Exploring African American Leadership and Service in North Carolina “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Overview North Carolina’s history is rich with stories of African Americans’ leadership, service and contributions in the face of adversity. In this lesson, students will explore the contributions African Americans have made to North Carolina by examining the “SERVICE” mural commissioned by the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill. The mural, which depicts key African-American leaders in North Carolina, is a stunning visual for teaching students about our state’s history. After examining and interpreting the mural in small groups and through class discussion, students will choose and research one of the figures pictured in the mural. Students will then apply what they have learned by writing a monologue about the figure, from the perspective of a fictional “best friend,” and share about the figure’s life and accomplishments. The project will culminate with students presenting their monologue about these North Carolina leaders from the past. Grade 8 Essential Questions • What does it mean to be a leader? What does it mean to participate in service? • In what ways did the African Americans pictured in “SERVICE” make a difference in North Carolina and beyond? What challenges did they overcome to do so? • Why is it important to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions African Americans have made to our state? Materials • Teacher Reference - Information and images of “SERVICE,” a mural commissioned by the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill to honor the contributions of African Americans to North Carolina history, can be found at: http://www.sog.unc.edu/node/317 o Note: If this link is no longer active, conduct an internet search of “SERVICE mural UNC School of Government” • “SERVICE Power Point;” available in the Database of K-12 Resources (in PDF format) at https://k12database.unc.edu/files/2012/04/AfricanAmericanLeadershipServicePPT2.pdf o To view this PDF as a projectable presentation, save the file, click “View” in the top menu bar of the file, and select “Full Screen Mode” o To request an editable PPT version of this presentation, send a request to [email protected] o Teachers will need to print slides 2-9 of the PPT, which contain the 8 panels of the “SERVICE” mural, to provide as handouts for the group activity described in step 6 of the “Procedure.” • Chart paper • SAMPLE Monologue assignment sheet, attached • Monologue examples (can be played for students while going over assignment): o David Walker: http://craftingfreedom.org/walker/video.php o Harriet Jacobs: http://craftingfreedom.org/jacobs/video.php o William Henry Singleton: http://craftingfreedom.org/singleton/video.php • Research materials (Internet access, library access, books, encyclopedias, etc.) • Audience Response Sheet, attached 1 Duration • 60 minutes for initial lesson and project description • Additional class and homework time will be needed for project completion and presentations; time will vary according to teacher preference Teacher Preparation This lesson plan is based on a mural entitled “SERVICE,” located in the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill. The mural celebrates the lives and contributions of African Americans to North Carolina, and it depicts a gathering of African-American leaders at the lunch counter of a store similar to the Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworths, the famous location of North Carolina’s Greensboro Sit-Ins. Colin Quashie, the artist, has featured the Greensboro Four — Joseph McNeil, David Richmond, Jibreel Khazan (formerly known as Ezell Blair, Jr.), and Franklin McCain — prominently in the mural, with each wearing a chef’s uniform. He explains he made this artistic choice since "they literally took possession of the lunch counter with their refusal to leave until served. By seeking service they were, by extension, serving a cause greater than themselves." The mural’s background also pictures various significant scenes from African American history in North Carolina, such as Princeville, the Pea Island Lifesavers, NC’s Colored Troops, Durham’s Black Wall Street, and more. Given the wide span of history that the mural covers, this lesson would be most successfully presented after students have a foundation in African-American history in North Carolina, and in particular, after they have studied the Greensboro Sit-Ins. (See Carolina K-12’s “A Counter Revolution in North Carolina: The Greensboro Sit-Ins,” available here or by sending a request to [email protected].) For additional lesson plans on African-American history in North Carolina, visit Carolina K-12’s Database at http://k12database.unc.edu/. Procedure Exploring Leadership and Service 1. Draw a T-chart on chart paper and write the word LEAD at the top of the left column. Ask students to share what comes to mind when they consider this word: • What does it mean to lead? • What other words or themes do you associate with this verb? • What are the characteristics of an effective leader? How does/should an effective leader act and behave? • What skills, attitudes, actions, emotions, etc. are associated with a leader? • Can you note a point in your own life when you have been a leader? Explain. As students contribute their thoughts, write them in the left side of the chart. 2. Transition student thinking to another word by writing SERVE in the right hand column. Ask students to now focus on this word and again share what comes to mind: • What does it mean to serve? • What other words or themes do you associate with this verb? • What are the characteristics of effective service? • What skills, attitudes, actions, emotions, etc. do you associate with one who serves? • Why is service important? • Can you note a point in your own live when you have been of service to someone (i.e. participated in a service activity?) 3. Tell students to partner up and take 3 minutes to create two definitions, one for the word LEADERSHIP and the other for the word SERVICE. Tell students they can refer back to the class brainstorm, as well as add their own unique thoughts. After students have written their definitions, ask volunteers to share and as a class, note the commonalties between the various definitions. Create one final class definition for each of the words. 2 Next, ask students to discuss what they feel these two words, LEADERSHIP and SERVICE, have in common. Do the class definitions illustrate these commonalities? Why or why not? 4. To facilitate additional discussion, write or project the following quote at the front of the room: • "The true leader serves. Serves people. Serves their best interests, and in doing so will not always be popular, may not always impress. But because true leaders are motivated by loving concern rather than a desire for personal glory, they are willing to pay the price." — Eugene B. Habecker, The Other Side of Leadership Ask students to discuss their interpretation of this quote: • What message is author Eugene Habecker trying to convey? • Do you agree that true leaders “serve?” Why or why not? • Is this a common understanding of leadership? Explain. If not, how do we typically think of leaders? • Can you think of any leaders who exemplify this quote and its connection between service and leadership? (Encourage students to not only note prominent figures from history and current events, but also people in their own lives that they know personally. Are there people within their own community, within their own school, etc., that evidence this quote?) 5. To further the discussion, write or project an additional quote for consideration: • “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Discuss: • What is Dr. King’s opinion of service? • What message is Dr. King trying to convey about being a good person? What is your opinion of this message? • In your opinion, what are some of the other qualities of “greatness?” • In what ways do you represent some of these qualities yourself? “Service” 6. Tell students that they are going to be examining these two themes further by examining a piece of art in small groups. Divide students into 8 groups, providing each group with one of the 8 mural panels (these can be printed from slides 2-9 of the PPT), a copy of the discussion questions, and a piece of chart paper. Instruct students that after they have assigned the roles of facilitator, note taker, and presenter, they will all assume the role of “art experts” and carefully examine the image provided to them. Explain that under the leadership of the facilitator, they should discuss their observations and thoughts about the art. After a detailed discussion, the note taker will combine the group’s thoughts about the art on the chart paper. The presenter will then use this as a visual when summarizing the group’s discussion and interpretation of their panel for the rest of the class. Let students know that each of the 8 groups is viewing a different image, so it is important they present a detailed summary of their discussion of the art with the remainder of the class. Give students approximately 6-8 minutes to discuss in their groups. Afterwards, ask each of the presenters to take turns summarizing their group’s discussion for the remainder of the class in a 1-2 minute presentation. Presenters should share in order of the panel they examined, with the Panel 1 group presenting first and the Panel 8 group presenting last. As each group presents, teachers should use the “SERVICE Power Point” to project the panel the student is discussing so that the entire class may view it. • As students discuss, keep a running list of any people they identify correctly, or any of the places illustrated in the background of the mural that students correctly identify.