Author:
Connecticut Department of Education
Subject:
Arts and Humanities, U.S. History, World History
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Level:
High School
Grade:
9, 10, 11, 12
Provider:
CT State Department of Education
Tags:
Language:
English
Media Formats:
Text/HTML

Lesson 3.1-4: Evolution of Identities: Indigenous, Africans and the rest of the people who wanted to be part of this evolution

Lesson 3.1-4: Evolution of Identities: Indigenous, Africans and the rest of the people who wanted to be part of this evolution

Overview

Big Ideas/Topics to be Addressed, including Key Concepts and Terms 

  • Historical chronology of ethnic groups that arrived in Latin America and in the Caribbean  

  • Identities created, re-created, or a new one?  

  • Social Structure of the evolved identities 

  • Ethnic Identity  

  • Social Identity  

  • Gender roles 

  • Indigenismo, Mestizaje, and “Blackness” 

  • Afro-Latinos 

  • Afro-Puerto Ricans 

  • Garifunas-Afro Latinos  

Vocabulary:  Ethnic Identity, Social Identity, Indigenismo, Mestizaje,  

Materials/Resources/Speakers

Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. Author: Educardo Galeano 

If Cities Could Dance | Puerto Rico's Bomba, A Dance of The African Diaspora | Season 3 | Episode 3 

“Changing Societies” from the book titled: Forgotten Continent: A History of the New Latin America. Author: Michael Reid  

A History Of Afro-Puerto Ricans 

Calle 13 - Latinoamérica (NEW English Subtitles) 

Afro-Latino: A deeply rooted identity among U.S. Hispanics 

Afro-Latinos Get PhotoShopped Into Latin American Beauty Standards 

The fascinating history and evolution of Afro-Puerto Ricans 

The fascinating history and evolution of Afro-Puerto Ricans 

Garifuna: A US-Honduran Story 

ON OUR LAND: BEING GARIFUNA IN HONDURAS 

NPR Podcast “Garifuna: A U.S.-Honduran Story” (18 minutes): 

Garifuna: A US-Honduran Story 

When Worlds Collide | sistema de castas  | PBS 

And yo grandma, where she at? Embracing Black Puerto-Rican Heritage 

Social structure of Colonial Latin America 

Book review of Living in Silverado: Secret Jews in the Silver Mining Towns of Colonial Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2019. Author of Book: David Glitz. Review by Rafaela Acevedo-Field. 

Alejandro Portes and Kelly Hoffman. "Latin American Class Structures: Their Composition and Change during the Neoliberal Era." Latin American Research Review 38, no. 1 (February 2003): 41-82. 

Scott, Joan W. "Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis." American Historical Review 91, no. 5 (December 1986): 1053-75. 

Puerto Rico: Five Centuries of History by Francisco A. Scarano (2005) 

Childs, Matt. “The Degrees of African Identity” in a book titled: Slaves, Subjects and Subversives: Blacks in Colonial Latin America. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, pp. 209-245. 

Ay, Ay, Ay de la Grifa Negra 

Race, Front, and Center: Perspectives of Race among Puerto Ricans (2017), Edited by Carlos Vargas-Ramos 

PALABRA Indigenous Voices - The PALABRA Archive at the Library of Congress - Research Guides at Library of Congress 

Recommended Learning Activities, including UDL Principles/Scaffolded Supports and Asynchronous and Synchronous Learning Opportunities

Day 1 

Initiation: Teacher starts with a mini-lesson on the evolution of multiple identities. Ensure that students understand the meaning of Ethnic Identity and Social Identity.  

Activity: Students choose from the following to write reflection:  

Reflection Questions: 

  • What do you think the poem means? 

  • What intrigues you about the poem, video, or song? 

  • Were you surprised by anything?  

  • Did the song/video/poem remind you of any personal experiences? 

  • What does the poem/song/video say about identity? 

Closing/Evidence of Learning: Students write their own Identity Poem Project.  Teacher reviews directions with students and shares a personal example of a poem with the class. 

Day 2 

Initiation: Discuss with students their beliefs about beauty standards based on race. Watch Afro-Latinos Get PhotoShopped Into Latin American Beauty Standards and have students post about how they relate to “normalized beauty standards.”  

Review some of the student reflections and then have them watch/listen to “Afro-Latina” performed by Elizabeth Acevedo at Afro-Latina | Learning for Justice.  Discuss:  What do you think Elizabeth Acevedo is attempting to do (e.g., educate, create a mood)?  What connections are there to history learned so far?  What personal connections do they make? 

Activity: Dive specifically into a group of Afro-Latinos from Honduras called the Garifuna. Students choose between watching a short documentary or podcast to gather information and complete analysis: Garifuna Activity 

Closing: Discuss with students the assumptions and biases that might exist around Afro-Latinos, Afro-Puerto Ricans and “beauty standards,” and how these assumptions affect racial, ethnic and socio-economic identity of Puerto Ricans and Latinos. 

Options for Content Continuity Across History Courses and Interdisciplinary Integration

Humanities 

English  

Anthropology  

Economics