In this lesson, students will learn about the Los Angeles Chinese Massacre of 1871, and identify the causes by examining the attitudes and policies of the time. They will learn about and analyze other massacres that have occurred in the United States in order to gain a better and more nuanced understanding of how and why these acts of violence occur. Lastly, students will research the process for reparations and consider how to address and rectify the harm of such injustices.

Content Warning:
This lesson includes discussion of and materials discussing or depicting xenophobia, Sinophobia, and racial violence, including lynchings. Please let students know that this lesson will cover these topics and approach discussions with care.
Teaching these topics and having these discussions can be difficult. Here are two resources that may be helpful for planning and facilitating lessons and activities on difficult topics: Strategies for Facilitating Conversations About Race and Racism in the Classroom [run time: 00:04:59] and Let’s Talk! | Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Students [24 pages].

From the Asian American Education Project

Chinese immigrants began arriving to the United States in the early 1800s to fill the need for cheap labor. Soon, white workers began to see them as a source of competition. Amidst a climate of anti-Chinese sentiment, the U.S. passed several pieces of legislation to exclude Chinese immigrants from entering the country beginning in the 1870s. In 1882, the U.S. passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first in a series of laws explicitly used to limit immigration based on race. Other immigration laws followed to exclude additional Asian groups. In this lesson, students will examine the causes and effects of exclusion laws targeting early Asian immigrants. They will research related events and legislation to explore the historical and political contexts of the anti-Chinese exclusion acts.

Content Warning:
This lesson will include discussions and depictions of xenophobia, Sinophobia, race-based hate, and racial violence. If needed, provide a content or a trigger warning so that students are aware of potentially traumatic material. Also, allow students time to process and provide them an opportunity to journal their thoughts and feelings. If available, work with your school’s mental health professionals to provide counseling as needed.

From the Asian American Education Project

Following World War II, the international community declared ‘never again’ would we allow atrocities targeted against a group of people. They worked together to define genocide and agreed to intervene and stop any future such atrocities. In this lesson students research a case study and discuss with other groups which events qualify as genocide and decide what the appropriate international response should be.

Best practices and guidelines for teaching about genocide from the Holocaust Center for Humanity. These are guidelines for educators, not lesson plans.

Over the course of nine months, eleven Hmong language educators took an Ethnic Studies course with Dr. Jenna Cushing-Leubner & Heritage Language/Ethnic Studies teacher Natalia Benjamin at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and attended the Boston Ethnic Studies training with Katie Li and her team. Afterwards Dr. Vicky Xiong-Lor of Clovis Unified and Doua Vue of Fresno Unified lead the team through self-healing activities and created a Hmong Ethnic Studies curriculum. This is the first phase of curriculum creation with more to come.

Learn Uake, Hmong Museum Education Resources for K-12, offers a unit of study (10 lessons) for grades 7-12. Learn Uake is a central location for students, teachers, and parents to find enriching research-based resources about Hmong people, history, culture, and art.

Follow individual trajectories of America’s diverse community of veterans as they join the military, experience deployments, and then return and adjust to civilian life. Analyze oral histories that describe the camaraderie of the veteran community, the struggles of engaging in combat, and the experiences—positive and negative—of returning to civilian life. Use their personal stories to engage in a discussion of how American veterans are treated by civilians during their service and on returning home from various conflicts.

This text set includes a variety of multimodal resources designed to help learners understand treaty rights as they apply to the state of Wisconsin, giving special emphasis to the court cases of LCO v. Voight and State v. Gurnoe.  Indian tribes were independent, sovereign nations, before the arrival of Europeans in North America. Despite ceding their lands in the northern part of Wisconsin to the U.S. government, Chippewa tribes reserved the right to hunt, fish, and gather within the Ceded Territory. In the 1980’s, these court cases affirmed those rights. The year 2024 celebrates 50 years of the court decision. 

Transgender people have long faced discrimination in employment, marriage, medical care, and other areas, and are far more likely to experience homelessness, unemployment, and mental illness than people whose gender identity matches the gender they were assigned at birth. Today, ​lawmakers across the country have introduced anti-trans legislation, seeking to bar transgender students from participating in sports and limiting access by minors to gender-affirming medical care. The movement that began nearly half a century ago still faces many obstacles.

Content Advisory:
This lesson covers historical and contemporary demands for equality by transgender people. The film and associated resources address sexuality, violence against transgender people, and other topics that may upset or offend some people.