There was a shocking amount of different experiences in the Jeopardy post. So I'm curious about which of us read/watched some or part of Roots as part of our HS education and which did not. My gut tells me that predominately white high schools in the south may have glossed over this, because it was either uncomfortable or another reason.
So if you would be so kind to reply, I'd be grateful:
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class?
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time?
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which?
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable.
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)?
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class? No.
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time? Pennsylvania.
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which? Predominately white.
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable. 1998
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)? I don't think so (don't remember everything we read)
Post by Velar Fricative on Jul 23, 2014 15:39:25 GMT -5
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class?
We did not read the book, but we did watch the series in 8th grade.
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time?
New York
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which?
Predominantly white, perhaps about one-quarter minority (mostly black).
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable.
2000
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)?
Not in lieu of Roots, but yes - black history was a major topic in my social studies/history and English classes pretty much every year.
5) The A/P class read Beloved. Since it was a predominately White class I was impressed at how moved people were when I talked with them about it. I confess I haven't read that book yet. I was in G/T and when A/P was reading that we were doing an intense project about wars in which America was involved and read about the culture of the country in which the war was fought. Some people did the US Civil War and we had to present a lot of information to each other (a full class day presentation) so I felt like I got a rich perspective of Vietnam, but not this topic.
Since my school district was one of the last with required bussing to desegregate the schools in Houston, I think we were done a disservice because the impact of slavery and segregation was still alive and well in the lives of some of my classmates' parents.
Post by ChillyMcFreeze on Jul 23, 2014 15:41:23 GMT -5
1. No. 2. Georgia 3. 72% black 4. 2005 5. We read some African American lit, but I'm foggy on the titles. Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Bluest Eye... I will say that Af Am lit was not featured prominently in my American lit class. (I'm still familiar with Roots, though!)
Post by penguingrrl on Jul 23, 2014 15:43:27 GMT -5
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class? No, we did not.
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time? NJ
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which? White, but with a significant black population (over 25%, but less than 50%)
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable. 1999
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)? Yes, we read Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Narrative of Frederick Douglass as well as The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Post by stephm0188 on Jul 23, 2014 15:47:22 GMT -5
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class?
No
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time?
Ohio
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which?
White
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable.
01
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)?
Kind of. My high school had block scheduling, which meant that we had 90 minute classes for one semester, instead of 45 minute classes year round. The only disadvantage was in the English department. It cut back on the number of pieces we read. We focused more on short stories and Shakespere rather than longer things because it fit in better with scheduling.
We read Uncle Tom's Cabin in 5th grade and did a unit in 8th grade that focused on slavery. We touched on other history bits as part of the curriculum in American history and government classes.
Post by pinkdutchtulips on Jul 23, 2014 15:51:35 GMT -5
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class?
yes - watched the mini series in class
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time?
went to hs in PA (suburban Phila for 9-10), CA (suburban SF for 11-12) - I think I saw Roots in CA ... it was a LONG time ago
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which?
Both hs were predominantly WHITE
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable.
1992
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)?
1) Nope. In middle school we watched Glory as a jumping point to discuss race during the revolutionary war. I remember b/c I cried during the movie in class and was horribly embarassed.
2) CA
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which?
Predominately white, I think. Might have been mostly Latino. Definitately not predominately black.
4) 97 (I embrace my old)
5) I remember reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, Black Boy and Native Son in English. Also some Maya Angelou and ee cummings.
I honestly don't recall anything about US History besides never getting passed WWI. The issue of slavery must have come up, but I don't recall it. History wasn't a class I paid a lot of attention in.
5)No. If we did, I'm completely blanking. We did a lot of Shakespeare, Greek mythology, and American classics (Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Clockwork Orange, etc.) I don't think I read anything that had to do with black history until college.
1) No 2) MI 3) White, I think we had two black kids in my grade, one who had a cross burned in his yard 4) Late 90's 5) I remember reading the Invisible Man and that having a great effect on me.
Post by lasagnasshole on Jul 23, 2014 15:54:44 GMT -5
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class? No, but I think we covered that.
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time? Texas.
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which? Predominantly white. Lots of east Asian and south Asian immigrants.
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable. 2000.
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.) I know we read SOMETHING about slave experience, but I cannot remember what. I think that was earlier, like 8th or 9th grade, and I have fuzzier memories of that. I have a more distinct memory of the later grades and a focus on the post-War black experience - Invisible Man, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes poems, jazz, etc.
There was a shocking amount of different experiences in the Jeopardy post. So I'm curious about which of us read/watched some or part of Roots as part of our HS education and which did not. My gut tells me that predominately white high schools in the south may have glossed over this, because it was either uncomfortable or another reason.
So if you would be so kind to reply, I'd be grateful:
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class? No.
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time? Massachusetts
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which? White, by a lot (there was one AA graduate in a class of about 250)
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable. 1986
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)? I don't think so. Maybe Fredrick Douglas, but it's been a while and it's all kind of a blur. I took a semester of Black History in College, and another of Black Literature, and didn't do Roots (or any Alex Haley) in either one.
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class? We watched all of the young Kunta Kinte episodes in 8th grade history and just the Middle Passage portion in AP U.S. History.
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time? Both classes were in Salt Lake City, UT
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which? HAHAHAHA. White. So white. There were no black students at all in my junior high and only two or three in my high school.
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable. 1999
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)? Beloved in AP English, Narrative of Frederick Douglass (excerpts) in AP U.S. History, and (I think) some of Nat Turner's autobiography in that same class.
