:

1. What does it mean to be an American citizen? Discuss what rights and privileges come with it. (Whole class will answer)
2. What does it mean to be an African American male? (answered by the female students)
3. What does it mean to be an African American female? (answered by the male students)
4. How important was it that men received the right to vote before women? (whole class will answer)

These questions will guide class discussion as we begin to compare and contrast student answers. The answers the students provide will also provide a framework of what the students know and understand about what it means to be a citizen of the United States. At the completion of this unit, I would like my students to have a renewed pride in the adults they are becoming. I also hope that by personalizing the African American struggle for citizenship, they will gain an appreciation for the value and importance of the Constitution. They should also be able to use this unit as the foundation for the work they will have to complete in order to be successful while taking the advance placement exam.