Saturday January 8, 2005
Intermediate +

THE ARTICLE

A 79-year-old man has pleaded ‘not guilty’ in a Mississippi court for the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers. This case may conclude one of the most notorious American crimes yet to be solved. Those murdered, James Chaney (black, aged 21, beaten to death) Andrew Goodman (white, aged 20, shot in the chest) and Michael Schwerner (white, aged 24, also shot in the chest), were helping African Americans to register to vote in the US election in America’s then highly segregated South. Edgar Ray Killen is reported to be a leader of the Ku Klux Klan, infamous for brutal and racist attacks and murders against black people, often by hanging in front of their families. He faced trial for the murders in 1967 but was freed after the jury could not reach a verdict.

The murders were a turning point for the civil rights movement and outraged America largely because white people were killed. Previous to their deaths thousands of black people had been murdered by white supremacists with little public outcry. Republican congressman, John Lewis, told the NBC news network the arrest was “a tremendous step down a very long road. … It is never, ever too late to bring about justice and send the strongest possible message that bigotry and hate will not be tolerated in our society.” Goodman's mother said, “I'm not looking for revenge. I'm looking for justice. … This has been a long time coming, but it was definitely worth the wait … I feel so relieved.” The story of the murders and police investigation was made famous by the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning.

POSSIBLE WARM UPS / COOL DOWNS

1. CHAT:  Talk in pairs or groups about racism / Ku Klux Klan / the movie Mississippi Burning / justice / civil rights / racial equality / bigotry / skin color / …
To make things more dynamic, try telling your students they only have one minute (or 2) on each chat topic before changing topics / partners. Change topic / partner frequently to energize the class.

2. KKK BRAINSTORM: Brainstorm facts and feelings about the Ku Klux Klan or other white (or non-white) supremacist groups and let students discuss what's on the board in pairs / groups. Ask what the reason is for feelings of supremacy based on skin color.

3. MY SKIN: In pairs / groups, students examine skin color - their own, their feelings about other colors, prejudices towards other colors of skin in their societies, racial stereotyping, whether they would marry someone from another race, thoughts on their children marrying someone from another race etc

4. MY EXPERIENCE: In pairs / groups students share experiences of any form of racism they have been subjected to or conducted.

5. RACIAL STEREOTYPES: Many racial stereotypes have been conveyed through television. Students comment on the following:
• Italians are generally depicted as Mafia hoodlums.
• Asian people are perceived as invaders, foolish photograph-taking tourists or karate experts.
• Hispanic people as drug pushers or gang members.
• Native Americans as savages, victims, cowards or medicine men.
• People from the Middle East are seen as terrorists or oil sheiks.
• African American men are seen as dangerous, hip, possessing a prowess with sex.
• White people are seen as leaders, enforcers of good, safe.
• Other teacher's ideas (country of teaching / student nationality-specific)

PRE-READING IDEAS

1. WORD SEARCH: Students look in their dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … of the words ‘guilty’ and ‘court’.

2. HEADLINE: Put the article headline on the board for students to talk about / predict / speculate. Pairs / groups formulate and present their own guesses as to the contents of the report.

3. TRUE / FALSE: Students look at the headline and predict whether they believe the following statements are true or false:>

(a)  A 79-year-old man has pleaded ‘guilty’ for the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers.  T / F
(b)  Three young black men were murdered.  T / F
(c)  America's southern states were segregated, with black people having few rights.  T / F
(d)  The Ku Klux Klan is infamous for brutal and racist attacks and murders against black people.  T / F
(e)  The murders were a turning point for the civil rights movement.  T / F
(f)  Thousands of black people had been murdered by white supremacists with little public outcry. T / F
(g)  The mother of one victim said she is looking for revenge, not justice.  T / F
(h)  The story of the murders was dramatized by the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning.  T / F 

