ucbhssp.berkeley.eduucbhssp.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/hssplessons/BLM... · Web view1890s: Ida B. Wells – Compare and Contrast Conditions – KEY The Role of Media in Black

Raise Your Voice:The Role of Media in Black Activism

Rachel B. Reinhard

Site Director, UCBHSSP

Workshopped at 2016 Teacher Presenter Academy.

A multi-day lesson created under the direction of the UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project.

© Rick Reinhard

2016 © UC RegentsFind online: ucbhssp.berkeley.edu

Movement of People: War & DisplacementLesson Overview

This multi-day lesson was created in response to one aspect, the use of deadly force by the police, among the multiple instances of violence that occurred during the summer of 2016 and have been shared via social media over the last two years.

As police shootings have continued to be videotaped and shared broadly via social media, we have thought deeply about how various forms of media have been used throughout history to shine a light on isolated instances of state-sanctioned violence in the black community. This lesson uses the examples of Ida B. Wells (1890s), the murder of Emmett Till (1950s), and the #BlackLivesMatter campaign of today.

We hope this lesson will provide an entry point and important historical context for discussion with students about the roots of contemporary issues. We know that these conversations, while challenging are also essential. After each part of the lesson, we have included a “personal connection” question to connect to students’ own experiences and feelings. And we have included a possible final activity that would allow students to articulate and generate solutions to their own concerns with regard to their own community. We invite teachers to adjust the pre-populated “personal connection” questions, in particular, to meet the context of your classroom community and reflect your relationship with your students.______________________________________________________________________________

Essential Question: How can you use media to raise awareness and create change?

Focus Question: Over the last century, how have black activists used different forms of media to spread the word about state-sanctioned violence against the black community?

Teaching Thesis: For more than a century, black activists have used media as a means to reveal isolated incidents that might have been otherwise overlooked or disregarded. Following the federal abandonment of Reconstruction, a period of Redemption arose. During this period of the late nineteenth century, informal codes of behavior were codified into law and policed through the use of vigilante violence. Ida B. Wells, a journalist, used her professional skills to raise awareness of lynching, documenting abuses and compiling the data so that it could not be ignored. A half century later, Mamie Till Mobley used the occasion of her son’s funeral to call attention to racist violence. Her son Emmett had been raised in Chicago, but during a visit with family in Mississippi was assaulted and murdered for speaking out of turn to a white woman. At his open casket funeral, Till’s mutilated face was visible for mourners and the press. Images of Till and his funeral were included in a much remembered issue of Jet magazine. More recently, black activists have utilized social media through the use of the hashtag, #BlackLivesMatter, and viral videos, to raise awareness of police killings in the black community.

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History-Social Science Standards

11.2 Students analyze the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.

9. Understand the effect of political programs and activities of the Progressives

Discussions of lynching and Ida B. Wells can be included in instruction during the Progressive Era.

11.8 Students analyze the economic boom and social transformation of post–World War II America.

7. Describe the effects on society and the economy of technological developments since 1945, including the computer revolution, changes in communication, advances in medicine, and improvements in agricultural technology.

Discussion of Emmett Till could be incorporated into lessons on the importance of the black press.

11.10 Students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights. 2. Examine and analyze the key events, policies, and court cases in the evolution of civil rights, including Dred Scott v. Sandford, Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, and California Proposition 209. 4. Examine the roles of civil rights advocates. 5. Discuss the diffusion of the civil rights movement of African Americans from the churches of the rural South and the urban North.

This lesson could be augment instruction on the consequences of perceived milestones, like Brown and Plessy, as well as the relationship of the black community in the North to that in the South, and mid-century activism more generally.

Common Core Standards in History-Social Science

RH1 Cite specific textual evidence.RH2 Develop the central ideas of a text.RH7 Integrate multiple sources in response to a question.

WHST1 Write an argument.

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Lesson Components

Introduction: Lesson Organizer

Goal: This chart can be used by students as they select evidence throughout the lesson. Teachers will need to provide some additional background if students do not have prior knowledge with regard to the social conditions of the period.

Part 1: Lesson Context

Focus Question: How have black activists used different forms of media to spread the word about state-sanctioned violence against the black community?

Goal: Students understand 1) the historic need to amplify injustice and 2) the power held by those with formal authority in shaping the narrative.

1.1 Paraphrase excerpt from Ida B. Wells, Lynch Law and All Its Phases (1893).

Part 2: Ida B. Wells and Documentation (1890s)

Focus Question: How did Ida B. Wells use her skills as a journalist to increase the visibility of lynching?

Goal: In this section, students will read a three paragraph excerpt to explore the historic roots for the policing of black bodies. They will then complete a close read of the final paragraph, isolating Wells’ argument with regard to lynching and the abuse of state power. They will then review a list of people lynched in a single year, 1893.

Source: Ida B. Wells, Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States (1895).

2.1 Headings and Highlights reading strategy2.2 Compare and Contrast Perspectives/Experiences2.3 Analyze data to determine significance

Part 3: The Emmett Till Generation (1950s)

Focus Question: How did Mamie Till Mobley’s decision to hold an open casket funeral for her son inspire others to become change agents?

Goal: In this section, students will see how coverage in Jet magazine and other periodicals raised awareness in the black community, particularly among young people. Be aware that the provided image of Emmett Till is quite graphic.

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3.1 Use the primary source analysis sheet to identify evidence from Jet magazine’s coverage of the killing of Emmett Till.3.2 Compare how two women, who later became involved in civil rights organizing, were influenced by the Montgomery Bus Boycott and murder of Emmett Till as children.

