21 Black Lives
230-245
Présentation de l’unité
Comme le mouvement #BlackLivesMatter l’a récemment mon-
tré, la question de l’inclusion des citoyens noirs dans la société
américaine est toujours d’actualité, dans un pays qui s’est pour-
tant construit sur la diversité. Dans cette unité étudiée sous
l’angle de l’axe 7, « Diversité et inclusion », nous invitons les
élèves à visiter le passé pour mieux comprendre et questionner
le présent, à travers les « lois Jim Crow » et les années de la
ségrégation, la lutte pour les droits civiques sous ses diverses
formes avec des discours de Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr.,
et le point de vue de l’artiste Nina Simone. Nous parlerons de
l’accès à l’éducation en étudiant un extrait littéraire du roman
Fearless Jones de Walter Mosley, en découvrant l’histoire
des Little Rock Nine et celle de Ruby Bridges, immortalisée par
un tableau de Norman Rockwell exposé à la Maison Blanche
et commenté par Barack Obama en présence de l’intéressée.
Nous aborderons les enjeux de la guerre du Vietnam pour les
Afro-Américains et la décision de Muhammad Ali d’être objec-
teur de conscience, au prix de sa carrière. Les élèves découvri-
ront aussi la place que les Afro-Américains ont prise en politique
avec l’arrivée à la Maison Blanche de Barack Obama le 20 janvier
2009 mais aussi l’élection, plus récente, de Lori Lightfoot à la
mairie de Chicago en 2019.
Cette unité est essentielle pour comprendre les préjugés qui
continuent de secouer l’actualité américaine et les combats qui
sont menés pour faire changer les choses. À travers ce prisme,
les élèves se questionneront sur les mécanismes légaux de l’ex-
clusion, sur la difficulté d’amener dans une société clivée une
appréciation de la diversité au travers de lois et d’opportunités
plus inclusives. Ce tour d’horizon passe par des discours qui
ont marqué l’histoire ou sont susceptibles de le faire (Martin
Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Barack Obama, Lori Lightfoot), des
œuvres d’art comme celle de Norman Rockwell, des chansons
engagées comme “Mississippi Goddam” de Nina Simone, des
photographies d’archives qui montrent de manière frappante
toutes les réalités de cette période douloureuse de l’histoire
américaine qu’est la ségrégation.
Le projet final de cette unité invite les élèves à rédiger un dis-
cours sur le sujet Voices of Diversity, Paths to Inclusion, en tant
9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 303
que rédacteurs pour le/la maire fraîchement élu(e) d’une grande
ville américaine, en reprenant les grandes lignes de ce qu’ils
auront étudié dans l’unité.
Un second sujet leur est proposé, plus accessible mais non pas
moins intéressant, dans lequel ils devront choisir l’un des dis-
cours présentés dans l’unité pour le publier dans le magazine
American Heritage, et justifier leur choix. On pourra se référer
également à l’unité 9, Masters of Speech, qui propose d’autres
discours et éclairages sur l’art oratoire.
Il pourra être utile de faire le lien avec l’unité 26 de Hit The
Road 1re (p. 260-278), qui apportera un éclairage sur l’histoire
de l’esclavage aux États-Unis (le commerce triangulaire, la vie
et le travail dans les plantations, la culture héritée de l’esclavage,
The Underground Railroad, la guerre de Sécession). Toutefois,
l’unité 21 de Hit The Road Tle peut être étudiée de manière
indépendante si l’unité 26 du manuel de 1re n’a pas été vue.
EXTRAIT DU PROGRAMME DE TRONC COMMUN (B.O.)
Axe 7 – « Diversité et inclusion »
Quelles sont, dans chaque aire géographique étudiée, les réponses
apportées aux questions posées par l’évolution des sociétés de plus
en plus diverses et ouvertes ? […] Les questions de la diversité et de
l’inclusion gagnent à être abordées ensemble, à travers les arts, les
sciences, le droit, la géopolitique, la sociologie, etc.
Mots-clés en lien avec l’unité : intégration / discriminations /
minorités / égalité / émancipation
EXTRAIT DU PROGRAMME DE LLCER
ANGLAIS, MONDE CONTEMPORAIN (B.O.)
Thématique 1 : « Faire société »
Axe d’étude 3 : Égalités et inégalités – les inégalités
PARCOURS DIFFÉRENCIÉS
Il s’agit d’une unité longue. On pourra donc effectuer des choix
en fonction des intérêts et du niveau de sa classe.
Classe de niveau fragile :
1 Turning the Tide: tous les documents
2 Living through Segregation: tous les documents
3 Education, the Same Rights for Everyone: document 2
4 Varied Voices For Civil Rights: document 2
5 The Vietnam Paradox: document 3
6 Elected for Change: documents 2 et 3
Remarque : L’étude de ces documents prépare au projet 2.
Classe de niveau solide : Tous les documents conviennent. On
pourra choisir d’aborder un document par sujet (voir ci-dessous),
par exemple, en fonction du temps dont on dispose.
