Thursday, June 12, 2008

Pierce's Video

I was watching the video Pierce uploaded to YouTube for his Web 2 project, and I noticed that the people it highlighted were all the famous ones from the Civil Rights movement - Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, MLK.  This is pretty standard.  If you're lucky and get a more in-depth video, you might also hear about W.E.B. DuBois or Booker T. Washington.  You're less likely to hear about Hiram Revels, Langston Hughes, or Mae Jemison, all of whom made significant contributions to African American heritage.  Obviously you can't talk about everyone, but there are advantages and disadvantages to sticking to the core few.  Do African American youth today feel as able to connect to these figures as youth in the past?  Or should we present a new and more varied approach?

1 comment:

Matt said...

I think Pierce's video provides a nice segway to discussing these other figures of the Civil Rights Movement. By utilizing the more familiar images and people, his class will be able to recognize and relate to the topic. Once this topic has been breached, then the teacher can steer the discussion towards incorporating other figures students might not know. The teacher could even have the students create a "Part 2" video that highlights those figures outside of the core group of individuals you mentioned.