We Wear The Mask
In this poem, Paul Laurence Dunbar reflects on the experience of African Americans in post-Civil War America and the universal human behavior of hiding an aspect of ourselves.
The Danger of a Single Story
In her TED Talk, writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie describes the effects that labels can have on how we think about ourselves and others.
Using the Gallery Walk Teaching Strategy to Teach Mockingbird
A middle school class examines historical efforts to seek justice and healing after racial violence as they reflect on the aftermath of the trial in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Lost in Translation
Rapper Ruby Ibarra reflects on her Filipino-American experience and the role of language in a spoken-word poem.
Common Core Writing Prompts and Strategies: Civil Rights Historical Investigation
Login Required
This resource connects our Civil Rights Historical Investigations unit with writing prompts that align with the expectations of the Common Core State Standards.
How It Feels to Be Colored Me
Zora Neale Hurston describes her sense of identity and experience being a black woman in this 1928 essay.
Teaching Enrique's Journey
Login Required
This guide provides activities and discussion questions for leading your students through a six-week reading of Enrique's Journey that explores themes of identity, belonging, and choices.
Teaching Farewell to Manzanar
Use this guide to Jeanne Wakatsuki's memoir about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II to develop students' literacy skills and increase understanding of this history.
Teaching Mockingbird
Use this resource to transform how you teach Harper Lee’s novel by integrating historical context, documents, and sources that reflect the African American voices absent from Mockingbird's narration.
Glenn Ligon, Untitled - Four Etchings [A]
In this white on black etching, Glenn Ligon repeats "I do not always feel colored," a phrase from Zora Neale Hurston's essay "How It Feels to Be Colored Me."
Glenn Ligon, Untitled - Four Etchings [B]
This black-on-white etching quotes Zora Neale Hurston's essay "How It Feels to be Colored Me."