This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the history and impact of Jim Crow laws. The inquiry opens with a supporting question that encourages students to explore the opportunities and challenges that the Reconstruction posed for African Americans. This work provides a base of knowledge for students to investigate specific opportunities for African Americans today and specific challenges that African Americans face today.
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About the inquiry
Compelling Question
Is Jim Crow still present in the United States?
Staging Question
View and discuss an image that is evocative of the legacy of Reconstruction for African Americans.
1
Supporting QuestionWhat opportunities and challenges did Reconstruction pose for African Americans?
Formative TasksCreate a T-Chart listing opportunities and challenges Reconstruction posed for African Americans.
SourcesSource A: Video: Sharecropper Memories (EDITED)
Source B: Reading: Black Codes
Source C: Image: Elected Black Officials During Reconstruction
Source D: Reading: Ida B. Wells Biography
Source E: Video: Plessy v. Ferguson
Source F: LOC Political Cartoon: For the sunny South. An airship with a “Jim Crow” trailer
2
Supporting QuestionWhat policies have created opportunities for African Americans today?
Formative TasksCreate a cause-and-effect graphic organizer for each of the policies.
SourcesSource A: NPS website: Voting Rights Act of 1965
Source B: Timeline: Affirmative Action
Source C: Brown vs. Board of Education
3
Supporting QuestionWhat challenges do African Americans continue to face today?
Formative TasksMake a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the challenges for African Americans in Reconstruction to today.
SourcesSource A: Mass incarceration statistics
Source B: Mapping police violence
Source C: Video: Does Slavery Still Exist in America? 13 Facts from 13th
Summative Performance Task
Argument: Is Jim Crow still present in the United States? Create an argument using evidence from sources that answers the compelling question.
Extension: Participate in a Socratic seminar about the compelling question to discuss and compare the civil rights activism of other marginalized groups.
Taking Informed Action
Understand: Identify another marginalized group that has participated in civil rights activism.
Assess: Research the marginalized group and actions taken to achieve equal rights and freedom.
Act: Write a letter to an elected official sharing what you learned and asking them to take action.