Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Unit Number Unit 1

Lesson Title was the Place to Be

Compelling What made Timbuktu a central place for cultural contact in Africa? Question

Lesson and Task View and analyze multiple sources to create a travel brochure and itinerary for Overview ancient Timbuktu

Recommended One or two class periods needed to complete this Cornerstone lesson. Time Frame

Standards AAS.H.1 - Apply historical thinking in order to understand the African American life in the United States over time.

AAS.H.2 - Understand the significance of historical personalities, groups, institutions, and events in shaping African American life over time.

AAS.G.1 - Analyze the role of geography in the lives of African Americans over time.

AAS.G.2 - Apply geographic tools to understand African American groups and societies over time.

Expectations for ● Use evidence from various texts (historical article, video documentary, news ​ Learning (see rubric article) to write and support a claim (travel brochure) ​ and exemplar) ● Annotate multiple forms of text ● Actively collaborate in academic conversations in small groups

Additional ● Guided annotation and close reading Supports and ● Guided academic conversation and practice (Discussion) ​ Extensions for ● Guided notes ​ Accessing or Exceeding Standards

Additional Options ● Instructor may choose to assign an argumentative essay answering the for Demonstrating compelling question requiring the use of evidence ​ Learning ● Instructor may choose to have students give class presentations

Link for Materials ● History of Timbuktu http://web.archive.org/web/20070704094351/http://www.timbuktufoundation .org/history.html

● The Road to Timbuktu CMS: African American Studies 1

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

http://www.pbs.org/wonders/Classrm/lesson5.htm

LESSON PLAN

Task Time Activity/Questions To Ask Targeted Students

Warm Up 10 - Pass out a blank political map of Africa to students Whole Group minutes - Set a timer (2-3 minutes) and have students label as many countries as they can - Next, set a timer (2-3) minutes and have students label as many geographic features (e.g. The Nile) as they can - Discuss the following with students: How many countries/regions were you able to label? Why do you think that you were able to label so many (or so few)? What do you wish you still knew about the continent of Africa?

Activity 1 - 45 min - Label the Kingdom of on their map of Africa Whole Group - Label Timbuktu on the map of Africa - View PBS’ Wonders of Ancient Africa: The Road to Timbuktu - Students will record their answers to discussion questions and participate in a

Activity 2 - 30-45 - Students will read and annotate Handout 1: History of Small Individual mins Timbuktu Collaborative and Small - Students will read and annotate Handout 2: Groups Groups Timbuktu--The City of Legends - Working in collaborative groups, students will sort the information on Handout 3, finding information on each of the areas

Activity 3 - 35-45 - Students will work individually to create a travel Individuals Individual mins brochure and itinerary that requires them to make a claim about Timbuktu’s cultural development. Give students Handout 4: Travel Brochure and Itinerary Assignment

Closure/ 5 mins - Students will record their thoughts about Timbuktu on HW sticky notes around the room, and comment on each others thoughts.

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

GRADING RUBRIC

Criteria Critical Reading Corroboration Contextualizing Claim Evidence

Annotates Constructs an Applies prior and Formulates a Justifies claims document in order interpretation of new knowledge plausible using to interpret events using to determine the interpretation, appropriate accurately the information and historical setting argument, or direct evidence Sophisticated author’s use of perspectives in of sources. Uses claim based from a variety language and multiple that setting to on the of reliable specific words and sources. interpret the evaluation of sources. phrases Identifies sources within evidence Correctly answers consistencies the historical found in a all of the and context as variety of primary/secondary inconsistencies opposed to a primary and resource analysis among various present- day secondary questions. accounts. mindset. sources.

Annotates Explains Applies prior and Generates a Justifies claims document in order similarities and new knowledge reasonable using some to interpret differences by to determine the interpretation, appropriate accurately the comparing historical setting argument, or direct evidence Proficient author’s use of information and of the sources. claim based from a variety language and perspectives in May attempt an on an of reliable specific words and multiple interpretation of evaluation of sources. phrases sources. some sources the evidence Correctly answers with a found in most of the present-day selected primary/secondary mindset or with a primary and resource analysis limited secondary questions. application to the sources. historical context.

