Audio

Studs Terkel Interview with Emma Tiller

Studs Terkel interviews Emma Tiller, a cook who describes how African Americans would feed people who were in need during the Great Depression, without any regard to their skin color.

Last Updated: April 21, 2022

Audio

Language

English — US

Subject

History

Racism

Studs Terkel interviews Emma Tiller, a cook who describes how African Americans would feed people who were in need during the Great Depression, without any regard to their skin color.

Activity

Students explore the supporting question “How did the Angel Island Immigration Station both reflect and enforce borders within American society?”

Captain examines passengers aboard the The Shimyo Maru vessel.

Activity

Students explore the supporting question “How did border enforcement at the Angel Island Immigration Station impact immigrants and their descendants?”

Angel Island Immigration Station Graphic

Activity

Students explore the supporting question “How does the history of immigration through Angel Island help us understand how we create and challenge borders today?”

Assessment

Students culminate their arc of inquiry into the Angel Island Immigration Station by completing a C3-aligned Summative Performance Task and Taking Informed Action.

Inquiry

This 5-7 day C3-aligned inquiry explores the compelling question “How does the history of the Angel Island Immigration Station help us understand how borders are erected, enforced, and challenged?”

Lesson

Students identify continuities and changes between Emmett Till’s murder and today’s Black Lives Matter movement, and they reflect on the ways they can contribute to the movement for racial justice.

George Floyd mural outside Cup Foods at Chicago Ave and E 38th St in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Assessment

In this summative assessment, students reflect on their answer to the unit's essential question in order to create a Toolbox for Racial Justice.

Students seated at desk facing each other work together.

Unit

This six-lesson unit delves into the history and legacy of the murder of Emmett Till, considering what we can learn from it as we work to achieve racial justice.

Lesson

Students explore the importance of context and learn about Emmett Till’s murder in Jim Crow-era Mississippi.

July 1939: An African-American man drinking at a segregated drinking fountain in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Lesson

Consider the talk Mamie Till-Mobley had with her son Emmett before he traveled to Jim Crow-era Mississippi in 1955 and the dangers that prompted her concern.

Southbound Illinois Central Railroad "Seminole" passenger train crosses main line of West Point Route at station in Opelika, Alabama in August 1955. Absence of interlocker required crew member to flag crossing.

Lesson

Explore Mamie Till-Mobley’s courageous decision to show the public Emmett Till’s body through an open-casket funeral and photos in Jet magazine and consider why Emmett’s death generated widespread determination to pursue racial justice.

A large crowd gathers outside the Roberts Temple Church of God In Christ in Chicago, Ill., Sept. 6, 1955 as pallbearers carry the casket of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African-American boy who was slain while on a visit to Mississippi. Police estimate a crowd of about 2,000.

Lesson

Students explore the life and choices of anti-lynching journalist Ida B. Wells and learn about the long tradition of Black resistance to racial terror and violence.

Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) was an African-American journalist and early civil rights activist.

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Most teachers are willing to tackle the difficult topics, but we need the tools.

— Gabriela Calderon-Espinal, Bay Shore, NY

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Studs Terkel Interview with Emma Tiller

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