African-American

Emily Simpson EEX 4601 10/11/09    Behavioral Multicultural Resource Guide African American Students ** Timeline of African-American History ** 1527-1539 Estevanico explores the Southwestern US 1619 The first African slaves are brought to Virginia 1808 The US bans the import of slaves 1820 Harriet Tubman born 1857 Dred Scott Supreme Court decision - slaves do not have the right to bring a case to court and cannot be citizens 1861 Abraham Lincoln becomes President of the US; Civil War starts 1863 Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation 1865 Civil War ends; Lincoln is assassinated; 13th amendment to Constitution abolishes slavery 1868 14th amendment to Constitution grants citizenship to former slaves 1870 15th amendment to Constitution prohibits states from denying the right to vote because of  race 1909 Peary and Henson reach the North Pole 1929 Martin Luther King, Jr. born on January 15, in Atlanta, Georgia 1936 Jesse Owens wins 4 gold medals at the Olympics in Berlin, Germany 1947 Jackie Robinson is the first black man to play major league baseball 1955 Rosa Parks refuses to give her seat up on a bus in Alabama; Supreme Court orders schools to desegregate with "deliberate speed" 1963 Dr. King gives "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. 1964 The Civil Rights Acts prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, or gender; Dr. King is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 1967 Thurgood Marshall appointed to the Supreme Court 1968 Dr. King is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee 1969 The Supreme Court orders schools to desegregate 1986 Martin Luther King Jr. Day is declared a national holiday in the U.S. 2009 Barack Obama became President of the USA. ** Geography ** The First Great Migration- 1960-1930 Some 1.5 million Black people moved north The Second Great Migration- 1940-1970 Some 5 million Black Southerners moved North and West. Throughout the rest of the 20th century, the African American population shifted back toward the south for purposes of job and school opportunities, family ties, missing the land, and wanting to escape urban ills. Now, some of the least segregated cities are: 1. Albuquerque, NM 2. Orange County, CA  3. Tucson, AZ  4. San Jose, CA  5. Salt Lake City Some of the most segregated cities are: 1. Detroit 2. Gary, IN 3. Milwaukee 4. Chicago 5. Cleveland ** Current Political Situation ** President Obama recently gave a speech that was shown at schools all across the nation. Despite the unrest of some conservative populations, many believe his speech and his presidency is a positive role model for today’s African American students. Imani Education Circle Elementary Charter School incorporates African American culture into lesson plans. Chief Executive Officer Francine Fulton believes President Obama sets an example of success for the students. He encourages students to read President Obama’s books //Dreams From My Father// and //The Audacity of Hope.// “I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work, that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star when, chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things. The truth is, being successful is hard.” – Dr. Fulton ** Current Economic Situation ** Unemployment has been rising across the nation as of late. The gap between blacks and whites in this area has widened. There has especially been a rise in New York city, where though the white population is much larger, the unemployment rate for blacks grows much higher. Since the recession started in 2007, overall unemployment rates for African Americans have been up by 4.6%, bringing the rate to 15%. ** Behavior Strategies ** ** Behavior  ** || ** Conflict  ** || ** Strategy  ** || Lower success and higher misbehavior in class || Parenting approach culturally adopted by African American families is one of Authority/Good sense of control/Direct AND Nurturing. Many Euro-American teachers take a more indirect approach. ||  Promote self-empowerment and respect. Be clear in expectations and direct in discipline, but balance that out by nurturing. || Lack of self-management, leading to talking out in class, disrupting class, not completing work successfully, disrespecting others  || ·  Some students from urban areas who may have only self-management on which to rely. ·  Replacement behaviors must be taught when working to eliminate problem behaviors. || ·  Develop long- and short-term goals for achieving success. ·  Identify strategies for appropriate management of feelings and behavior and consideration of consequences associated with personal choices. ·  Praise for engaging in appropriate problem-solving strategies. || Sensitive to criticism and may respond defensively when confronted about their behavior. || ·  Social relationships are highly valued in African American culture. Students may respond negatively to criticism when it does not happen in the context of a trusting relationship or when they feel disrespected. ||  SSS method- stroke, sting stroke. Start with a positive statement to affirm the student, then reprimand the student for problem behavior, and close with another affirming statement. || Speaking loudly. Confrontation may seem intense and aggressive, as opposed to Caucasian students who deal with situations more impassionedly and impersonally. || ·  Discipline referrals, suspensions, and expulsions can usually be traced back to cultural misunderstandings between students and school personnel. ·  Students feel entitled to an explanation from authority figures without right of refusal. European culture permits the right of refusal to a communication || Provide students with strategies for communication without penalizing them for communicating differently than a school’s cultural norm. Choose lessons and activities that are culturally sensitive. || Struggle with Code Switching- the ability to move fluidly between cultural contexts such as the culture of origin and the school culture  || Behavior expectations at home may be different than the ones at school. What is appropriate in one setting may not be appropriate in another. ||  Help them recognize the central properties of each culture and by teaching appropriate strategies for functioning in accordance with the cultural norms of each particular group, without devaluing the merits of either culture. || References EnchantedLearning.com (2001-2009). //Timeline of African-American History.// Retrieved Oct 11, 2009, from [] Akiim DeShay (2007//). Black Geography.// Retrieved October 11, 2009, from http://www.blackdemographics.com/geography.html Winona Morrissette-Johnson (2008). Retrieved October 11, 2009, from http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/tpl-anyplacebuthere/ Bradley Visoli (2009). //Obama Addresses Students.// Retreived October 10, 2009, from [] Patrick McGeehan and Matthew R. Warren (2009). //Job Losses Show Wider Racial Gap in New York.// Retrieved October 11, 2009, from Widerhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/nyregion/13unemployment.html Wendy Schwartz (2004). School Practices for Equitable Discipline of African American Students. Retrieved October 10. 2009, from http://www.ericdigests.org/2002-1/discipline.html W. George Scarlett, Jay P. Singh, Iris Chin Ponte (2009). //Approaches to Behavior and Classroom Management.// Sage Publications, Inc. CA