Part 4: #BlackLivesMatter and Social Media

Focus Question: How did the creation of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag help organize a response to racialized violence against black men and women?

Goal: Students understand the origin of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag and how it has been used as an organizing tool.

Source: “Person of the Year - Runner Up - Black Lives Matter,” Time (December 21, 2015).

4.1 Students will identify causes and consequences of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag.

Part 5: Pre-Writing

Goal: Students can use the provided Cause and Consequence chart to select evidence with regard to the role of media in each historic period studied.

Assessment

Goal: Students will be able to answer the lesson focus question. They will also be encouraged to think about how they could use tools in their environment to raise awareness around an issue that is important to them.

A.1 Writing FrameA.2 Developing solutions

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Included Sources

Note about Sources: Below are the complete citations and internet links for the materials included in this lesson. Throughout the lesson, we provided a simplified citation in order to focus student attention on the author, time period, and purpose of the source. We encourage discussion of these key elements before, during, and after each portion of the lesson.

Part 1:

Ida B. Wells, Lynch Law and All Its Phases (1893). http://www.blackpast.org/1893-ida-b-wells-lynch-law-all-its-phases

Part 2:

Ida B. Wells, The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States (1895). http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14977/14977-h/14977-h.htm

Part 3:

Image of Emmett Till, Jet Magazine (September 15, 1955).https://books.google.com/books?id=57EDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Video and Transcript, Interview with Dorie and Joyce Ladner, Civil Rights History Project, Interview 20 September 2011. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0054/

Part 4:

“Person of the Year - Runner Up - Black Lives Matter,” Time (December 21, 2015). http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2015-runner-up-black-lives-matter/

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http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2015-runner-up-black-lives-matter/

https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0054/

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14977/14977-h/14977-h.htm


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The Role of Media in Black ActivismLesson Organizer

Essential Question: How can you use media to raise awareness and create change?

Focus Question: Over the last century, how have black activists used different forms of media to spread the word about state-sanctioned violence against the black community?

Directions: As you read about different periods in history, collect evidence with regard to how members of the black community used different modes of documentation to share incidents of state sanctioned abuse with a broader audience. Place those ideas within the context of the historical period in which they occurred.

1890s 1950s 2010s

HistoricPeriod

Event

Type of violence

Mode of Awareness

Raising

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The Role of Media in Black ActivismLesson Organizer – Key

Essential Question: How can you use media to raise awareness and affect change?

Focus Question: How have black activists used different forms of media to spread the word about state-sanctioned violence against the black community?

Directions: As you read about different periods in history, collect evidence with regard to how members of the black community used different modes of documentation to share incidents of state sanctioned abuse with a broader audience. Place those ideas within the context of the historical period in which they occurred.

1890s 1950s 2010s

Historic Period

After Reconstruction Segregation/Jim Crow/ Early civil rights victories

Election of Barack Obama

Event Recording of Lynching Murder of Emmett Till

Murder of Trayvon Martin

Type of violence

Lynching Vigilante violence Police violence

Mode of Awareness

Raising

Compilation of data Photo in black press Social Media (hashtags, viral video)

Teacher Notes: You may need to build historical context or surface prior knowledge during each phase

of this lesson. Each of these expressions of violence came after an advancement in racial equality. The

1890s, as exemplified by Plessy v. Ferguson, codified segregation after Reconstruction, which created unprecedented opportunities for African Americans. Emmett Till was one of many egregious murders in 1955, the year after the Brown decision overturned Plessy. The most recent racialized violence, while made more visible through the use of new technologies and social media, is occurring in the period following the election of Barack Obama as the nation’s first black president.

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The Role of Media in Black ActivismIntroductory Text

Reading Question: Who controls the message?

Source: Ida B. Wells, Lynch Law and All Its Phases (1893).

Directions: Read through the complete paragraph. Then read each sentence and rewrite it in your own words. Answer the focus question and discuss the personal connection question.

"The details of these terrible outrages [lynching] seldom reach beyond the narrow world where they occur. Those who commit the murders write the reports, and hence these blots upon the honor of a nation cause but a faint ripple on the outside world. They arouse no great indignation and call forth no adequate demand for justice. The victims were black, and the reports are so written as to make it appear that the helpless creatures deserved the fate which overtook them," Ida B. Wells, anti-lynching activist, 1893.______________________________________________________________________________The details of these terrible outrages seldom reach beyond the narrow world where they occur.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Those who commit the murders write the reports, and hence these blots upon the honor of a nation cause but a faint ripple on the outside world.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

They arouse no great indignation and call forth no adequate demand for justice.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The victims were black, and the reports are so written as to make it appear that the helpless creatures deserved the fate which overtook them.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Personal Connection: How do Ida B. Wells’ words make you think about police and policing today?

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The Role of Media in Black ActivismIntroductory Text – KEY

Reading Question: Who controls the message?

Source: Ida B. Wells, Lynch Law and All Its Phases (1893).

Directions: Read through the complete paragraph. Then read each sentence and rewrite it in your own words. Answer the focus question and discuss the personal connection question.

"The details of these terrible outrages [lynching] seldom reach beyond the narrow world where they occur. Those who commit the murders write the reports, and hence these blots upon the honor of a nation cause but a faint ripple on the outside world. They arouse no great indignation and call forth no adequate demand for justice. The victims were black, and the reports are so written as to make it appear that the helpless creatures deserved the fate which overtook them," Ida B. Wells, anti-lynching activist, 1893.______________________________________________________________________________The details of these terrible outrages seldom reach beyond the narrow world where they occur.

