Grades 9-12: The Arts & Social Change
Lesson Two
The World of Dr. Charles Smith
Born in New Orleans, Charles Smith was fourteen when his father was murdered by a group of white men who were never asked to answer for their crime. His mother took Charles and his two sisters to live in Chicago, Illinois, working two jobs to provide for them. His mother's strength, courage, religious faith, and strong will left a powerful imprint on Charles. In the summer of 1955, less than a year after Smith's father was killed, his mother took her children to the funeral service of a fourteen-year-old African-American boy, Emmett Till, who had been brutally murdered by white racists while visiting relatives in Mississippi. Till's mother insisted that her son's funeral service be open to the public, and that his horribly damaged body be displayed in an open casket to unmask the cruel realities of racism in America. Till's murder had a particularly profound impact on Smith, and on many other Americans as well, adding fuel to the already mobilizing civil rights movement.
When Charles Smith returned to Illinois in 1968, after serving in the Vietnam War, he saw a country torn apart by civil unrest. His combat experiences generated physical, psychological, and spiritual wounds, as well as traumatic memories of brutality, suffering, and loss. Vietnam veterans of all races came home to find themselves the object of America's collective shame, and African-American veterans found themselves doubly shunned.
Smith's art environment chronicled the African-American experience and history. In his world, images of grandmothers were juxtaposed with those of violent gang members, slaves with bleeding welts, African tribal figures, and children playing games. Cultural ancestry is blended with details of American history; figures representing the nineteenth-century Underground Railroad stand next to African-American icons such as Louis Armstrong and Serena Williams. Smith insists that America's history-all of it -must be recognized and understood in order for any sort of social change to occur .
Events such as the murder of Emmett Till, Rosa Park's refusal to give up her seat on a bus, and the passionate speeches and civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. deeply impacted Charles Smith and America at large. Learn more about the lives, dreams, and goals of these civil rights leaders by working through the following Student Connections.
Student Connection: Q & A
Step 1: Imagine that you are journalist. Your assignment is to cover the civil rights movement as it takes place. You need to investigate the beliefs and leadership of the movement for a special broadcast report. Brainstorm a list of questions that you would ask either Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks to learn more about their lives and perspectives. Use the best of your questions to create the outline of an interview.
Step 2: Research the time and situation more deeply by exploring actual interviews and source documents. You can access these letters and interviews from the following websites...
Step 3: Use your questions as an outline and write up an imagined interview with the person you have chosen. Think about what you should ask first, then what questions might follow, or build on your subject's "answers." You can start your questions with "Q" and your imagined responses with "A." Use the historical and cultural information you've learned to help create the most realistic responses you can. Read your completed interview out loud.
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