Pan African Studies 300OL

“Contemporary Issues in the African American Community”

Pan African Studies Department

California State University, Northridge

Fall 2009-20010 AY

With civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. providing the backdrop, Barack Obama truly does represents historic “first” for Black America, for the nation, and for the world.

Ticket No. 11566 Johnie H. Scott, M.A., M.F.A.

Time: Arranged Associate Professor

Online Course Santa Susana Room 210

Fall Semester, 2009/2010 (818) 677-2289

3 Units, General Education Office Hrs: By Arrangement

Comparative Cultural Studies; Email

Section B/Multicultural Requirement

For Credential Candidates, F3, 97

Homepage: "Safe Haven"

Description:

Prerequisite – Completion of the Lower-Division writing requirement. An in-depth exploration of the social, political, cultural and economic issues in the African American community accomplished through the Distance Learning methodology. Provides insight on the extent to which these issues affect the Black individual and family in their interaction with the majority American society. This particular Pan African Studies section offering of “Contemporary Issues in the African American Community” makes extensive use of the latest cutting edge information technology (i.e., the Internet, email, WebCT, and various software applications) and is student-centered.

Textbooks:

Required:

Recommended:

6) Gibaldi, Joseph, The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers/Sixth Edition, published by the Modern Language Assn. Of America, New York/NY:1995; and

Important Note:

Books for this course can be ordered for express delivery from the CSUN Matador Bookstore – (818) 677-2913 -- located on the Northridge campus. Those supplemental readings listed for either the Los Angeles Times or LA Weekly can be obtained by visiting the WWW websites of the publications, going to the “Archives” for each newspapers and entering the title(s) of the articles, then retrieving the same (Note that for the Los Angeles Times, articles older than 14 days may be obtained for a nominal sum payable to the newspaper – Professor Scott)

Department and Course SLOs and How They Are Measured:

The Student Learning Outcomes will be assessed through the production of formal student essays included in a final student portfolio based upon that body of work created in fulfilling the course requirements (see below).

1) Department SLO#1 -- Gain an understanding of the political, social, historical, and cultural perspectives of the African American Experience in Africa and the African Diaspora. This includes students having obtained an informed historical overview of African American culture from root beginnings in ancient Africa up through 21^st century.

This PAS 300OL Contemporary Issues in the African and African American Diaspora course requires students to read and critically analyze multicultural texts of various genres with an emphasis upon works written by African American authors addressing the African American Experience in Africa and the African American Diaspora. Formal written evaluations of films and documentaries addressing various issues in the Black Diaspora with students utilizing in-depth critical analysis and sound command of grammar and mechanics. Said evaluations written using Microsoft Word or equivalent software and submitted through electronic mail as an attachment within stated deadlines.

2) Department SLO #2 -- Gain broad knowledge of the cultural, political and historical contexts in which the African and African American Experience took place.

To acquire this broad knowledge, students then write formal expository responses of assigned readings from the course textbooks, participate in an assigned virtual Chat using WebCT on a assigned topic based upon assigned readings with a group of students and the course instructor said presentation being made within a 2 ½-hour time period that includes Q&A. The students participate in a total of four (4) asynchronous WebCT Discussion Forums hereafter referred to as Rap Time with the discussions in each instance based upon issues taking place within and impacting the African and African American Experience in contemporary society. Integrated within this pedagogical approach are Midterm and Exit Essay Examinations requiring scholarly, documented responses to key issues discussed within the class.

3) Department SLO #3 -- Develop appropriate skills in research design and methodology used to examine the various interdisciplinary areas of the PAS curriculum. This includes, but is not limited to, the student having developed an informed overview of African American culture from varying perspectives including religion, psychology, social organization, economics and the Black Aesthetic.

