If Beale Street Could Talk

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Research Product on Structural Racism in the US”

In this activity, students will create a research product examining how structural racism in the US has undermined a particular race and/or ethnicity.

Baldwin’s novel centers on the problem of structural racism as a barrier to the advancement of African Americans in the US, primarily through the examples of the criminal justice system. In this activity, you will conduct research to address the following question: How did/does structural racism within the US serve as a barrier to a specific group?

• First, select a specific era in history and identify a non-African American group who experienced racism and discrimination.
• Second, conduct research on the structural barriers that this group experienced as a community (e.g., pathways to citizenship, property ownership, access to and the right to a fair wage, targeted discrimination laws, voting rights, etc.)
• Third, compile your research and construct a research product that clearly defines the group, its history, and whether that group experiences the same barriers today. Research products can include a brochure, slide presentation, short documentary-style video, or other unique medium whose structure helps you best communicate your research—be creative.
• Finally, share your findings with the class.

Teaching Suggestion: This research assignment invites students to consider the theme of Racism, Class, and the Carceral State in the context of non-African American US communities. Depending on the level of the class, this Activity may serve as an introduction to the research paper process itself (research, annotated bibliography, thesis and outline, draft, peer review). This Activity links to Paired Resource for Part 1, Pages 75-135. Consider encouraging students to be creative when thinking of an appropriate medium through which to communicate their research findings, guiding them in the right direction product-wise as appropriate/if necessary. You may also wish to have a short list of predetermined topics and resources to offer students who struggle to initially identify a targeted research focus.