Project: Antiracist Manual

FOCUS: to provide learners with the opportunity to reflect upon a socially relevant topic using multiliteracies as a strategy to allow them to have a more comprehensive view on the matter.
OUTCOME: collaborative antiracist manual
LEVEL: Intermediate and above
TIME: 2 or 3 lessons

IN CLASS

1. Experiment: Explore the topic blacklivesmatter and the genre “manual”

– Ask students: What is the movement #blacklivesmatter? What have you already read / watched / heard about this topic? As students share their ideas, draw a mind map on the board.

– Show students pictures related to the movement and encourage them to identify how well these images represent the movement.

– Discuss what type of content we can find in a manual and ask them what it is used for (if they ever read manuals, what types of manuals they know of, etc.).

– Show them different types of manuals.

– You can also connect their answers to the idea of online tutorials, exploring the differences between a manual and a tutorial.

– Ask students which they think would be the benefits of having a manual about issues related to the #blacklivesmatter movement.

2. Conceptualise: Discuss “Racism”

– Organise students into smaller groups and ask them to discuss what racism is. They should get to a definition for the topic, considering their own experiences and knowledge about it.

3. Analyse: Understanding “Racism” from authors’ perspectives

– Show a picture of Djamila Ribeiro’s book (Pequeno Manual Antirracista) and discuss topics it might discuss.

– Ask: What do you think we can find in an antiracist manual? Explore students’ ideas.

– Tell them that there are also other authors who preach the importance of antiracist behaviours in society, such as Ibram X. Kendi.

– Have students read the article 6 ways to be antiracist, because being ‘not racist’ isn’t enough

(mashable.com) and highlight Kendi’s tips to be an antiracist.

– Use the article to work on language to make suggestions and recommendations,

e.g. imperatives, modal verbs (should/shouldn’t) and clauses of purpose/reason

(to, so, so that, in order to).

– Ask students: Do you agree with the author’s tips? Why (not)?

4. Apply: Propose the creation of collaborative antiracist manuals

– Encourage students to answer the question: How can we stand up against racism, prejudice, discrimination, and other exclusionary practices nowadays?

– You can tell them to gather their ideas on an online board (e.g. Slice, Jamboard, Padlet).

– Invite students to create antiracist manuals aimed at their own communities. Tell them to use the language studied to make suggestions

– Organise students into groups and have them decide on the format of their manuals (e.g. poster, podcast, collage, online page, short video, etc.) and information that cannot be left out. You can open a Google Docs for each group to record information about their work (their names, format chosen, ideas, etc.).

– Allow students some days to produce their collaborative antiracist manuals.

5. Presentation and exhibition of the manuals

– Organise presentations of the manuals, adapting it according to the format chosen.

– Allow groups some time to share their work and, after the presentations, exhibit the manuals at school or online.

Onze lições breves para entender as origens do racismo e como combatê-lo. Neste pequeno manual, a filósofa e ativista Djamila Ribeiro trata de temas como atualidade do racismo, negritude, branquitude, violência racial, cultura, desejos e afetos. Em onze capítulos curtos e contundentes, a autora apresenta caminhos de reflexão para aqueles que queiram aprofundar sua percepção sobre discriminações racistas estruturais e assumir a responsabilidade pela transformação do estado das coisas. Já há muitos anos se solidifica a percepção de que o racismo está arraigado em nossa sociedade, criando desigualdades e abismos sociais: trata-se de um sistema de opressão que nega direitos, e não um simples ato de vontade de um sujeito. Reconhecer as raízes e o impacto do racismo pode ser paralisante. Afinal, como enfrentar um monstro desse tamanho? Djamila Ribeiro argumenta que a prática antirracista é urgente e se dá nas atitudes mais cotidianas. E mais ainda: é uma luta de todas e todos.