Black Soldiers: Global Conflict During Jim Crow – w/ Adriane Lentz-Smith
Release Date: 12/14/2021
Slavery in the Constitution
Teaching Hard History
Constitutional historian Paul Finkelman explains the deeply racist bargains the founding fathers struck to unify the country under one document and discusses what students should know about how slavery defined the United States after the Revolution. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
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Ten More … Film and the History of Slavery
Teaching Hard History
Film historian Ron Briley returns with more documentary, feature film & miniseries suggestions for history & English teachers. From Ken Burns to Black Panther, this episode offers background & strategies to incorporate pop culture into classroom lessons. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
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Film and the History of Slavery
Teaching Hard History
Film has long shaped our nation's historical memory, for good and bad. Film historian Ron Briley offers ways to responsibly use films in the classroom to reframe the typical narrative of American slavery and Reconstruction. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
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Diverse Experience of the Enslaved
Teaching Hard History
Most students leave school thinking enslaved people lived like characters in Gone with the Wind. Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens reveals the remarkable diversity of lived experiences within slavery and explains the gap between what scholars and students know. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
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Resistance Means More Than Rebellion
Teaching Hard History
To see a more complete picture of the experience of enslaved people, you have to redefine resistance, Dr. Kenneth S. Greenberg offers teachers a lens to help students see the ways in which enslaved people fought back against the brutality of slavery. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
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In the Footsteps of Others: Process Drama
Teaching Hard History
Students learning about slavery often ask, “Why didn’t enslaved people just run away or revolt?” Lindsay Anne Randall offers a lesson in “Process Drama”—a method teachers can use to answer this question, build empathy and offer perspective. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
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Doing the Work of Teaching Hard History
Teaching Hard History
In many ways, the U.S. has fallen short of its ideals. How can we explain this to students—particularly in the context of discussing slavery? Professor Steven Thurston Oliver has this advice for teachers: Face your fears. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
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Slavery and the Northern Economy
Teaching Hard History
When we think of slavery as a strictly Southern institution, we perpetuate a “dangerous fiction,” according to Professor Christy Clark-Pujara. Avoid the trap with this episode about the role the North played in perpetuating slavery and the truth behind the phrase “slavery built the United States.” With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
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Slavery and the Civil War, Part 2
Teaching Hard History
Dr. Bethany Jay is back to talk about teaching the end of the Civil War, and how enslaved people’s participation in the war helped subvert the institution of slavery. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
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Slavery and the Civil War, Part 1
Teaching Hard History
What really caused the Civil War? In this episode, Salem State University Professor Bethany Jay offers tips for teaching lesser-known history that clarifies this question and cuts through our cloudy national understanding of the Confederacy. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
info_outlineU.S. involvement in world wars and the domestic Black freedom struggle shaped one another. By emphasizing the diverse stories of servicemen and women, historian Adriane Lentz-Smith situates Black soldiers as agents of American empire who were simultaneously building their own institutions at home. While white elected officials worked to systemically embed segregation into government, African Americans attempted to bolster their citizenship and freedom rights through soldiering.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the code word, then visit tolerance.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources for teaching about the intersection of Black military service and American Jim Crow.