Skills in research design and methodology are developed as a result of students writing formal essays in a variety of formats allowing students to put diverse rhetorical strategies into practice as well as learning to use of library and online databases, academic journals, and other academic resources with the purpose of documenting their arguments effectively. Furthermore, participation in a series of four (4) Internet Discussion Room Forums (i.e., “Rap Time”) on various topics with students doing background reading and also debating with classmates using logical, well-constructed arguments based upon evidence and sound reasoning develops those Information competencies. Lastly, there is the research and writing of a “Capstone” paper based upon those issues investigated, written about and discussed in the class and/or presented in the readings with the student using Modern Language Association guidelines in the writing and formatting of the paper.

Requirements:

First of all, every student enrolling in this course must have direct access to a PC at all times. This includes making provision for access to backup PCs, e.g., CSU Northridge’s Oviatt Library, in the event that the one a student may own is not functioning. In this class (and similar Distance Learning classes where the primary instrument is the information technology), there is a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for “late” submissions.

Each week begins with “Word Up!” – an in-depth observation by the course professor on an issue of importance to Black America drawn from the syndicated column “Not On My Watch” written by the professor and published in The WAVE Newspapers with this being the oldest and largest African-American owned-and-operated newspaper in the western United States. All students are required to read these columns which set the tone and theme each week for the course. Those statements are found as links for each week of the course and are directly accessible to the students as they go to the course syllabus. These are to be treated with the same seriousness and reference as the required textbooks for the course as they are, in effect, the “course lectures” by the professor.

Lastly, students are given ample time to complete the assignments provided they practice good time and study area management. Distance learning courses require the type of student who is highly independent and self-motivated. That observation is certainly true for this course. The course evolved out of a special program designed by California State University, Northridge which has enabled this professor to be part of a core faculty group at the campus in being the first to provide online courses to the general student body with PAS 300 representing the first course offered by the Pan African Studies Department. In that respect, it also constitutes the first fully-accredited online course offered in the nation by a Pan African Studies Department.

a) Examinations: there are the Midterm and Final Course Examinations. Both are essay-format. For the Midterm, students respond to a series of questions posted on-line by the instructor that are based upon the readings in Marian Wright Edelman’s The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small, Walter Mosley’s Black Genius: African American Solutions to African American Problems, other assigned course readings and the feature films and documentaries viewed as part of class instruction, and the Word Up! Weekly lectures by the course instructor. Students will have two weeks in which to complete the Midterm Examination while answering the questions. The Midterm Examination is written using large Blue Books and then either (a) brought to the PAS Department Main Office at CSUN in the Santa Susana Building, Room 221, by the prescribed deadline or (b) sent via the US Post Office Overnight Express Mail or through a carrier (e.g., Federal Express, UPS) with the student making certain that, in any case, the examination has the deadline postmarked as no “late” examinations will be accepted – No exceptions! The Final Examination is an Exit Essay comprised of one question posted to the class on email. Students, in responding, must use Microsoft Word and send the Exit Essay back as an attachment. The Exit is posted for 12 hours in which time the student is to respond, submitting by the stated deadline. No “late” exit essay exams will be accepted for grading. The two examinations are averaged together in establishing the first primary grade component;

b) Film Evaluations: Each student must have an email address and computer access. This access is crucial in that a key component of this Pan African Studies “Contemporary Issues” class are a combination of seven (7) feature films and documentaries that students view and then post formal evaluations on. The film evaluations are sent via email to the instructor at the time noted in the syllabus or directed by the instructor. These evaluations are based upon videotapes of feature films and documentaries available at major video rental outlets (i.e., Blockbuster, Tower, etcetera) viewed by the student at the instructor’s direction. Those videos available in the Oviatt Library’s Instructional Media Center at Northridge have been identified for students in the San Fernando Valley who might want to view said videos on-campus at their discretion. The evaluations of these films and documentaries are to be 500-750 words in length while adhering to the format specified by the course instructor. No “late” evaluations are accepted for grading. To qualify for an “Honor” grade of “A-“ or higher, the student must maintain a Film Evaluation average of at least 2.3 or better (No exceptions!). All film evaluations are due as of 8:00pm the following Friday of assignment unless otherwise noted by the course instructor (e.g., the film Black Is, Black Ain’t scheduled for Week 2 is due in evaluation form as of the Friday night of Week 3, i.e., September 11th). The film evaluations constitute the second primary grading component for the course;