4. SYNONYM MATCH: Students match the following synonyms from the article:

(a)	pleaded	cruel, barbaric
(b)	notorious	partitioned
(c)	segregated	watershed
(d)	brutal	repayment
(e)	racist	declared
(f)	turning point	prejudice
(g)	supremacists	bigot
(h)	bigotry	infamous
(i)	revenge	truth
(j)	justice	Nazis

5. PHRASE MATCH: Students match the following phrases based on the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

(a)	pleaded	point
(b)	civil rights	for the murders
(c)	beaten	workers
(d)	He faced trial	message
(e)	the jury could not	"not guilty"
(f)	turning	the wait
(g)	civil rights	coming
(h)	send the strongest possible	to death
(i)	This has been a long time	reach a verdict
(j)	it was definitely worth	movement

 

WHILE READING ACTIVITIES

1. GAP-FILL:  Put the missing words under each paragraph into the gaps.

Ku Klux Klan arrest for 1964 murders

A 79-year-old man has __________ ‘not guilty’ in a Mississippi court for the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers. This case may conclude one of the most __________ American crimes yet to be solved. Those murdered, James Chaney (black, aged 21, beaten to death) Andrew Goodman (white, aged 20, shot in the chest) and Michael Schwerner (white, aged 24, also shot in the chest), were helping African Americans to register to vote in the US election in America’s then highly __________ South. Edgar Ray Killen is reported to be a leader of the Ku Klux Klan, infamous for __________ and racist attacks and murders against black people, often by hanging in front of their families. He faced trial for the murders in 1967 but was __________ after the jury could not reach a verdict.		pleaded segregated freed notorious brutal
The murders were a __________ point for the civil rights movement and outraged America largely because white people were killed. Previous to their deaths thousands of black people had been murdered by white supremacists with little public __________. Republican congressman, John Lewis, told the NBC news network the arrest was “a tremendous step down a very long road. … It is never, ever too late to bring about justice and send the strongest possible message that __________ and hate will not be tolerated in our society.” Goodman's mother said, “I'm not looking for __________. I'm looking for justice. … This has been a long time coming, but it was definitely worth the wait … I feel so __________.” The story of the murders and police investigation was made famous by the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning.		revenge bigotry turning relieved outcry

2. TRUE/FALSE:  Students check their answers to the T/F exercise.

3. SYNONYMS:  Students check their answers to the synonym exercise.

4. PHRASE MATCH: Students check their answers to the phrase match exercise.

5. QUESTIONS: Students make notes for questions they would like to ask the class about the article.

6. VOCABULARY:  Students circle any words they do not understand. In groups pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find the meanings.

POST READING IDEAS

1. ‘GUILTY’/ ‘COURT’: Students make questions based on their findings from pre-reading activity #1.

2. GAP-FILL: Check the answers to the gap-fill exercise.

3. QUESTIONS:  Students ask the discussion questions they thought of above to their partner / group / class. Pool the questions for all students to share.

4. VOCABULARY: As a class, go over the vocabulary students circled above.

5. STUDENT-GENERATED 'SKIN COLOR' SURVEY: Pairs/Groups write down 3 questions based on the article. Conduct their surveys alone. Report back to partners to compare answers. Report to other groups / the whole class. Back in pairs students discuss their findings.

6. RACISM DISCUSSION: Students ask each other the following questions based on the article:

(a) Why do we have different skin color?
(b) What kind of racism exists in your country?
(c) Are there equal opportunities in your country?
(d) Are there different coloured people reading the evening news in your country?
(e) Do the police treat certain groups of people with suspicion in your country?
(f) What stereotypes exist in your country / of your race?
(g) Have you ever experienced racism / racial abuse / racial attacks?
(h) What would you say to a white (or non-white) supremacist if you met one?
(i) How important is multiculturalism in your country / the world?
(j) Wouldn't the world be a better place if we were all the same color?
(k) Are you proud of your race?
(l) Are you happy with the color of your skin?
(m)  How should bigotry and hatred be dealt with in society?
(n)  Teacher’s additional questions.

