TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT MATERIALS – GRADES 3-5Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

TOUR

Step 1 – Introduction(do outside the exhibit with entire class so they can focus on you)

1) Establish the time period – the 1960s and 1970s were about 50 years ago! This is when your grandparents were your parents’ ages. What was everyday life like in Portland?

› Was there TV? – yes, but much fewer channels, nothing after midnight, and most of the people in the shows and advertisements were white.

› Were there cars, trains, planes, and buses? - yes. › Were there computers? – no. Just huge ones in big laboratories but none at

home.› Were there phones? – yes, but they were attached to the wall and different.

We’ll get to look at one in this exhibit!› How did kids get to school? Most walked but many black children had to bus

long distances to schools with mostly white students› Were there restaurants? - yes. Some had not allowed black people about 10

years before this time. › What were the neighborhoods like? - looked like what we have today but they

were racially segregated. That means white and black people did not live next door to each other. They lived in separate, segregated neighborhoods. That made it harder for black and white children to get to know each and become good friends.

› What did kids do for fun? – went to the movies, played in parks, did sports, listened to music on the radio (there were no iPods!), went to swimming pools.

2) Define RACISM & SEGREGATION by “reading” an image.

› Some movie theaters and pools had not allowed in blacks about 10 years before this. Some places that were racist even had signs in windows that said “WE CATER TO WHITE TRADE ONLY.” Here’s a picture of the Kenton Theater in our city Portland about 20 years before this time – this would be when your grandparents were babies, so it’s a little before the 1960s. What do you think the sign means? DO/ ENLARGEN & LAMINATE PHOTO

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TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT MATERIALS – GRADES 3-5Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

Kenton Theater, Portland, Oregon, c. 1943 https://oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/luncheonette-sign-we-cater-to-white-trade-only/#.WmvGy2nwapo

› Great answers. Yes, “We cater to white trade only” meant black people could not enter the theater and watch the movie, only white people could watch the movie. Or sometimes black people could watch the movie, but they had to sit up in the balcony on bad seats.

Black and white people were kept apart from each other. This is called SEGREGATION (If you have grade 3, have them repeat the word aloud.)

During this time black people were segregated from white people because of RACISM. (Repeat aloud if grade 3.) Racism is when one group of people believes it is better than another group of people and treats that group unfairly. Where we live, in the United States of America, when our grandparents were your parents’ age about 50 years ago, many white people believed they were better than Black people and many white people treated Black people unfairly because of the darker color of their skin. Many white people wanted to keep the best and nicest parks, schools, movie theaters, jobs, and neighborhoods for white people only. There were good white people at this time, and there always are, but segregation and racism were big problems, so the good white people joined with the Black people who were working hard during this time to make life fairer for all people.

3) Meet Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. & read the book Sit-In to learn about peaceful protests.› One of the most well-known Black men working to end segregation and racism

was DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. He was very famous in the 1960s and was

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TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT MATERIALS – GRADES 3-5Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

working hard to make the United States of America a fairer country for Black, white, and all people.

› Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, showed other Black people how to stand up for fairness through peaceful protests. In fact, 4 black college students figured out how to SIT IN restaurants as a way to protest the unfair segregation of Blacks from white-owned restaurants and protest against racism in our country, the United States of America.

When we go into the exhibit, we’ll look for the photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and find his signature in a book.

When we look at his picture, you’ll want to ask me what his original name was. What was the name that he was born with? It wasn’t Martin Luther! (Answer is Michael.)

Did you know Dr. Martin Luther King Jr came to Portland during this time to talk to other leaders?

› Here is a picture of these 4 students – it was taken in 1960, about 50 years ago when your grandparents were young parents. (Show photo in back of the book, Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down.)

› Read aloud the book: Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney.

Define racism, segregation, and civil rights within the story. Let students know it’s time to enter the exhibit. They will see what it was

like to live in the Black community in the 1960s in Oregon and what actions Black people and some white people took to demand and create fairness and justice. Let’s go!

Step 2 – Tour Activities(divide students into smaller groups of 5 – students may do activities in any order)

ACTIVITY 1 – READING OBJECTS

What Is It? Help students get a feeling for common objects from the 1960s and 70s. Have students study the objects in the case to try to figure out what they are. They should pick 1 to draw and describe. They should figure out what it was used for, what it was made from, and what it is called. Use the clipboard and artifact drawing sheet.ACTIVITY 2 – READING PHOTOS & REDLINING

› Help students learn to “read” photographs by having students look at the 1960 photograph of children playing.

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TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT MATERIALS – GRADES 3-5Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

Ask students to list what they see (I see 5 children…). Next, ask students what they think this photograph is about (Black children

playing outdoors in their neighborhood). Then ask students how they feel about this photograph. (I’m surprised some are

barefoot.) Show them the label so they understand what information comes from a label.

› Next, show students the map. Add on to the definition of SEGREGATION by explaining how blacks and white were segregated in different neighborhoods. Explain how almost impossible it was for black and white children to live next door to each other.

