Old School Sesame Street: Indians Don't Talk Like That

While looking for anti-racism kindergarten resources I came across this on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuJzKVF_gxQ

There's a lot we can do with this one little piece. Some ideas...

1. Ask students why the boys think Indians talk like that, where do they learn this message? What does this message tell us about Indians? Why is this wrong and what are the consequences?
2. Why are Indians the 'bad guys'? Why are white people the 'good guys'? What is wrong with these ideas? Explain that thinking of and describing people who have dark skin as 'bad' is racism.
3. Where does the term Indian come from and what are more respectful names we use today? Define First Nations, Metis and Inuit. Who are First Nations and Metis people in Saskatchewan?

Environmental Racism and Justice

According to Teaching Tolerance: Environmental racism is a term that was coined by Rev. Benjamin Chavis, who conducted a study which found that communities of color are more likely to bear the brunt of environmental hazards than are white communities. That study found that these environmental disparities occurred because of lax enforcement of environmental rules and regulations, as well as the placement of landfills and dumps and the disposal of hazardous waste in minority neighborhoods. The problem is compounded by the fact that members of affected communities are seldom found on city councils, planning committees or regulatory boards.

Teaching Tolerance offers several Pre K - grade 12 US based lesson plans that can be used to initiate student studies on environmental racism in Canada.

Introducing Kids to the Idea of Environmental Racism (Pre K - grade 5): http://www.tolerance.org/activity/introducing-kids-idea-environmental-raci

Environmental Justice (grades 3 - 12): http://www.tolerance.org/activity/environmental-justice

Reporting on Environmental Racism (grades 9 - 12): http://www.tolerance.org/activity/reporting-environmental-racism

Environmental racism in Canada continues to displace and oppress First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples, as well as other racially oppressed communities. Leave a comment to share examples of environmental racism in Canada with your colleagues and visit the Indigenous Environmental Network (http://www.ienearth.org/).

PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

1. Environmental justice affirms the sacredness of Mother Earth, ecological unity and the interdependence of all species, and the right to be free from ecological destruction.

2. Environmental justice demands that public policy be based on mutual respect and justice for all peoples, free from any form of discrimination or bias.

3. Environmental justice mandates the right to ethical, balanced and responsible uses of land and renewable resources in the interest of a sustainable planet for humans and other living things.

4. Environmental justice calls for universal protection from nuclear testing, extraction, production and disposal of toxic/hazardous wastes and poisons and nuclear testing that threaten the fundamental right to clean air, land, water, and food.

5. Environmental justice affirms the fundamental right to political, economic, cultural and environmental self-determination of all peoples.

6. Environmental justice demands the cessation of the production of all toxins, hazardous wastes, and radioactive materials, and that all past and current producers be held strictly accountable to the people for detoxification and the containment at the point of production.

7. Environmental justice demands the right to participate as equal partners at every level of decision-making including needs assessment, planning, implementation, enforcement and evaluation.

8. Environmental justice affirms the right of all workers to a safe and healthy work environment, without being forced to choose between an unsafe livelihood and unemployment. It also affirms the right of those who work at home to be free from environmental hazards.

9. Environmental justice protects the right of victims of environmental injustice to receive full compensation and reparations for damages as well as quality health care.

10. Environmental justice considers governmental acts of environmental injustice a violation of international law, the Universal Declaration On Human Rights, and the United Nations Convention on Genocide.

11. Environmental justice must recognize a special legal and natural relationship of Native Peoples to the U.S. government through treaties, agreements, compacts, and covenants affirming sovereignty and self-determination.

(to read more see: http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/princej.html at the Environmental Justice Resource Centre http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/Welcome.html)

Black or White: Kids on Race. A CNN analysis of race

Although CNN doesn't provide a thorough race analysis of this study, the study is interesting and important because it tells us that children are STILL internalizing the hierarchy that STILL exists in our society. It also tells us that kids are thinking about race in complex ways. This documentary can be used in the classroom to show students how the history of race and contemporary racist ideologies, that support beliefs in white superiority, continue to hold power and influence everyone. One of the important messages in the study is that we have to examine our own beliefs before and as we teach children about racism - children model adults' behaviors (what we do and say) and these observations influence children more significantly than what we try to teach them. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYkUMqxr_o8

CNN tried to hold individual parents accountable for the children's responses, however, they did not explore the history and purpose of race or the structures existing in our society that allow racism to occur. These structures normalize the false beliefs that whiteness is ideal and dark skin signifies inferiority. Clearly, as this study demonstrates, it is never too early to start to teach children about racism and anti-racism education.

Some questions for students: How would you apply this study to a Saskatchewan context? What policies and practices do these messages justify? Who benefits? What are the social and material outcomes of these beliefs? From where do these ideas originate and why? What has to happen to challenge and change these ideas? What can one person do?

Thanks for sharing Janice!

Mickey Mouse Monopoly Disney, Childhood & Corporate Power

One of my former students sent this link to me. Thanks Jocelyn! The Media Education Foundation's study guide for the film provides excellent anti-racism and anti-oppressive teaching resources/discussion questions for children (with some modifications) and youth. Mickey Mouse Monopoly part one (all five parts are on YouTube):
Mickey Mouse Monopoly youtube playlist

Media Education Foundation (click on study guide):
http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=112The Disney Company's massive success in the 20th century is based on creating an image of innocence, magic and fun. Its animated films in particular are almost universally lauded as wholesome family entertainment, enjoying massive popularity among children and endorsement from parents and teachers. Mickey Mouse Monopoly takes a close and critical look at the world these films create and the stories they tell about race, gender and class and reaches disturbing conclusions about the values propagated under the guise of innocence and fun. This daring new video insightfully analyzes Disney's cultural pedagogy, examines its corporate power, and explores its vast influence on our global culture. Including interviews with cultural critics, media scholars, child psychologists, kindergarten teachers, multicultural educators, college students and children, Mickey Mouse Monopoly will provoke audiences to confront comfortable assumptions about an American institution that is virtually synonymous with childhood pleasure. Sections: Disney's Media Dominance | Disney's Gender Representations | Disney's Race Representations | Disney's Commercialization of Children's Culture

The RACE Project

The RACE Project is the first national [American, but an important website for all anti-racism educators] collaborative effort to present an integrated view of race and human variation through biological, cultural and historical perspectives. The public education program explains how human biological variation differs from race, when and why the idea of race was invented, and how race and racism affect everyday life. The program has three primary messages. (1) Race is a recent human invention. (2) The idea of race is about culture, not biology. (3) Race and racism are embedded in our institutions and everyday life.

For more information and grade 5 - 12 lesson plans and activities visit: www.understandingrace.org