Pain to Pride: A Visual Journey of African American Life in 19th Century Richmond, VA

byRodney Robinson

The story of African-Americans in the city of Richmond is one of strength, perseverance, independence and pride. This unit is designed to develop pride in my students by teaching them their personal history using imagery, art, and architecture. They will learn to tell the stories of people who have the last name, lived on the same block, and attended the same school as them. The unit will focus on Richmond as the economic foundation of the slave trade during the 18 t h and 19 t h century in America. It will also tell the story of how blacks rose from those horrible beginnings to become the center of black economic pride and power in the south during the late 19 th and early 20 th century. The students must analyze visual images to tell the story of blacks in Richmond by creating a photo journal. Students will use historical pictures and photos as well as their own artistic interpretations and digital photos to tell the story in their journal. I want my students to finish this unit inspired by what they produce and what they can accomplish as black residents of the city.

(Developed for AP U. S. History and U. S. History, grade 11; recommended for U. S. History and AP U. S. History, Secondary grades)


Comments (1)

    Robin Walker Allman (None, Richmond, VA)
    Subject taught: Anti-racism
    A possible collaboration
    Hi Mr. Robinson: Your history lesson was shared to me from Atlanta, GA. Have you already begun this project, or are you looking for funding?
    My thought was that once your students had made their film, have one or more selected by you, and I would have the student show their film to my group, and discuss it with us. Many of the CTTT-RVA Movie Circle attendees were, or are, teachers, so I know that your students would have a warm welcome. Our Movie Circle meets for 1.5 hours on the 4th Monday of the month. My email is above, and my phone is 804-714-5874, if you think this is a workable idea, or would like to discuss this further. Thank you for considering! Robin

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