Annotates Identifies Attempts to States an Justifies claims document in order similarities and determine the interpretation, using to interpret differences in historical setting argument, or generalizations accurately the information in of sources claim that or limited Emerging author’s use of multiple without fully may or may appropriate language and sources. not based on direct evidence. evidence CMS: African American Studies 3

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

specific words and understanding the found in phrases historical context. selected Correctly answers primary and some of the secondary primary/secondary sources. resource analysis questions.

Attempts to Demonstrates Demonstrates no Does not state Does not justify annotates little to no attempt to an original or support document. attempt to understand the claim, claims using Correctly answers examine sources historical setting argument, or appropriate Developing few of the for of sources. interpretation. direct evidence. primary/secondary corroborating or resource analysis conflicting questions. evidence.

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

Handout 1: Discussion Questions for PBS Wonders of the African World: The Road to Timbuktu

1. During the Middle Ages, why did Africans go to Timbuktu? 2. Why were Europeans interested in Timbuktu? 3. What is the process of mining gold? 4. What evidence of slavery was seen in the video? 5. How do women show their family wealth in the city of Mopti? 6. Was salt valuable in Ancient Africa? Support your answer. 7. How did have a negative effect on the value of gold? 8. What evidence is there of Mansa Musa’s belief system? 9. What is used for textbooks in the city of Djenne? 10. What is the literacy rate of Djenne? 11. What evidence is there that a town existed across the flood plains from Djenne that dates back to 250 B.C.? 12. The Dogon people, south of Djenne, hold on to an older way of life. What legend supports where they live? 13. What are the paintings on the walls at the “Sacred Place” of the Dogon people? 14. Why is Timbuktu still hard to get to? 15. Why had no Europeans reached Timbuktu until the 19 Century? 16. What evidence is there that Timbuktu was Africa’s center of learning?

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Handout 2: History of Timbuktu

The popular statement, " From here to Timbuktu." conjures up images of remote, isolated and distant parts of this earth. Very few people are aware of this ancient city's location, and fewer still ascribe any kind of civilization to this historic area. Timbuktu is located in the western African nation of Mali at the edge of the sahara. Timbuktu was founded by the Tuareg Imashagan in the 11th century. During the rainy season, the Tuaregs roam the desert up to Arawan in search of grazing lands for their animals. During the dry season, however, they returned to the where the animals grazed on a grass called "burgu." Whenever they ​ ​ camped by the river they got sick from mosquitoes and stagnant water. Because of these unfavorable conditions, they decided to settle a few miles away from the river where they dug a well. Whenever it started raining in the desert, the Turareg will leave their heavy goods with an old Tuareg women called Tin Abutut who stayed at the well. In the Tuareg language, Tin Abutut means "the lady with the big naval". With the passage of time, the ​ ​ name Tin Abutut became Timbuktu. The historic town of Timbuktu is located at the precise point where the Niger flows northward into the southern edge of the desert. As a result of its unique geographical position, Timbuktu has been a natural meeting point of Songhai, Wangara,Fulani, Tuareg and Arabs. According to the inhabitants of Timbuku, gold came from the south, the salt from the north and the Divine knowledge, from Timbuktu. Timbuktu is also the cross-road where "the camel met the canoe." It is to this privilege position that ​ ​ the city owes much of its historical dynamism. From the 11th century and onward, Timbuktu became an important port where goods from West Africa and North Africa were traded. Goods coming the Mediterranean shores and salt were traded in Timbuktu for gold. The prosperity of the city attracted both black scholars, blacks merchants and Arabs traders from North Africa. Salt, books and gold were very much in demand at that time. Salt came from Tegaza in the north, gold, from the immense gold mines of the Boure and Banbuk and books, were the refined work of the black scholars and scholars of the Sanhaja descent. The Tuareg Messufa captured the salt mine of Tegaza and thus took control of the salt trade. The Messufa exported the salt to Timbuktu by camel caravans. This second factor that helps us better explain how the so-called manuscripts of Timbuktu evolved, developed and expanded throughout the whole empire. Thus, the intellectual importance of Timbuktu and the reasons it flourished are not exclusively based upon “strategic position.” It is important to convey that someone in a position of power was responsible for encouraging the attitude toward learning that prevailed in Timbuktu.As Dr. Molefi Asante has put it so conclusively in his book entitled, Classical Africa (page 134): “The African love for knowledge, literature and learning although now filtered through the religion of Islam, never died. As it has been in the days of the early Egyptian Kingdom, so it was in the days of Askia Mohammed. In fact, Leo Africanus, a historian of the XVIth century wrote about Timbuktu: There are many judges, doctors and clerics here, all receiving good salaries from King Askia ​ Mohammed of the State of Songhay. He pays great respect to men of learning. There is a great demand for books, and more profit is made from the trade in books than from any other line of business.” It is here in ​ Timbuktu that African merchants from Djenne traded with the Tuareg and the Arabs from the north. The Tegaza mines are 1850 km from Timbuktu. It took six months to compile such a journey. The merchants from CMS: African American Studies 6

