Lesson Plan, Video, Activity Between Black and White: Asian Americans Speak Out - Bridging the Divide

Eddie Zheng was imprisoned in California for a crime he committed at age 16. Now he’s committed to building bridges between Asian Americans and communities of color to confront racism, fear, and misperceptions about one another.

Students will get to know how Asian Americans and Black Americans in San Francisco worked together to bridge their differences and then apply this to their communities. Gain an understanding of how Asian Americans and Black Americans have been in solidarity throughout history and why their communities have been divided by reading a Background Essay. Use a graphic organizer handout to reflect on the episode. Then use the prompts from the handout to brainstorm how to bring differing groups of people in their communities together, similar to how Asian Americans and Black Americans did in San Francisco.

Between Black & White: Asian Americans Speak Out, is a three-part series from Exploring Hate: Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Extremism and the Serica Initiative, to learn about communities building bridges and fighting hate together.

Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.