Meeting One
Patch Purpose:
When you have earned this patch, you’ll have a more detailed understanding of the history of race and ethnicity in the United States and will have the skills to discuss issues related to race and ethnicity from the past and how they relate to the present day. You will be confident voicing your own perspective and leading others in dialogue.
Getting Started :
Familiarize yourself with the frequently used terms listed below. If you come across other new words or concepts in your research, make sure to look up their definitions too.
Race – Groups based on physical characteristics such as skin color, eye shape, hair texture, etc. Racial groups are socially determined, meaning that these groups are divided by society, not by biology. Examples: African American, Asian, White, Native American.
Ethnicity – A group based on similar traits such as common language, heritage, cultural similarities, and geographic connection to a particular place. Examples: Igbo, Norwegian, Somali, Vietnamese, Kurds, Latinx.
Nationality – Generally, the country where a person was born and/or holds citizenship. However, sometimes individuals identify their nationality with the place that they live (even if they weren’t necessarily born there or are not a citizen) or with the birthplace of their parents. Examples: Chinese, Kenyan, American, and French.
Culture – The customs, practices, and way of life of a particular group of people. Your school has a culture, the United States has a culture (and many sub-cultures).
For fun: Make a list of all of the different cultures that you are a part of!
Stereotype – A widely held but oversimplified (and sometimes untrue) idea of a person, group, or thing. Example: Girls aren’t interested in science.
Bias – A preference for or against a person, group, or thing, often without a logical reason. Example: Disliking a food that you have never tried, only because you don’t like the color box it comes in.
Prejudice – Preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or experience; sometimes this looks like the application of one person’s characteristic(s) to an entire group that they belong to. Example: I know someone who is tall who is good at basketball, so every tall person must also be good at basketball.
Racism – Prejudice is acted upon based on someone’s racial identity. Example: A manager chooses not to promote an employee because of negative beliefs about that person’s race.
Note: These concepts are more complex than a short definition can explore. They are intended to be a starting point— use the “More to Explore” section at the end of the activity plan for a deeper dive into these concepts.
Activity #1: Time Traveler
Materials Needed:
phone or computer with internet access
colorful pens or markers
large poster board (or several sheets of paper taped together)
Steps:
Using the large piece of paper, make a timeline starting in the year 1500 and ending in 2050. Your timeline can be set up any way that you wish – a spiral, zigzag lines, straight lines, etc.
Research important milestones and events in U.S. history relating to racial and ethnic groups and place them on your timeline. Be sure to include at least 30 items on your timeline and carefully consider events relating to a wide variety of racial and ethnic groups.
Make a list of 10 other historic events that interest you (Examples: The year your grandmother was born, the invention of the television, women’s suffrage, etc.) Add those to your timeline using a different color.
Create a key on your timeline to signify the following:
Events that were surprising to you
Events that are related/caused by one another.
Events that you’d like to learn more about
(For example, you could draw a star next to all the items that were surprising to you)
As you reflect on your timeline, consider these questions with your troop:
Did the placement of any events you added in step 3 surprise you? Did you think they would fall earlier or later than they did?
Do you think that the resources you used to find information for your timeline provided unbiased portrayals of the facts?
How do you know? Read multiple sources and compare them and think about who the author is (are they knowledgeable in the subject matter?) and who is publishing the information.
Ask yourself what perspectives and voices might have been left out.
What are some significant milestones that you think might be reached in the near future? Add them to the future section of your timeline.
Activity #2: Decade Detective
Materials Needed:
your timeline from Activity #1
phone or computer with Internet access
pen
notebook
Steps:
Reference your timeline from Activity #1. Pick one decade (a ten-year span) that interests you the most.
Do some more specific research on this time period. Find out:
What did people do for fun?
What kind of art was being made?
What laws were being made or changed?
What were the concerns of people living in the United States at the time?
What was going on around the world?
You might read a book written by an author from your chosen decade, listen to music from that era, or read news stories published at the time. If your chosen decade is more recent, you could interview someone who grew up during that time. Again, make sure to look for a variety of perspectives.
Compare the decade you researched to the present-day United States. What is similar? What has changed?
Meeting Two
Activity #3 : In Her Shoes
Materials Needed:
pen
notebook
Steps:
Imagine you are a girl your age living in the decade you researched in Activity #2. Create an identity for this girl:
Give her a name.
