"Stealth" Black History Class for Intermediate ESL Teens

February 24, 2023 9:34 AM

I want to teach my ESL students (roughly B1 level) something about Black history without my school interfering. Is there anything that would be about a Black teen girl who did something cool?

I teach in a conservative European country where we still do mandatory Christmas classes, so a lesson on Black History won't work well. I want to use one of my one hour classes to introduce my white B1-ish ESL students to a black teen girl (they are teens/tweens themselves) who did something cool, something they might admire - someone who could be a role model to them. I was thinking about doing a class on Marley Dias, but people here might ask why she needed books specifically about Black girls, and I'm not sure how I'd handle that without pissing off parents.

I guess I'm asking for any girls who did something cool while being Black. I'd love an article or video I could show them to talk about.

Thank you in advance!

posted by LoonyLovegood to Education (11 answers total)

Zaila Avant-garde is pretty amazing. She not only won the US national spelling bee but she also has world records for dribbling multiple basketballs at once.
posted by umbú at 9:42 AM on February 24, 2023 [2 favorites]

Barbara Johns is not one of the better known civil rights pioneers, but her story is compelling.
posted by rikschell at 9:49 AM on February 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: She isn't a teen, but perhaps Josephine Baker? She was part of the Resistance and a fascinating human being.

You could also do an article on Simone Biles, which as a bonus will come with amazing videos they can watch.
posted by Tamanna at 10:00 AM on February 24, 2023 [6 favorites]

Best answer: I teach in a conservative European country where we still do mandatory Christmas classes

Not to dispute the conservative-ness of your location, but most schools I know in my own European country actively cover both Black history and Christmas.

Anyway, I thoroughly recommend Mary Seacole, who nursed during the Crimean war. I think if you're in Europe it might be even better if you cover people who were in Europe. Some Europeans develop the mistaken impression that Black Europeans are historically unusual.
posted by plonkee at 10:03 AM on February 24, 2023 [7 favorites]

It will probably be too directly on message for Black History Week for your community but Claudette Colvin was 15 in 1955 when she refused to give up her bus seat. For various reasons she wasn't the poster-girl for the NAACP.
posted by BobTheScientist at 10:04 AM on February 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Ethel Waters started her singing career at just 17, and went on to do, well, everything.
posted by Paul Slade at 11:40 AM on February 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Seconding Barbara Johns! If you don't know about her read her story and be inspired.
posted by mareli at 12:23 PM on February 24, 2023

I think/hope it be uncontroversial to cover Katherine Johnson and the other black female NASA mathematicians who helped the US go to space. Margot Lee Shetterly's book Hidden Figures is excellent and there is also the popular film. Also, Mae Jamison, the first black woman to go to space.
posted by fies at 2:09 PM on February 24, 2023 [3 favorites]

Is Amanda Gorman too old? She's a writer, so easily justifiable for an ESL class (if that's what you're doing).
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:18 PM on February 24, 2023

A way to segue Mae Jamison into the lesson is to talk about Star Trek: The Next Generation. AFAIK, she's the first guest star who actually been to space.
posted by kschang at 8:42 PM on February 24, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! I ended up showing them this, and before I did, I asked if they wanted to change the world, to which the girls themselves said they wanted to get rid of racism. <3
posted by LoonyLovegood at 10:36 AM on February 28, 2023 [1 favorite]