Tulsa Race Massacre

I am not sure of any OER materials on the Tulsa Race Massacre, but a colleague of mine shared this lesson that she put together. We used it in a US History class rather than in WHP, but I feel like it could also go with Unit 6.4 on the Transformation of Labor (for example with the article Race & Post-Abolition Societies). Fortunately, I work in a district where we are given the ability to branch off from the curriculum to add other relevant information and are even encouraged to discuss difficult/uncomfortable topics. I understand that not all districts are like that though. Eric Schulz , would your district's climate allow you to branch off a bit?

I am 47 years old, have a degree in History and didn't learn about the Tulsa Race Massacre until I saw it referenced in the Watchmen HBO series a few years ago.   I couldn't believe I had literally never heard about it.

This clip is a pretty powerful scene.   If I taught older students, I would show it and ask them generate some questions we could research.   I suspect we would get ones along the lines of:

What really happened?

Why Tulsa?

What started it?

What happened after?

How accurate  was the clip?

Why is this not common knowledge?

Eric Schulz said:

What do you do when you encounter a topic that you think might be left out of your school's curriculum?  

I teach it.  I present the information, have the kids ask questions, and do my best to guide them in looking for answers and formulate their own opinions.

As a follow up question, this post makes me wonder what other teachers have done to set up discussion routines in their classroom? Specifically, how do you make sure to have positive difficult discussions? 

I don't know if I do anything specifically other than try to create a tone for our classroom.    From the beginning, I always allow kids to share their opinions but if they say anything I think is questionable, I call them on it and ask what their source for that information is.

I'll give them time to look it up and I think they know we can always continue the conversation.

I teach middle school students and most of them are "scared" of starting a deep conversation.  When it happens I get a lot of blank stares and eyes boring wholes in desks.   I usually say something, " This is going to be difficult but you need to hear this."

The NYT recently did an article that you might find useful as well. America in Color 1920s includes footage that is pretty amazing too. 

Sadly, so many incidents connected to "Red Summer" or African American History are not covered in college American History courses. Thankfully there is a lot more access to hidden histories. PBS has a series that has been pretty helpful www.pbs.org/.../hidden-histories.

Shauna Aningo , thank you for sharing the PBS series! There are so many stories I never learned in school and I'm trying to share stories from different groups and perspectives as often as possible. I recently found out about how the idea of zombies has ties to slavery and religious syncretism of Haitian Vodou. This TED Ed video was a great discussion piece for Halloween. 

I’m always trying to learn as much as possible, so thank you for sharing this! I had no idea about the TedEd resource, and I’ve read quite a bit and even attended lectures about Vodum and sangria. It’s amazing how there’s always something new to discover!

On that note, I wanted to share a resource my students really enjoyed. I mentioned it in another post, but it’s worth highlighting again: Lowell Milken Center’s Unsung Heroes Projects www.lowellmilkencenter.org/.../projects. This website is packed with inspiring stories and has been a big hit in my classroom.

Let’s keep the learning and sharing going!

Sometimes, all it takes is the right question to spark an engaging discussion. After finishing our recent unit on WWII, I asked my students: Could the U.S. ever be controlled by a dictator? Students had strong feelings, but the discussion was great. It led to a thought-provoking conversation about history, government, and the future. Before I posed the question I did remind students of our guidelines for discussions.

I used to have students debate whether or not we should have used the atomic bomb, that is until I had Japanese students in class and they explained to me why it was insensitive. C-Span has some great resources, but I tweaked the resources when I used them. My students do not stay engaged with the videos. https://www.c-span.org/classroom/document/?10856.  

In addition to posing questions like this, I make it a priority to get students talking in every class. Encouraging consistent participation helps build their confidence and keeps discussions lively. If you’re looking for ways to facilitate meaningful conversations, here are some websites with discussion protocols and activities I’ve used: https://www.projectschoolwellness.com/engaging-discussion-strategies/. Harvard's Project Zero: https://pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines 

I hope these help!