Anti-Black Racism & Resistance

Overview

This 92-minute interactive and kinaesthetic lesson engages 28 students in exploring historical anti-Black racism and resistance movements, with a focus on Canadian contexts. The lesson prioritizes student dialogue, critical thinking about cause and consequence, and continuity and change, aligning with the British Columbia Social Justice 12 curriculum. The use of six whiteboards supports movement and collaborative learning, fostering a dynamic classroom environment.

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Curriculum Alignment

British Columbia Social Justice 12 Big Ideas:

• Understanding systemic racism and resistance movements deepens critical awareness of social justice.
• Social justice requires ongoing vigilance and action to understand continuity and change in discriminatory systems.

Core Competencies:

• Communication: Engaging responsibly in meaningful discussions.
• Social Responsibility: Recognizing and challenging inequities.
• Thinking: Analyzing cause, consequence, continuity, and change in historical contexts.

Curricular Competencies:

• Analyze systemic causes and consequences of racism and anti-racist resistance.
• Reflect critically on the persistence and evolution of anti-Black racism in Canadian contexts.
• Engage in thoughtful dialogue to foster collective understanding and empathy.

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Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. Identify key historical examples of anti-Black racism and resistance in Canada.
2. Analyze the causes and consequences of specific racist policies or events and corresponding resistance efforts.
3. Recognize patterns of continuity and change in anti-Black racism from historical to contemporary Canada.
4. Collaboratively synthesize and communicate ideas in group discussions and whole-class sharing.
5. Demonstrate respectful and active listening, contributing thoughtfully to peer dialogues.

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Materials Needed

• 6 large whiteboards and marker sets
• Sticky notes (three colours per student group)
• Printed short primary source excerpts (Canadian contexts)
• Timer or stopwatch
• Projector (optional for images/videos of resistance movements)

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Lesson Structure (92 minutes)

1. Introduction and Framing (10 min)

• Activity: "Walking Timeline" — Students line up along a timeline marked with key years of anti-Black racism and resistance in Canada (e.g., slavery period, Black Loyalists arrival, Africville eviction, civil rights protests).
• Teacher Role: Briefly introduce the lesson’s focus and importance; clarify BC Social Justice 12 focus on cause, consequence, continuity, and change.
• Movement: Students physically position themselves and can move forward/backward when timeline events are called out.
• Goal: Activate prior knowledge and create physical context.

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2. Group Jigsaw with Whiteboard Stations (30 min)

• Divide class into 6 groups of ~4-5 students each, assign each group to a whiteboard station. Each station focuses on a different case study/example from Canadian history about anti-Black racism and resistance:

  1. Slavery in Canada and the Underground Railroad
  2. Black Loyalists and Early Canadian Racism
  3. The Africville Evictions
  4. Segregation in Canadian schools
  5. Canadian civil rights movements (e.g., Black Canadians’ activism in the 1960s/70s)
  6. Contemporary systemic racism and resistance (e.g., Black Lives Matter Canada)

• Task:

  • Read provided excerpts together.
  • On whiteboards, answer:
    • What were the causes of the racist event/system?
    • What were the consequences for Black communities?
    • How did people resist or respond?
    • Can you identify continuity or change compared to other time periods?

• Groups use sticky notes to add ideas for each question, colour-coded by question type (cause, consequence, resistance, continuity/change).

• Encourage all group members to speak and contribute; teacher circulates to prompt deeper thinking and clarify BC curricular links.

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3. Movement and Gallery Walk Sharing (20 min)

• Groups rotate clockwise every 3-4 minutes around whiteboards to read and add comments or questions to other groups’ boards using sticky notes.
• Movement keeps energy high and encourages cross-group discussion.
• Each student must verbally share a new insight or question they wrote when visiting boards.
• Teacher facilitates brief clarifications and connects observations to social justice themes.

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4. Fishbowl Conversation Circle (20 min)

• Select 6-8 students to sit in inner circle, others outside.
• Using key questions from the whiteboards (e.g., "How do resistance movements challenge ongoing racism?", "What lessons do continuity/change patterns teach us?"), students in the inner circle discuss while others observe, then swap roles after 10 minutes.
• Encourage articulation of cause and consequence and link to BC curricular competencies and real-world implications.
• Teacher moderates, highlights respectful dialogue skills and social responsibility.

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5. Reflection and Consolidation (12 min)

• Students return to seats and complete a brief written reflection prompt on paper or digitally:
  • "Explain one way anti-Black racism has changed and one way it shows continuity in Canadian history using examples from today’s lesson."
  • "Identify one resistance movement that inspires you and why."
• Volunteers share reflections aloud to reinforce understanding and empathy.
• Teacher provides a concise summary linking lesson insights to ongoing social justice actions in Canada.

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Assessment and Follow-Up

• Formative: Observation of group work, quality of whiteboard notes, participation in fishbowl discussion.
• Written reflections collected for assessment of understanding of cause/consequence and continuity/change.
• Follow-up lesson: Students research a current Black Canadian activist or organization continuing the legacy of resistance and prepare a presentation or digital project.

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Additional Teaching Tips

• Create a classroom atmosphere of trust and respect; explicitly establish norms around sensitive discussions.
• Use varied teaching modalities (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic) to engage all learners.
• Encourage connections between historical and contemporary events, strengthening relevance for students.
• Address misconceptions and provide support for processing difficult concepts around systemic racism.

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This lesson combines movement, critical dialogue, and group collaboration to deepen student understanding of anti-Black racism and resistance—empowering learners to connect history with contemporary justice struggles in Canada.