c) Chat ‘N Chew: Each student is assigned to one of the seven (7) “Discussion Rooms” in the Chat ‘N Chew Forum. For the semester, the student participates in this virtual classroom meeting with the course instructor (for the record, each student will be assigned to a specific Chat Room and Topic by the instructor in assuring opportunity for dialogic interchange with other class members ). Taking place on a designated Saturday afternoon, each Chat ‘n Chew Forum runs for 150 minutes and participation is mandatory. Every student enrolled is required to participate in one of these Forums in responding to the issues being put forth and discussed by those other students. It is expected that students will have completed the necessary reading and/or viewing of films prior to the actual Chat. The student receives up to 4.0 points for participating in these discussion, for a total possible 4.0 points maximum (Read: 4.0 points is equivalent to an “A” for with Chat ‘N Chew representing the third primary grade component. The instructor’s assessment of points will be based on the seriousness, reflection and quality of the student participation;

d) Rap Time (Bulletin Board): For each week of the course up through “Review Week,” students will have the opportunity to “rap” with one another in this setting which is much like a Chat Room. The exception is that the instructor will post one topic each week taken from today’s headlines where Black American is concerned for dialogue that the students in the course can respond directly to. “Rap Time” provides the student with an opportunity to post a first response to a discussion prompt provided by the course instructor with several of these drawn from the class having read the National Urban League’s The State of Black America 2008: In the Black Woman’s Voice along with Black Genius: African American Solutions to African American Problems and Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope. The first posting by each student is in direct response to the course instructor’s question. That initial posting is valued at up to 2.0 points. The student then receives up to 1.0 points per reply to the postings made on the same prompt by two other students for a total of 4.0 points per “Rap Time.” There are four (4) Rap Times sessions during the term. Students have three full weeks per Rap Time in which to give their own best thinking on a given issue. Rap Time constitutes the fourth primary grade component in the course;

Should Black Americans be awarded reparations just as Japanese Americans were in aftermath of World War II is but one of the issues discussed and debated in Rap Time.

e) Contemporary Issues Case Study: This is the one formal writing assignment. The student develops a topic based on reading and research related to select course subject matter. This case study must be at least 2,000 typewritten words, double-spaced and written according to Modern Language Association guidelines. It must contain no less than 15 citations done according to MLA guidelines and have a “Works Cited” section with no less than five (5) references including the aforementioned required texts. Make special note that any references (i.e., critical reviews, feature articles, etcetera) taken from the Internet must be of “Peer Review” caliber. The Case Study represents the fifth and final grade factor for the course.

Grading Scale:

Grading for the course is on a “Plus-Minus” basis as described in the 2008-2010 CSUN Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogue. The final grade is based upon the cumulative grade point averaged derived from the five (5) aforementioned primary grade factors, i.e., Film Evaluations, Rap Time, Chat 'n Chew, the Midterm and Exit Essay Examinations, and the Case Study. This data is then supplemented by Bonuses as assigned by the Course Instructor with a Mean Average of the five primary requirements and any earned bonuses. Final grading for this PAS 300OL course section shall be as follows:

“A” = 3.7-4.0;

“A-“= 3.5-3.69;

“B+” = 3.3-3.49;

“B” = 3.0-3.29;

“B-“= 2.7-2.99;

“C+” = 2.3-2.69;

“C” = 2.0-2.29;

“C-“= 1.7-1.99;

“D+” = 1.3-1.69;

“D” = 1.0-1.29;

“D-“= .7-.99;

and

“Fail” = 0.0-.69.

The grade of “Incomplete” shall only be issued to those students doing passing work (i.e., “C” or better) who are forced due to circumstances beyond their control – and subject to full documentation – miss submitting the Final Examination and/or Case Study.

In the event there are violations of the Student Conduct Code with regards to Academic Dishonesty, the student(s) shall be liable to any sanctions delineated in Section 41301, Title V, and California Code of Regulations, for which any offending student may be expelled, suspended, or given a less serious disciplinary sanction. "Academic dishonesty is an especially serious offense and diminishes the quality of scholarship and defrauds those who depend upon the integrity of campus programs." ("Academic Dishonesty," CSUN Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogue).