Imagine what her family looks like.
What are her race, ethnicity, and nationality?
What culture(s) is she a part of?
What does she like to do for fun?
What is she worried about?
Take on your character’s identity and write a letter to a good friend. Make sure to rely on your research (and not stereotypes) as you write—and don’t forget to include the date you’re writing from!
Your character is very engaged in her community—what issues is she working on? Is she hopeful, frustrated, or excited about them?
How does she see people of a different racial or ethnic background from herself?
Where does she go to school, or does she go to school? Who goes to school with her?
What hopes does your character have for her future? What obstacles might she have to overcome to get there?
Does she send anything with her letter (a painting, poem, photo, etc.)?
After writing your letter, reflect on these questions with your troop:
How might your letter have been different if your character had a different race or ethnicity than you imagined?
If you traced your character or your character’s family to the present-day United States, what do you think their lives would be like? How is that related to their family history?
Activity #4: A Conversation on Race
Materials Needed:
computer or phone with internet access
notebook
pen
camera, phone, or computer with video recording capability
Steps:
Watch the following videos from the New York Times short films series “A Conversation on Race”. As you watch, take notes on what surprised you, what felt familiar to you, and any questions you have:
A Conversation with Black Women on Race: www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/opinion/a-conversation with-black-women-on-race.html
A Conversation with Latinos on Race: www.nytimes.com/2016/02/29/opinion/a-conversation-withlatinos-on-race.html
A Conversation with Asian Americans on Race: www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/opinion/aconversation-with-asians-on-race.html
A Conversation with Native Americans on Race: bit.ly/nativeamericansonrace
After you watch the videos, brainstorm what questions you think the interviewer(s) and producer(s) asked the people interviewed in the videos. Write them down.
Create your own video in the style of the New York Times “A Conversation on Race” series. You can interview friends or family members using your questions from step 2, or you can answer the questions yourself.
Activity #5: Lead Dialogue
Materials Needed:
friends or family members
gathering space
Prep Needed:
Talking about differences, especially those differences that have painful pasts (like those explored in your timeline), can be difficult. A structured dialogue with a knowledgeable leader can help people to have important, meaningful conversations about almost any topic.
Choose one of the previous activities that you’d like to share with your group (i.e. your timeline, letter, one of the “A Conversation on Race” videos, the video that you created, or another resource you used). Prepare enough copies of any paper materials and/or ensure that you have the right technology to play any videos.
Before you meet with your group, prepare 5 – 7 open-ended discussion questions (questions that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”) that relate to the item you chose. Questions that ask people to share their own experiences are often a good way to get people talking.
Before you begin the dialogue, establish ground rules with the group. You may want to come up with your own ideas ahead of time, but make sure the group can also help to establish the rules.
Some rules could include:
Only one person may speak at a time
Share only your own stories/ experiences
Respect other viewpoints
Steps:
Gather your group for discussion.
Share your chosen item with the group.
Guide the participants through the discussion – remember, you are the leader of the dialogue, so you choose when to move on to the next question and when to close the dialogue.
Close your dialogue and thank your participants.
Reflect on the experience:
What did you learn from participants?
What did the participants learn from you?
What went well?
What would you change if you led dialogue again?
If you were to host a follow-up dialogue, what topic(s) would you cover?
More to Explore
Field Trip Ideas:
Visit a museum exhibit that showcases the work of people who are not the majority race, culture, or ethnicity in your area.
Attend a cultural celebration of a culture different than your own.
Speaker Ideas:
Invite a staff member or volunteer of a local organization that works in racial equity or immigrant/ refugee rights or services to talk about the most important issues in your neighborhood, city, or state.
Invite a local immigrant or refugee to share their experience with you and/or your troop.
Other resources:
Race: The Power of an Illusion. A three-part documentary series on PBS that explores the idea of race in society, science, and history. Many segments are also available on YouTube: www.pbs.org/race
“A Five Minute History of Race in the United States”: bit.ly/fiveminhistory
Teach Us All: A documentary and social justice campaign about the history and perpetuation of educational inequality in the United States. Available on Netflix.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story (TED Talk): www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story
Kimberlé Crenshaw: The Urgency of Intersectionality (TED Talk): www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality