Dear Body

Joya Brandon

Kristina Thompson

Lisanne Shaffer

level: Intermediate

55 minutes

The Black Body

Message from the creator Begin lesson

Lesson Tool Kit

MATERIALS NEEDED

Clip of Inner White Girl from A Strange Loop

Clip of Coates speaking about The Black Body

Paper

Pens

Projector and Laptop to show video clips

PREWORK

Facilitators who have not engaged in conversations around race with their students may want to read through the "Starting The Conversation About Race" lesson before attempting this lesson.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

What is the social and legal construction of identity and/or the rules for our bodies?

Who defines the rules for our bodies?

What gives them the power to do so?

When/where do you feel safest in your body?

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to articulate their feelings about the rules that societal constructs put on their bodies.

Students will imagine a better future for their bodies while analyzing the harsh realities about the Black body.

Students will write a monologue to their own body based on their wishes for their body.

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL LEARNING

Facilitators should anticipate that this lesson could be challenging for some students. Be prepared to be flexible with time management to address your students’ needs and provide frequent opportunities for them to ask questions.

Facilitators may want to check the temperature of the room by asking questions throughout the lesson to gauge your students’ level of emotional safety.

Examples:

Survey students discreetly throughout the lesson using either technology (jamboard) or having students write a number from 1-10 on paper at their desks and walk by to read them all.

Offer a verbal prompt to students, “On a scale of 1-10, how would you describe your emotional comfort level now? ‘1’ being completely comfortable and '10' being extremely uncomfortable.”

This lesson explores the rules and limitations society puts on bodies based on race, particularly the Black body. This will engage students to think about the Black body as it relates to their own body.

While we have built each lesson and workshop sequentially, feel free to tailor your exploration of them to suit your needs. You may choose to follow a lesson as provided from beginning to end or select sections of various lessons and combine them for a different approach.