TeachRock

Motivational Activity:

1. Display Image 1, Hip Hop Radio Spotify Playlist. Then ask students: 
   • Is this image familiar to you? If so, how is it familiar? 
   • Do you listen to streaming radio (satellite and internet -based) and/or terrestrial radio (land-based, AM/FM radio)?
2. As a Whip Around Poll, ask students the following question:
   • Yes or no, do you think it is possible for a radio station to have a social and political impact on U.S. society?
3. Tally students’ responses and write them on the board (answers will be referenced again later in the lesson).
4. Inform students that they will be investigating the important role of radio during the Civil Rights Movement and that their investigation will begin by examining two radio stations. 

Procedure

1. Distribute Handout – Radio and the Civil Rights Movement Graphic Organizer (Teacher’s Guide available here). Organize students into pairs and explain that they will work in pairs to complete the handout throughout the lesson.
2. Distribute Handout – Black Radio. Instruct students to read the WDIA radio station in Memphis, Tennessee section of the handout and to summarize “WDIA” on their graphic organizer.
3. Play the YouTube video “Hidden History: WDIA Radio – The ‘Heart And Soul Of Memphis’” and instruct students to summarize “Nat D. Williams” and “Tan Town Jubilee” on their graphic organizer (pause and replay sections of the video if necessary). Once finished, ask students to share their summaries and, when appropriate, guide further discussion on the similarities and differences between the summaries. If necessary, provide support with the Teacher’s Guide.
4. Instruct students to read the WERD radio station in Atlanta, Georgia section of the handout and to summarize “WERD” and “Jesse B. Blayton, Sr.” on their graphic organizer. Once finished, ask students to share their summaries and, when appropriate, guide further discussion on the similarities and differences between the summaries. If necessary, provide support with the Teacher’s Guide. Then ask students:
   • What campaign was Jesse B. Blayton “following in the footsteps” of when he purchased WERD in 1949?
   • Have you heard of the NAACP? If so, what is it?
5. Display Image 2, NAACP. Read the text together as a class and instruct students to summarize “NAACP” on their graphic organizer. Then ask students:
   • What does the NAACP work to abolish, oppose, and ensure?
6. Instruct students to read the Prince Hall Masonic Grand Lodge building in Atlanta, Georgia section of the handout and to summarize “Prince Hall…” on their graphic organizer. Then ask students:
   • What organization had offices in the Prince Hall Masonic Grand Lodge where the radio station WERD was located?
7. Display Image 3, SCLC. Read the text together as a class and instruct students to summarize “SCLC” on their graphic organizer. Then ask students:
   • What does the SCLC work to “coordinate and assist”?
   • Considering the WERD section of the handout, how might the SCLC’s announcements on WERD have taken place?
8. Display the webpage for the Google Arts & Culture audio documentary, Golden Age of Black Radio – Part 4: Gender Equality and Civil Rights and scroll down to the segment, “Jack Gibson describes the relationship between radio station WERD and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference” (pause the audio). Then ask students:
   • What signs do you see attached to the front of the building? (WERD, S.C.L.C., and Prince Hall)
   • From your reading, what building is this? (Prince Hall Masonic Grand Lodge)
9. Play the segment, “Jack Gibson describes the relationship between radio station WERD and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference” (Transcript of audio available here as Handout – WERD and SCLC). Then ask students:
   • How might the SCLC announcements broadcast on the radio have aided the SCLC in achieving its mission of “the full equality of African Americans in all aspects of American life”?
10. Distribute Handout – Black Radio and Black Voter Registration Document Set and Handout – Guiding Questions for Document Set (Teacher’s Guide available here). With students still in pairs, inform each pair that they are now going to pursue their investigation even further and examine radio’s role in voter registration. Instruct students to follow the instructions for the activity on the Handout – Guiding Questions for Document Set. Once completed, bring students back together as a class, then ask students:
    • How might Black voter registration rates have had a social and political impact on U.S. society?

Summary Activity:

1. Revisiting the earlier Whip Around Poll, ask students:
   • Yes or no, do you think it is possible for a radio station to have a social and political impact on U.S. society?
2. Tally students responses, write them on the board, and compare them with the earlier tally. If necessary, guide further discussion on how the tallies may be different.
3. Distribute Handout – Exit Ticket Activity. Instruct students to answer the questions on the handout. Once completed, have students share their answers and then turn in the handout.

Extension Activities:

1. Create a PSA to focus public attention on a current issue of your choice with StoryboardThat.
2. Create an infographic about one of the pioneering Black Radio deejays:
   • Nat D. Williams – WDIA
   • Jack Gibson – WERD
3. Create an infographic about the Prince Hall Grand Masonic Lodge in Atlanta, GA.
4. Listen to the entirety of the Google Arts & Culture audio documentary, “Golden Age of Black Radio – Part 4: Gender Equality and Civil Rights” and discuss as a class.
5. Read “A Point of View by Nat D. Williams – ‘BlackMonday’” and provide a brief summary of Williams’ point of view.
6. Research the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and the African American Public Radio Consortium websites. Locate a member station close to your school, research the station’s history, and discover its role in advocating for social change both in the past and present.

Handout – Black Radio Handout – Black Radio and Black Voter Registration Document Set Handout – Exit Ticket Activity Handout – Guiding Questions for Document Set Handout – Guiding Questions for Document Set (Teacher’s Guide) Handout – Radio and the Civil Rights Movement Graphic Organizer Handout – Radio and the Civil Rights Movement Graphic Organizer (Teacher’s Guide) Handout – WERD and SCLC

Common Core State Standards

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading

Reading 1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Reading 2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

Craft and Structure 4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 9: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing

Text Types and Purposes 2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening

Comprehension & Collaboration 1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Comprehension & Collaboration 2: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Comprehension & Collaboration 3: Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

Presentation of Knowledge 4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language

Language 1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Language 2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Social Studies – National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)

• Theme 1: Culture
• Theme 2: Time, Continuity, and Change
• Theme 6: Power, Authority, and Governance
• Theme 10: Civic Ideals and Practices

National Standards for Music Education

Core Music Standard: Connecting

• Connecting 11: Relate musical ideas and works to varied contexts and daily life to deepen understanding.

National Core Arts Standards

Connecting

• Anchor Standard 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
• Anchor Standards 11: Relate artistic ideas and work with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.