These sanctions to be applied as seen fit by the course instructor in conjunction with the Office of the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs ("Faculty Policy on Academic Dishonesty," CSUN Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogue).

Course Schedule

While America thinks current recession is bad, for African Americans who have had to live with chronic double-digit unemployment s way of life going back to the Great Depression, there is a certain irony that comes to mind when being told that “anything is possible in the U.S. is you work hard.” Unemployment is one of key issues for Black America.

Week 1 (August 22^nd – 28^th) A Litany of Concerns

“The obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as responsible

is to examine society and try to change it and to fight it – at

no matter what risk. This is the only hope society has. This

is the only way societies change.”

-- James Baldwin

-- From “A Talk To Teachers”

One of the most famous pictures of all time is what one has here with this photograph

taken of the Little Rock Nine – those courageous African American boys and girls shown here under National Guard protection – who braved racist white mobs and death threats from the Ku Klux Klan to integrate Central High School and open the door for racial integration across the nation.

· Theme: “A Change Is Gonna Come”

· Word Up! – “The Time Capsule: Black America at the Turn of the 21^st Century” (WAVE Newspapers, December 29, 1999)

· Reading: “Introduction: ‘The Intent of Black Genius’” by Walter Mosley , pgs. 7-12 from Black Genius; “Black Love Under Siege” by Susan Taylor, pgs. 179-184 from State of Black America 2008; and “Foreword” by Marian Wright Edelman, pgs. xiii-xix from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small.

Cartoon reflects the humor being expressed in many corners of Black America when looking at Obama’s victory and current state of national and world affairs.

Week 2 (August 28^th – September 4^th) Black AIDS

The devastating effect AIDS is having on African American women 18-30 years of age is of particular concern with majority of these being heterosexual, monogamous, non-drug abusing women whose lifestyles go totally counter to the stereotypes associated with AIDS victims.

· Theme: “AIDS – the Undeclared War on People of Color”

· Word Up! – “AIDS – The Undeclared War on the Poor” (WAVE Newspapers, May 24, 2000)

· Documentary: Black Is, Black Ain’t (1994, A Marlon Riggs Film – Title available for viewing at Oviatt Library’s IML)

· Reading: : “Black AIDS: ‘Our People, Our Problem, Our Solution’ by Sara Catania, from LA Weekly, June 1-7, 2001; “Losing Dorothy: If You’re Black and Poor in L.A., Silence Still Equals Death” by Sara Catania, LA Weekly, June 1-7, 2001; “The New Face of AIDS: Residents of Carl Bean House, Los Angeles, Winter 2001,” photographs by Anne Fishbein, LA Weekly, June 1-7, 2001; and “The Opportunity Compact” from The State of Black America 2008.

· Rap Time #1: “Of Don Imus and the Question of the Politically Correct Time to Use or Say the N Word in Polite Company”

Radio shock jock Don Imus appeared on Al Sharpton’s radio talk show to defend himself in firefight resulting from insensitive remarks about black female basketball players for Rutgers University.

Week 3 (September 5^th – 11^th) The Black Family: “Return to the Source”

Thoughts of the Black Family walking home together from church on Sunday afternoons

is fast becoming as anachronistic a thought as seeing Godzilla on Rodeo Drive.

· Theme: “In the Pursuit of the Dream: The Disappearing Black Family”

· Word Up! – “I Am a War Baby” (WAVE Newspapers, January 12, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #1 Due – Black Is, Black Ain’t (By or before Friday, September 11^th, 8:00pm)

· Reading: “Educating on Behalf of Black Public Health” by Jocelyn Elders, M.D., pgs. 173-192 from Black Genius; “Shouldering the Burden: The Status of African American Women” by Dr. Julianne Malveaux from The State of Black America 2008; and Chapter 1, “A Letter to Parents” by Marian Wright Edelman from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small.