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Djenne were for the most part Marka, Wangara, Sarakole and Mandika people. These African merchants and the Tuareg were the first settlers of Timbuktu. The first constructions in Timbuktu were designed by African architects from Djenne and later on by Muslim architects from North Africa. Trade and knowledge were at their height. It was at this time that the King of Sosso invaded the empire of Ghana, thus causing the exodus of the scholars of Walata to Timbuktu. By the 12th century, Timbuktu became a celebrated center of Islamic learning and a commercial establishment. Timbuktu had three universities and 180 Quranic schools. These universities were the Sankore University, Jingaray Ber University and Sidi Yahya University. This was the golden age of Africa. Books were ​ ​ not only written in Timbuktu, but they were also imported and copied there. There was an advanced local book copying industry in the city. The universities and private libraries contained unparalleled scholarly works. The famous scholar of Timbuktu Ahmad Baba who was among those forcibly exiled in claimed that his library of 1600 books had been plundered, and that his library, according to him, was one of the smaller in the city. The booming economy of Timbuktu attracted the attention of the Emperor of Mali, Mansa Mussa (1307-1332) also known as “Kan Kan Mussa.” He captured the city in 1325. As a Muslim, Mansa Mussa was ​ ​ impressed with the Islamic legacy of Timbuktu. On his return from , Mansa Mussa brought with him an Egyptian architect by the name of Abu Es Haq Es Saheli. The architect was paid 200kg of gold to built Jingaray Ber or, the Friday Prayers Mosque. Mansa Musa also built a royal palace (or Madugu) in Timbuktu, another Mosque in Djenné and a great mosque in (1324-1325). Today only the foundation of the mosque built in Gao exists. That is why there is an urgent need to restore and protect the mosques that remain in Djenné and Timbuktu. The Emperor also brought Arabs scholars to Timbuktu. To his great surprise, the Emperor has found that these scholars are underqualified compared to the black scholars of Timbuktu. Abd Arahman Atimmi had such a low level that he was obliged to migrate to Marrakech to complete his prerequisites so he can sit in the classes as a student. Mansa Mussa's pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 had made Mali known worldwide. The great ruler took 60,000 porters with him. Each porter carried 3 kilograms of pure gold, that is, 180,000 kilograms or at least 180 tons of gold (Reference: Volume IV UNESCO General History of Africa, pages 197-200). He had so much gold with him that when he stopped in , the Egyptian currency lost its value and as a result, the name of Mali and Timbuktu appeared on the 14th century world map. A relative, Abu Bakar the II, decided to find a way by sea to go to Mecca. Abu Bakar II is said to be Mansa Musa’s uncle. In 1324 while visiting Cairo, Mansa Musa reported how he became the King of Mali. He explained that he became King of Mali, his predecessor, Abu Bakar II (who belonged to the senior branch of the ruling family), decided to sail in order to discover what lies behind the Ocean, he had never come back .What Mansa Musa (who belongs to the Junior branch of the ruling family) said, then, was recorded by Ibn Amir Adjib, Governor of Cairo and Karafa. Abu Bakar and his maritime expedition left the shores of Senegal and sailed in the Atlantic Ocean. They encountered so much difficulties and challenges that they came back to Senegal. Abu Bakar reorganized his expedition, took enough provisions and a huge army with him. This expedition has never been seen again. Today, there is a strong historical evidence pointing to the possibility that this Malian prince was the first one to discover America. In Brazil for instance, there is a presence of the mandinka language, traditions and customs. CMS: African American Studies 7

