Historical Foundations Unit The Origins of Race Historical Foundations Unit

Early Humans Article Debrief What did the article say about how humans came to look so different from each other? What environmental factors or social factors impacted physical appearance over time? Why might someone need darker skin closer to the equator?

Origins of ‘race’ Race is a modern idea Associated with European imperialism and colonization during the age of exploration. New encounters led to speculation about physical, social, and cultural differences among humans Many of the racial stereotypes developed during the age of exploration have seriously impacted history.

Race is not ‘real’ but racism is Race is a physical characteristic that has evolved. Race has no genetic basis. Not one characteristic, trait or even gene distinguishes all the members of one so-called race from all the members of another so- called race. Race justified social inequalities as natural.

Now that we know about the origins of race and how the concept of racism began, we are going to take a look at what happens when another physical characteristic is used to discriminate against people instead of race…

Frontline Episode: “A Class Divided” Experiment by a teacher in Iowa concerning racism and its consequences During the late 1960s, after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. She wanted to give her students a concrete experience of what it felt like to be discriminated against. We will view this video as a primary source of the attitudes during the late 1960s. "A Class Divided“

Debrief In your journals… What’s your reaction to the teacher’s experiment? How did the behavior of the students change? Was the experiment effective?

It’s ok to talk about Race Race is a powerful social idea that gives people different access to opportunities and resources. Race is such a touchy topic because it is often associated with all of the negative history and oppression of minorities in this country. But the only way to bridge the gap created by racism and move forward as a more unified society is to talk about it: all of it.

On a sheet of paper, write down any stereotypes that you have heard before. (phrase them in an appropriate way)

On a sheet of paper, write down any stereotypes that you have heard before. (phrase them in an appropriate way) Common ‘positive stereotypes’ Are these ‘ok’ to say? What if you don’t fit the ‘category’? How would that make someone feel?

“Racism is like pollution “Racism is like pollution. We didn’t cause it, but it’s our responsibility to fix it.”

“Colorblindness” will not end racism. Colorblindness is when we “do not see” someone’s race. Colorblindness often comes from good intentions: we don’t want to seem prejudiced. But when we do not see race, we fail to see something important about a person’s identity. And when we do not see race, it’s hard to see or fight racism.

Q: If colorblindness won’t end racism, what CAN we do? We can be multiculturalists. Multiculturalism means celebrating all ethnicities and cultural heritages as valuable and worth seeing. Multiculturalism means being curious about people who are different from us, and wanting to learn more about them. Multiculturalism means seeing and fighting against racism and injustice.

Reflection Given everything that we have discussed today, how will this new information shape how we view history in this class throughout the year?