Performance as Resilience: BIPOC Artists Throughout the 1900s-1920s
Performance as Resilience: BIPOC Artists Throughout the 1900s-1920s
The 1920s were a time of creative flourishing throughout the United States. Black, Indigenous, and other artists of color were instrumental in creating and advancing art through a variety of forms, including dance, film, theater, visual arts, and more. It is important to analyze the ways in which BIPOC artists contributed to these fields, the themes they portrayed, and the backlash they experienced to gain a comprehensive understanding of American arts and culture throughout the 1920s.
Throughout this lesson plan, students will learn the histories of BIPOC artists through the 1920s and their contributions to Vaudeville, the Harlem Renaissance, and Silent Film. Using primary and secondary sources from multiple media types, students will engage in rigorous discussion and creative projects to reinforce learning. Appropriate for history and or arts classes.
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
Know the basic information around BIPOC artists throughout the 1900s-1920s, particularly in the genres of Vaudeville, silent film, and the Harlem Renaissance.
Gain a firm understanding of how creative mediums surrounding the arts can be used as a tool for combatting historical oppression and communicating systemic issues.
Contextualize historical events through analytic thinking from diverse, multimedia sources.
The standards covered in this lesson are:
AP US History: 7.1, 7.7, 7.8, KC - 7.2.II.aii, KC-7.2.I.B, KC-7.2.1D
Common Core ELA: CCSS.ELA- LITERACY.RH.11-12.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11.12.7
Lesson plan created by Ariana Kretz and Layla Hussein