Activity Three: The Nubian Message in the New Millennium

Step One (Review): Have students draw on discussions from the previous class to summarize the main topics and themes covered in The Nubian Message during the early to mid-1990s. Write the topics and themes that students identify on the board or somewhere else that students can easily consult. (Skip to Step Two if using this lesson activity only.)

Step Two: Have all students read the introduction to the exhibit, “The Nubian Message in the New Millennium.” Then assign each student a section of the exhibit to read and explore individually. (This can be accomplished by the "counting off" method: assigning Student A the first exhibit section to read, Student B the second exhibit section, and so forth around the room.) The exhibit sections are:

• “A Question of Unity: The Nubian Message and Student Governance” (Topic: Campus Racism/Student Leadership)
• “Issues with Campus and National Media Representations” (Topic: Media/Representations)
• “Memory and African-American History” (Topic: History/Memory)
• “Fighting ‘Discrete Discrimination’ in Careers and Society” (Topic: Racial Profiling/Institutional Racism)

While students read, ask them to identify key terms, themes, arguments, and evidence in the exhibit sections. Remind students that they should read the primary sources (the articles) as well as the secondary-source information (the exhibit text).

Step Three: After students have finished exploring their exhibit section, refer them back to the list (made at the beginning of class) of key topics and themes from The Nubian Message during the 1990s. Have students write down topics and themes that carried over into the paper during the early 2000s, and new topics and themes that appeared in the 2000s.

Step Four: Divide the class into groups of four, with at least one person per exhibit section in each group. Have groups discuss the new and common topics and themes that they identified in Step Three. Then have groups identify ways in which The Nubian Message’s coverage important issues changed over time. Have students consider the following questions:

• What important topics and themes appeared in The Nubian Message during the 1990s that were not covered as often in the early 2000s? Why do you think those topics/themes were not covered as often in the early 2000s?
• What new topics and themes appeared in The Nubian Message in the early 2000s that did not appear in articles during the 1990s? Why do you think those new topics/themes became important to the paper and its readership?
• How did The Nubian Message’s coverage of common topics and themes (i.e. affirmative action, institutional racism, African-American history etc.) change over time? How do these changes reflect the state of race relations in American society by the new millennium?

Students should cite specific articles to support their responses. Students can use “The Illusion of Inclusion” interactive timeline to view Nubian Message articles chronologically and compare past articles to more recent ones.

Step Five: Have each group present their findings to the class. If more than one group discusses the same topic or theme in the paper, ask them why that topic/theme stuck out to them. If students disagree over how the paper covered a topic or theme over time, discuss the differences of opinion.

Step Six: Wrap up the lesson by giving students an “exit survey” question:

• According to the exhibit, “The Nubian Message in the New Millennium,” how did writers at The Nubian Message question oversimplified narratives of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement?