African American college students: Classroom activity

In this lesson plan, students will read a primary source document about African American college students in 1906 and answer a series of questions as they assume the role of a young African American woman in the early 20th century.

A lesson plan for grades 8–12 Social Studies

By Jamie Lathan

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• African American college students, 1906 Records of pupils at the North Carolina Colored State Normal Schools (now Winston-Salem State University, Fayetteville State University, and Elizabeth City State University), 1906, with information about parents' occupations and how students paid their expenses. Includes historical commentary.

Related pages

• Governor Aycock on "the negro problem": Speech by North Carolina Governor Charles Brantley Aycock, 1903, in which Aycock proclaims both the absolute supremacy of the white race and the importance of education for all citizens. Includes historical commentary.
• Perspectives on school desegregation: Harriet Love: Interview with a woman who attended an all-black high school in Charlotte in the 1960s but whose children attended integrated schools, about the unintended effects of school desegregation. Includes historical background and commentary.
• John Chavis: John Chavis (1762?–1838), a free African American living in North Carolina, was a widely respected minister and teacher with long-reaching influence on both whites and African Americans.

Related topics

• Learn more about African Americans, North Carolina, education, and history.

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Learning outcomes

Students will know some of the common characteristics of African American college students in 1906.

Teacher planning

Materials needed

Student computers with internet access to access the web page used in the activities. Alternatively, the page could be projected for the class or printed copies may be used.

Time required

One class period

Activities

1. Have students read the page “African American college students” in the North Carolina digital history textbook.
2. Assign students the role of an 18-year old African American woman in North Carolina in 1906. Have the students look at the chart on the “African American college students” page and answer the following questions:
   • What job do your parents have if they have the most common job for African Americans in North Carolina in 1906? (Answer: Farmers)
   • You have to pay all of your expenses for college. How many other girls have to do the same in 1906? How many boys have to pay for all of the expenses for college? What do you think accounts for the difference? (Answer: 30 girls have to pay their own way through college. 20 boys have to pay their way through college. Students could possibly argue that in 1906 male education was valued more than female education.)
   • How many girls attending college in 1906 had their parents pay all of their expenses for college? How many boys had their parents pay all of their expenses for college? What do you think accounts for the difference? (Answer: Zero girls had their parents pay their expenses. 9 boys had their parents pay all of their expenses for college. The difference could be that parents valued educating their sons more than educating their daughters in 1906. Students could talk about the male-dominated society of the early 20th century.)
3. Have students read about Emily O. Piland, Rosia Toomer, and Mamie Clark in the section of the page with the heading “Some self-supporting students 1905-’06.”
4. Ask the students to make up a name for the African American female student whose role they’ve assumed and write a one-paragraph story of her life in the model of Emily O. Piland, Rosia Toomer, and Mamie Clark. The story should be based on the answers from the questions above.

Assessment

Assess by the following rubric.

√+	Student answered all of the questions correctly and wrote a paragraph about the 18-year old African American woman.
√	Student answered some of the questions correctly and wrote a paragraph about the 18-year old African American woman.
√-	Student answered none of the questions.