Learning Humanity from Harlem Renaissance Poetry

SUGGESTED TIME:

• 1 class period 

RELATED SUBJECT:

English Language Arts

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Read three Harlem Renaissance poems 
• Analyze the structure of the poems 
• Identify and analyze the poems’ central themes and ideas  
• Write answers to questions about the poems, demonstrating an understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar   
• Engage effectively in collaborative discussions about the poems

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

• Poem: “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay (1919)
• Poem: “The Lynching” by Claude McKay (1922)
• Poem: “Strange Fruit” (1939) by Abel Meeropol, performed by Billie Holiday 
• Video: Ida B. Wells: Fearless Investigative Reporter of Southern Horrors by Black History in Two Minutes or so (~2 min)
• Video: The Harlem Renaissance by Black History in Two Minutes or So (~2 min)
• Video: Audio recording of “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay posted by Poets Speak (~1 min)
• Video: “The Lynching” by Claude McKay read by Vincent Powell posted by Vincent Powell (Stop video at 1 min)
• Video: Billie Holiday "Strange Fruit" Live 1959 posted by ReelinInTheYears66 (~3 min)
• Worksheet: Prohuman Grade 8 Unit 9 Worksheet 1: Harlem Renaissance Poetry

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ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET

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CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

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LESSON PROCEDURE

Step 1: 

• Tell students that we will be reading three poems that respond to the injustice of lynching.
• Explain that lynching is the public killing of an individual who has not received any due process (a trial) 
• From 1882 to 1968, 4,743 lynchings occurred in the U.S., according to records maintained by the NAACP. (Source: “History of Lynching in America” by the NAACP.)
• Black people were the primary victims of lynching: 3,446, or about 72 percent of the people lynched, were Black. But they weren't the only victims of lynching. Some white people were lynched for helping Black people or for being anti-lynching. Immigrants from Mexico, China, Australia, and other countries were also lynched.
• The highest number of lynchings during occurred in Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas. Lynchings did not occur in every state. There are no recorded lynchings in Arizona, Idaho, Maine, Nevada, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
• Explain that many people worked to expose and stop lynching, including Ida B. Wells. Play video: Ida B. Wells: Fearless Investigative Reporter of Southern Horrors by Black History in Two Minutes or so (~2 min)

Step 2:

• Explain that many poets, especially those in the Harlem Renaissance movement, wrote to expose the injustice of lynchings.
• Play this video, which briefly explains the meaning and history of the Harlem Renaissance: Video: The Harlem Renaissance by Black History in Two Minutes or so (~2 min)

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Step 3: 

• Have the students read “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay silently (~1 min)
• Have a different student read each line of “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay out loud. (~1 min)
• Play the video: Audio recording of “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay  posted by Poets Speak. (~1 min)
• Have students talk with a partner about what type of rhyme scheme and structure they see in this poem. (~2 min) 
• Explain that the poem is a Shakespearean sonnet. This means that the poem follows 3 quatrains (four-line stanzas) with one rhyming couplet (two-line stanza) that concludes the poem. The sonnet follows the meter of iambic pentameter in which each line has ten syllables.
• Have students reflect on and write about what McKay is saying in this sonnet. Remind them that the poem was published in 1919. Have them write on their worksheets. (~3 min)
• Have a class discussion about what students wrote about this sonnet. (~5 min)

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Step 4: 

• Have the students read “The Lynching” by Claude McKay silently. (~1 min)
• Have a different student read each line of “The Lynching” out loud. (~1 min)
• Play the video: “The Lynching” by Claude McKay read by Vincent Powell posted by Vincent Powell (Stop video at 1 min)
• Have students talk with a partner about what type of rhyme scheme and structure they see in this poem. (~2 min) 
• Explain that “The Lynching” mixes elements of the Shakespearean sonnet and the Petrarchan sonnet; the middle two lines of each quatrain rhyme with each other while the last two lines are a rhyming couplet, and the poem as a whole keeps perfect iambic pentameter. (To learn more, see: Jensen, Lily. “Claude McKay's Protest Sonnets.” Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism. 16.1 (2023). Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/criterion/vol16/iss1/11) 
• Have students reflect on and write about what McKay is saying in this sonnet. Have them write on their worksheets. (~3 min)
• Have a class discussion about what students wrote about this sonnet. (~5 min)

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Step 5: 

• Have the students silently read “Strange Fruit” (1939) by Abel Meeropol. (~1 min)
• Have a different student read each line of “Strange Fruit” out loud. (~1 min)
• Have students talk with a partner about what type of rhyme scheme and structure they see in this poem. Also, ask students how the poet uses alliteration (the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words). (2 min) 
• Explain that “Strange Fruit” has a simple structure: three stanzas with four lines in each. The rhyme scheme of the poem is AABB. Show students the alliteration and ask what effect it has on the reader.
• Play the video: Billie Holiday "Strange Fruit" Live 1959 posted by ReelinInTheYears66 (~3 min)
• Ask students to reflect on and write about what the poet is saying. Have them write on their worksheets. (~3 min)
• Have a class discussion about what students wrote about this poem. (~5 min)

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GRADE 8 UNIT 9 WORKSHEET 1: HARLEM RENAISSANCE POETRY

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“If We Must Die” by Claude McKay (1919) — What do you see as the central message McKay is communicating in this poem?

“The Lynching” by Claude McKay (1922) — What do you see as the central message McKay is communicating in this poem?

“Strange Fruit” (1939) by Abel Meeropol, performed by Billie Holiday— What do you see as the central message the poet is communicating in this poem?

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