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Summary and Objective
Students will understand that discrimination existed in the North, in Western Massachusetts, before and during World War 2 by listening to first person oral histories as recorded by Dorothy Pryor. Students will study and discuss the opinions and attitudes of both blacks and whites who lived during this time period in U.S. History and compare and contrast how some of those attitudes have changed while others have remained the same.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
The teacher will handout a copies of "Dorothy Pryor: Oral Histories", 1934-1945 "Discrimination North and South" and "Timeline of Dorothy Pryor's Life" to each student.
Step 2.
Students will read the "Timeline of Dorothy Pryor's Life".
Step 3.
The teacher will pass out a copy of the 1855 Massachusetts law prohibiting school desegregation. The class will read and discuss the law.
Step 4.
Students will understand, by listening to Dorothy Pryor's oral histories, that although she and her family were discriminated against because of race, she and her husband adapted to and changed the educational system in Western Massachusetts. A class discussion will follow each of the 5 story clips.
Step 5.
The teacher will ask; "What did Dorothy mean in clip #1 by "blessed by angels", in clip #2, "making goodies out of nothing" in clip #3 "equal work, equal pay", and discuss discrimination in Springfield, Ma.
Step 6.
Students will listen to clip #4 and discuss why Dorothy said, "I wasn't aware of that much discrimination in the north" and what Dorothy meant when she said "there were always...little signs". The teacher will discuss why white teacher's at Fisk private school were discriminated against, making the point that they were whites living in a black world.
Step 7.
After the class listens to clip #5 students will discuss what Dorothy meant by "You teach people who you are and where you've been".
Step 8.
The teacher will summarize the lesson by asking the students to write an essay about how they feel Dorothy Pryor lived her life. The essay will include what values students believed Dorothy possessed and how those values helped her through her life and how they might have affected the students she taught.
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