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Four Corners: African Americans demand change, 1968

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African-American woman talks with unknown man
Four Corners: African Americans demand change, 1968

SUBJECTS: Civics and Citizenship, History

YEARS: 9–10


Imagine that you cannot eat alongside white people, go to white schools, or even ride in the same part of a public bus.

This was the reality for many African Americans growing up before the sweeping changes in America in the 1960s, even though slavery was abolished more than a century before.

This 1968 clip explores the experience of Mae Smith, an African-American social worker, who explains what it was like growing up black in America and hints at the changes that are to come.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Would you pretend to be something you weren't just so you could fit in? What would cause you to do that? List three famous African American people. What influence have they had on American social, cultural or political life?
  2. 2.According to Mae Smith, why did her parents think that 'acting white' was a good idea? Why has she come to disagree with their point of view? What assumption does the reporter make about Mae Smith's lighter-than-average skin colour, and how does she respond to his comment? In what ways does Mae Smith think that young African Americans are different in the present (1968) to when she was ten years younger? What is Mae Smith's objection to the term 'American Negro', and what does this suggest about the way she perceives African Americans?
  3. 3.How does Mae Smith use humour to deal with the racism she has experienced? Can you think of examples when you have used humour in this way? What clues were there, in this clip, that life was about to change for African Americans? Find out about any significant events that occurred in 1968 that might have brought this change.
  4. 4.At the end of the clip, Mae Smith focuses on how the label 'American Negro' was used at the time, comparing it with other cultural labels. What word does Mae prefer to use? Why might this have changed to the current use of African American? Do some research to find out about other cultural groups that have challenged the labels given them by society.



Date of broadcast: 19 Oct 1968


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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