A Tale in Meritocracy

Joya Brandon

level: Advanced

88 minutes

The American Dream

Message from the creator Begin lesson

Lesson Tool Kit

MATERIALS NEEDED

notebook/electronic document for note taking

copies of poem “Dear White America” by Danez Smith

video of Danez Smith performing "Dear White America"

Between The World and Me clip

Thinking Wall poster paper

markers or pens

Black Panther Party 10 Point Program Manifesto

PREWORK

Students need to have had exposure and discussions about the social construction of race and the purpose of political manifestos.

It would be helpful if you have already established a structure for holding words and concepts in your learning environment culture, such as a World Wall.

You may also like to review the "Inquirt Into Racial Classifications" lesson.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

How do concepts of “The American Dream” differ from the reality of many Americans?

How can we create our own meaning of “The American Dream” and make steps to achieving it?

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to utilize three to five academic terms from a class generated list in order to create an “American Dream” group manifesto.

Students will be able to translate the metaphorical language of “The American Dream” into literal and historical realities.

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING SUPPORT

Danez Smith’s poem discusses trauma that Black people have experienced due to white supremacy and the police. Students need to be given a content warning regarding the subject matter of the poem. Please make sure to read the poem before introducing to your students to ensure it is appropriate.

For example, these syllabus instructions from Texas Tech.

This lesson is meant to have your students investigate the meaning of “The American Dream” and create a group manifesto for an “American Dream” written in their voices.

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.