Paragons of the West Indies Lesson Plan: Super-Immigrant Stereotypes |
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Overview |
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The narrative Caribbean Immigration traces the contributions of significant individuals and Afro-Caribbean immigrants as a group from the colonial era to the present. Paragons of the West Indies: Super-Immigrant Stereotypes is a lesson plan that explores whether the outstanding accomplishments of this group have led to a super-immigrant stereotype, as Hubert Harrison suggested when he stated, "It was taken for granted that every West Indian immigrant was a paragon of intelligence and a man of birth and breeding." Students will examine the demographic profile of Afro-Caribbean immigrants to the United States, their accomplishments, and the problems posed by "super-immigrant" stereotypes in daily life and public policy.
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Grade Levels: | | High school, grades 9-12 |
For use with: | | Caribbean Immigration |
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Concentration Area: | | History |
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National Curriculum Standards met by this lesson |
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The following standards have been taken from the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McRel) standards. |
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Students will understand |
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- Contributions of African slaves to economic development in the Americas (e.g., contributions of rice cultivation and cattle-raising in South Carolina) and the transmission of African cultural heritage (e.g., through religious practices, dances, and work songs).
- Background and experiences of immigrants of the late 19th century.
- Economic boom and social transformation of the post-World War II United States.
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Time required |
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One to two 50-minute class periods if students read the narrative outside of class and depending on the length of classroom discussion |
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Materials needed |
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Anticipatory Set |
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- Present students with the following quote from the Nineteenth-century Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle asserting that history is the product of gifted individuals:
- Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked there. They were the leaders of men, these great ones; the modelers, patterns, and in a wide sense creators, of whatsoever the general mass of men contrived to do or to attain; all things that we see standing and accomplished in the world are properly the outward material result, the practical realization and embodiment of Thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the world.
- Ask students to read the narrative Caribbean Immigration, focusing on the segment "
"Colonial Period to 1900."
" Then, have students complete a worksheet briefly identifying each of the people below, based on the essay and/or outside research. (Students may find images and brief biographical material about several people by doing a search by name on the Web site.)
First Generation | Second Generation |
Prince Hall | Malcolm X |
Denmark Vesey | Louis Farrakhan |
John B. Russwurm | Harry Belafonte |
Robert Campbell | Colin Powell |
Edward Wilmot Blyden | Cecily Tyson |
Robert Brown Elliot | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar |
David Augustus Straker |
Jan Earnst Matzeliger |
Bert Williams |
Robert Charles O'Hara Benjamin |
Hubert Harrison |
Marcus Garvey |
Sidney Poitier |
Arturo Schomburg |
Roberto Clemente |
- Present to students Hubert Harrison's idea suggesting, "It was taken for granted that every West Indian immigrant was a paragon of intelligence and a man of birth and breeding." Review the list of first and second generation Afro-Caribbean immigrants and discuss whether it seems to support Carlyle's "
"Great Man Theory"
" or not.
- Discuss how the idea of Afro-Caribbean immigrants as "super-immigrants" might have evolved from the colonial preference for "seasoned or trained slaves from the Caribbean islands and then might have been combined with the later migration of educated craftspeople and professionals.
- Ask students if there are any other immigrant groups stereotyped in popular culture as "over-achievers." What advantages might this present to immigrants of that ethnic group? What problems might it present?
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Procedures |
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Explain to students that many contemporary historians look beyond Carlyle's "
"Great Man Theory"
" of history to forces beyond the power of individuals to change. Among the theories historians have advanced are these:
Demographic history: the characteristics of whole populations of people shape history.
Gender history: the relationship between men and women as classes of people shapes history.
Economic Determinism: impersonal economic forces and the struggle between the "haves" and "have-nots" determine history.
Cyclical history: historical forces recur in cycles to produce economic swings and revolutions.
Chaos theory: random forces shift the currents of history.
Ask students to read the narrative, Caribbean Immigration, focusing on the segments "
"Colonial Period to 1900,"
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"Migration to the United States,"
" and Change and Continuity." Then, ask students to identify whether any of the historical theories described above are integrated into this article by the author
Direct students to write an opinion paper articulating which historical arguments they find most persuasive in explaining how history happens, drawing examples from the narrative, Caribbean Immigration.
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Assessment |
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You may evaluate the students' papers on a 20-point scale (which may be multiplied by five to convert to a 100-point scale or to letter grades) using the following rubric:
Grading Element/Total Possible Points |
Excellent(10) |
Good(9-8) |
Fair(7-6) |
NotSatisfactory(5-1) |
NoWork(0) |
Written Assignment's Historical Comprehension (10) |
Demonstrates excellent:
•Historical analysis of information
•Command of facts
•Synthesis of information
•Interpretation |
Demonstrates good:
•Historical analysis of information
•Command of facts
•Synthesis of information
•Interpretation |
Shows fair:
•Historical analysis of information
•Command of facts
•Synthesis of information
•Interpretation |
Shows little:
•Historical analysis of information
•Command of facts
•Synthesis of information
•Interpretation |
No work |
Written Assignment'sTechnical Writing Skills(10) |
Shows excellent:
•Compositional structure
•Sentence structure and variety
•Vocabulary use
•Grammar, spelling, punctuation |
Shows good:
•Compositional structure
•Sentence structure and variety
•Vocabulary use
•Grammar, spelling, punctuation |
Shows adequate:
•Compositional structure
•Sentence structure and variety
•Vocabulary use
•Grammar, spelling, punctuation |
Shows inadequate:
•Compositional structure
•Sentence structure and variety
•Vocabulary use
•Grammar, spelling, punctuation |
No work |
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Related Works |
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- Princeton University's online exhibition, The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences at http://www.princeton.edu/%7Emcbrown/display/faces.html includes biographies of Afro-Caribbean notables, such as E. Luther Brookes, Frederick McDonald Massiah, and Augustus N. Lushington.
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Interdisciplinary Links |
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- Language Arts:
- Several prominent writers of the Harlem Renaissance were Afro-Caribbean in background, including Nella Larsen (Quicksand, Passing), Claude McKay (Harlem Shadows, Home to Harlem), Marcus Garvey (assorted poems such as Halt! America or Have Faith in Self) and Eric Walrond (Tropic Death). Ask students to compare and contrast a poem or novel written by one of these authors with a poem or novel written by one of their contemporaries, either white or African American.
- Marcus Garvey was one of the most influential speakers and writers of the early Twentieth century. Ask students to read one of Garvey's speeches, editorials, or essays, such as The Aims and Objectives of the UNIA or Shall the Negro be Exterminated? Then, have students analyze the essay's techniques, content and structure, and evaluate its effectiveness as a persuasive use of the language.
- Music and Theater:
- Antigua-born Bert Williams, was the first African American to receive equal billing on Broadway with white performers, although he had to perform in blackface (Ziegfeld Follies, 1910). Williams was called by W.C. Fields, "the funniest man I ever saw and the saddest man I ever knew." Ask students to learn about Williams' life, to locate the lyrics of his most famous song, "Nobody," and to evaluate his impact on the American musical theater. The Library of Congress' The Music of Americans webpage is a good place to start research.
- West Indian William Henry Brown opened the American Theatre in New York City in 1821, the first entertainment venue for black residents of the Big Apple. Ask students to investigate the history of Brown's enterprise and the difficulties he faced.
- Have students examine the contributions to modern dance of one of the following: Pearl Primus (Trinidad), Percival Sebastian Borde (Trinidad), Jean-Léon Destiné (Haiti), Garth Fagan (Jamaica), Jeffrey Holder (Trinidad), Eleo Pomare (Colombia/Panama), or Clive Thompson (Jamaica). The Great Performances' Free to Dance website is a good place to begin research.
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