Grades 9-12 Curriculum STILL: Racism in America… A Retrospective in Cartoons

Changing American Life (the 1970s).PDF

U.S. History Ohio Standard: 

• 27. Following World War II, the United States experienced a struggle for racial and gender equality and the extension of civil rights. 
• 28. The postwar economic boom and advances in science and technology produced changes in American life. 
• 29. The continuing population flow from cities to suburbs, the internal migrations from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt, and the increase in immigration resulting from the passage of the 1965 Immigration Act have had social and political effects. 

Lesson Summary:  

In his cartoons, Brumsic Brandon Jr. uses irony and satire to point out the hardships of urban living for African Americans in the 1970s and 1980s. This lesson asks students to examine the issues and data that Brumsic Brandon Jr. highlights in his cartoons from the experience and perspective of elementary-age children.  

Extension Activity:  After researching various cities and urban difficulties of the 1970s, have students design a Satirical Travel Poster for urban areas of an assigned city in the 1970s.  

Materials: 

Luther Cartoons on urban renewal 

Analyzing Brumsic Cartoons

Cartoon Analysis Worksheet  

American History Museum on Suburban Sprawl 

1970 Census - Population: Low-Income Neighborhoods in Large Cities 

Analyzing Cartoons as Primary Sources 

Analyzing Cartoons as Primary Sources PDF

Objectives/ Standards: 

Ohio American History Content Statement:  

1. The use of primary and secondary sources of information includes an examination of the credibility of each source. 

27. Following World War II, the United States experienced a struggle for racial and gender equality and the extension of civil rights. 

29. The continuing population flow from cities to suburbs, the internal migrations from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt, and the increase in immigration resulting from the passage of the 1965 Immigration Act have had social and political effects. 

Ohio American Government Content Statement:  

3. Issues can be analyzed through the critical use of credible sources 

Assessments:  

Students will write an in-depth analysis of a political cartoon. The analysis should include basic information about the image, a description of the image content, the contextual meaning of the image, and the viewpoint from the artist’s lens. 

Activities: 

Day 1: 

1. Introduction (Bell-Ringer) Have students respond to the following prompt: “What information do you need to analyze this image?”   
2. Using the Slide Show discussion guide: Discuss what it means to analyze: (definition from Oxford Languages):  examine methodically and in detail the constitution or structure of (something, especially information), typically for purposes of explanation and interpretation. 
3. Discuss key steps in analyzing a primary source. Have students write the following in their notes for later use.  
4. Basics - Title, date, artist, publisher, medium 
5. Content - Description of the image 
6. Context - Subject and what message the artist is portraying. The overall big picture. Uses for this kind of document.  
7. Lens - the artist's viewpoint and/or background themes, interests, and other work. 
8. Discuss what students think the image means. Discuss for what purposes this document might be used.  
9. Conclusion or Exit Ticket. Have students write their own analysis of the image including: Basics, Content description, Context, and the artist’s Lens.  

Day 2 

1. Introduction (Bell-Ringer) have students respond to the following prompt: What steps are necessary to analyze a primary source?  
2. Discuss student responses to reiterate the key points in source analysis. 
3. Students will now need to use those skills to analyze images independently. Explain to students that they will analyze some cartoons from a similar artist. This artist is actually the father of Barbara Brandon-Croft. Brumsic Brandon Jr. was one of the first black cartoonists to have his work nationally syndicated in mainstream newspapers.  
4. Divide students into groups of 2-6.   
5. Give each group a copy of the images in the Analyzing Brumsic Brandon Jr. Cartoons document.   
6. Give each student a copy of the Analyzing Brumsic Brandon Jr. Cartoons Worksheet and the Write your own analysis worksheet.  
7. In groups, students should work together to find information about the characters in the images. Students should share information about the characters with their group as they find it. They can discuss and decide if they agree with each other’s analysis of the characters.   
8. Once most students have completed the character analysis, discuss as a class student findings: 
9. Hints for the teacher to share to fill in student gaps: 
10. Luther – the title character, smart, thinks beyond the obvious. 
11. Pee Wee - always concerned about food, poor, doesn’t eat enough. 
12. Lilly – a white character, represents groups who have little understanding of African American culture as urban centers become more diverse. 
13. Ms. Backlash - discriminates against black students 
14. Oreo - like the cookie, black on the outside but white on the inside. She doesn’t appreciate various aspects of African American culture. 
15. Mary Frances – strong-willed  
16. Hardcore - street smart but pushing against given authority.  
    
17. Allow students the rest of the class time to complete their own analysis of one of the cartoons they’ve examined.  

Create your own game of life.  

Create your own game of life.PDF

Analyzing a Post-War Perspective 

Study the perspective of this political cartoon: “Cullud” game:  
Lesson Summary:  

Use the same format above to create your own “game” for a specific time period. 

Standards:  

Ohio American History Standard:  

3. Historians analyze cause, effect, sequence, and correlation in historical events, including multiple causation and long and short-term causal relations. 
27. Following World War II, the United States experienced a struggle for racial and gender equality and the extension of civil rights. 

28. The postwar economic boom and advances in science and technology produced changes in American life. 

Ohio American Government Standard:  

3. Issues can be analyzed through the critical use of credible sources. 

Contemporary World Issues: 

3: Individuals can evaluate media messages that are constructed using particular tools, characteristics and conventions for unique purposes. Different communication methods affect how people define and act on issues. 

Activities: 

1. Have students begin analyzing the image on their own by responding to the following: “What do you see in this image?  What message is the creator trying to convey?” 
    
2. Discuss what students have come up with on their own. As a group, perhaps the conclusion will be that the creator wanted to bring attention to various facets of the African American experience in the United States.  
    
3. Have students move into groups (3-6) and, using dice (or some other random number-choosing technology), have students move a game piece around a copy of the board based on what number they each roll. Each student should write down 2-4 times, then write down what space they land on. Each student should have a different list of experiences. This would represent the variety of experiences for African American people post-World War II. 
    
4. Regroup and discuss as a class the various experiences. Discuss some post-war events: Wars - Korean, Vietnam. Terminology: ”Hit the number”- winning the lottery Uncle Tom, Backlash against minority advancement, Non-violent protests of the Civil Rights movement, Race riots: Detroit 1943, 1967, From the perspective of an African American post-WWII, which experiences would they consider; positive, negative, neither?   
    
5. Have students create their own game board based on the experiences of students their age.  Have them create their own game board, either individually or in groups, to add variety to the experiences on one board. Students should consider wars and hardships that have occurred during their lifetime, everyday positive experiences, everyday negative experiences, cultural movements, and issues that face society as a whole.

Discussion Guide Brandon-Croft Cartoon Analysis slides