This unit was created by Educators at Two Rivers Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., as part of the 2022 cohort of The 1619 Project Education Network. It is designed for facilitation across five 55-minute class periods.
Objectives & Outcomes
- analyze multiple sources demonstrating the root causes and perpetrators of the issue of mass incarceration
- debate who, or what, is responsible for the issue of mass incarceration
- support their arguments with clear evidence
- integrate, question, and respond to new perspectives as presented by peers
- begin imagining a future where mass incarceration is no longer an issue
Essential Questions
- Who is responsible for the problem of mass incarceration?
- What root causes have created and continue to maintain this present-day issue?
- What are possible solutions?
Unit Overview
This unit draws on the premise that the current issue of mass incarceration has its roots in the legacies of slavery in the now-called United States.
Students will grapple with perspective-taking via a role play and a “trial discussion .” They will also practice using evidence to support a claim, integrating new evidence, and forming/responding to questions and alternative viewpoints.
This unit helps to build the context of where the United States is currently located in time as we heal from the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade, specifically around their manifestations in the justice system. It begins to help students imagine other possibilities.
Performance Task
Students will engage in a “trial discussion” in which they debate who is responsible for beginning, maintaining, and ending the system of mass incarceration in today’s United States.
They will produce “Claim-Support-Question” writing pieces in which they present their own case after researching their perspectives as well as participating in the trial discussion; take note of other perspectives; revise; and reflect.
A week-long unit plan for teachers, including pacing, texts and multimedia resources, graphic organizers for student projects, and performance tasks for the unit. Download below, or scroll down to read the complete unit plan.
Facilitation Resources
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6-8.6
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacherled) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
a. Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
b. Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
c. Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas.
d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.
2. Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.
3. Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of
the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
a. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
This work was completed by 7th grade students in Washington, D.C. (though the unit-writer notes that the unit is appropriate for grades 7-12).
Over the course of the unit, students traced the historical progression of mass incarceration from the Atlantic Slave Trade to the modern era, and then were tasked with examining the institutions (The System of Capitalism, The 3 Branches of the United States Government, The Prison Industry, Law Enforcement, US Citizens, and The System of White Supremacy) responsible for its perpetuation.
Building Background Knowledge
Below are samples of student work in the phases leading up to their classroom mock trial and final CSQ:
Developing Claims and Opinions
Below are examples of student source analyses for the claims they developed in response to the CSQ, "Who, or what, is responsible for causing mass incarceration?"
I think Capitalism is the most guilty because capitalism is serious. White supremacy might need to be addressed more but capitalism is how most people are put into jails. The System of Capitalism states “The median felony bail bond amount (10,000) is the equivalent of 8 months’ income for the typical detained defendant. As a result, people with low incomes are more likely to face the harms of pretrial detention.” This shows that capitalism is one of the most guilty and responsible for mass incarnation because people with more money can post bail. In the government, there are predominantly white people in high places. New York Times states “Race, as a matter of constitutional principle, cannot factor into the selection of jurors for criminal trials. But in the American justice system, anyone with a bit of common sense and a view from the back of the courtroom knows the colorblind ideal isn’t true in practice. Racial bias largely seeps in through what is called “peremptory”. Even with a little bit of power, people become prideful. They think they can dictate if someone can have a normal life or struggle for something they didn’t do. Why do we give them that much power? Global Social Challenges states “The global shift towards capitalism due to its potential for higher profits, equality of opportunity, economic freedom, and the reduced role of the state has led to the major problem of rising economic inequality because some individuals and groups are abler than others to exploit and take advantage of what capitalism allows them to.” This shows that capitalism is created for the poor to fail but we are supposed to break that system. I gave evidence to my hypothesis and analyzed it and put it into my own words. This is why capitalism is guilty!
Student Sample Source Analysis for A Charge Against Capitalism
The most guilty for mass incarceration would be white supremacy and law enforcement. Why I think it is white supremacy is because some white people are racist and call the police to lock up people of color. In the text, it states, “Mass incarceration would be less of a racial justice issue if police would not target communities of color disproportionately.” I would say this is white supremacy and law enforcement because these people are not only white police officers that do this, it is also white people in general. Some other evidence that proves my point is, “Many of the worst features of mass incarceration - such as racial disparities in prison - can be traced back to policing.” This evidence shows how people do things to people of color and hurt them too. This also shows how police are one of the bigger causes to this racial injustice system. Even more evidence as to how white supremacy and law enforcement are responsible for mass incarceration is, “Another commenter commented, ‘I would have pulled the trigger.’ These aren't your everyday commenters, they were in the words of Philadelphia police officers. This evidence proves that police officers don’t care about what is happening to these black people, as long as it is dealt with violence. With all this evidence, I feel as if law enforcement is slightly more responsible for mass incarceration. Police are in charge of who gets in jail and who gets out, therefore making them even more guilty. Also another thing to notice is police brutality, police officers beating up people of color because of their skin color. In conclusion, at the end of it all, law enforcement is the most guilty and responsible for mass incarceration.
Student Sample Source Analysis for A Charge Against White Supremacy and Law Enforcement
White supremacy is responsible for the creation of, and therefore the changing of, mass incarceration. As shared in our group indictment,“The specific forms of repression and control may have changed over time, but the underlying pattern established during slavery has remained the same. Modern-day policing, surveillance, and mass criminalization have histories rooted in white fear and supremacy. Nothing has proved more threatening to our democracy, or more devastating to Black communities, than white fear of Black freedom dreams. Mass incarceration is a method of controlling vast parts of the Black community; since once one has a felony record, one can no longer vote, secure a job, or secure housing nearly as easily." This shows that repression and control are legacies of slavery. Our indictment also showed how modern day policing has a history of white supremacy. “Central to understanding the practice of mass incarceration and excessive punishment is the legacy of slavery. The 13th Amendment is credited with ending slavery, but it stopped short of that: It made an exception for those convicted of crimes. After emancipation from slavery, black people, once seen as less than fully human “slaves,” were seen as less than fully human “criminals.” Mass incarceration is a legacy of slavery. Black people are still seen as criminals. “Racial disparities in sentencing are found in almost every crime category. Children as young as 13, almost all black, are sentenced to life imprisonment for nonhomicide offenses. Black defendants are 22 times more likely to receive the death penalty for crimes whose victims are white, rather than black — a type of bias the Supreme Court has declared “inevitable.” The smog created by our history of racial injustice is suffocating and toxic." This shows that there are big differences in who is sentenced based on race. Someone could argue that law enforcement is responsible, because they are the ones who arrest people to get locked up. However, my claim is correct because even though police are arresting people, they wouldn’t arrest Black people so much without white supremacy.
Student Sample Source Analysis for A Charge Against White Supremacy