Post by irishbride2 on Jul 23, 2014 15:59:27 GMT -5
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class? We watched a few clips but did not watch all or read it. I read it later. We did talk about it and the context in history.
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time? Florida
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which? white
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable. 2002
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)? Yes, we read several throughout my high school years. Malcolm X was a huge part of our American History curriculum. But there were several that were part of our English curriculum.
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class? Not as part of an assignment, no.
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time? NJ
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which? White
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable. 2000
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)? No
When I taught in NY, I used excerpts from Roots, The Narrative of Frederick Douglass, Life as a Slave Girl, and Uncle Tom's Cabin to convey certain experiences about slavery and the abolitionist moment. All were required by the state curriculum. If you're talking about Black history in general, we also did a big unit on the Harlem Renaissance and heard clips from MLK Jr's speeches and read excerpts from The autobiography of Malcolm X when we got to the Civil Rights era.
I'm pretty sure the kids read Beloved in 9th or 10th grade a English lit too.
eta: Oh and Sojurner Truth's Ain't I a Woman for our unit on the abolitionist/women's rights movements and Ida B Wells's pamphlet on lynching for our unit on the Jim Crow south.
1. Yes, a little. 2. Nebraska 3. White. Between K-12 there was only about 3 black students. 4. 2010 5. Nope. I remember talking about Uncle Tom's Cabin in general. And I know I saw The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, but I don't remember if that was in school or not.
There was a shocking amount of different experiences in the Jeopardy post. So I'm curious about which of us read/watched some or part of Roots as part of our HS education and which did not. My gut tells me that predominately white high schools in the south may have glossed over this, because it was either uncomfortable or another reason.
So if you would be so kind to reply, I'd be grateful:
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class? Yes - watched it in civics class - actually in middle school not high school
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time? Minnesota
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which? Predominately white
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable. 2000
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)? n/a
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class? College film class, not high school. For some reason we didn't get past the part where Kizzy was taken away from her family (maybe the semester ended? I forget).
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time? New Jersey
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which? HS was very predominantly white. My college's largest ethnicity group was Hispanic, followed by roughly equal percentages of white and black students.
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable. 2001 5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)? We read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Othello in high school and had Black history/slavery discussions about them. We also read some Maya Angelou poems (all-girls school, so the focus was mainly on that aspect). We watched the movie of Uncle Tom's Cabin in sixth grade. I read The Bluest Eye in college.
There was a shocking amount of different experiences in the Jeopardy post. So I'm curious about which of us read/watched some or part of Roots as part of our HS education and which did not. My gut tells me that predominately white high schools in the south may have glossed over this, because it was either uncomfortable or another reason.
So if you would be so kind to reply, I'd be grateful:
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class? No. I know of it, but have never read it and was never assigned to read it.
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time? Colorado. Very suburban middle class school.
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which? White white white. Some hispanic. Maybe one or two black classmates.
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable. 93
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)? I honestly don't remember if "Black history" was ever specified in any of my literature courses. I have not read any of the listed example books.
I just remembered that I read Their Eyes Were Watching God at some point in high school and A Raisin in the Sun during freshman year in college (also in Colorado). Probably the most moving book about racial issues I've read is Native Son though, and that was just a couple years ago, on my own, obviously.
Post by CallingAllAngels on Jul 23, 2014 16:19:13 GMT -5
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class? No
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time? SC
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which? Predominately white
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable. 1996
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)? No.
There was a shocking amount of different experiences in the Jeopardy post. So I'm curious about which of us read/watched some or part of Roots as part of our HS education and which did not. My gut tells me that predominately white high schools in the south may have glossed over this, because it was either uncomfortable or another reason.
So if you would be so kind to reply, I'd be grateful:
1) Did you read or watch some or all of Roots in high school as part of an assignment in class?
2) In what state did you live for either most/all of your HS career OR if you did have Roots as part of a HS education, what state were in going to school in at that time?
3) Was your HS predominately white or black? If so, which?
4) What was your HS graduation year? (If you don't want to give a precise year, how about Early/Mid/Late 90s, 80s, 70s, 00's, etc. as applicable.
5) Did you read something about Black history and slavery in lieu of Roots? (i.e. Beloved, Chains, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kindred, Narrative of Frederick Douglas, Life as a Slave Girl, 12 Years a Slave, etc.)?
1) Nope. It was totally skipped over. 2) I lived in Ohio, in the middle of the bible belt for high school. 3) All white. All. We had one black family move into town my freshman year. They ended up with a burning cross on their lawn, and promptly moved 6 months later. It was an incredibly intolerant and racist community. 4) 2001. 5) We read Beloved in my English class, but honestly I don't recall ever touching on the subject of slavery in the US while reading the book. We just had quizzes to make sure we read the chapters, the subject was mostly glossed over.
My HS education was appalling though. I missed out on physics, the physics teacher assigned problems, and then we did them together as a class because there weren't enough text books for the whole class so he never assigned homework, tests were all done as a class too; french class consisted of us watching the price is right every day in English; my History class (I think I only had one) covered the Civil War by saying it wasn't really about slavery, it was about economics, and then we spent a couple days going over a couple key battles and dates. Anything that was normally learned about in high school, I've pretty much had to learn on my own, and I'm thankful that up until we moved I went to a really fantastic private prep school, because my formal education pretty much stopped in 8th grade and didn't start back up again till college.