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

In 1339, The Mossi king invaded Timbuktu. The Mossi caused a lot of corruption, killing and destruction in the city. The Mandika dynasty, however, succeeded in repulsing the invaders. Timbuktu remained under the protection of the descendants of Mansa Musa until 1434 when the Tuareg under the leadership of Akil Akamalwal invaded and captured the city. Akil was very pious. He respected the Ulemas or scholars. Akil reappointed Mohammed Naddi, a Sanhaja Tuareg as the governor of the city. When Mohammed Naddi died, Akil appointed his oldest son Umar to take his place. The Tuareg, later on however, spread so much injustice, corruption and tyranny, that Umar ibn Mohammed Naddi, the new governor of Timbuktu sought the help of Soni Ali Ber, ruler of the . In 1464, Soni Ali Ber conquered the city of Timbuktu. He came to Timbuktu as Emperor from Sokoto, in present-day . His mother, Baraka, was from this area. Akil fled the city. Sonni Ali Ber knew he had to unite his Empire which was composed of Islamic people and those who kept their traditional African beliefs. He went so far that he took a Muslim name himself, in his attempt to placate Africans who had become followers of Islam. However, he resisted letting Islam or any other religion destroy traditional religions of Africa. That is what brought him into conflict with Muslim scholars. As Dr. Molefi Asante has written: “One reason that Sonni Ali Ber had a peacekeeping strategy, was that he wanted to reestablish the presence of African culture in religion, education, and traditions throughout the empire. He was a reformer. He cleaned out the religious leaders in the institutions of learning and replaced them with intellectuals who understood the African traditions of the people.”( Asante, Classical Africa, page 126). As a result of this policy, many of the scholars fled to Walata which is the actual Mauritania. This is the reason why many of the manuscripts of Timbuktu are found in Mauritania. One of the generals of Soni Ali who is a devout Muslim by the name of Askia Mohammed could not tolerate the tragic treatment Soni inflicted on the Ulemas or scholars of Timbuktu. Sonni Ali Ber was a planner, a fearless conqueror and he is cited in all the Tarikhs as the only Emperor who reigned 28 years, waged 32 wars, won 32 victories and was always the conqueror, never conquered. He developed the army administration, agriculture and irrigation techniques and tax controls. He died in 1492 when America was about to be discovered. His son Sonni Baro replaced him. Askia Mohammed, who was Sonni Ali Ber’s General, could no longer support the loose manner by which Sonni Baro handled the affairs of the State. So, he overthrew him and took the power in 1493. Askia Mohammed recomforted the scholars, financially rehabilitated them and stood by them. In fact for all Islamic legal rulings on how to run the state, Askia Mohammed consulted the scholars. There are manuscripts in Timbuktu today where the answers to the questions of Askia are recorded. Under the Askia dynasty, Timbuktu prospered both intellectually and trade-wise until 1591 when the Moroccan army under the leadership of Pasha Mahmud ibn Zarqun sacked the city of Timbuktu. The Moroccan army plundered the wealth of the city, burned the libraries, put to death many scholars who resisted them and deported many to Fes and Marrakech including the eminent scholar of Timbuktu, Ahmed Baba es Sudane meaning "Ahmed Baba, the black" as he preferred to be called. The scholars of Timbuktu were righteous, devout and were not afraid of anything except GOD. It was in this context that when Pasha Mahmud tried to deceive the scholars by signing a treacherous treaty, the black CMS: African American Studies 8

