Who Killed Vincent Chin: Civil Rights Activism
Item
-
Type
-
Lesson Plan
-
Description
-
From the website:
"In this lesson, students will:
(1) investigate evidence to determine how the killing of Vincent Chin was racially motivated,
(2) demonstrate how to stand up for a civil rights issue, and
(3) analyze the mistakes of the American justice system"
The lesson takes place over two 50-minute class periods with optional homework in between.
HTK Note: Please be advised that some of the film clips contain racist depictions, references to a "gentleman's club," and violence. For these reasons, it might be tempting to exclude teaching about Vincent Chin's murder or to do so in a sanitized manner. We encourage you to resist that temptation. Silencing histories like Vincent Chin's enable anti-Asian hate to continue unchecked. Instead, we suggest implementing this lesson thoughtfully, sensitively, and accurately. The lesson plan and website provide considerations on how to do so- please read them before teaching.
Additionally, referencing anyone of Asian descent as an “oriental,” a Japanese/Japanese American as a “Jap,” or that someone might be "handicaped" because they are Chinese are inappropriate and racist.
-
Format
-
Lesson Plan with video clips.
-
Language
-
English primarily. Lily Chin, Vincent Chin's mother, speaks in Mandarin.
-
Content Standards
-
High School Social Studies Standards:
• 8.3.4 Civil Rights Expanded – evaluate the major accomplishments and setbacks in securing civil rights and liberties for all Americans over the 20th century.
• 8.3.5 Tensions and Reactions to Poverty and Civil Rights – analyze the causes and consequences of the civil unrest that occurred in American cities, by comparing civil unrest in Detroit with at least one other American city.
• C – 2.1.2 Identify and analyze various Democratic Values of the United States as found in the Declaration of Independence.
• C – 2.2.3 Use examples to investigate why people may agree on Democratic
Values and Constitutional Principles in the abstract, yet disagree over their meaning when they are applied to specific situations.
• C – 6.4.1 Explain and evaluate how people, individually or collectively, seek to bring the United States closer to its Democratic Values.
9th and 10th Grade English Language Arts Standards:
• RH.9-10.2Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
• RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
• SL.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
• W.9-10.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
11th and 12th Grade English Language Arts Standards:
• RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
• W.11-12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization and analysis of content.
• SL.11--12.3 Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis and tone used.