__Only people in the immediate community know about the lynching.__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Those who commit the murders write the reports, and hence these blots upon the honor of a nation cause but a faint ripple on the outside world.

__The people who keep track of the murders are the people who control how information is shared. As a result, few people see a problem._____________________________________

They arouse no great indignation and call forth no adequate demand for justice.

__The reports are written in a way that people don’t get upset and protest. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

The victims were black, and the reports are so written as to make it appear that the helpless creatures deserved the fate which overtook them.

__The people who write the reports were not black, but the victims were and are written about_as if they were guilty.___________________________________________________

Personal Connection: How do Ida B. Wells’ words make you think about police and policing today?

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The Role of Media in Black Activism1890s: Ida B. Wells -- Headings and Highlights

Question 1: How did Ida B. Wells use her skills as a journalist to increase the visibility of lynching in the 1890s?

Directions: For each section of text, draft a heading that best represents what the paragraph is about. After writing your heading, underline the two best pieces of evidence to support it.


1. ______________________________

Beginning with the emancipation of the Negro, the inevitable result of unbridled power exercised for two and a half centuries, by the white man over the Negro, began to show itself in acts of conscienceless outlawry. During the slave regime, the Southern white man owned the Negro body and soul. . . . While slaves were scourged mercilessly, and in countless cases inhumanly treated in other respects, still the white owner rarely permitted his anger to go so far as to take a life, which would entail upon him a loss of several hundred dollars. The slave was rarely killed, he was too valuable; it was easier and quite as effective, for discipline or revenge, to sell him "Down South."

2. _______________________________

But Emancipation came and the vested interests of the white man in the Negro's body were lost. The white man had no right to scourge the emancipated Negro, still less has he a right to kill him. But the Southern white people had been educated so long in that school of practice, in which might makes right, that they disdained to draw strict lines of action in dealing with the Negro. In slave times the Negro was kept subservient and submissive by the frequency and severity of the scourging, but, with freedom, a new system of intimidation came into vogue; the Negro was not only whipped and scourged; he was killed.

3. ________________________________

Not all nor nearly all of the murders done by white men, during the past thirty years in the South, have come to light, but the statistics as gathered and preserved by white men, and which have not been questioned, show that during these years more than ten thousand Negroes have been killed in cold blood, without the formality of judicial trial and legal execution. And yet, as evidence of the absolute impunity with which the white man dares to kill a Negro, the same record shows that during all these years, and for all these murders only three white men have been tried, convicted, and executed. As no white man has been lynched for the murder of colored people, these three executions are the only instances of the death penalty being visited upon white men for murdering Negroes.

Personal Connection: How does Wells’ statement about how black people were viewed and treated, make you think about race relations in the United States today?

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The Role of Media in Black Activism1890s: Ida B. Wells -- Headings and Highlights – KEY

Question 1: How did Ida B. Wells use her skills as a journalist to increase the visibility of lynching in the 1890s?

Directions: For each section of text, draft a heading that best represents what the paragraph is about. After writing your heading, underline the two best pieces of evidence to support it.

Source: Ida B. Wells, Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States (1895).1. ___The Enslaved Have Monetary Value_____ [Headings and Highlights will vary]

Beginning with the emancipation of the Negro, the inevitable result of unbridled power exercised for two and a half centuries, by the white man over the Negro, began to show itself in acts of conscienceless outlawry. During the slave regime, the Southern white man owned the Negro body and soul. . . . While slaves were scourged mercilessly, and in countless cases inhumanly treated in other respects, still the white owner rarely permitted his anger to go so far as to take a life, which would entail upon him a loss of several hundred dollars. The slave was rarely killed, he was too valuable; it was easier and quite as effective, for discipline or revenge, to sell him "Down South."

2. _______Freedom Increase Possibility for Murder_____

But Emancipation came and the vested interests of the white man in the Negro's body were lost. The white man had no right to scourge the emancipated Negro, still less has he a right to kill him. But the Southern white people had been educated so long in that school of practice, in which might makes right, that they disdained to draw strict lines of action in dealing with the Negro. In slave times the Negro was kept subservient and submissive by the frequency and severity of the scourging, but, with freedom, a new system of intimidation came into vogue; the Negro was not only whipped and scourged; he was killed.

3. ___Law is Distorted by Race________

Not all nor nearly all of the murders done by white men, during the past thirty years in the South, have come to light, but the statistics as gathered and preserved by white men, and which have not been questioned, show that during these years more than ten thousand Negroes have been killed in cold blood, without the formality of judicial trial and legal execution. And yet, as evidence of the absolute impunity with which the white man dares to kill a Negro, the same record shows that during all these years, and for all these murders only three white men have been tried, convicted, and executed. As no white man has been lynched for the murder of colored people, these three executions are the only instances of the death penalty being visited upon white men for murdering Negroes.

Personal Connection: How does Wells’ statement about how black people were viewed and treated, make you think about race relations in the United States today?

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The Role of Media in Black Activism1890s: Ida B. Wells – Compare and Contrast Conditions

Question 1: How did Ida B. Wells use her skills as a journalist to increase the visibility of lynching following Reconstruction?


Directions: Re-read paragraph three. Underline the phrases that speak to the experience of white people with the criminal justice system. Place brackets around the line phrases that speak to the experience of black people with the criminal justice system.