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES eminent scholar and professor of Sidi Yahya University Mohammed Bagayogo objected and told the Pasha: " I would rather have you cut my hand up to the shoulder than to bear a false testimony." Hundreds of manuscripts left the city of Timbuktu under the Moroccan invasion to find their way to Fes and Marrakech. In 1893, with the colonization of West Africa by France, Timbuktu was brought under the French rule until Mali received her independence in 1960. To this day, many manuscripts originating from Timbuktu can be found in French museums and universities.

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Handout 3: “Timbuktu: The City of Legends”

Written by the BBC's Joan Baxter Timbuktu, northern Mali

The fabled city of Timbuktu is not a myth - it does indeed exist - in northern Mali, on the edge of the Sahara desert. These days, it pretty much lives up to its reputation as "the end of the world" but once upon a time, it was the centre of important trade routes. Muslim merchants took gold north from West Africa to Europe and the Middle East and returned with salt and other goods. This trade made the city enormously wealthy - legend has it that the lavish golden gifts dished out in 14th century Cairo by Kankan Moussa, Emperor of the ancient state of Mali, caused the price of gold to crash. At the time, salt was worth as much as gold, pound for pound, in Timbuktu. Tales of the city's riches were spread by the Muslim traders and European explorers who heard them dreamt of making their fortunes many times over. But Timbuktu was also a great Islamic centre and non-Muslims - such as the explorers - were banned, adding greatly to the mystique which quickly grew up around the city - and which still exists to this day. But during the 16th and 17th centuries, trade switched to the Atlantic Ocean and the so-called "City of 333 saints" began its long descent.

God may turn it all around again, and Timbuktu will once again find its rightful place

Chirfi Alpha Sane, historian

Sand dunes Today, it is a desolate and impoverished town - renowned for its heat, isolation and sand dunes. The governor of the region complains that the only roads to the north are treacherous sandy tracks, where banditry is common. Despite a new airport in Timbuktu, flights regularly fail to materialise, stranding passengers for days. Most trade is done with neighbouring Mauritania rather than southern Mali, and crowded riverboats from Mopti take days to reach the port on the River Niger that serves Timbuktu, 10km from the town itself. Still, thousands of determined visitors from every continent do make their way to Timbuktu each year.

Saints

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

With precious few other employment opportunities, hundreds of teenage boys in Timbuktu have turned themselves into guides. Boasting nicknames such as Ali Baba George Washington, the young guides offer tourists whatever they have come to look for in Timbuktu. There is the standard tour of the historical landmarks of the ancient city, with fanciful tales of how former French presidents ensured their re-election by consulting with powerful saints and the holy men or "marabouts" who claim to represent them.

And if the clients so wish, as the guides say they sometimes do, there can also be a discreet, romantic adventure under the desert sky on the sand dunes that surround the holy Islamic town. And they wax lyrical - in smatterings of every language from Chinese to Swedish to gangster-rap English - about Timbuktu "the mysterious". Even if the town has fallen on difficult times, Timbuktu still holds many mysteries and marvels for visitors and also for those who live there. The Sankore University, whose 50,000 Muslim scholars helped spread Islam across West Africa, is still functioning, albeit with reduced numbers of just 15,000.

Cybercafe

The impressive Jingereber mosque, built from mud in 1325 AD, is also still standing. And there is the Ahmed Baba Centre, with its fantastic collection of manuscripts that capture more than a millennium of Islamic scholarship and scientific knowledge. Local cultures - Songhrai, Tuareg, Arab and Moor - have intermingled, but retained their distinct traditions. In the town's only cybercafe, young women wearing demure indigo veils hammer away on computers, using the internet to communicate with family members who have left for other continents. Despite the recent years of fighting that pitted ethnic Songhrai against Tuaregs, Timbuktu still has an impressive population of philosophers and Islamic scholars who maintain the city is a symbol of peace.

Astronomy

Chirfi Alpha Sane, an archivist in the Ahmed Baba Centre in Timbuktu, says there are lessons for the entire world in the 20,000 ancient Arabic manuscripts in the centre - some of which date back to the second century. "There is everything here. "Islamic law with lessons for peace through dialogue, as well as science, astronomy, medicine. "In Timbuktu these scholars said that gold came from the south, salt came from the north, money came from the lands of the white men, but they believed that wisdom and the word of God were to be found only in Timbuktu. "That wisdom is here, in these manuscripts." Mr Sane is a member of the Action Committee for the North, an organisation that denounces the Malian Government's "neglect" of Timbuktu and the desert north. But he is philosophical about the future of the ancient city: "In the Middle Ages this was almost the

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES centre of the world. "Then one day God turned it all around and many people started viewing Timbuktu as the end of the world. "One day God may turn it all around again, and Timbuktu will once again find its rightful place and regain its glory."

Timbuktu is one of the richest cities in Africa.

Ismael Diadie Haidara, philosopher

Co-existence

Timbuktu philosopher and historian, Ismael Diadie Haidara, points out that Timbuktu, which was inhabited by Muslims, Christians and Jews for hundreds of years, has always been a centre of religious and racial tolerance. For many years, he has been struggling to raise funds to preserve 3,000 ancient manuscripts in his library that detail the co-existence in Timbuktu of Muslims, Jews and Christians. He himself is directly descended from Spanish forefathers with Christian origins who converted to Islam and fled to the Niger Valley in 1468 and later intermarried with African Muslims and Hebrew merchants. Mr Haidara says he is one of 1,000 Malians today who can claim in his ancestry Christian, Muslim and Jewish blood: "All three groups co-existed peacefully in Timbuktu up until the end of the 19th century. "If today Timbuktu is one of the poorest cities in Mali, and Mali one of the poorest countries in Africa, it is also a city that shows the way of the future - tolerance and co-existence. "In this way, I think Timbuktu is one of the richest cities in Africa."

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Handout 4: Reading Graphic Organizer

Record evidence from your text (videos and readings) for each of the following areas: Geography Religion Education Culture Governmental (food, clothing, System marriage, (laws, leaders, entertainment etc.) major issues)

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Handout 5: Travel Brochure and Itinerary Assignment

Directions: You have been assigned to create a travel brochure AND a travel itinerary for Medieval Mali’s Timbuktu. A travel brochure includes compelling images and a claim (why you should travel there). There are also quick blurbs about education, culture, geography and religion, and governmental systems. The itinerary will include the activities for a 3-5 day trip to Ancient Timbuktu. This will include the place to stay, meals, and places to visit. You want to be creative but to also form a claim.

Travel Brochure Requirements ● At least 5 images ● Claim about why one should travel there. Should be creative and compelling and original ● At least one fact about education, culture, geography, religion and governmental systems ● Be colorful, neat and attractive ● Include citations for images

Travel Itinerary Requirements ● Include activities for 3-5 days in Ancient Timbuktu ● Check in/Check out time for Hotel, Motel, etc. ● Descriptions of meals (times, restaurants, type, cultural significance) ● Places and sites to see including entrance fees and what they’ll see there

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Learning and Teaching Department Cornerstone Lesson: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

ADDITIONAL NOTES

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