Name: A Crack in the System Class/Subject: Modern US History: High School level Student Objectives/Student Outcomes: 1.

Students will be able to identify and explain negative social effects of crack use on urban areas of the United States in the 1980's. 2. Students will observe and criticize media portrayals of urban drug use, poverty and crime as directly related to race through biased coverage of the "crack epidemic" in the 1980's while developing a critical eye for primary sources. Students should recognize the value in viewing an issue critically from multiple perspectives. 3. Students will analyze the song "Night of the Living Crackheads" by Public Enemy as a social and political statement against both crack and its effects on the realities and perceptions of blackness in the late twentieth century. Content Standards: ILS 16.D.5 (US) Analyze the relationship between an issue in United States social history and the related aspects of political, economic and environmental history. ILS 16.D. 4b (US) Describe unintended consequences of political events in United States history (e.g. Civil War/emancipation, National Defense Highway Act/decline of the inner cities, Vietnam War/anti-government activity). Materials/Resources/Technology: Chalkboard/Chalk Computer/projector Links to both clips from CBS's "48 Hours on Crack Street" and Public Enemy's "Night of the Living Baseheads" Lyrics to "Night of the Living Baseheads" (handout) Teachers Goals: 1) To familiarize students with the urban policies of the Reagan administration, including the "War on Drugs" 2) To critique perceptions of connections between race, poverty and urbanity in America 3) To demonstrate the use of art as an expression of political thought Time 8:00 Start of Class: Begin class by writing "Crack is ______" on the board. Ask students to fill in the blank, looking for "Wack". Ask students how they knew the answer to this question and explain that the notion of crack in the United States is relatively young historically and that "Crack is Wack" emerged as a popular saying that couple Reagan's "War on Drugs".

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Introduction of Lesson: Teacher will explain that today's lesson will revolve around the Reagan administration's "War on Drugs" and the effects it had both on American perception of drug use as well as stigmatized urban communities, especially black citizens. Lesson: Explain the general framework of the Reagan "War on Drugs" - Stricter law enforcement - Mandatory minimum sentences - Broken Windows policing Explain importance of media in creating an image and identity of the "War on Drugs" biggest focus, crack, it's early stages - show clips of "48 Hours on Crack Street" where Bernie Goldberg talks to young black male in New York followed by his conversation with a white male. These clips clearly color young black New Yorkers as drug users and dealers and white citizens as simply victims disgusted by the emergence of crack use in their community. ?: Pose question: "After viewing this segment, how would you identify crack dealers and users?" - share stats that crack was not specifically an urban, black drug as it was implied to be, but rather that crack was used by whites just as much as minorities in urban spaces. - stress the point that one should not view history from a single perspective, but should always view sources of historical and social knowledge with a critical eye in order to recognize bias. Hand out lyrics to "Night of the Living Baseheads" and play portions of the music video After reading the lyrics and watching the video, ask students: "How does this alternate perspective on the crack epidemic in New York City change your view of crack after watching the TV clips?" Assessments/Checks for Understanding: Have students write down comparisons and contrasts between the two images of urban drug use. After working individually for 5-10 minutes, have students discuss their synthetic conclusions compiled from the two perspectives with the class. Ensure students realize the racial and social effects of political event of Reagan's "War on Drugs".

20 minutes

15-20 minutes

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Closure/Wrap-Up/Review: Re-enforce the importance of viewing historical events from multiple perspectives in order to ensure a more complete picture of the event. Stress the importance of Public Enemy's use of music to both create awareness for the problem of crack the same as Reagan as well as to criticize the racial and socio-economic implications of the profiling of criminalized drug use during the "War on Drugs". Self-Assessment: Teacher will ask himself: - How do I know that the students achieved the objectives? - Did I present information without any sort of personal bias? - How could I ensure the comprehension of all styles of learners in this lesson? - What conditions contributed to the success or failure of this lesson? - How can the community be involved and engaged by this lesson?