The 2002 Academy Award “Best Feature Documentary” recipient, it took a French filmmaker to tackle an American subject, i.e., racial profiling,

and show in the blockbuster documentary Murder On A Sunday Morning.

· Film: Murder On A Sunday Morning (2002)

Week 4 (September 12^th – 18^th) ) Racial Profiling

· Theme: “Racial Profiling!: Driving While Black aka DWB’”

· Word Up! – “Why Racial Profiling Must Be Brought to an End” (WAVE Newspapers, February 9, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #2 Due - Murder On A Sunday Morning (By or before Friday, September 18^th, 8:00pm)

· Reading: “Invisibility Blues” by Maudine Cooper from The State of Black America 2008; “Prison Abolition” by Angela Davis, from Black Genius.

· Film: A Raisin in the Sun (1960)

The late African American playwright and journalist Lorraine Hansberry never dreamed

her semi-autobiographical play A Raisin In The Sun would become the most-performed

American stage production of all-time while detailing that moment in the country’s history

when Blacks started moving out of the projects and tenements of the urban slums into

the suburbs and mainstream of national life. Hansberry anticipated many developments

in Black social, cultural, political and economic life with play.

Week 5 (September 19^th – 25^th) Struggle for Human Dignity: The Cost Is Never Cheap

“That is our dilemma. After the dreaming is done, there has to

be an awakening, and the reality of our imperfections must be

addressed. Sooner or later the dreams that enrapture us and

the tales that regale us must make way for the truth which alone

can set us free. All of us.”

-- C. Eric Lincoln

From “The American Dilemma in Perspective,”

Race, Religion and the Continuing American Dilemma

· Theme: “Movin’ Up in the World, or Not?”

· Word Up! – “Do the Math!: The Playing Field Is Not Level” (WAVE Newspapers, February 16, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #3 Due – A Raisin in the Sun (By or before Friday, September 25^th, 8:00pm)

· Reading: “A Pathway to School Readiness: The Impact of Family on Early Childhood Education” by Renee Hanson from The State of Black America 2008; Chapter 2, “A Letter to Teachers and Educators” by Marian Wright Edelman from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small; and “As Serious as First Love: Building Black Independent Institutions” by Haki Madhubuti aka Don Lee , pgs. 51-88 from Black Genius.

· Feature: 4 Little Girls ( (1998 Academy Award-Nominee for Best Feature Documentary, A Spike Lee Joint)

· Rap Time No. 2: “Black Homelessness in America: The Myth, the Reality”

With more than 10 million people nationwide in America being homeless, the fact that 70 percent are African American with the majority of that group made up of families is cause for real concern

in effort to address this issue that is impacting millions of people of African descent like those

shown above huddled together, sleeping in alleyway.

· Chat ‘N Chew #1: “New Millennium Holocaust: Black AIDS” (Saturday, September 26th. Time – 12:00pm – 2:00pm. Every student to have completed reading from Week 2 in joining this first full class forum)

The 15th Surgeon General of the United States, Jocelyn Elders, M.D., is one of the world's leading proponents of preventive health care, not to mention development of health care insurance package that will cover everyone in America.

Week 6 (September 26^th – October 2^nd) Broken Promises, Broken Vessels: Of the Public Schools and Black Children

The husband and wife creative team of Alan and Susan Raymond earned Academy Award for “Best Feature Documentary” in producing I Am A Promise: The Children of Stanton Street. The couple

spent more than one year in North Philadelphia ghetto following challenges facing a predominantly

black elementary school in the urban core fighting for survival.

· Theme: “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste!”

· Word Up! – “The Clapping of the Thunder: We Won’t Abandon Our Schools!” (WAVE Newspapers, April 19, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #4 Due – 4 Little Girls (By or before Friday, October 2^nd, 8:00pm)

· Reading: “The Triumphs and Challenges of Historically Black Colleges and Universities” by Dr. Johnnetta Cole from The State of Black America 2008; Chapter 3, “A Letter to Neighbors and Community Leaders” by Marian Wright Edelman from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small; “Filmmaker” by Spike Lee , pgs. 15-31 from Black Genius.

