School Integration-Just a
Southern Problem?
Christine Adrian
Summer Fellowship, 2007
Abstract:
In this unit, students are
provided with a rich variety of primary sources in the form of pictures,
newspaper articles, official documents, oral histories and documentaries in
order to study school integration/desegregation in the United States. As a group, the question of racism will
be studied through a regional lens in order to test the traditional historical
schemas that integration was more an issue in the South than the North.
Students will examine school integration issues across the country during the
Civil Rights Movement in order to postulate integration trends across the
country. They will test their predictions
against a case study of school integration and its progress in the Unit 4
School District in Champaign, Illinois.
Though surrounded by a rural community, Champaign is strongly grounded
in an academic history through the University of Illinois. For this reason, at first glance, the
community would seem cosmopolitan and therefore exposed to many different
cultures. One might first assume
that Champaign is a very open and tolerant community. Through historical research and questioning, students will
explore the racially complex issues of this community to serve as a case study
typical of integration issues in the Northern United States as well as the
Southern United States from the Civil Rights movement to today.
A highly recommended book
for teachers to read before starting this unit is Sundown Towns by James
Loewen. This highly researched
book uncovers rampant segregation throughout the Northern United States; some
of which still exists to this day.
Essential
questions/enduring understandings:
Assessment:
Students will be assessed
using classroom discussion as well as the graphic organizers, worksheets and
final project of this unit.
Setting the
Purpose:
Students will gain an
understanding of the complexity of the school integration issue (as well as
other integration issues) during the Civil Rights era into today. In addition, students will explore why
our historical perceptions sometimes do not match up exactly with historical
realities. Finally, students will
synthesize historical lessons into a modern day social action plan.
Duration: 6-16 class periods, depending on
lessons used.
Procedure:
The Unit is divided into 4
lesson topics:
Introductory Lesson: Defining Segregation
Lesson 2: Student Reactions to Integration
Lesson 3: Case Study School Integration
Lesson 4: Thinking through an Integration Plan
Analysis of local
primary sources:
A number of graphic
organizers and NARA document analysis sheets are used throughout the unit. In addition students will analyze
documents through class discussions based on the unit essential questions.
Ties to National
primary source or sources:
A number of school
segregation pictures from the Library of Congress American Memory collection
will be analyzed, as well as background information on Jim Crow Laws and the
Brown v. Board decision and its effects across the country.
Annotated list of Materials
and Resources
Attachments:
Ties to Illinois State
Learning Standards