Context: Ida B. Wells was a trained journalist. She dedicated her career to documenting lynching, the execution of people outside the legal system. She argued that this violence was used as a form of control rather than to enforce justice.

Paragraph 3

“Not all nor nearly all of the murders done by white men, during the past thirty years in the South, have come to light, but the statistics as gathered and preserved by white men, and which have not been questioned, show that during these years more than ten thousand Negroes have been killed in cold blood, without the formality of judicial trial and legal execution. And yet, as evidence of the absolute impunity with which the white man dares to kill a Negro, the same record shows that during all these years, and for all these murders only three white men have been tried, convicted, and executed. As no white man has been lynched for the murder of colored people, these three executions are the only instances of the death penalty being visited upon white men for murdering Negroes.”

White Experience Black Experience

Personal Connection: How does this make you think about the current criminal justice system? Who is stopped, arrested, and incarcerated?

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The Role of Media in Black Activism1890s: Ida B. Wells – Compare and Contrast Conditions – KEY

Question 1: How did Ida B. Wells use her skills as a journalist to increase the visibility of lynching following Reconstruction?


Directions: Reread paragraph three. Underline the phrases that speak to the experience of white people with the criminal justice system. Place brackets around the phrases that speak to the experience of black people with the criminal justice system.

Context: Ida B. Wells was a trained journalist. She dedicated her career to documenting lynching, the execution of people outside the legal system. She argued that this violence was used as a form of control rather than to enforce justice.

Paragraph 3

“Not all nor nearly all of the murders done by white men, during the past thirty years in the South, have come to light, but the statistics as gathered and preserved by white men, and which have not been questioned, show that during these years [more than ten thousand Negroes have been killed in cold blood, without the formality of judicial trial and legal execution.] And yet, as evidence of the absolute impunity with which the white man dares to kill a Negro, the same record shows that during all these years, and for all these murders only three white men have been tried, convicted, and executed. As no white man has been lynched for the murder of colored people, these three executions are the only instances of the death penalty being visited upon white men for murdering Negroes.”

White Experience Black Experience

● Crime by white people not recorded● White people control the gathering

and preserving of records● Records not questioned● Only three white men executed

(through justice system) for murder of black people, no lynching

● More than 10,000 black people killed without formal justice

● Lots of documentation of black crime

Personal Connection: How does this make you think about the current criminal justice system? Who is stopped, arrested, and incarcerated?

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The Role of Media in Black Activism1890s: Ida B. Wells – Compare and Contrast Conditions – KEY

Question 1: How did Ida B. Wells use her skills as a journalist to increase the visibility of lynching?


Lynch Law: To be put to death by mob action, and without legal authority, for accused, suspected, or committed crimes.

Directions: Scan the list of lynching committed during 1893. And write down three things that you notice.

1.

2.

3.

Directions: Review the data below, which was compiled from the list you reviewed. Then answer the questions.

Individual Incidents

Men Women

146 6

South North

149 3 (Illinois, New York)

Categories of

Incidents

Committed Crimes Alleged, Attempted, or Suspected Crimes

15 categories 13 categories

Personal Injury Property Crime


Questions:

1. What conclusions could you draw from this chart?

2. Why do you think Ida B. Wells collected this lynching data and wanted to share it more broadly?

Personal Connection: How does this data make you think about who is considered a criminal?

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The Role of Media in Black Activism1890s: Ida B. Wells – Determining Significance – KEY

Question 1: How did Ida B. Wells use her skills as a journalist to increase the visibility of lynching?


Lynch Law: To be put to death by mob action, and without legal authority, for accused, suspected, or committed crimes.

Directions: Scan the list of lynching committed during 1893. And write down three things that you notice. [Answers will vary.]

1. Virginia and Mississippi listed a lot

2. A lot more men than women were lynched (based on names)

3. Some people lynched for allegedly committing a crime

Directions: Review the data below, which was compiled from the list you reviewed. Then answer the questions.

Individual Incidents

Men Women

146 6

South North

149 3 (Illinois, New York)

Categories of

Incidents

Committed Crimes Alleged, Attempted, or Suspected Crimes


Personal Injury Property Crime


1. What conclusions could you draw from this chart?

Lynching was used more in the South than the North. People were killed for committing a crime and being suspected of committing a crime.

2. Why do you think Ida B. Wells collected this lynching data and wanted to share it more broadly?

When you see all of those killed it is hard to ignore the violence committed without judge or jury.

Personal Connection: How does this data make you think about who is considered a criminal?

Recorded Lynching and their Explanations, 1893

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ARSON Sept. 15, Paul Hill, Carrollton, Ala.; Sept. 15, Paul Archer, Carrollton, Ala.; Sept. 15, William Archer, Carrollton, Ala.; Sept. 15, Emma Fair, Carrollton, Ala.

SUSPECTED ROBBERY Dec. 23, unknown negro, Fannin, Miss.

ASSAULT Dec. 25, Calvin Thomas, near Brainbridge, Ga.

ATTEMPTED ASSAULT Dec. 28, Tillman Green, Columbia, La.

INCENDIARISM Jan. 26, Patrick Wells, Quincy, Fla.; Feb. 9, Frank Harrell, Dickery, Miss.; Feb. 9, William Filder, Dickery, Miss.

ATTEMPTED RAPE Feb. 21, Richard Mays, Springville, Mo.; Aug. 14, Dug Hazleton, Carrollton, Ga.; Sept. 1, Judge McNeil, Cadiz, Ky.; Sept. 11, Frank Smith, Newton, Miss.; Sept. 16, William Jackson, Nevada, Mo.; Sept. 19, Riley Gulley, Pine Apple, Ala.; Oct. 9, John Davis, Shorterville, Ala.; Nov. 8, Robert Kennedy, Spartansburg, S.C.

