Hear Me, See Me – How Rap Teaches Peace and Justice
Roxanne Beckstrom-Sternberg
Introduction
You are a part of a global effort to increase access to education and empower students through “open pedagogy.” Open pedagogy is a “free access” educational practice that places you – the student – at the center of your own learning process in a more engaging, collaborative learning environment. The ultimate purpose of this effort is to achieve greater social justice in our community in which the work can be freely shared with the broader community. This is a renewable assignment that is designed to enable you to become an agent of change in your community through the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this work, you will integrate the disciplines of Reading to achieve SDG #16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Learning Objectives
Make connections between rap and the social and economic conditions from which they emerge
Connect song lyrics to contemporary events
Integrate information from data charts with texts and videos to make thematic connections and create deeper understanding of racial injustice
Purpose/Rationale
What’s the goal?
UN SDG #16 promotes peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing equitable access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. In 1982, a rap called “The Message” addressed these same equity gaps in an attempt to be seen and heard. However, the inequities persist today and many are fighting against systemic racism. This is a renewable assignment that is designed to enable a student to become an agent of change to further the conversation to be and do better through the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this work, students will integrate the disciplines of reading, writing and hip-hop music to achieve SDG #16.
“Great teaching is about so much more than education; it is a daily fight for social justice.” ― Secretary Arne Duncan
Instructions
What can we do to address this?
Students will work together to suggest solutions or ideas to continue the conversation with bringing awareness that the same social injustices clearly addressed in the famous rap song, “The Message”, from 1982 are still currently happening in US cities today. After researching selected racial injustices spotlighted in “The Message”, student projects will emphasize the UN SDG #16 goals of delivering justice, combating corruption and ensuring inclusive participation in their local communities. The students will develop, share and implement their own anti-racist action plan in the form of
• writing and performing an original rap,
• protest art,
• poetry,
• or reporting on activism for racial equality on campus.
Materials
• “The Message” (hip-hop rap), articles and a timeline used in a lesson on racial justice.
Part 1–Before Reading Activities
In more than 580 cities and towns across the United States, hundreds of thousands of Americans have gathered together to protest the police killing of an African American man named George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protestors’ calls for justice, police accountability, and for an end to the systemic racism deeply embedded in the laws, practices, and institutions of the United States mark some of the most widespread protests the country has seen in half a century.
1. Quick write (write about a page answering the following questions):
What have you seen or heard about the protests against the police killing of George Floyd? Do you view these protests as connected to the Black Lives Matter movement? What have you seen on social media or in the news? How have different people of varying backgrounds responded to the movement? What impact do you believe that Black Lives Matter has had on American society? Do you think that street protests have been or will be effective? What makes protest effective?
2. Protests are one way to respond to social injustice, but music is another form that can be listened to many times. According to OWN, “Music is an essential tool for change, and hip-hop legend will.i.am contributed a powerful message to the ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’ conversation.”
Listen to the rap by will.i.am, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xig0Z580U6o, and write the key points that the rapper conveys to his audience.
“Keep in mind when brothas start flexing the verbal skillz,
it always reflects what’s going on politically, socially,
and economically.” –Musician Davey D
3. Develop vocabulary for the anti-racist movement and social injustice. The Racial Equity Tools website explains, “Words and their multiple uses reflect the tremendous diversity that characterizes our society. Indeed, universally agreed upon language on issues relating to racism is nonexistent. We discovered that even the most frequently used words in any discussion on race can easily cause confusion, which leads to controversy and hostility. It is essential to achieve some degree of shared understanding, particularly when using the most common terms. In this way, the quality of dialogue and discourse on race can be enhanced.”
Take for example, the term “white privilege”. These two words triggered violent reactions and create significant misunderstanding among many who are not familiar with the term “white privilege” as it has come to be used in the current discussion of race relations in this country.
The concept of white privilege does not say or claim anything about your own income level, the size of your bank account, how many jobs you have had, or how hard you have worked in your life; it does not say or claim anything about whether or not you as an individual are prejudiced against people of color.
I would like you to add one more layer to your thinking on the concept of “privilege.” Please read one of the articles I’ve found on the topic:
Format Requirements
Gina Crossley-Corcoran, “Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person” (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/explaining-white-privilege-to-a-broke-white-person_b_5269255?guccounter=1).
Peggy McIntosh, “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf).”
“What is White Privilege, Really?” by Cory Collins
https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2018/what-is-white-privilege-really
“The Evolution of Racism” by Ben Zimmer in The Atlantic 2020
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/09/how-racism-made-its-way-into-dictionary-merriam-webster/615334/?campaign_id=37&emc=edit_rr_20200905&instance_id=21944&nl=race%2Frelated®i_id=109773973&segment_id=37510&te=1&user_id=2221bf8034f7eab8250aab8f639e9d3d
Once you’ve had time to consider these articles, respond to the following questions:
1. How does the concept of Privilege – or lack of it – connect to Place and Personal Identity?
2. Is white privilege racism?
3. What can you infer about the author’s interests and values based on this text?
4. What is this text “saying”? Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support your analysis
Attribution