· Documentary: I Am A Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary (1998, Produced and Directed by Susan and Alan Raymond – Title available for viewing at Oviatt Library’s IML)

Week 7 (October 3^rd – 9^th) Black Homophobia

Courtney Vance is shown here in one of great roles from an outstanding career

as he plays defense attorney fighting for young Black male on trial for fighting

back against mob of whites bent on hate crime in the thought-provoking feature film

Blind Faith (1998) that opens doors wide to discussion on Black American taboo.

· Theme: “What’s Wrong with Thinking ‘God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve?”

· Word Up! – “When Is It Ever the Right Place, Right Time?” (WAVE Newspapers, July 5, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #5 Due – I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary (By or before Friday, October 9^th, 8:00pm)

· Reading: “Tale of Two Cities” by Alexis Herman from The State of Black America 2008; Chapter 4, “A Letter to Faith Leaders” by Marian Wright Edelman from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small; “Giving Back” by Walter Mosley , pgs. 33-49 from Black Genius.

· Bonus #1: Blind Faith (1998 with Courtney Vance and Charles Dutton )

· Chat ‘N Chew #2: “On the Death of King/Harbor Medical Center: Shredding the Urban Health Care Safety Net.” (Saturday, October 10^th)

The highly-controversial closure of the Martin Luther King, Jr. /Drew Medical Center (later re-named the King/Harbor Medical Center) as the only acute care public hospital in the Los Angeles County’s South Region of 1.6 million people has generated tremendous aftershocks in the area.

Week 8 (October 10^th – 16^th) Dreams of Ghetto Youth

Now rightfully assuming its place amongst the great American exposes of corruption and

deceit where youth is concerned, Hoop Dreams stands out as a documentary that shows

how life can be so much more engrossing that fiction when the subject happens to be

the pursuit of the American Dream by people of color.

· Theme: “We Need to Watch What We’re Selling to Our Teens!”

· Word Up! – “A Knocking at Midnight: Who Will Answer the Door?” (WAVE Newspapers, February 9, 2000)

· Bonus Evaluation #1 Due – Blind Faith (By or before Friday, October 16^th, 8:00pm)

· Midterm Examination (To be posted on Monday, October 12^th, as of 9:30am)

· Bonus#2: Hoop Dreams (1994, A film by Steve James, Frederick Marx and Peter Gilbert. To be obtained at your local video store)

· Reading: “The New She EOs: An Analysis of Business Owned by Black Females: by Dr. Lucy Reuben from The State of Black America 2008; “Get On-Line!” by George Curry , pgs. 87-105 from Black Genius.

Week 9 (October 17^th – 23^rd) One Paycheck from the Streets: Living on the Edge of Disaster

Picture above is of the 9^th Ward in New Orleans, devastated in aftermath of the Great Flood of 2005 where city known as the “Big Easy” was visited by not one, but several major storm centers including Katrina from which the city still has not recovered.

· Theme: “What Happens When You Can’t Depend on the Government to Throw Out a Lifeline?: Lessons from New Orleans”

· Word Up! – “There Is a Lesson in ‘Children of Stanton Street’” (WAVE Newspapers, March 15, 2000)

· Bonus Evaluation #2 Due – Hoop Dreams , by or before Friday, October 23^rd, 8:00pm)

· Reading: “Unsustainable Loans Wipe Out Gains Made by African American Women” by Andrea Harris from The State of Black America 2008; “Holding the Media Accountable” by Farai Chideya, pgs. 215-244 from Black Genius.

Week 10 (October 24^th – 30^th) The Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Gunshot victim is brought into the now-closed Trauma Center at King/Harbor

Medical Center in South Los Angeles which in 2006 handled 2,150 trauma

Cases with an astounding 85% survival rate for gunshot victims.

· Theme: “Black on black homicide is the number one public health problem in the United States today.”

