African American Cultural Achievements and Identity

This unit was created by Buffalo Public Schools Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Initiatives as part of the 2021 cohort of The 1619 Project Education Network. It is designed for facilitation across approximately three weeks with daily lessons.

Objectives

Students will be able to…

• Analyze and explain the contributions made by enslaved African Americans to the financial wealth and success of the United States by examining primary and secondary sources.
• Analyze and examine the impact of the American democratic ideals of “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and “All men are created equal” on African Americans by examining primary and secondary sources.
• Discover and analyze the impact that many important African Americans have made throughout history and present to help influence Black American culture and identity by examining a variety of primary and secondary sources. 
• Analyze and explain two reasons that African Americans left the rural South and moved north or west during the Great Migration by examining multiple sources.
• Analyze and explain the contributions by African Americans to music, arts, writing, and culture during the “Golden Age” or Harlem Renaissance by examining multiple sources.

Unit Overview

Students will examine and analyze the common theme embedded throughout this unit: The development of African American culture and identity linked back to enslaved Africans and important African Americans throughout history. 

Students will examine the contributions made by enslaved Africans to the financial wealth and success of the United States. Over this unit, students will read and analyze two excerpts from The New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project article “The Idea of America” by Nikole Hannah-Jones, as well as several primary and secondary sources. 

Scope and Sequence

Lesson 1: The American Idea 

Students will…

• Discover the contributions made by enslaved African Americans to the financial wealth and success of the United States. 
• Analyze and examine the impact of the American democratic ideals of “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and “All men are created equal” on African Americans. 
• Read the 1619 Project article “The Idea of America” excerpt by Nikole Hannah-Jones, background excerpts/readings, analyze a quote from the Declaration of Independence, and watch a video clip to answer guided questions.
• Write a three-paragraph essay using evidence to support their writing.

Lesson 2: Development of African American Culture and Identity

Students will…

• Examine the contributions made by Black culture in American history. 
• Examine how enslaved Africans contributed to the development of African American culture and identity by examining a variety of primary/secondary sources.
• Analyze a new emergence of Black culture, identity, and pride during the 1960s and 1970s that helped cultivate and shape a phase in development for Black culture.
• Complete a “See, Think, and Hear” project.

Lesson 3: The Great Migration and The Harlem Renaissance

Students will…

• Explore the Great Migration by African Americans moving from the South to the North and West in large numbers. 
• Analyze multiple sources and determine two reasons why African Americans left the South.
• Explore the “Golden Age” of the African American cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance and the contributions made by many Black artists.
• Research four new individuals and collect information creating a Harlem Renaissance Storyboard Project highlighting key contributors in the arts and culture of this “Golden Age.”

Performance Tasks

Lesson 1: Reflection Essay

• Paragraph 1:
  • Explain why African Americans are considered the true fighters for the American ideal of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
  • Use two pieces of text-based evidence to show how African Americans fight for freedom, equality, and democracy paved the way for other marginalized groups.
• Paragraph 2:
  • Explain your understanding of the contributions that enslaved Africans made to the overall success of the United States.
• Paragraph 3:
  • Do you agree with the main idea represented in “The Idea of America”? Why or why not?

Lesson 2: See, Speak, Hear Project

Students will use what they learned in this lesson, notes, and their prior knowledge to document in their See, Speak, and Hear Project.  Students will respond in the chart about what they saw with their eyes (Pictures/Art/Videos), what they heard with their ears (Music/Videos), and what was spoken with their mouth (Readings/Poems/Music/Videos) about the creation and contributions made to African American culture and identity throughout history. Students will reflect on the lesson by selecting three topics from the Speak, Hear, and See chart that they believe has had the greatest impact on African American culture and identity.

Lesson 3: Harlem Renaissance Storyboard Project

Students will research four African Americans who shaped the “Golden Age” of Black culture known as the Harlem Renaissance. The students will research and find one person for each category. (Note: Students must select a person that they have not already learned about.) Categories are: Singer/Musician, Writer, Artist, and Stage Performer.

Students will be required to log their information on the Harlem Renaissance Storyboard Project Graphic Organizer. Teachers can set aside time for presentations at the end of class or the next day. Have students share their work with one another. Students are provided with several task questions to research and answer.

Three-week unit plan for teachers, including pacing, texts and multimedia resources, student-facing graphic organizers for daily work, and templates for student projects. Download below, or scroll down to review key resources included in the unit plan.

Unit Resources

New York State Social Studies Standards

Lesson 1: The American Idea

• 11.2b: Students will examine the purpose of, and the ideas contained in the Declaration of Independence and consider its long-term impacts. 
• 11.4a: Students will investigate the ways individuals, groups, and government institutions limited the rights of African Americans. 
• 12.G1 Foundations of American Democracy: The principles of American democracy are reflected in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and in the organization and actions of federal, state, and local government entities. The interpretation and application of American democratic principles continue to evolve and be debated.

Lesson 2: Development of African American Culture and Identity

• 11.1b A number of factors influenced colonial economic development, social structures, and labor systems, causing variation by region.
• 11.10a After World War II, long-term demands for equality by African Americans led to the civil rights movement. The efforts of individuals, groups, and institutions helped to redefine African American civil rights, though numerous issues remain unresolved.  
• 9.10 Interactions and Disruptions: Efforts to reach the Indies resulted in the encounter between the people of Western Europe, Africa, and the Americas. This encounter led to a devastating impact on populations in the Americas, the rise of the transatlantic slave trade, and the reorientation of trade networks.

Lesson 3: The Great Migration and The Harlem Renaissance

• 11.7b African Americans continued to struggle for social and economic equality while expanding their own thriving and unique culture. African American cultural achievements were increasingly integrated into national culture.

My favorite part about the 1619 lessons is learning how every time African Americans were suppressed, they continued to survive and found new ways to bring their culture and how they act to new levels of achievement. I am proud to learn about my ancestors and all their contributions. This is Black Excellence!

Student reflection

The benefit of learning about the year 1619 was being able to learn more about African American history...I’m learning about my culture, how strong we really are, and all the contributions made by my ancestors. African Americans are so much more than just slavery. Our voice and story has been left out for too many years.

Student reflection

Performance Task for Lesson 1: Reflection Essay

After analyzing "The Idea of America" by Nikole Hannah-Jones and other text and multimedia resources, students were asked to write a reflection essay responding to the following prompts:

• Paragraph 1:
  • Explain why African Americans are considered the true fighters for the American ideal of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
  • Use two pieces of text-based evidence to show how African Americans fight for freedom, equality, and democracy paved the way for other marginalized groups.
• Paragraph 2:
  • Explain your understanding of the contributions that enslaved Africans made to the overall success of the United States.
• Paragraph 3:
  • Do you agree with the main idea represented in “The Idea of America”? Why or why not?

Example Essays Written by Students in Buffalo, NY During the 2021-2022 School Year

Performance Task for Lesson 2: See, Speak, Hear Project

After their exploration of African American identity and culture, and an introduction to some influential Black artists, students used a project template to chart the images, sounds, and discussions sticking with them about the creation and contributions made to African American culture and identity throughout history.

Example Projects by Students in Buffalo, NY During the 2021-2022 School Year

Performance Task for Lesson 3: Harlem Renaissance Storyboard Project

After exploring the lives and work of many major figures in the Harlem Renaissance, students researched four African Americans that shaped this “Golden Age” of Black culture. (Note: Students were asked to select a person that they did not learned about in class.) Students found one person for each category: Singer/Musician, Writer, Artist, and Stage Performer. They used a Harlem Renaissance Storyboard Project template to share their research and celebrate these artists.

Example Projects by Students in Buffalo, NY During the 2021-2022 School Year

Unit Conclusion: Student Reflections

To close out the unit and solicit student feedback, students were asked to write a short reflection on their three-week exploration of African American identity and culture. The following questions structured their responses:

• What is the benefit to this type of material (1619) to being added to the curriculum for others?
• What type of personal connections did you make?
• What new information did you learn?
• What was your favorite lesson/part of the unit?

Example Reflections Written by Students in Buffalo, NY During the 2021-2022 School Year

Snapshots of Student Exploration

Click the arrows below to see images from the classroom in which students engage in reading, writing, and discussion for this unit.