Class Syllabi

B.L.A.C.K. Culture Syllabus 2020-2021 School Year

Classroom Coach: King Marques Walker

Email: marques.walker@mpls.k12.mn.us

Room #: Distance Learning

Course Description:

B.L.A.C.K. is an acronym that stands for Building Lives Acquiring Cultural Knowledge. The B.L.A.C.K. Culture class will give “you,” the Kings a voice while in the classroom. This year in the class, we will be tackling many social and mental issues that blacks have dealt with both in the past and in present day. We will also research past and present African-American leaders and identify how they made an impact on the black community and the culture. We will also focus on building authentic relationships and empowering each other throughout this process. The idea is to bring more of a family approach to the classroom so that every King in our class feels like they have a voice and feels empowered while here.

Classroom Expectation: Every student in the BLACK Culture class will be expected to follow the classroom engagement plan. As a class, we will all have a say and help create the classroom engagement plan together. This will ensure that all students will have a clear understanding of what’s expected of them in the B.L.A.C.K. class.

Grading: Classwork, homework, test and quizzes will account for 30% of your grade. Participation in classroom discussions, open mic days, study days and family building days will also account for 30% of your final grade. At the end of each quarter, each student in the B.L.A.C.K. class will have a one on one meeting with the Classroom Coach to do a Self-Assessment, on how they felt their production was throughout the quarter. Students will have an opportunity to advocate for themselves, and collaborate with the classroom coach on what they think a fair grade for themselves would be in the class. The Self-Assessment will count for 40% of your final letter grade each quarter.

Weekly Schedule:

Monday: Weekly Goal Setting/Weekend Check in Discussion

Tuesday: Curriculum/Reading day

Wednesday: Open Mic Discussion day

Thursday: Curriculum reading/review/test/quiz day

Friday: Study hall/family building day

Units:

Unit 1 - Who am I? Autobiographies.

Unit 2 - The Autobiography of Malcolm X. In this unit, we will use the book “The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley,” to examine and study one of the most important figures in world history.

Unit 3 - The Moors. We will study the Moors and have an understanding of how they have had an impact in the evolution of society.

Unit 4 – John Africa and the MOVEment Unit. This unit will focus on the black liberation group “MOVE,” who’s headquarters was bombed in 1985 by the Philadelphia Police Department.

Unit 5 - Marcus Garvey and the Black Nationalist Movement Unit. In this unit students will examine the life and legacy of political activist, publisher, journalist, and entrepreneur Marcus Garvey. Students will study the strides and achievements of Marcus Garvey and the UNIA using multiple media resources.

Unit 6 – Education, career, and budget management Unit. This unit will focus on different diplomas, certificates, degrees, and career opportunities that are available to you, and teach you how to create a monthly budget based off your income.

Unit 7 – The history of HBCU’s. (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) We will examine how HBCU’s came about, and each student will do a research paper and presentation of an HBCU of their choice.

Office Mission Statement

“We exist to awaken the greatness within Black males in MPS, to have them determined to believe and achieve success, as defined by their own values and dreams.”