Unit 1
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History of Racial Injustice in the United States

Unit Plan

Foundations of Racial Injustice

Activities

Teaching with E.L.O.N.  (Enriched Learning Opportunity Nexus) that seamlessly integrates AI 
Unit 1
Essential Question:
How were systems of racial injustice constructed and justified in early U.S. history?

Week 1: Indigenous Dispossession and Settler Colonialism
Topics:
  • Indigenous societies prior to European arrival
  • The Doctrine of Discovery and settler colonialism
  • Early encounters and the logic of dispossession
Key Texts/Resources: Activities:
  • Document Analysis: Close reading of the Indian Removal Act—what language is used to justify removal?
  • Map Analysis: Annotate historical maps showing Indigenous land loss
  • Discussion: Define settler colonialism and its impact
  • Reflection Journal: Indigenous dispossession as a foundation of racial injustice

Week 2: The Transatlantic Slave Trade and Chattel Slavery
Topics:
  • The rise of the transatlantic slave trade
  • Economic motivations and human cost
  • The creation of chattel slavery in North America
Key Texts/Resources: Activities:
  • Primary Source Analysis: Analyze Equiano’s account of enslavement and middle passage
  • Visual Analysis: Conditions aboard slave ships using diagrams
  • Debate Prep: Explore historical justifications for slavery (economic vs. ideological)
  • Exit Ticket: Reflection on the systemic effects of the transatlantic slave trade

Week 3: The Construction of Race and Racial Hierarchies
Topics:
  • The invention of “race” as a social construct
  • Pseudoscience and the justification of racial inequality
  • The intersection of race and power in early colonial society
Key Texts/Resources: Activities:
  • Concept Mapping: How was race socially constructed in the colonies?
  • Small Group Analysis: Deconstruct Linnaeus’ and Jefferson’s texts—how do they build racial hierarchies?
  • Class Discussion: Who benefited from these constructions of race?
  • Gallery Walk: Visuals and quotes from racial science texts annotated by students

Week 4: Early Laws Codifying Racial Difference
​Topics:
  • Early colonial laws enforcing racial division and inequality
  • Virginia Slave Codes (1705) and legal codification of slavery
  • The Indian Removal Act (revisited) and Indigenous displacement
Key Texts/Resources: Activities:
  • Primary Source Analysis: Groups dissect specific provisions of the Virginia Slave Codes—what racialized assumptions underlie these laws?
  • Debate: Historical perspectives on colonization and slavery (role-play as various stakeholders)
  • Socratic Seminar: Long-term impacts of these laws on U.S. legal and social systems
  • Summative Assessment: Write an argumentative essay: "How did early U.S. laws institutionalize racial injustice?"

Ongoing Unit Components:
  • Weekly Reflection Journals: Students will make weekly entries connecting historical concepts to modern-day systems of racial injustice.
  • Vocabulary Building: settler colonialism, chattel slavery, racial hierarchy, social construct, legal codification.
​The following activities include AI tools that enhance student engagement, provide data-driven insights, and facilitate personalized learning. 
Week 1: Indigenous Dispossession and Settler Colonialism
Group Activity:
AI Map-Making and Source Annotation
  • Students use Canva AI or Adobe Firefly to create an annotated timeline/map showing Indigenous land dispossession from pre-contact to 1830.
  • AI-generated historical visuals from DALL·E (e.g., a depiction of an Indigenous community pre-European contact or forced relocations) are added to the project.
  • Use ChatGPT to help students generate short, accurate map captions and historical context blurbs for each major event (e.g., "Trail of Tears").
Individual Activity:
AI-Assisted Document Analysis
  • Students input sections of the Indian Removal Act into ChatGPT or Bard to generate paraphrases and plain-language summaries.
  • Prompt ChatGPT to act as a historian and answer: "What legal and moral arguments were made in the Indian Removal Act?"
  • Students write a reflection, then compare their original thoughts with AI-generated insights.

Week 2: The Transatlantic Slave Trade and Chattel Slavery
Group Activity:
AI-Powered Visual and Textual Analysis
  • Students upload diagrams of slave ships and Equiano excerpts into ChatGPT to co-develop a "Dual-Lens Analysis":
    1. The AI assists in summarizing the economic rationale for slavery.
    2. The AI generates potential reflective journal questions on the human suffering described in Equiano's narrative.
  • In groups, students also use DALL·E to generate illustrations of the Middle Passage or West African ports (with historical accuracy guidelines) and compare them to real-world visuals.
Individual Activity:
AI-Enhanced Debate Preparation
  • Students input their debate stance into AI-Powered Debate Simulators like Kialo or Parley AI, and receive structured argument suggestions with pros/cons and counterarguments.
  • They refine their position using ChatGPT to role-play a historical actor (e.g., an abolitionist or a merchant invested in the slave trade) and write a short opening statement for the upcoming debate.

Week 3: The Construction of Race and Racial Hierarchies
Group Activity:
AI Concept Map Creation
  • Using ChatGPT as a brainstorming tool, groups generate a list of key concepts and connections (e.g., pseudoscience, racial categories, legal enforcement).
  • They then design a digital concept map using Canva AI or Miro AI Assist showing how racial categories were created to serve economic and political interests.
Individual Activity:
AI-Assisted Critical Comparison
  • Students input excerpts from Linnaeus and Jefferson into ChatGPT for plain-language translation and bias detection.
  • Prompt example: "Explain how Linnaeus’ classifications reflect 18th-century biases about race."
  • Students then write a reflection comparing their interpretations with the AI’s, noting points of agreement or disagreement.

Week 4: Early Laws Codifying Racial Difference
Group Activity:
AI-Driven Historical Role-Play Debate
  • Using ChatGPT, groups craft character profiles (e.g., colonial governor, enslaved person, Indigenous leader, European settler) with motivations based on historical context.
  • Students input their roles into Parley AI to simulate opposing arguments before the in-class debate.
  • Otter.ai or Whisper AI is used to transcribe the debate live for review and reflection.
Individual Activity:
​AI-Enhanced Legal Document Analysis
  • Students upload Virginia Slave Codes excerpts to Bard or ChatGPT for assistance summarizing the legal language.
  • AI helps students generate questions like:
    "What fears about race and social order are embedded in these laws?"
  • They use this to draft a thesis statement for their final essay on racial codification in U.S. law.

Optional Ongoing Activities:
  1. AI Journal Reflection Support:
    Each week, students can use ChatGPT to help brainstorm and expand their personal reflection journals by generating sample prompts or helping them rephrase complex thoughts.
  2. AI Peer Review:
    Students can upload drafts of essays or debate speeches into ChatGPT or Bard and ask for suggestions on clarity, argument strength, and historical accuracy.
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