This story provides a Minnesota example of school desegregation discussed by Heidi Adelsman and Archie Givens, Jr. In 1971, responding to the Supreme Court ruling that schools were still "intentionally segregated," two Minneapolis schools Hale and Field were "paired" in a citywide effort to desegregate public schools. There were no large scale protests, but tension was in the air on the first day of school and some parents chose to follow school buses to make sure their children were safe. The pairing of Hale and Field came to be a successful model used all over the country, but it was a community model rather than a school district model. Diversity and community involvement remain an important value for the sister schools today.
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| Key Terms |
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| Boundaries |
Brown v. Board of Education |
| Desegregation |
Diversity |
| Economic status |
Pairing |
| Segregation |
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Click here to take a small Survey
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| Before Viewing |
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What do you know about school desegregation efforts? What Supreme Court decisions started the desegregation process? What are some of the dangers of segregation?
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| After Viewing |
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- When Heidi says, "We need to understand where we came from to be able to change things," what does she mean? To what historic events does she refer?
- Why did school segregation suddenly make sense to Heidi when she looked at the history of the neighborhood?
- How was the new standard for desegregated homes created?
- What model was used to desegregate public schools? Was it successful? Why?
- Why do you think it was important that pairing of Hale and Field was a community model?
- Why is diversity an important value?
- How can you promote diversity?
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| Suggested Activities |
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Where do you stand?
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This activity helps students examine the differences related to race, class, and place disparities, and promotes empathy and understanding of those who are differently situated in life. The activity helps to visualize the overlap between race, class, and place disparities, which often make minorities and people of color doubly or triply disadvantaged.
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- Introduce the activity. Explain that in this activity students will experience being someone else. They will receive scenario cards and will try to become the person described on their card. This activity works best outside or in a large room where students can form a line.
- Hand out scenario cards. Depending on the comfort level of the group, distribute cards at random or assign cards. Be careful in assigning cards; make sure the card will not make a student uncomfortable or expose his or her personal situation. Explain that the cards only provide brief descriptions about people; students will have to use their imaginations to come up with the rest.
- Ask the students not to disclose their cards to others. Allow time for students to read their cards and think about the person described. To help students to get into a role, read the following questions:
- Where do you live?
- What do your parents do for a living?
- Where do you go to school?
- How do you get to school?
- Do your parents have time and resources to help you?
- Are you doing well financially?
- Who are your friends?
- Do you have time to be with your friends after school?
- When the students are ready ask them to form a line, allowing plenty of space to move forward, and some space to move backward. Explain that you will be reading statements, and after each statement students who agree with the statement should take one step forward. If they strongly agree with a statement they should take two steps forward. Students who disagree should remain where they are, or move backwards one step if they strongly disagree.
- Begin reading statements. Allow time after each statement to change positions and look around the room.
- After the last statement ask the students to look at where they were initially and where they are now in relation to other students, and then invite them to quietly go back to their seats.
- Discuss and debrief
Ask the students to voice their immediate reactions to the activity:
How do you feel? What did you learn? What was the most surprising to you?
Then continue with the discussion questions:
- How did you feel when you were moving forward?
- How did you feel when you remained on the line or moved backward?
- When did you notice the difference? How did it make you feel?
Have participants reveal and discuss their roles:
How easy or difficult was it to play the different roles? How did you imagine what the person you were playing was like? How have society and media contributed to your views, attitudes, and prejudices? What kind of assumptions did you have to make?
Discuss disparities:
Did the activity help to visualize disparities? What kind of disparities? Who is mostly affected by these disparities? What should be done to address these disparities? Who should be involved?
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| Going Further |
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Human Rights Framework
Continue the discussion after Where do you Stand? Examine the roles and scenarios in light of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Hand out simplified version of the UDHR, available at http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Part-5/8_udhr-abbr.htm
Divide students in small groups and have them discuss:
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Which human rights are at stake for each of the roles? Could anyone say that their human rights were not being respected or ignored?
Have each group report back, and discuss in the plenary:
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What can we do individually to promote equality? How can we eliminate race, class and place disparities?
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Localizing statistics
Students can review Expanding Educational Opportunity through School and Housing Choice by Myron Orfield and Nicholas Wallace at
http://www.irpumn.org/uls/resources/projects/Expanding_Educ_Opportunity_Schl_Hsng_Choice.pdf
Students can also review The Choice is Ours: Expanding Educational Opportunity for all Twin Cities Children at
http://www.irpumn.org/uls/resources/projects/CIYFinalReport_topost.pdf
Other useful sites:
1. Twin Cities Compass www.tccompass.org
2. Mind the Gap Report www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2005/10cities_sohmer/20051027_mindthegap.pdf
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