Minnie Kennedy and the Civil Rights Movement

Background
With the exception of America’s indigenous population of Native Americans, the United States of America was populated by immigrants from different parts of the world. Each immigrant group became assimilated as newer generations were born in the United States, and these new generations claimed America as their home. Activities and beliefs people have consistently practiced over time, their culture, often reflect old traditions practiced in other places, and new traditions learned over time. This means that in America there are many pockets of long-established traditions that are different from place to place. Cultural beliefs and practices can be different from state to state, town to town, and even family to family.

• Settlement
• The American Revolution
• The New Nation
• The Civil War
• Reconstruction, Industrialization, and Progressivism in the early 20th Century
• Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries

Step 1 – Create a foundation of knowledge to help students understand how culture, rights, and bias are connected.

• What is the difference between culture and a belief?
• What are liberties?
• What are freedoms?
• How do liberties differ from freedoms?
• What are human rights?
• What are civil rights?
• What are individual rights?
• What common traits do human rights, civil rights and individual rights share?
• What is bias?
• What does it mean if something is subjective?
• What does it mean if something is objective?
• List some reasons people might think, write or believe subjectively about a group of people, or an event.
• List some reasons people might think, write, or believe objectively about a group of people, or an event.
• Classify subjective reporting or writing as either “reader/listener friendly” or “writer/speaker friendly”. Explain your classification.
• Classify objective reporting or writing as either “reader/listener friendly” or “writer/speaker friendly”. Explain your classification.

Step 2 –  Repeat the activity for each significant period in history to gain an understanding of how culture and laws and/or institutional policies have clashed in the past. Pick ONE area of focus.

• Historical Choice #1 – Global Focus

Historically, in the world, have there been cultural beliefs which have affected the rights of certain groups of people?

• Historical Choice #2 – National Focus

Historically, within America’s borders, have there been cultural beliefs which have affected the rights of certain groups of people?

• Historical Choice #3 – Local Focus

Historically, within South Carolina’s borders, have there been cultural beliefs which have affected the rights of certain groups of people?

Step 3 – During each historical era find evidence (audio recordings, video recordings, news articles) that prove a clash between rights and culture within your chosen focus area.

Step 4– For each historical era create a Word Cloud or Tree Cloud from your specifically chosen historical event. By the end of the year you should have seven Word Clouds that correspond with each of the seven chronological periods in South Carolina history. Always complete the Word Cloud Form and attach the printed Word Cloud to the form.

Culminating Activity
Step 5- Place students in collaborative groups corresponding to the seven chronological periods. Each student in the group is expected to share their individual Word Cloud for the assigned time period, as well as participate in an analysis of the Word Clouds of other students in the group.

Step 6 - Each group will choose one Word Cloud, or creatively merge the group’s different Word Clouds, to answer the challenge question and show a true picture of the culture, cultural beliefs, and bias of their particular time period.

Step 7– Find current evidence (audio recordings, video recordings, news articles) that reflect a current event and show a clash between culture and rights within your chosen focus area. Make sure the historical focus area and current focus area match (Global Focus, National Focus, Local Focus).

Step 8 – Create a Word Cloud from your chosen current event.

Step 9 – Compare and analyze your two Word Clouds. Which words stand out in your historical event? Which words stand out in your current event? Are there common themes? What makes them different?

Step 10 – Based on what you learned, respond to the problem and give an opinion. Your group opinion should be based on evidence you uncovered while completing your Challenge Project. Specific examples, which include foundation definitions, and the historical and current event, must be present in your opinion. Develop, record, and present a mini-documentary that shares the group’s opinion. Decide as a group who should view your work. Is your piece informational and a nice summation of South Carolina history, or should leaders in authority at the local or national level view your documentary? Plan how and to whom your work should be distributed and viewed.

Objective
The activities are aligned to the standards in English Language Arts, with a focus on core reading and writing skills.
Students will:
Explore Minnie Kennedy’s story in relation to the Civil Rights Movement
Discover how racism and segregation affected people of different backgrounds
Analyze a text and determine how details support the main ideas
Use self-generated word lists to accurately summarize information

Note to teacher:
This PBL is intended to be a year-long project. However, to help students “connect the dots” and show the interconnectivity of one time period to another, the PBL is broken down into small pieces that are segmented to correspond with seven chronologies that follow South Carolina History Standards. Each small piece will lead to a larger, more comprehensive year-end project that requires students to reflect on past events, examine current events, and analyze their similarities and differences as they relate to the challenge question. Such a year-long initiative requires some teaching of skills to ensure an understanding of terms and concepts. Step 1 of the PBL is the cornerstone of the project and should be completed at the beginning of the school year to give students a foundation from which to complete the other steps. Steps 2-4 will be done progressively as the class covers each of the seven chronologies, and will be an independent requirement for each student.
It should also be noted that before starting Step 2 the teacher should model how to create and analyze a Word Cloud. This can be done by using a short segment of video from a local newscast. Students should all have copies of the Word Cloud Form, and either during whole class instruction, or within small collaborative groups, use the guided form to help discern and clarify what they believe the Word Cloud is projecting. It is important that students understand that no two analyses will be the same. The goal is to reflect on the words to try to see what the words are telling them about an event or about society during a specific time in history. They will also take a “first shot” at answering the challenge question based on their analysis of the Word Cloud.

Additional Activities

• Create a chart and categorize ways people most often show their cultural differences.
• Find examples of a musical form that combines influences of European & African cultures.  What are the positive impact(s) for the musicians and the population of the USA as a whole as a result of this musical form?  How did these musicians promote racial equality and social justice?
• Visit newsone.com and search for the “Top Ten Civil Rights Protest Songs of All Time.” Pick two songs - one by a black artist and one by a white artist - and listen to a recording of each.  When were they written and who performed them?  How are the lyrics alike and different in each song?  How were these songs linked to the Civil Rights Movement?  How much impact did they have on civil rights activities at that time?
• Find infographics which highlight cultural differences locally, nationally, or internationally.
• What are indicators of culture in your school? How do you most often identify cultural differences? Does your school recognize cultural differences? Create an infographic which answers at least one of these questions.
• Create a Word Cloud that describes your individual cultural history and traditions.

Rubric:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CozwrOVuG942EnobiexIhaBclv31IHcmsgF0...