Amber Geckeler, 3rd Grade, Oakhurst STEAM Academy
Synopsis
This unit is aimed to engage students in the reality of racial segregation in Charlotte schools. I am going to allow my students to investigate, understand and consider the factors that have allowed Charlotte to become a city divided, particular with schooling. Students will be introduced briefly to the Jim Crow Laws that were promoted and followed that have always caused Blacks to be at a disadvantage in the 1900s. We will explore the word “segregation” and give students time to reflect on this concept. Students will later look into the changes implemented that start to evolve change. Students will begin by looking into Harding High School. Students will be introduced to Dorothy Counts and begin watching and seeing the day in 1957 when she became the first black girl to attend Harding High School. This was the first step into integration. Students will then recount many stories similar such as the well- known Ruby Bridges and use strategies to compare and contrast the stories. After this exposure to integration, students will be given the details of Brown Vs. Board of Education, visual representations of our city, gentrification, and other aspects that have allowed Charlotte to be one of the most segregated school systems in all of the United States. Students will be purposefully viewing pieces of the Breaking the Link report and come up with possible solutions to how we can make Charlotte the ideal place for school integration that it was in the past.
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