Embedded Files
Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.
Big Ideas:
Racial inequity is upheld through laws and policies.
Storytelling is a powerful vehicle for resisting injustice.
Joy and laughter help strengthen our resilience.
Acts of resistance, no matter how small, are significant in challenging systems of oppression.
Apartheid was designed to uphold white supremacy and its legacy remains deeply impactful.
Unjust Laws, Policies and/or Regulations
Informational Essay
Research Paper
Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust” and that a law may be “just on its face but unjust in its application.” In Born a Crime, Trevor Noah reveals many unjust laws, policies and/or regulations during apartheid in South Africa and also humorously details many examples of his mother’s stubborn determination to prevent apartheid from suffocating her free spirit. We also learn about the work Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) did to resist, challenge and eradicate such unjust laws, policies and/or regulations. Resistance occurred on both small and large scales. In fact, Trevor Noah’s birth was an act of resistance to the oppressive anti-miscegenation laws during apartheid.
Students will write a 2-4 page thesis-driven informational paper in which they research what they perceive to be a past or present unjust law, policy and/or regulation and analyze the resistance movements or people behind the movements which were monumental in overturning these unjust laws, policies and/or regulations.
Students are welcome to research current laws, policies and/or regulations which they deem to be unjust but should be mindful that there may not yet be enough research around this topic. Additionally, this is not to be mistaken for an argumentative paper where students argue why the law, policy or regulation was/is unjust; it is an informational paper which informs the audience about the law, policy and/or regulation, its effects and the people or groups behind the resistance movements.
This paper will be written in APA format and must include at least 3 reliable sources.*
Students will choose their topic based on their interests! If students struggle choosing a topic, teachers may help guide students or ultimately choose one for them.
Thesis statement: This paper is not purely informational. The paper must be based on an arguable thesis appropriate for a 2-3 page paper.
For example: a biography on Rosa Parks or a summary of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts would not be appropriate. However, a thesis-driven paper analyzing Rosa Park’s effects on bus segregation and the Montgomery Bus Boycotts would be appropriate.
All topic selections are subject to teacher approval.
Lesson Guidance Documents: These documents provide guidance for lesson planning.
Lesson Guidance Documents: These documents provide guidance for lesson planning.
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