This unit was created by educators in Michigan, as part of the 2021 cohort of The 1619 Project Education Network. It is designed for facilitation across approximately eight days, or eight class periods.
Objectives and Outcomes
Students will be able to...
- Describe and analyze policies and laws that affected financial growth of black families and generational wealth Objective
- Analyze how inequitable and racists practices lead to lasting outcomes
- Create an argumentative essay and participate in a civic discussion
Essential Questions
- What is the cost of inequality?
Unit Overview
This unit explores the financial impact of policies such as Jim Crow legislation, redlining, and our health care system on communities of color. By connecting past policies to current practices, students will evaluate how inequality carries financial and health consequences that affect a range of communities, including their own.
Performance Task
This unit has two main performance tasks:
First, students explore/ discover a range of unique media Including the 1619 Podcast, which deepens students’ understanding of the historical context of contemporary policies and helps them connect how policies driven by racism affect us on a personal level. At the end of the unit, students craft an analytical composition and engage in a civil discussion in response to the essential question: what is the cost of inequality? Students will recognize that laws have long-lasting and unexpected consequences.
Eight-day unit plan for teachers, including pacing, texts and multimedia resources, graphic organizers, and assessments for performance tasks for the unit. Download below, or scroll down to browse the unit resources.
Facilitation Resources
Essays & Poetry | > “The Wealth Gap” by Trymaine Lee (The 1619 Project): A short essay about the wealth gap that exists between Black and white Americans and has been historically driven by segregation, redlining, evictions, and exclusion. |
1619 Podcast | > “The Land of Our Fathers, Part 1,” 1619 Podcast: Part one of a two-part podcast episode exploring themes of Black land ownership and the racism and economic exploitation faced by Black American farmers. > “The Land of Our Fathers, Part 2,”1619 Podcast: Part two of a two-part podcast episode exploring themes of Black land ownership and the racism and economic exploitation faced by Black American farmers. |
Reporting | > “The Cost of Inequality: Money = quality health care = better life,” by Alvin Powell, The Harvard Gazette: An article on the costs of healthcare from a series on inequality by The Harvard Gazette. |
Common Core ELA Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
Michigan K-12 Standards for Social Studies
P1.5 Construct and present an argument supported with evidence P2.1 Apply methods of inquiry, including asking and answering compelling and supporting questions, to investigate social science problems
P2.4 Use relevant information from multiple credible sources representing a wide range of views, considering the origin, authority, structure, and context, to answer a compelling or supporting question.
P3.2 Discuss public policy issues, by clarifying positions, considering opposing views, and applying Democratic Values or Constitutional Principles to develop and refine claims