· Midterm Examination Due (As of 4:30pm, Monday, October 26^th)

· Word Up! – “Reflections on Bullworth and Presidential Politics 2000” (WAVE Newspapers, April 5, 2000)

· Feature Film: Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2009, PBS-TV documentary special directed by Stacy Peralta with narration by Forrest Whitaker, this film examines conditions contributing to decades of devastating gang violence – on reserve at the Oviatt Library Media Center)

· Reading: Chapter 5, “A Letter to Young People: Anchors and Sails for Life’s Voyage” by Marian Wright Edelman from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small; “Public Lives, Private Selves: Toward an Open Conversation” by Anna Deavere Smith, pgs. 269-290 from Black Genius; “Putting Home Ownership Back Within Our Reach” by Lisa Mensah from The State of Black America 2008.

· Rap Time #3: Bill Cosby's "Pound Cake" Speech (Prerequisite for this is all students reading the "Pound Cake" speech. Opens Tuesday, October 27^th, at 4:00pm. Students have through 9:00pm Thursday, November 5^th, for response to initial prompt. Students then have until 9:00pm Saturday, November 21^st, for response to any two classmates)

· Chat 'N Chew #3: "Of Hurricane Katrina and the Great New Orleans Flood of 2005: The Suffering Lingers On" (To take place on Saturday, October 30^th, from 12:00pm-2:30pm)

Week 11 (October 31^st – November 6^th) The Ebonics Controversy

· Theme: “You were expected to make peace with mediocrity.” – James Baldwin, from The Fire Next Time

· Word Up! – “Of Failing Schools and Spin Doctors” (WAVE Newspapers, November 29, 2000)

· Film Evaluation #6 Due – Crips and Bloods: Made in America (By or before Friday, November 6^th, 8:00pm)

· Reading: Chapter 6, “A Letter to My Grandchildren, Ellika, Zoe, Elijah and Levi” by Marian Wright Edelman from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small; “Election Reform: Protecting Our Vote from the Enemy Who Never Sleeps!” by Melanie Campbell from The State of Black America 2008; “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation” by James Baldwin first published in The Progressive, December 1962 and published by the Dial Press, 1963 in The Fire Next Time.

“We should heed (George) Orwell’s words in the discussions

of Black English. The grim naysayers of black potential are

the ones whose language is most opprobrious. Those folk who

denigrate Black English without trying to understand it speak

in bad faith. Those political critics who obfuscate their role

in the economic suffering of the black ghetto with political

chicanery are the real trouble. And those financially secure

black folk who demean the users of Black English without

working to get them better jobs, or to make sure that the

future of the country’s poorest black children is as bright

as their own children’s, speak a language of moral hypocrisy.

If all of this is standard, then perhaps we should give

Non-standard a try.”

-- Michael Eric Dyson

-- From Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line, 1997

Week 12 (November 7^th – 13^th) The Cradle to Prison Pipeline

· Theme: “Black America and the Criminal Justice System: ‘No Justice, No Peace!’”

· Word Up! – “Reflections on the LAPD’s Rampart Scandal” (WAVE Newspapers, March 22, 2000)

· Film: Trouble the Water (2008)

· Reading: “A Letter to Our Leaders About America’s Sixth Child and the Cradle to Prison Pipeline Crisis” by Marian Wright Edelman from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small;” “The State of Civil Rights” by Kimberly Alton from The State of Black America 2008; “Wall Street, Main Street, and the Side Street” by Julianne Malveaux , pgs. 145-171 from Black Genius.

· Chat ‘N Chew #5: “What Does the Recession Mean to this Population of MIAs?: The Chronically Unemployed and Unemployables of Black America” (To take place on Saturday, November 14^th, 2009, from 12:00pm-2:30pm)

Week 13 (November 14^th – 20^th) The Death of the Big Easy

Zeitgeist Films

Kimberly Roberts and her husband, Scott Roberts, struggle in New Orleans in the documentary “Trouble the Water.”

