Out of Darkness by A.H. Perez

                Pérez, A. H. (2015). Out of Darkness.Carolrhoda Lab T. Menneapolis. 

Two teenagers of different race find love on a segregated community. It is East Texas, oil country in 1937 an all there is around them is signs that read 'No Negroes, Mexicans, or dogs.' One is a Mexican and the other is black just trying to live their lives as any American teenagers. Noami has gone to live with her half-brothers to help them  live and unfamiliar father. To make things worse she is very pretty and none of the white girls at school like her. Then there are her brothers who can read better than any seniors in their high school. The story is wrapped around the New London School explosion occurred on March 18, 1937, when a natural gas leak caused an explosion, destroying the London School of New London, Texas, more than killed more than 295 students and teachers in the U.S. history. The school board canceled their natural gas contract and had plumbers install a tap into Parade Gasoline Company's residue gas line to save money. Students had been complaining of headaches for some time, but little attention had been paid to the issue. The story leads back to the explosion and then its aftermath which brings you to the climax. Noami has an over domineering and salacious father on her constant move and her aloof brothers and he is the only Mexican-American girl living in the city. This all leads to her falling in love to the only man who shows her protection and love, which would be a black boy name Wash. This book deals with sexual abuse, rape, violence against women, violence against everyone, racism, sexism, murder, dead bodies, guns, child abuse, it is a difficult book but a must read. Naomi is sexually abused by her stepfather. It's Henry, the twins' father and first husband to Naomi's mother.

Another book dealing with racism is Brown girl dreaming and The Watsons go to Birmingham- 1963.

Teachers pay Teachers website several lessons that contain the following--• A Brown Girl Dreaming Mentor Text Mini-unit on The Poetry of Place, a detailed, 1 to 2-week lesson plan for an in-depth mentor author study. This lesson plan includes introductions to each day’s reading, discussion and/or writing session, excerpts of the mentor texts under consideration, questions to guide discussions, and prompts and graphic organizers to get students started writing poetry of their own. Along with poems from Brown Girl Dreaming, this mini-unit also includes the poetry of several student authors, comparing their initial drafts and final versions side-by-side in an exercise in revision strategies.

Emmett Till: Civil Rights, segregation, Jim Crow, etc. (PREZI)
On Teachers pay Teachers website you can find this lesson:
This prezi tells the story of Emmett Till, a young black boy who was viciously murdered in the Jim Crow south and whose confessed murderers were freed by an all-white jury. I use it as part of my introduction to To Kill a Mockingbird, but it would be great for any novel that deals with social justice, a history class, or a discussion of what sorts of things inspired the Civil Rights Movement (Rosa Parks cited Emmett Till as a reason that she refused to give up her seat on the bus!). Finally, there is information about the reopening of the Emmett Till case just in the last decade - great for discussion about whether justice really can be served at this late date. The video files are attached to the prezi, so no worries about streaming from YouTube.

Segregation and the Jim Crow Laws

This lesson will have students critically explore the period of the Jim Crow era. This highly engaging, interactive, primary based power-point, will have students analyze and understand the implications of the Jim Crow laws, along with the monumental Supreme Court decisions of 'Plessy v. Ferguson', and 'Brown V. Board of Education'. Students will be introduced to the different levels at which discrimination & various forms of oppression existed during the Jim Crow years; individual, institutional, and societal. Students are to determine at which level these measures of control apply. Complete with colorful imagery, student analysis of political cartoons, and a comprehension primary based reading activity, this lesson will engage students and provide a critical context from which to understand this era of time. This Civil Rights unit can be downloaded in its entirety, or as individual lessons.