If the students are upper elementary you may define REDLINING and RESTRICTED COVENANTS that forced blacks to live in limited areas in Portland. They did not have the choice to live where they wanted and they had to protest, speak up, and change the laws so today, 50 years later, they have the opportunity to live in all neighborhoods.

o To demonstrate REDLINING you could also use a length of rope or string and have some students step inside the rope area and the majority of students stand outside the rope area. Those inside the rope represent Blacks in Portland and the only neighborhood they could live in (NE Portland). Those outside the rope area represent Whites in Portland and they could live in many neighborhoods.

Go back to the photograph of the children on the street and explain the rest of the history (the black children were playing in a segregated neighborhood where Black families were allowed to live).

ACTIVITY 3 – READING PHOTO, SCHOOL DESEGREGATION & The Story of Ruby Bridges

› Ask students: Have you ever had to go to a place where you were different from everyone else? How did you feel? Did anyone tease or bully you? Did anyone welcome you and treat you kindly? How could someone have made you feel better?

› Help students “read” the 1978 photograph of the elementary boy on the school bus. Ask students to list what they see (I see one child…). Next, ask students what this photograph is about (black children being bused to school). Then ask students what they think or feel about this photograph. (I think he looks lonely and bored.) Show them the label so they understand what information comes from a label and they can put the whole history together. (Segregated schools and busing black children from their neighborhoods and schools to white neighborhoods with mostly white children)

Share with students the reality of the bus trip: long, boring, lonely, in a strange school and neighborhood, hard to make friends because you did not live in the

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TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT MATERIALS – GRADES 3-5Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

neighborhood and had to take the bus home immediately at the end of classes so you could not go to new friends’ homes easily, got the feeling that your mostly black schools were less good and that white schools were better, felt like you were being treated unfairly, most teachers and principals were white, and there was less safety being farther away from home.

Share that one of the tour guides at OHS had to send his son on one of these buses and this is just how his son felt.

› Read aloud The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles. (You might want to see if the teacher read this book to the students before they came to the museum.) Emphasize how Ruby, her family, and a lot of people worked hard for Black children to go to the same schools as white children. They changed the laws and took action to make the world more fair.

ACTIVITY 4 – POWER TO THE PEOPLE

› Check out the section “Power to the People”. Who are the people? Why do you think they want power?

What might POWER look like? (Be the president or mayor of the city, have equal schools, have enough food, have choices, such as the choice to live where you want and to have the type of job you want.)

What does POWERLESS look like? How does it feel? (Few choices in places to live, go to school, and play. Few jobs for your family.)

› Have kids raise their hand and make a strong fist. Explain this meant power to the Black people as they took actions to change Oregon and the U.S.A. so it would be a fair place for Black people. Make a fist again!

› Write and share stories about yourself and your family. Think about who you are, who your family is, and who your people are. What might POWER to you, your people, and your family look like? What might POWERLESS look like to you, your people, and your family?

ACTIVITY 5 - “Words of the Times”

Have students read aloud the Black English “Words of the Times”. Have them guess what they mean. Ask if any of these words are still in use today, 50 years later?

› Jive Turkey – someone who is flaky› Uncle Tom – someone who is compliant or subservient to whites› Abe - $5 bill

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TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT MATERIALS – GRADES 3-5Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

› Bread – money› Jammin’ – excellent, the best› The Man – the establishment (explain this!)› Right On! – that is great or a positive response› Crib – house› I’m hip – fashionably current› Keep the Faith – believe in the truth or value of a person, thing, or idea

ACTIVITY 6 – HEALTHY COMMUNITY BUILDING BLOCKS

› Use the foam community blocks to build YOUR healthy community. Make sure students know what the words mean. (Love, Peace, Freedom, Respect, Churches, Teachers, Friends, Family, Schools, Jobs, Parks, Belonging, Public Safety, Trust, Relationships, Equity, Role Models, Leaders, Volunteers, Shared Values, Public Spaces, Cooperation, Diversity, Inclusiveness, Communication)

› Students can present their blocks and why they selected them to those in their group.

ACTIVITY 7 – BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL OBJECTS, PHOTO & BOOK, Hair Dance

› Gather at the “Embracing Black Identity” section in the back middle of the exhibit. Ask students to look at the dashikis, straightening comb, and afro pick. Ask students if they can identify the items. If they identify the comb and pick, ask them to describe how they work.

› Show students the photo of the girl wearing her hair naturally in an afro. Have them describe what they see and how they think the girl feels. How do they know? Lastly, ask students if this girl would have used the straightening comb or the afro pick to fix her hair for this photo?

› Read the quote on the wall, “black is beautiful”. What did this mean in the 1960s and 1970s? (pride in oneself as a Black person, pride in one’s culture and appearance, pride in self as part of a group that is not the dominant white group).

› Read the book, Hair Dance by Dinah Johnson. Be sure to point out the page with the girl with her hair in an afro with the lines that read, “It’s a hair song for my afro halo heavenly hair.” Ask students if they think the girls in the book believe “black is beautiful”. Have them provide evidence for their answer. Conclude with letting students know ALL people are beautiful how they are.

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TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT MATERIALS – GRADES 3-5Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

Step 3 – Tour Conclusion

PRE-VISIT MATERIALS

1) Examine class and school rules. › Identify the rules. (Raise your hand to speak, listen to others, keep hands to yourself,

treat everyone kindly, and so on.) › Ask your students why do we have class and school rules? (So everyone can be treated

fairly, so everyone is kind to each other, so everyone can learn, etc.)› Identify behaviors that do not follow the rules (bullying, teasing, etc.) and problem-solve

actions to take in the classroom and school to correct these unfair and mean behaviors (speak up and tell someone to stop bullying, ask someone to sit with you and your group at lunch, etc.)

For younger students you might want to role play the problem behavior and different actions to solve the problems.

For older students you might want to define bias/anti-bias terms and classify behaviors that exemplify bias/anti-bias, such as racism/anti-racism, sexism/anti-sexism, bullying/anti-bullying, etc.

2) Read aloud The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles. Emphasize how Ruby, her family, and a lot of people worked hard for Black children to go to the same schools as white children. They changed the laws and took action. Define the terms SEGREGATION, RACISM, LAWS, and ACTION.› For all students define “civil rights”.

Civil rights are basic rights every citizen has in the United States of America. In the USA the civil rights are protected by the Constitution, which is written down. Civil rights means a person should not be discriminated against -- treated unfairly -- because of their skin color, beliefs, age, whether they are a boy or girl, where they come from, or disability. And, our civil rights mean we can think, say and believe what we want (right to freedom of thought, free speech, and religion), meet with who we want (right to assembly) and go to court to see a judge.

› For older students you introduce the following laws and rights: 13th Amendment (1865) Slavery is made illegal 14th Amendment (1868) All people born in the US are citizens. No state may take

away the right of citizens, i.e., equal treatment of all people with respect to the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property and to the protection of the law.

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TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT MATERIALS – GRADES 3-5Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

15th Amendment (1870) The right to vote cannot be denied to citizens because of their race or color because they were once enslaved

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393, known as the Dred Scott Decision, was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. It made two main rulings: First, African-Americans were not citizens, and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court. Second was that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in any territory acquired subsequent to the creation of the United States.

(1896) - Plessy v. Ferguson is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal". In 1890, Louisiana state passed a law (the Separate Car Act) requiring separate accommodations for blacks and whites on railroads, including separate railway cars. Concerned, a group of prominent black, creole, and white New Orleans residents formed the Committee of Citizens dedicated to repeal the law.

(1954) - Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 - U.S. Supreme Court case which declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned Plessy v. Ferguson which allowed state-sponsored segregation. The Court's (9–0) decision stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." Thus, racial segregation was ruled a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

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TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT MATERIALS – GRADES 3-5Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

POST-VISIT MATERIALS

1) Fill in the chart to IMAGINE how similar but different life was for Black and white youth your age in the 1960s and 1970s in Oregon. Below is a completed example for the teacher. Use an empty chart for your students.

Topic Similar to today Different from todayElementary – High School

All attended school together in grades K-12

Black youth were mostly segregated in 4 schools that were 90% black. Very few black teachers and principals.

College Both allowed to attend Few black students and teachers.Housing All lived in houses Neighborhoods were racially segregated due to

practices such as redlining and restricted covenants. White and black youth did not live next door to each other.

Press / Media All listened to the news Blacks often stereotyped as “criminals” and community events aimed at whites

Fashion All enjoy fashion Blacks began wearing hair naturally in Afros and wearing Dashikis. Before the 1960s and 1970s Blacks were made to feel as if they were not pretty if they did not have straight hair.

Churches Found in all neighborhoods

Racially segregated

Music Mainstream music was by white artists

Black DJs, Black artists and genres – Motown, rhythm and blues

TV All watched. Programming ended at 12pm

Very few blacks and people of color on TV

Sports All watched sports on TV Mostly white teams and if Black football players usually not quarterbacks due to racial attitudes toward their ability

Language All spoke English Black English – Uncle Tom! Keep the faith! I’m hip!

2) Write a fictional story about being Black in Oregon in the 1960s and 1970s. Include information from the exhibit and the Similar But Different chart. Be historically accurate as

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TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT MATERIALS – GRADES 3-5Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

you write about where you played, lived, went to school, and so on. Illustrate your story and include a cover with a title.

3) Read aloud the quote: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.” Who said this and when? (Former President Obama; in your lifetime.) What do you think this means? › What could you and your classmates, teachers, and families do to make good changes?

What might be a good change? What could you do when a classmate is being bullied? What could you do when people talk badly about others because of their hair,

skin color, because they are girls, because they have old clothing, and so on?

4) Define “civil rights”. Design and create a civil rights/fairness poster or mural with specific sections. Look at the 1960s and 1970s historic photos for ideas.

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TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT MATERIALS – GRADES 3-5Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

5) Have each student create a two-sided bookmark. One side should proudly show off what she or he looks like and captures some positive personality trait that is unique to her or him. The other side should use positive words to describe her or his identity. Hang them together as a mini exhibit, labeled “Power to the People of X (insert teacher’s name) Classroom”. Have students look at each other’s bookmarks and share positive comments on each.

6) What does Power to the People look like in your school and community? Make your face and then create a classroom mural.

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