African+American+Pt.+2


 * African American Students**


 * Geography**

African Americans are citizens of the United States with origins in any of the black populations of Africa. Africa is the world’s second largest and second most populated continent. The first recorded Africans in British North America arrived in 1619 as indentured servants who settled in Jamestown, Virginia. Although African Americans are dispersed throughout the United States, most reside in the southeast region of the and over the past 20 year have began moving further up the eastern coast.

Africa is accredited with being the origins of humankind. Most paleontologists agree that this continent was the very first inhabited area on earth. Beginning in the early fifteenth century, the Atlantic Slave Trade began the move of Africans to what was previously known as The New World or today’s America. First settling in Jamestown, Virginia, most African Americans were enslaved up until the Emancipation Proclamation, which was passed and ratified in 1865. Since then, African Americans have struggled in a fight for equality in many aspects of life. Through very influential court cases and movements such as //Brown v. Board of Education// which ruled separate facilities for whites and African Americans were not lawful or equal or other Civil Rights movements, African Americans have become productive, standard U.S. Citizens. African Americans can now be found all over the United States in essential roles ranging from teachers to the President of the United States of America. Despite these phenomenal gains, many African Americans still suffer from a social disadvantage due to the legacy of slavery, racism, and discrimination as opposed to European Americans.
 * History**

On February 3, 1870, the fifteenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution granted African Americans the right to vote. This was recorded as the first time in history that African Americans were able to participate in politics in America. Since then, African Americans have become more and more involved in the political process with an emphasis on exercising their right to vote. Collectively, they have had the highest level of voter registration and overall participation than any other minority group in the U.S.. In addition to this, African Americans also have the highest level of Congressional representation of any other minority group. Although originally, most African Americans were Republican voters due to Republican Presidential Candidate Abraham Lincoln’s determination to free American Slaves, this trend has shifted. Since the 1930’s, an era of Depression, African Americans have become more Democratic in their voting trends. This is largely due to further pushes for civil rights as well as social and economic wellness of the working class. African Americans are overwhelmingly conservative in their views concerning critical issues in America such as homosexual marriages and abortions. As time continues to go by, African Americans continue to become more involved and take on greater leadership roles in the governmental structure. This has recently been proven the 2008 Election, where the United States of America witnessed their first African American President Barack Obama. This huge accomplishment will help in the strive of the African American race in the political world.
 * Politics**

Although disproportionately represented in the workforce, African Americans are advancing steadily economically. The black middle-class has grown substantially with about 47% owning their own homes. Despite the decreases over the years, the poverty rate has staggered at about 24.7%. As members of the United States Capitalist mixed economy, African Americans account for over 1 million of the U.S. owned business’. They are also the second highest median earnings of any minority group outside of those of Asian descent. Although great leaps have been made, poor economic status’ among this group continue to drain and perpetuate poverty and the negative consequences many families and predominantly African American communities face.
 * Economics**


 * Cultural Behaviors and Strategies to Cope**

-Allow students to role play and practice using it to become comfortable. || -Use a discussion approach in the classroom to appeal to this preference. || -Remind students of when it’s appropriate to use most comfortable form of English. -Teach Grammatically Correct English skills. -Ensure that students understand that you value and respect their variance of speaking. || -State rationale to heighten value to students - Apply skill mastery to students own academic goals ||
 * ** Culturally Specific Behaviors ** || ** Possible Conflicts/Understandings ** || ** Strategies for Intervention ** ||
 * Dislikes or is uncomfortable with prolonged or direct eye contact || Disinterest in lecture or conversation/ Lack of Understanding/ dishonesty/ May be perceived by an instructor as disengagement || -Model and explicitly teach the importance of eye-contact.
 * Cooperative/ Group Work is Valued and often used || Teachers may suspect cheating/ frequent talking or consulting of others may be perceived as irrelevant chatter || -Allow students to work in groups.
 * Loud and many times broken or varied dialect of English spoken || Perceived as aggressive or threatening/ Lack of ability to use standard English dialect, idea that student is less academically capable || -Model Appropriate voice volume.
 * Engage and perform better when intrinsically motivated || Unresponsiveness to reward charts or extrinsic motivators, may lead the idea that the student is uncooperative or unmotivated || -Use authentic assessment to show importance of skills.

Ford, B.A., Obiaker, F.E., & Patton, J.M. (1995). //Effective Education of African American Exceptional Learners//. Austin, TX: PRO-ED, Inc..
 * Sources**

Dodson, H., & Palmer, C. (2007). //Ideology, Identity, and Assumptions: The Black Experience//. Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press.

Pitre, A., Pitre, E., Ray, R., & Hilton-Pitre, T. (2009). //Educating African American Students: Foundations, Curriculum, and Experiences//. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

Thompson, G.L. (2004). //Through Ebony Eyes: What Teachers Need to Know But are Afraid to Ask About African American Students//. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc..