Loren Hill-McVein, Mary Esparza, Jenine Wolfe, Amanda Ellerbee, Laura West

He Had a Dream

History of the Struggle...An important part of moving forward is remembering the struggles of the past.

We still struggle with reminders, going back hundreds of years, of Institutionalized Racism as obstacles to achieving the American Dream.

1619 - First slave arrives in the United States1780 - Pennsylvania becomes the first state to abolish slavery1807 - Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves1839 - Slaves revolt on La Amistad (one of many historical revolts)1849 - Harriet Tubman escapes slavery and begins the Underground Railroad1863 - Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect1865 - 13th Amendment prohibits slavery1876 - Jim Crow Laws are passed in the South (segregation laws - separate but

“equal”)1909 - NAACP is formed1925-1949 - Harlem Renaissance1951 - Brown v. Board of Education (desegregation of schools)1955 - Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on the bus1963 - March on Washington - “I Have a Dream” Speech1964 - Civil Rights Act

Milestones in African American History

Music and Poetry are also used to both Educate and Protest Injustice

Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday (1939)

“Southern trees bear a strange fruit,Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.”

Tennessee by Arrested Development (1992)

“Down and out, losing groundAlthough I am Black and proudProblems got me pessimisticBrothers and sisters keep messin upWhy does it have to be so damn tough…”

“Where the ghost of childhood haunts meWalk the roads my forefathers walkedClimbed the trees my forefathers hung fromAsk those trees for all their wisdom”

David and GoliathThe Underdog CAN be Triumphant

Wyatt Walker - Ch. 6“burn forever…”

“The trickster is not a trickster by nature. He is a trickster by necessity.”

“We got to use what we got.”

“A little Brer Rabbit trickery.”

But with every two steps forward, there is often one step back. Progress has not

come easy. It has been painful and frequently even deadly.

The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952)

“I am an invisible man. . . .The point now is that I found a home -- or a hole in the ground, as you will . . . My hole is warm and full of light. Yes, full of light . . . And I love light. Perhaps you’ll think it strange that an invisible man should need light, desire light. Light confirms my reality, gives birth to my form . . . In my hole in the basement.”“After Invisible Man” by Jeff Hall

Rhetorical Appeals Leave Lasting Impressions on the

Listener

“Education, Students, and the Youth…” - Malcolm X

“With0ut education, you’re not going anywhere in this world.”“Education is our passport to the future, but tomorrow belongs to the

people who prepare for it today.”

“ A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.”

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

Riveting Scenes in Books, Plays and Movies Captivate Audiences and Make Us

Ask QuestionsA Raisin in the Sun (1959 / 1961 &

2008)To Kill a Mockingbird (1960/1962)Roots (1976/1977)The Color Purple (1982/1985)

Glory (no book / 1989) Get on the Bus (no book / 1996) Amistad (no book / 1997)The Help (2009 / 2011)The Butler (2013 / 2013)12 Years a Slave (1853 / 2013)The Jackie Robinson Story (no

book / 2013)Fruitvale Station (no book / 2013)

The Talk MUST Continue...

There Can No Longer Be Excuses“Racial Bias Begins in Preschool”

editorial by Leonard Pitts Jr.

Fact:“...black kids make up about 18% of those attending preschool, but they account for 42% of those who are suspended.”

Questions:“Are schools routinely bending little black boys and girls toward failure?”

“How can we fix this, build a society in which every one of our children is encouraged to stretch for the outermost limits of his or her potential?”

“There is no more neutrality in the world. If you’re not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem.'

- Eldridge Cleaver

Works Cited