7. RACISM: Students discuss whether the following are crimes and what penalties should be given:

(a) A white job applicant gets the position of the better qualified and more able black candidate because the audience want to see a white face reading the news.
(b) Police officers use unncessary, brutal force in the arrest of a non-aggressive person of different color because of their different race.
(c) A customer uses a very derogatory and racist term to a sales assistant of a different race.
(d) The parents of a daughter disown her for dating someone of a different color.
(e) White soccer fans chant racial abuse at black players and throw bananas on the pitch.
(f) A person goes on a public march in a capital city calling for the repatriation of all immigrants
(g) A landlord prevents you from renting an apartment because of your skin color.
(h) People wearing badges or clothing with slogans that incite hatred.
(i) Racial hate graffiti in public places, including churches or places of worship.
(j) Making public speeches that incite racial hatred.

8. STEREOTYPES: Students discuss the stereotypes they (their country has) have of different groups. Examples include:
'white' people, 'black' people, 'brown' people, 'yellow' people
Muslims, Jews, Christians
English people, French people, Italians, Poles, Irish people, Egyptians, Arabs, Iranians, Indians, Thais, Chinese, North Koreans, Japanese, Americans, Brazilians, Australians, Israelis, Bosnians, Albanians... etc etc etc

HOMEWORK

1. VOCAB EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or the Google search field to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on the Ku Klux Klan. Share your findings with your class next lesson.

3. STAMP OUT RACISM: Create an information poster outlining your ideas to stamp out racism.

4. MISSISSIPPI BURNING: Watch the video / DVD of the movie.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

(a)  A 79-year-old man has pleaded ‘guilty’ for the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers.  F
(b)  Three young black men were murdered.  F
(c)  America's southern states were segregated, with black people having few rights.  T
(d)  The Ku Klux Klan is infamous for brutal and racist attacks and murders against black people.  T
(e)  The murders were a turning point for the civil rights movement.  T
(f)  Thousands of black people had been murdered by white supremacists with little public outcry. T
(g)  The mother of one victim said she is looking for revenge, not justice.  F
(h)  The story of the murders was dramatized by the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning.  T 

SYNONYM MATCH:

(a)	pleaded	declared
(b)	notorious	infamous
(c)	segregated	partitioned
(d)	brutal	cruel, barbaric
(e)	racist	bigot
(f)	turning point	watershed
(g)	supremacists	Nazis
(h)	bigotry	prejudice
(i)	revenge	repayment
(j)	justice	truth

PHRASE MATCH:

(a)	pleaded	"not guilty"
(b)	civil rights	movement
(c)	beaten	to death
(d)	He faced trial	for the murders
(e)	the jury could not	reach a verdict
(f)	turning	point
(g)	civil rights	workers
(h)	send the strongest possible	message
(i)	This has been a long time	coming
(j)	it was definitely worth	the wait

GAP FILL:

Ku Klux Klan arrest for 1964 murders

A 79-year-old man has pleaded ‘not guilty’ in a Mississippi court for the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers. This case may conclude one of the most notorious American crimes yet to be solved. Those murdered, James Chaney (black, aged 21, beaten to death) Andrew Goodman (white, aged 20, shot in the chest) and Michael Schwerner (white, aged 24, also shot in the chest), were helping African Americans to register to vote in the US election in America’s then highly segregated South. Edgar Ray Killen is reported to be a leader of the Ku Klux Klan, infamous for brutal and racist attacks and murders against black people, often by hanging in front of their families. He faced trial for the murders in 1967 but was freed after the jury could not reach a verdict.

The murders were a turning point for the civil rights movement and outraged America largely because white people were killed. Previous to their deaths thousands of black people had been murdered by white supremacists with little public outcry. Republican congressman, John Lewis, told the NBC news network the arrest was “a tremendous step down a very long road. … It is never, ever too late to bring about justice and send the strongest possible message that bigotry and hate will not be tolerated in our society.” Goodman's mother said, “I'm not looking for revenge. I'm looking for justice. … This has been a long time coming, but it was definitely worth the wait … I feel so relieved.” The story of the murders and police investigation was made famous by the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning.