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Effects of African Slavery Essay
Students will describe the main ideas about African slavery in America,
and evaluate its contribution to ethnocentrism/racism in America today
Students will write in a clear, coherent manner
Students will logically defend an argument with facts
Students will research and find relevant information using a variety of
sources Students will organize thoughts
In order to function as an informed, sensitive citizen in today’s
society, it is important to understand the causes of ethnocentrism and
racism. Although it is a complicated historical issue, racism toward African
Americans stems primarily from the institution of slavery. Although slavery
is dead, racism is far from it.
We have discussed the origins of slavery in America, how it affected the
people who lived through it, etc. Now, you will use your knowledge of
slavery in order to draw connections between our nation’s past, and
feelings of ethnocentrism/racism which still exist in our country today.
Ethnocentrism -
A belief that one’s own ethnic group is superior to others
Racism -
A system of discrimination based on race; one race typically is in power
over another race
Task Specifics:
1. Find a newspaper or magazine article which displays an example
of ethnocentrism and/or racism toward African Americans in recent times.
2. Write an essay which includes the following:
*2-3 paragraphs which summarize the article, explain how it demonstrates
ethnocentrism and/or racism, and explain where you found it (name of the
source, date of the issue, and page number)
*3-4 paragraphs which draw connections between African slavery in America
and feelings of ethnocentrism/racism which exist today, using your article
as one example
4. In your essay, you should cite relevant information from the textbook
(see The Evolution of Slavery, The Triangular Trade, The Middle Passage,
and Slavery in the South from Ch.3; Sec. 2) which demonstrates the
subjugation (definition: to beat down or dominate) of Africans.
Criteria:
Your essay should be clear, understandable, well-organized, and should
include supporting information about slavery. Your essay should be free
from grammatical or spelling errors, and should be written neatly
or typed. If possible, attach your newspaper or magazine article to your
essay.
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Criteria
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Points
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Levels
of Performance (Points)
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| Writing
Clarity |
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Writing is clear and coherent; information and thoughts are well-organized
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7 - clear and well-organized 4 - some organization present 0 - disorganized
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Spelling and grammar are correct |
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3 - mistake free 0 - many errors |
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Essay is typed or neatly hand-written |
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3 - very neat 0 - unreadable or very messy |
| Support
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Facts about slavery are included in order to support arguments in
essay |
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7 - many facts used; facts help argument 4 - few facts used; moderate
support of argument 0 - no facts used |
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Arguments demonstrate a clear understanding of ethnocentrism/racism
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7 - arguments are strong 4 - arguments show a moderate grasp of the
concepts 0 - arguments do not make sense |
| Research
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Article is from an approved source |
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3 - approved source 0 - inappropriate source |
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Article is relevant to the topic and helps draw connections to present-day
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3 - article is very relevant 0 - article is irrelevant |
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Total Score |
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/33
Possible |
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