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Units December 30, 2024

How Did Black Entrepreneurs Build Thriving Communities?

State:

North carolina

Grades:

Elementary
Team:
Lesson Summary: Students investigate how Black Wall Streets and the Black entrepreneurs who created them helped to build thriving communities and economies at local, state, and national levels.

Through a series of compelling questions, students explore what entrepreneurship is and who can be an entrepreneur; what and where America's Black Wall Streets are; why the goods and services provided by Black entrepreneurs were important to their communities; and what local Black entrepreneurs in Durham, North Carolina achieved. Downloads: Complete unit resources
SECTIONS


This unit was created by Elementary School Social Studies educators on the Bull City Scholars Team, part of the 2023 cohort of The 1619 Project Education Network. It is designed for facilitation across 8-10 30-minute class periods.

Objectives

  • Formulate an argument based on historical evidence.
  • Understand how the intelligence, ingenuity, and diligence of Black Americans led to the creation of thriving communities.
  • Recognize that anyone can be an entrepreneur.

Unit Overview

The compelling question for this unit is: “How did Black entrepreneurs help create thriving communities?”

In this inquiry, students will investigate how Black entrepreneurs helped to build thriving communities in spite of the oppressive forces of Jim Crow. The inquiry helps students to understand what an entrepreneur is and what is meant by a “thriving community.” Through this understanding and an investigation into the achievements of selected local Black entrepreneurs, students will develop arguments supported by evidence that answer the compelling question. This inquiry integrates history, geography, and economics to give students a fuller picture of the contributions of Black entrepreneurs to local, state, and national economies.

The first supporting question—“What is an entrepreneur?”—helps establish a foundational understanding of the role entrepreneurs play in our economy and society. The task also connects this new learning to an earlier reading of The 1619 Project picture book Born on the Water. Through discussion led by the teacher, students can understand that before Africans were enslaved by Europeans, they built thriving communities in their own cultures.

For the second supporting question—"What and where were America’s Black Wall Streets?”—students build upon their knowledge of entrepreneurship by learning how entrepreneurial activities that are geographically concentrated can lead to the development of financial districts. The featured resources help students to define Black Wall Street and to discover that this was not a single phenomenon, but instead was something many Black communities around the United States achieved.

The third supporting question—”Why were the goods and services created by Black entrepreneurs important to their communities?”—sets students on the path to understanding why the contributions of Black entrepreneurs were so important to Black communities. Advertisements from The Crisis magazine give students a chance to see firsthand what types of goods and services Black entrepreneurs were providing to their communities.

The fourth supporting question—“What were the achievements of Durham’s Black entrepreneurs?”—personifies the term entrepreneur and gives students the opportunity to look closely at how the contributions and achievements of individuals helped their communities thrive economically.

Lastly, students will read the poem “Legacy” from Born on the Water and participate in a discussion on belonging and contribution.

Performance Task

Students should be able to answer the compelling question: How did Black entrepreneurs help create thriving communities? using evidence from the sources explored throughout this unit. Students' arguments can take a wide variety of forms, including essay writing, presentation, poster, etc.

A template for the RACER paragraph can be found here:

Instructions for the one-pager can be found here:

Rubrics for both assignments can be found here:

Extension Activity Ideas:

Option 1: I Can Be an Entrepreneur!

Return to the brainstorming session in the “Staging the Compelling Question” stage (day 1), in which students dream up a list of goods and services that they think fourth graders need but do not exist yet. Have students create advertisements for their proposed products/services.

Option 2: Taking Informed Action

Invite a local Black entrepreneur for a classroom visit. Help students craft questions about entrepreneurship today or the influence of past entrepreneurs.

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