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Instructional Objectives:

1. To learn about the role women of African descent have played in the history of labor in the Western Hemisphere.

2. To familiarize students with the names and accomplishments of key women in the African- American experience.

3. To initiate thought on career planning.

4. To foster respect for the role of women in the labor force.

5 To encourage critical thinking and interpretation of historical information.

6. To develop research skills.

Prerequisite Skills:

1. Reading and comprehension at the fourth-grade reading level and above.

2. The ability to decipher African-American dialect.

3. The ability to analyze and write.

I. In 1851, Sojourner Truth spoke at a Women's Rights conference in Akron, Ohio. Her speech, now famous, refers to the labor of black women. The following is an excerpt:

"...Dat man over dar say dat womin needs to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to hab de best place everywhar. Nobody eber helps me into carriages, or ober mud-puddles, or gibs me any best place! And a'n't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! [and she bared her right arm to the shoulder, showing her tremendous muscular power.] I have ploughed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And a'n't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it -and bear de lash as well! And a'n't I a woman? I have borne thirteen chilern, and seen 'em mos' all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And a'n't I a woman?"

(Rendered and translated in dialect by Frances Dana Gage, History of Woman Suffrage [1881]).

Procedure:

1. Students should be familiar with biographical information on Sojourner Truth.

2. Have students read Truth's "Ain't I a Woman" speech aloud in class. Discuss the differences between dialect and standard English.

3. Have students interpret Truth's speech and write a brief paragraph or essay on what they think it means.

4. Give students a research assignment that addresses one of the following topics:

(a) Women in slavery in America

(b) Plantation slavery in the Caribbean, South America, and Central America

(c) Women's rights

II. African women brought business experiences with them from their homeland. Women in Africa were traditionally involved in trade in the marketplace--buying and selling foodstuffs they had grown and hand crafted wares they had made. They were also employed in the areas of folk medicine, midwifery, and cooking.

Procedure:

1. Have students select an occupation from the list below. Using images from the portfolio and other research material, have them write a report on that occupation.

(a) Market Woman

(b) Laundress

(c) Plantation Worker: field work, domestic work

(d) Miner

(e) Farmer

(f) Teacher

(g) Inventor

(h) Entrepreneur

2. Have students compare these occupations in different countries in the Western Hemisphere.

3. Have students select a "heroine" and perform a dramatic piece about some aspect of her life.

4. Have a classroom discussion about the role of contemporary women in the labor force. What kinds of jobs do they have? Are any jobs considered unusual for women?

5. Have a classroom discussion about slavery as it was experienced by women compared to the experiences of men. What are some of the similarities? The differences? Why do they exist?

6. Have students select from the following list of women of African descent in various occupations and write a report to be shared with the class. Each report should have at least two bibliographic references. Students should also try to find a picture of their chosen subject.

Charlotte Forten--teacher, writer

Ana Mendieta--artist

Harriet Tubman--spy, nurse

Ella Jo Baker--activist, education consultant

Sojourner Truth--women's rights activist

Madame C.J. Walker--entrepreneur

Bessie Coleman--aviator

Mae Jemison--medical doctor, astronaut

Cornelia Gomez--caterer

Clara Brown--gold miner

Katherine Dunham--dancer

Phylicia Rashad--actress

Mary McLeod Bethune--educator, land developer

Zora Neale Hurston--writer, anthropologist

Selma Burke--artist, nurse

Madeline M. Turner--inventor

Anna J. Cooper--author, educator

Elizabeth Keckley--seamstress, abolitionist

Pura Belpre--librarian

Fannie Lou Hamer--activist, labor organizer

7. Mix the above occupations and names in two separate columns. Have students match the occupation to the name.

III. Ella JO Baker was a community organizer, civil rights and domestic activist, and education consultant. In 1983, PBS presented a documentary on her life called Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker. Fundi means "one who hands down a craft from one generation to another" in Swahili.

Procedure:

1. Obtain a copy of Fundi to show in class.

2. Have students read about the life and work of Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer.

3. Have a classroom discussion comparing their works and that of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman.

4. Discuss the concept of fundi. How does this apply to the idea of women of African descent and their work traditions?

5. Have classroom discussion on the crafts handed down in each students' family experience.

IV. According to the United States Department of Labor Statistics, women will be a major source of new entrants into the labor force. Between 1988 and the year 2000, it is predicted that the number of black women will increase by 2.1 million or 16 percent of the population and will therefore account for one-tenth of the overall labor-force growth. Industries that will generate the largest number of jobs include:

(a) restaurants

(b) health care

(c) personal care

(d) construction

(e) education

(f) computer and data processing services

(g) hotels

-- U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau Facts on US Working Women, 1988

Procedure:

1. Have students select an area they are interested in as a career choice. They should research the education and skills necessary for entering this field. Hold a job fair in class. Students can role play by interviewing one another, preparing resumes, and discussing their choices.

2. Design a graph to show statistical information from the US Department of Labor. It can be a pie graph, chart, etc. Have a classroom discussion on the implications of the future of women of African descent in the job market and the effects on:

(a) education

(b) the family

(c) industry

(d) politics

Nashormeh N.R. Lindo