· Theme: “In the Matter of the Million Man March”

· Word Up! – “Body Counts, ‘Walk-Ups’ and the NRA” (WAVE Newspapers , April 12, 2000)

·        Film Evaluation #7 Due – Trouble the Waters (By or before Friday, November 20^th, 8:00pm)

·        Screening: Redemption (2004, starring Jamie Foxx as Stanley “Tookie” Williams, co-founder of the Crips streetgang/Death Row inmate and Nobel Peace Prize nominee)

·        Reading: Chapter 8, “A Letter to Citizens – the Creators of Leaders and Movements” by Marian Wright Edelman from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small; “Black Women’s Health Report” by Dr. Doris Browne from The State of Black America 2008; “Straighten Up and Fly Right: An Improvisation on the Podium” by Stanley Crouch, pgs.245-268 from Black Genius.

Week 14 (November 21^st – 27^th)         The Black Male: No Longer an Endangered Species?

·        Theme: “The Civil War That’s Being Fought On the Streets of Inner City America”

·        Word Up! – “The Things We Have in Common” (WAVE Newspapers, May 3, 2000)

·        Reading: “The Mother of All Issues – Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Letter to Mothers, Grandmothers and All Women” by Marian Wright Edelman from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small; “Blood Money or Money and Bloods” by Melvin Van Peebles, pgs. 107-123 and “Simple Living: An Antidote to Hedonistic Materialism” by bell hooks , pgs. 125-144 from Black Genius.

·        Chat 'N Chew #4: "Of Ebonics, Black Community Politics and the Destruction of Young Black Minds" (To take place on Saturday, November 21^st, from 12:00pm-2:30pm; rescheduled from original date of Saturday, November 7^th )

·        Final Rap Time #4 "Give Me My 40 Acres and My Mule! The Argument for Black Reparations" (Opens as of 8:00pm, Saturday, November 21^st)

Week 15 (November 28^th – December 4^th)         Breaking the Glass Ceiling: New Frontiers for the Unborn Generations

·        Theme: “You will never see new oceans until you are willing to lose sight of the shore.” – South African Proverb

·        Chat 'N Chew #6: "Danger in the Streets: The Schoolyard as a Maximum Security Institution" (The prerequisite for participating in this "Rap Time" will be all students having downloaded and read report Crime and Violence in the Schools: Final Report by the National Center for Education Statistics. To take place on Saturday, November 28^th, 2009, from 12:00pm-2:30pm)

·        Word Up! – “The Fire This Time” (reprinted from The Stanford Magazine, 1994 CASE Silver Medal Award for “Best Feature Story”)

·        Final Film Evaluation #8 Due – Redemption (By or before Friday, December 4^th, 8:00pm)

·        Reading: Chapter 10, “A Letter to Dr. King” by Marian Wright Edelman from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small; “Black Women’s Hands Can Rock the World” by Dr. Julianne Malveaux and “Going in Circles: The Struggle to Diversify Popular Images of Black Women” by Moya Bailey from The State of Black America 2008.

Week 16 December 5^th – 11^th)                  Praxis: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

·        Theme: "I didn't want to pay my fare and then go around the back door, because many times, even if you did that, you might not get on the bus at all. They'd probably shut the door, drive off, and leave you standing there. "—Mrs. Rosa Parks, Mother of the Civil Rights Movement

·        Reading: Chapter 11, “A Letter to God: Prayers for Our Children, Country, and World” by Marian Wright Edelman from The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small; “Afterword” by Stephanie Jones from The State of Black America 2008.

·        Final Chat 'N Chew #7: "The New Color Line for the 21^st Century: Black v. Brown" (Note: This Discussion Platform scheduled for Saturday, December 5^th, 2009, from 12:00pm-2:30pm)

·        Contemporary Issues Exit Essay Examination (Posted Wednesday morning, December 9^th, at 10:00am and due as of that same Wednesday night, December 9^th, 2009, 12 midnight – to be sent as Microsoft Word attachment only!!)

Week 17 December 12^th – 18^th)                  Finals Week

·        Theme: "If you want to be important -- wonderful. If you want to be recognized -- wonderful. If you want to be great -- wonderful. But, recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness."—Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

·        Contemporary Issues Case Study Due (Due via email as a Microsoft Word attachment only by or before Wednesday, December 16^th, 2009, 7:00pm)