BURGLARY Feb. 16, Richard Forman, Granada, Miss.

WIFE BEATING Oct. 14, David Jackson, Covington, La.

ATTEMPTED MURDER Sept. 21, Thomas Smith, Roanoke, Va.

ATTEMPTED ROBBERY Dec. 12, four unknown negroes, near Selma, Ala.

RACE PREJUDICE Jan. 30, Thomas Carr, Kosciusko, Miss.; Feb. 7, William Butler, Hickory Creek, Texas; Aug. 27, Charles Tart, Lyons Station, Miss.; Dec. 7, Robert Greenwood, Cross county, Ark.; July 14, Allen Butler, Lawrenceville, Ill.

THIEVES Oct. 24, two unknown negroes, Knox Point, La.

ALLEGED BARN BURNING Nov. 4, Edward Wagner, Lynchburg, Va.; Nov. 4, William Wagner, Lynchburg, Va.; Nov. 4, Samuel Motlow, Lynchburg, Va.; Nov. 4, Eliza Motlow, Lynchburg, Va.

ALLEGED MURDER Jan. 21, Robert Landry, St. James Parish, La.; Jan. 21, Chicken George, St. James Parish, La.; Jan. 21, Richard Davis, St. James Parish, La.; Dec. 8, Benjamin Menter, Berlin, Ala.; Dec. 8, Robert Wilkins, Berlin, Ala.; Dec. 8, Joseph Gevhens, Berlin, Ala.

ALLEGED COMPLICITY IN MURDER Sept. 16, Valsin Julian, Jefferson Parish, La.; Sept. 16, Basil Julian, Jefferson Parish, La.; Sept. 16, Paul Julian, Jefferson Parish, La.; Sept. 16, John Willis, Jefferson Parish, La.

MURDER June 29, Samuel Thorp, Savannah, Ga.; June 29, George S. Riechen, Waynesboro, Ga.; June 30, Joseph Bird, Wilberton, I.T.; July 1, James Lamar, Darien, Ga.; July 28, Henry Miller, Dallas, Texas; July 28, Ada Hiers, Walterboro, S.C.; July 28, Alexander Brown, Bastrop, Texas; July 30, W.G. Jamison, Quincy, Ill.; Sept. 1, John Ferguson, Lawrens, S.C.; Sept. 1, Oscar Johnston, Berkeley, S.C.; Sept. 1, Henry Ewing, Berkeley, S.C.; Sept. 8, William Smith, Camden, Ark.; Sept. 15, Staples Green, Livingston, Ala.; Sept. 29, Hiram Jacobs, Mount Vernon, Ga.; Sept. 29, Lucien Mannet, Mount Vernon, Ga.; Sept. 29, Hire Bevington, Mount Vernon, Ga.; Sept. 29, Weldon Gordon, Mount Vernon, Ga.; Sept. 29, Parse Strickland, Mount Vernon, Ga.; Oct. 20, William Dalton, Cartersville, Ga.; Oct. 27, M.B. Taylor, Wise Court House, Va.; Oct. 27, Isaac Williams, Madison, Ga.; Nov. 10, Miller Davis, Center Point, Ark.; Nov. 14, John Johnston, Auburn, N.Y.

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Sept. 27, Calvin Stewart, Langley, S.C.; Sept. 29, Henry Coleman, Denton, La.; Oct. 18, William Richards, Summerfield, Ga.; Oct. 18, James Dickson, Summerfield, Ga.; Oct. 27, Edward Jenkins, Clayton county, Ga.; Nov. 9, Henry Boggs, Fort White, Fla.; Nov. 14, three unknown negroes, Lake City Junction, Fla.; Nov. 14, D.T. Nelson, Varney, Ark.; Nov. 29, Newton Jones, Baxley, Ga.; Dec. 2, Lucius Holt, Concord, Ga.; Dec. 10, two unknown negroes, Richmond, Ala.; July 12, Henry Fleming, Columbus, Miss.; July 17, unknown negro, Briar Field, Ala.; July 18, Meredith Lewis, Roseland, La. July 29, Edward Bill, Dresden, Tenn.; Aug. 1, Henry Reynolds, Montgomery, Tenn.; Aug. 9, unknown negro, McCreery, Ark.; Aug. 12, unknown negro, Brantford, Fla.; Aug. 18, Charles Walton, Morganfield, Ky; Aug. 21, Charles Tait, near Memphis, Tenn.; Aug. 28, Leonard Taylor, New Castle, Ky; Sept. 8, Benjamin Jackson, Quincy, Miss.; Sept. 14, John Williams, Jackson, Tenn.

SELF-DEFENSE July 30, unknown negro, Wingo, Ky.

POISONING WELLS Aug. 18, two unknown negroes, Franklin Parish, La.

ALLEGED WELL POISONING Sept. 15, Benjamin Jackson, Jackson, Miss.; Sept. 15, Mahala Jackson, Jackson, Miss.; Sept. 15, Louisa Carter, Jackson, Miss.; Sept. 15, W.A. Haley, Jackson, Miss.; Sept. 16, Rufus Bigley, Jackson, Miss.

INSULTING WHITES Feb. 18, John Hughes, Moberly, Mo.; June 2, Isaac Lincoln, Fort Madison, S.C.

