J. Elizabeth Clark Web Site

WHAT DOES HATRED LOOK LIKE?
J. Elizabeth Clark, Ph.D.

Objectives

This lesson connects acts of homophobia and hate crimes to other historical precendents of racism, classism, ableism and sexism as a way of helping students make an intellectual connection between different kinds of hate.

Materials/Technology

Photographs mounted on cardstock

Set Up

In preparation for this lesson, I visit the American Memory Collection at the Library of Congress and choose photographs of American discrimination. I have a number of images that I have collected. In my “Acts of Hate and Discrimination” file, I have photographs of slave auctions, lynchings, the Japanese-American internment campus of World War II, the Great Depression, women in the workforce during World War II (particularly women working in arms factories), images of bar signs saying “No Indians or Coloreds served,” women with household appliances (post-World War II), images of migrant workers, images of child laborers in mines and factories, the Ku Klux Klan, Anti-semitic images, public gatherings and protests for Civil Rights, and the fence where Matthew Shepard died (the final image I get from Google, not the the American Historical Memory Site). You can choose images that fit into your course content. As my courses are often themed around American democracy, these images from American history fit into our larger class discussions.

Prior to class, I mount the images on card stock, making sure that there is at least 1 image for each student in the class. I usually bring 2-3 extra images to allow for some choice. On the back of each card, I list the title of the photograph and the artist. Underneath, I provide the historical context for the photograph.

I arrive at the classroom early and situate the photographs around the room like an art gallery.

Time

30 minutes—Art Gallery and Reflection
30 minutes—Large Group Discussion
30 minutes—Connecting Acts of Hatred

Background/Rationale

Generally speaking, students at LaGuardia are unusually sensitive to diversity. Unlike other institutions, our students are cosmopolitan and adept at navigating the challenges posed by difference. They are conversant in the problems with hatred and intolerance based on gender, religion, race, and ability. While there are exceptions to this statement, I find my classroom a wonderfully inclusive space. However, students are often resistant to understanding homophobia as a pernicious form of discrimination. They are often resistant to discussing homosexuality and feel quite comfortable using hate speech to solidify their responses to the material I present. In this lesson, I seek to help students understand a connection between all hate crimes and acts of intolerance. While I am not quite this blatent in our classroom discussions, the underlying question is: If you find acts of racism unacceptable, why would you find acts of homophobia socially acceptable? Through this exercise, I seek to find connections between marginalized groups, helping students to think about the history of discrimination and disenfranchisement in the United States.

Procedure

1. I ask students to walk around the room looking at all of the photographs.
2. Next, I ask students to choose 1 compelling image. They take the photograph back to their seats.
3. Without turning the photograph over, students are to write a short description of their photograph explaining first their reaction to the photograph and then an explanation of what they think the photograph is showing.
4. Next, the students take turns describing their photographs.
5. Then, the students turn over the photographs to learn what they are looking at. They compare that to the descriptions they shared. As a group, we use our shared knowledge to fill in the history behind the picture. For example, while many students immediately recognize the significance of the “Coloreds Only” washroom photograph, the pictures of the Japanese Internment camps are often unfamiliar. As a group, we process the stories behind these pictures. I fill in the unfamiliar histories. As a general rule, unless I have students who are gay or lgbtq friendly, students do not recognize the significance of the fence. I fill this in along with other missing histories.
6. Next, we construct a “history of hatred” on the Blackboard, showing the relationship between the different photographs and drawing a loose timeline of American history and hatred, of which homophobia is a part.

Suggestions

Clearly this lesson can be the start of a much larger curricular sequence. You might connect it to a class research project on hate or bias crimes. You might connect it to research on lgbtq concerns. For me, I use this lesson as a way to create a space for safe dialogue in the class.

As you think about teaching this lesson, or one like, I want to add a note of caution. If you are new to introducing sexuality into the classroom, you’ll want to give youself a little extra time to prepare. Although I have been teaching lessons like this for a long time, whenever I teach texts or lessons that deal with homosexuality, or sexuality, I have to prepare my psychological armor. I find it difficult to “meet students where they are at” when they use words I find offensive. At the same time, however, I believe that we have to challenge students and engage them in the ideas and principles of a democratic nation. If we, as committed educators, shy away from the tough issues of our day, what messages will—and do—students receive elsewhere? So, although this is never my favorite lesson to teach, I think it’s an important one because it opens up crucial dialogue in the classroom and a space for considering the importance and value of difference.

I would also like to add that because of the content of many of my courses, which deal with lgbtq literature and activism, my sexuality is often questioned by my students. Among my colleagues in the lgbtq community, I find that this is not unusual. So, whatever your boundaries are in the classroom, be prepared for the question and answer it in a way you feel comfortable.