The Concept of Race

About This Lesson

In the previous lesson, students began the “We and They” stage of the Facing History scope and sequence by examining the human behavior of creating and considering the concept of universe of obligation. This lesson continues the study of “We and They,” as students turn their attention to an idea—the concept of race—that has been used for more than 400 years by many societies to define their universes of obligation. Contrary to the beliefs of many people, past and present, race has never been scientifically proven to be a significant genetic or biological difference in humans. The concept of race was in fact invented by society to fulfill its need to justify disparities in power and status among different groups. The lack of scientific evidence about race undermines the very concept of the superiority of some “races” and the inferiority of other “races.”

Race is an especially crucial concept in any study of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, because it was central to Nazi ideology. However, the Nazis weren’t the only ones who had notions about race. This lesson also examines the history and development of the idea of “race” in England and the United States.

Essential Questions

• Unit Essential Question: What does learning about the choices people made during the Weimar Republic, the rise of the Nazi Party, and the Holocaust teach us about the power and impact of our choices today?

Guiding Questions

• What is race? What is racism? How do ideas about race affect how we see others and ourselves?
• How have race and racism been used by societies to define their universes of obligation?

Learning Objectives

• Students will define and analyze the socially constructed meaning of race, examining how that concept has been used to justify exclusion, inequality, and violence throughout history.

Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Opener: One of These Things Is Not Like the Others

Race is one of the concepts that societies have created to sort and categorize their members. Before discussing race, this brief opening activity introduces students to the idea that when we sort and categorize the things and people around us, we make judgments about which characteristics are more meaningful than others. Students will be asked to look at four shapes and decide which is not like the others, but in doing so they must also choose the category on which they will base their decision.

Share with students the handout Which of These Things Is Not Like the Others? If possible, you might simply project the image in the classroom.

Ask students to answer the question by identifying the object in the image that is not like the others.

Prompt students to share their answers and explain their thinking behind the answer to a classmate, using the Think, Pair, Share strategy. What criterion did they use to identify one item as different? Why? Did their partner use the same criterion?

Explain that while students’ choices in this exercise are relatively inconsequential, we make similar choices with great consequence in the ways that we define and categorize people in society. While there are many categories we might use to describe differences between people, society has given more meaning to some types of difference (such as skin color and gender) and less meaning to others (such as eye and hair color). You might ask students to brainstorm some of the categories of difference that are meaningful in our society.

Activity 2: Reflect on the Meaning of Race

Tell students that in this lesson, they will look more closely at a concept that has been used throughout history by groups and countries to shape their universes of obligation: the concept of race. Race is a concept that continues to significantly influence the way that society is structured and the way that individuals think about and act toward one another.

Before asking students to examine the concept closely in this lesson, it is worth giving them a few minutes to write down their own thoughts and assumptions about what race is and what it means. Share the following questions with students, and give them a few minutes to privately record their responses in their journals. Let them know that they will not be asked to share their responses.

What is race? What, if anything, can one’s race tell you about a person? How might this concept impact how you think about others or how others think about you?

Activity 3: Learn about the History of “Race”

Show students a short clip from the film Race: The Power of an Illusion (“The Difference Between Us,” from 07:55 to 13:10). Before you start the clip, pass out the Race: The Power of an Illusion Viewing Guide and preview the questions with students.

Instruct students to take notes in response to the viewing guide questions as they watch the clip. If time permits, consider showing the clip a second time to help students gather additional details and answer the questions more thoroughly.

Debrief the video and the viewing guide responses with students. Be sure that students understand the following ideas:

• Race is not meaningful in a biological sense.
• It was created rather than discovered by scientists and has been used to justify existing divisions in society.

Activity 4: Explore the Meaning of Racism

Pass out the Race and Racism handout. Alternatively, you might project the handout in the classroom and instruct students to copy down Frederickson’s definition of racism into their journals.

Read the handout aloud to students and ask them to complete the following tasks:

• Circle any words that you do not understand in the definition.
• Underline three to four words that you think are crucial to understanding the meaning of racism.
• Below the definition, rewrite it in your own words.
• At the bottom of the page, write at least one synonym (or other word closely related to racism) and one antonym.

Allow a few minutes after this activity to discuss students’ answers and clear up any words they did not understand.

Activity 5: Consider the Impact of Racism

Now pass out the reading Growing Up with Racism. Read Lisa Delpit’s letter together, and then lead a discussion about the following questions using the Think, Pair, Share strategy:

• What has been the impact of racism on Delpit? How has racism influenced the ways that people think and act toward her?
• How has racism affected how Delpit thinks about herself? According to her observations, how has racism affected how other African Americans think about themselves?
• How does racism affect how a society defines its universe of obligation?

Activity 6: Reflect on the Impact of Categorizing People

Finish the lesson by asking students to respond to the following prompt:

When is it harmful to point out the differences between people? When is it natural or necessary? Is it possible to divide people into groups without privileging one group over another?

If you would like to use this response as an assessment, consider asking students to complete it on a separate sheet of paper for you to collect. You might also ask students to complete the reflection for homework.