MURDEROUS ASSAULT April 20, Daniel Adams, Selina, Kan.

NO OFFENSE July 21, Charles Martin, Shelby Co., Tenn.; July 30, William Steen, Paris, Miss.; Aug. 31, unknown negro, Yarborough, Tex.; Sept. 30, unknown negro, Houston, Tex.; Dec. 28, Mack Segars, Brantley, Ala.

ALLEGED RAPE July 7, Charles T. Miller, Bardwell, Ky.; Aug. 10, Daniel Lewis, Waycross, Ga.; Aug. 10, James Taylor, Waycross, Ga.; Aug. 10, John Chambers, Waycross, Ga.

ALLEGED STOCK POISONING Dec. 16, Henry G. Givens, Nebro, Ky.

SUSPECTED MURDER Dec. 23, Sloan Allen, West Mississippi.

SUSPICION OF RAPE Feb. 14, Andy Blount, Chattanooga, Tenn.

TURNING STATE'S EVIDENCE Dec. 19, William Ferguson, Adele, Ga.

RAPE Jan. 19, James Williams, Pickens Co., Ala.; Feb. 11, unknown negro, Forest Hill, Tenn.; Feb. 26, Joseph Hayne, or Paine, Jellico, Tenn.; Nov. 1, Abner Anthony, Hot Springs, Va.; Nov. 1, Thomas Hill, Spring Place, Ga.; April 24, John Peterson, Denmark, S.C.; May 6, Samuel Gaillard, ——, S.C.; May 10, Haywood Banks, or Marksdale, Columbia, S.C.; May 12, Israel Halliway, Napoleonville, La.; May 12, unknown negro, Wytheville, Va.; May 31, John Wallace, Jefferson Springs, Ark.; June 3, Samuel Bush, Decatur, Ill.; June 8, L.C. Dumas, Gleason, Tenn.; June 13, William Shorter, Winchester, Va.; June 14, George Williams, near Waco, Tex.; June 24, Daniel Edwards, Selina or Selma, Ala.; June 27, Ernest Murphy, Daleville, Ala.; July 6, unknown negro, Poplar Head, La.; July 6, unknown negro, Poplar Head, La.; July 12, Robert Larkin, Oscola, Tex.; July 17, Warren Dean, Stone Creek, Ga.; July 21, unknown negro, Brantford, Fla.; July 17, John Cotton, Connersville, Ark.; July 22, Lee Walker, New Albany, Miss.; July 26, —— Handy, Suansea, S.C.; July 30, William Thompson, Columbia, S.C.; July 28, Isaac Harper, Calera, Ala.; July 30, Thomas Preston, Columbia, S.C.; July 30, Handy Kaigler, Columbia, S.C.; Aug. 13, Monroe Smith,

16


Springfield, Ala.; Aug. 19, negro tramp, near Paducah, Ky.; Aug. 21, John Nilson, near Leavenworth, Kan.; Aug. 23, Jacob Davis, Green Wood, S.C.; Sept. 2, William Arkinson, McKenney, Ky.; Sept. 16, unknown negro, Centerville, Ala.; Sept. 16, Jessie Mitchell, Amelia C.H., Va.; Sept. 25, Perry Bratcher, New Boston, Tex.; Oct. 9, William Lacey, Jasper, Ala.; Oct. 22, John Gamble, Pikesville, Tenn.


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The Role of Media in Black Activism1950s: Emmett Till – Primary Source Analysis

Question 2: How did Mamie Till Mobley’s decision to hold an open casket funeral for her son inspire others to become change agents?

Context: Mamie Till Mobley grew up in Mississippi but migrated to Chicago, where she was raising her son, Emmett. When he was 14, she sent him to stay with her family in Mississippi. While there, he broke the social morays of the community by whistling at a white woman. Following that incident, he was taken from the home where he was staying, beaten, and killed. Mamie Till Mobley held an open casket funeral in Chicago and invited the press. Images of Emmett’s mutilated face were published in newspapers, particularly the black press.

Source: Jet Magazine, 15 September 1955.

Directions: Use the primary source analysis sheet to note details about the cover and the article that would have drawn the attention of readers, especially young readers. Then discuss the personal connection question.

Personal Connection: What events, or particular image in recent history have affected you in a personal, perhaps unanticipated, way?

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The Role of Media in Black Activism1950s: Emmett Till – Primary Source Analysis Tool

Lesson Focus Question: How did Mamie Till Mobley’s decision to hold an open casket funeral for her son inspire others to become change agents?

Title of Source: ______________________________ Media Type: ____________________________________________________WHEN & WHEREPlace and Time: Where and When was it created? Historical Context: What else was happening at this time? What issues were important?

WHOPublisher:

Audience: Who was the intended audience?

OBSERVATIONSDESCRIPTION What I see…Evidence of...

MEANING Why do you think the images and text were presented in this way?

IMPACTHow do you think readers, particularly young readers, would respond?

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

19

The Role of Media in Black Activism1950s: Emmett Till – Primary Source Analysis Tool

Lesson Focus Question: How did Mamie Till Mobley’s decision to hold an open casket funeral for her son inspire others to become change agents?

Title of Source: __News article/photo_____ Media Type: ________Black Press/Magazine_____________________

OBSERVATIONSDESCRIPTION What I see…Evidence of...

MEANING Why do you think the images and text were presented in this way?

IMPACTHow do you think readers, particularly young readers, would respond?

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

20

WHEN & WHEREPlace and Time: Where and When was it created? 1955 after Emmett Till was killed Historical Context: What else was happening at this time? What issues were important?Brown v. Board had just been decided in 1954, black Americans had moved North as part of the Great Migration.

WHOPublisher: Jet

Audience: Who was the intended audience? The black community, subscribers to Jet

The Role of Media in Black Activism1950s: Emmett Till – Primary Source Analysis ToolWell-dressed peopleStory of terrorFace of Emmett TillMutilation

Parents mourningWant to share with othersHe had been severely assaulted before or as part of being killed

Striking image and storyCreate anger, sadness, frustration

[Responses will vary.]

Had this happened before?What was different this time?What would make someone do this to someone else?

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The Role of Media in Black Activism1950s: Emmett Till -- Cause and Consequence


Context: Dorie and Joyce Ladner grew up in Mississippi and became active in the black freedom struggle as field organizers for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). They were children when Emmett Till was killed in 1955.

Source: Interview with Dorie and Joyce Ladner, Civil Rights History Project, September 2011.

Directions: Underline evidence about how the Ladners learned about Rosa Parks and Emmett Till. Then complete the chart. In your chart, circle the quoted phrase that you think is most significant.

Dorie Ladner: Emmett Till’s death resonated because it was so publicized. I heard a little bit about Miss Rosa Parks . . . . But there was not much information. All we knew is some – that black people were not riding the buses and that was about it. But when Emmett Till’s picture [of his mutilated face] was shown, that was what blew . . . our mind.

Joyce Ladner: That was the image for our generation, to galvanize our generation and all of us saw it. We saw it on the cover of Jet magazine. . . . Everyone I knew in SNCC, every black southerner for sure, had seen that photograph, and it was like a clarion call for action and that when we got older we were going to avenge his death. I mean, I can remember feeling that so strongly. I remember clipping those Hattiesburg Americans every time there was an article about the Emmett Till case and the trial, and I kept a scrapbook.

Rosa Parks (Bus Boycott) Murder of Emmett Till

How learn about

What hear/ see

Impact

Personal Connection: What is an event that you have learned about that made you want to make sure it didn’t happen again?

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The Role of Media in Black Activism1950s: Emmett Till -- Cause and Consequence -- KEY


Source: Interview with Dorie and Joyce Ladner, Civil Rights History Project, September 2011.

Directions: Underline evidence about how the Ladners learned about Rosa Parks and Emmett Till. Then complete the chart. In your chart, circle the quoted phrase that you think is most significant.

Dorie Ladner: Emmett Till’s death resonated because it was so publicized. I heard a little bit about Miss Rosa Parks . . . . But there was not much information. All we knew is some – that black people were not riding the buses and that was about it. But when Emmett Till’s picture [of his mutilated face] was shown, that was what blew . . . our mind.

Joyce Ladner: That was the image for our generation, to galvanize our generation and all of us saw it. We saw it on the cover of Jet magazine. . . . Everyone I knew in SNCC, every black southerner for sure, had seen that photograph, and it was like a clarion call for action and that when we got older we were going to avenge his death. I mean, I can remember feeling that so strongly. I remember clipping those Hattiesburg Americans every time there was an article about the Emmett Till case and the trial, and I kept a scrapbook.

Rosa Parks (Bus Boycott) Murder of Emmett Till

How learn about

Bits and pieces of information

Picture of his face on JetLocal Newspaper

What hear/ see

People not riding the bus Face mutilatedFollowed court case

ImpactDidn’t reach them in a deep way Everyone knew about it in SNCC, in

black communityCall to action

Personal Connection: What is an event that you have learned about that made you want to make sure it didn’t happen again?

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The Role of Media in Black Activism2010s: #BlackLivesMatter -- Cause and Consequence

Question 3: How did the creation of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag help organize a response to racialized violence against black men and women?

Source: “Person of the Year - Runner Up - Black Lives Matter,” Time (2015).

Directions: Underline the role of social media (causes) and bracket what resulted from the use of the hashtag (consequences). Write the words and phrases in the chart provided.

Black Lives Matter began almost by accident. On July 13, 2013, George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager shot during a struggle in a gated Florida suburb. Alicia Garza, a workers’-rights activist, was nursing a drink at an Oakland, Calif., cocktail bar when the verdict came down. She dashed off a missive on Facebook, capped by a stirring sentiment: “Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.” Her friend Patrisse Cullors, a fellow California activist, was the one who added the hashtag. Even the people who coined the phrase didn’t sense its force right away. Melina Abdullah, a California State University, Los Angeles professor and leader of a local Black Lives Matter chapter, recalls a meeting two days after Zimmerman’s acquittal at Cullors’ place in St. Elmo Village, a collective for black artists. Protests to memorialize Martin were popping up across the country, and the activists made banners inscribed with #j4tmla (justice for trayvon martin l.a.). Underneath, as if an afterthought, they scrawled #blacklivesmatter in tiny letters. The Black Lives Matter network, founded by Garza, Cullors and New York–based immigration activist Opal Tometi, now counts nearly 30 official chapters, including an outpost in Canada. There is no legal entity, no 501(c)(3). Getting chartered simply requires a promise to uphold certain principles. The movement is also made up of countless other protest groups that emerged from the streets of Ferguson, with names like We the Protesters and Hands Up United. The prevalence of the Black Lives Matter hashtag prompted media outlets to seize the phrase as shorthand for the struggle writ large. The new civil rights movement had its rallying cry.

Use of Social Media (Causes) Result of Use (Consequences)

24Personal Connection: How have you learned about current issues through social media?

The Role of Media in Black Activism2010s: #BlackLivesMatter -- Cause and Consequence -- KEY

Question 3: How did the creation of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag help organize a response to racialized violence against black men and women?

Source: “Person of the Year - Runner Up - Black Lives Matter,” Time (2015).

Directions: Underline the role of social media (causes) and circle what resulted from the use of the hashtag (consequences). Write the words and phrases in the chart provided.

Black Lives Matter began almost by accident. On July 13, 2013, George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager shot during a struggle in a gated Florida suburb. Alicia Garza, a workers’-rights activist, was nursing a drink at an Oakland, Calif., cocktail bar when the verdict came down. She dashed off a missive on Facebook, capped by a stirring sentiment: “Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.” Her friend Patrisse Cullors, a fellow California activist, was the one who added the hashtag. Even the people who coined the phrase didn’t sense its force right away. Melina Abdullah, a California State University, Los Angeles professor and leader of a local Black Lives Matter chapter, recalls a meeting two days after Zimmerman’s acquittal at Cullors’ place in St. Elmo Village, a collective for black artists. Protests to memorialize Martin were popping up across the country, and the activists made banners inscribed with #j4tmla (justice for trayvon martin l.a.). Underneath, as if an afterthought, they scrawled #blacklivesmatter in tiny letters. The Black Lives Matter network, founded by Garza, Cullors and New York–based immigration activist Opal Tometi, now counts nearly 30 official chapters, including an outpost in Canada. There is no legal entity, no 501(c)(3). Getting chartered simply requires a promise to uphold certain principles. The movement is also made up of countless other protest groups that emerged from the streets of Ferguson, with names like We the Protesters and Hands Up United. The prevalence of the Black Lives Matter hashtag prompted media outlets to seize the phrase as shorthand for the struggle writ large. The new civil rights movement had its rallying cry.

Use of Social Media (Causes) Result of Use (Consequences)

Facebook postUse of hashtagPhrase sharedSpread word by adding hashtag to banner

Chapters createdCommon language to use among those who support causeNew slogan

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Personal Connection: How have you learned about current issues through social media?

The Role of Media in Black Activism2010s: #BlackLivesMatter -- Cause and Consequence -- KEY

Focus Question: How have black activists used different forms of media to raise awareness and organize against racialized violence?

Directions: Using the sources included in this lesson, select the best evidence for explaining the consequence of the decisions made during each period of history studied. In some cases, you may need to infer.

Use of Media (Cause) Result of Use (Consequence)

Ida B. Wells journalism skills (documentation)

Mamie Till Mobley’s decision to invite the press to her son’s funeral

Creation of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag

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The Role of Media in Black ActivismLesson Synthesis -- Cause and Consequence – Key

Focus Question: How have black activists used different forms of media to raise awareness and organize against racialized violence?

Directions: Using the sources included in this lesson, select the best evidence for explaining the consequence of the decisions made during each period of history studied. In some cases you may need to infer.

Use of Media (Cause) Result of Use (Consequence)

Ida B. Wells journalism skills (documentation)

Show lynching not an isolated problemHelp identify cause, abuse of power

Mamie Till Mobley’s decision to invite the press to her son’s funeral

Image spreads and inspires others, particularly young people

Creation of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag Given a common language to unite concerns

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The Role of Media in Black ActivismAssessment

Focus Question: How have black activists used different forms of media to raise awareness of racialized violence against the black community?

Directions: Draft a short paragraph in response to the focus question. Use the paragraph frame if it is helpful.

Since the late nineteenth century, _________________________________________________

_____________________________. In the 1890s, Ida B. Wells __________________________

_______________________________________________________________. Seeing data in

this way, ____________________________________________________________________.

In the 1950s, Mamie Till Mobley __________________________________________________

___________________________________________. Seeing these images led young people to

______________________________________________. More recently, the #BlackLivesMatter

hashtag, _____________________________________. It has united ______________________

____________________________________. These incidents, throughout history, show ______

____________________________________________________________________.

Essential Question: How can you use media to raise awareness and affect change?

Goal: Create a Campaign for Change

Directions: Using the questions below, discuss the issues that are most important to you and your community. Decide on a first step that you could take to make things better.

Discussion Questions: What issues need to be addressed in your community? What are possible solutions? What resources, skills, talents, access do you and your classmates have? How could you use these resources to raise awareness? What should be the first step in your campaign?

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The Role of Media in Black ActivismAssessment

Focus Question: How have black activists used different forms of media to raise awareness of racialized violence against the black community?

Directions: Draft a short paragraph in response to the focus question. Use the paragraph frame if it is helpful.

Since the late nineteenth century, African Americans have used the media to spread the word

about racialized violence__. In the 1890s, Ida B. Wells used her skills as a journalist to

document lynching _________. Seeing data in

this way, __would force people to see the scale of the problem [Inference] ___.

In the 1950s, Mamie Till Mobley allowed the press to take picters of her son’s mutilated

face_____ ____. Seeing these images led young people to

_work for change ___. More recently, the #BlackLivesMatter

hashtag, __gave a name to the racialized violence__. It has united _separate organizations and

protests responding to racialized violence. These incidents, throughout history, show that

media can be used to spread a message and push individuals to recognize the scale of a

problem_.

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Documents

ucbhssp.berkeley.eduucbhssp.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/hssplessons/BLM... · Web view1890s: Ida B. Wells – Compare and Contrast Conditions – KEY The Role of Media in Black