13th Activity

Objectives:

  • Students will explain how categories of race were socially constructed as a method of controlling slaves and perpetuating the institution of slavery.
  • Students will begin to trace the evolution of racial hierarchy after emancipation.

Resources:

Activity Steps

  1. Introduction:
    • Slide 1: Start by discussing why it is important to care about African American History and its relation to AI.
    • Slide 2: Discuss why data activists need to understand systemic oppression.
  2. Slide 3: Introduce “13th” and explain that the film examines how racial inequality drives the high rate of incarceration in America.
  3. Slide 4: Explain that the film’s opening section explores how America’s need for free labor led to the mass incarceration of African Americans.

  4. Slide 5: Highlight that African Americans were labeled as prisoners to provide free labor, similar to slavery.

  5. Vocabulary Activity: After watching the video, students will complete a vocabulary chart with important terms mentioned in the film. (SCREENSHARE WORD CHART)

  6. Instruct students watch the video titled, How to Understand Power video and to answer these questions
    • How does power impact me adversely?
    • How do I benefit from power, or have power?
    • How could I use power for social change?

  7. Slide 5: After completing the vocabulary chart, students will discuss their answers in small groups for 5 minutes. Conduct a large group discussion to share thoughts on each section of the film.

  8. Detailed Study: Watch as much of the video as possible, using subsequent slides for more detailed descriptions of different sections. After each section of the film, students will: Complete the 3, 2, 1 framework (3 things they learned, 2 interesting facts, 1 question they have). Engage in small and large group discussions. Fill out the word chart.

  9. Conclusion: Slide 6: Encourage students to reflect on the insights gained from the lesson and how they can apply this knowledge to understand and address systemic racism.

Goal: By the end of the lesson, students should have a deeper understanding of the connections between historical racial oppression and modern issues such as mass incarceration and AI bias, and how data activism can be a powerful tool in addressing these systemic issues.