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 PARCOURS EXPRESS THÉMATIQUES
Un parcours « grands discours » (Martin Luther King Jr. :
The March on Washington, p. 236, Malcolm X : Leaders’ voices,
p. 236, Barack Obama : Yes, we can, p. 240, Lori Lightfoot, Lori
Lightfoot, Mayor of Chicago et Acceptance Speech, p. 241)
Un parcours « témoignages » (The Jim Crow Laws, p. 232,
White Books (œuvre de fiction mais inspirée de la réalité), p. 234,
Little Rock, Arkansas, 1957, p. 235, Acceptance Speech, p. 241)
Un parcours « artistes engagés » (Norman Rockwell dans
Ruby Bridges, Louisiana, 1960, p. 235, les photographies de
l’unité, Nina Simone, the “artivist”, p. 237)
image d’ouverture 230
Cette image d’ouverture montre une manifestante du mouve-
ment #BlackLivesMatter devant la Maison Blanche à Washing-
ton lors de la marche de 2016. Il est possible que les élèves se
réfèrent à des manifestations plus récentes en commentant
cette photographie.
Les encadrés ci-dessous permettront de donner aux élèves le
contexte culturel qui leur est nécessaire pour commenter cette
image.
This picture was taken in Washington D.C., USA, on July 7,
2016. On that day, hundreds of “Black Lives Matter“
protesters marched from the White House to the U.S.
Capitol and back. The protests were spurred by the
killings of two African-American men by the police in less
than 48 hours, Alton B. Sterling and Philando Castile.
This T-shirt was created by social entrepreneur Randi
Gloss. In 2014, she decided to launch a design house
called Glossrags that would honour the African-American
community and fight for social justice. She chose the
names of six young black men who had been killed for
racially motivated reasons. This T-shirt was intended as a
memorial. Randi Gloss has also created T-shirts bearing
the names of young black women who suffered violence
and abuse because of the colour of their skin. Her col-
lection “And counting” keeps adding the names of new
victims.
To learn more about her, you can visit her website:
http://www.glossrags.com/
Mise en œuvre
Dans un premier temps, on peut choisir de projeter l’image
seule au tableau grâce au manuel numérique pour recueillir les
réactions spontanées des élèves, sous la forme de remue-mé-
ninges constitué de leurs hypothèses sur la situation, leurs
connaissances du mouvement #BlackLivesMatter et des sup-
positions sur la liste de prénoms notée sur le T-shirt de la mani-
festante.
On peut également la mettre en vis-à-vis de l’affiche de la page
de droite pour demander aux élèves de commenter et compa-
rer les deux messages. On leur fera remarquer le titre et la pro-
blématique de l’unité.
On leur distribuera ensuite les encadrés donnés ci-dessus. Les
élèves pourront exploiter ces informations dans la suite de
l’unité, par exemple en travaillant sur l’affiche de la page 231.
Production possible :
This photograph represents an African-American woman hold-
ing a placard that reads: “Stop killing us!!! KKK.” She is standing
304 Unit 21
9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 304
in front of the White House, which means she is expecting the
people in power to act. On her T-shirt, we can see a list of names.
By “us”, she means African Americans, and the list of names on
her T-shirt is a list of victims. The “KKK” on the sign refers to
the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist organisation, but it may
also refer more broadly to racism and prejudice.
This title reminds me of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, also
evoked by the sign and the list of names. But it also means that
we are going to study the recent history of African Americans
to answer the question: has change come to America? The fact
that this woman is demonstrating in 2016 tends to give an
answer regarding inclusion and exclusion.
231 1 Turning the Tide
1
231
Fighting prejudice
Présentation du document
Cette campagne vise l’entreprise américaine Google, dont le
moteur de recherche retient les phrases les plus recherchées
et les proposent aux internautes qui entrent un début de
recherche similaire pour leur faire gagner du temps.
This awareness campaign “Racism. It stops with me”
was launched in 2012, and targets Google, the American
company whose search engine suggests sentence
endings according to previous searches made by users.
Mise en œuvre et réponses aux questions
On s’attachera à ce que les élèves commentent les préjugés
ainsi révélés. Il est important de préciser aux élèves que ce n’est
pas le moteur de recherche Google lui-même qui est à l’origine
de ces préjugés, mais le résultat des recherches menées sur
ce moteur de recherche.
On encouragera les élèves à utiliser la boîte Help! pour trouver
une aide lexicale, des idées et arguments.
Alternative : Comme mentionné plus haut, on peut choisir
d’étudier cette affiche en vis-à-vis de l’image d’ouverture. On
pourra faire travailler les élèves en binômes sans que les élèves
A et B ne se montrent réciproquement les images. Après une
discussion et mise en commun, on demandera à la classe de
conclure sur le message que ces deux images portent, quand
on les met côte à côte.
A. This poster is an awareness campaign addressed to Google
but also to everyone. It denounces racist clichés. On it, we can
see a black man gagged by Google’s search engine, which, after
the words “black men are”, suggests a list of stereotypes that
disparage black men — they are “failures”, “losers”, “a disgrace”
or “disrespectful”. In the top left-hand corner, we can see the
words “Racism. It stops with me” and below the search engine,
“You’re wrong, Google.” The catchphrase at the bottom of the
poster shows that to take an active part in combatting racism,
people have to rethink their prejudices. The campaign requires
people to take an active part in understanding their own stere-
otypes and stop deprecating others because of the colour of
their skin.
22/09/2020 12:55
 B. The poster shows that black men have a very negative image
3. The figures may be related to prejudice and stereotypes
and looked down upon/despised. There is nothing positive in
because, if black students are perceived as likely to cause
the words suggested by the search engine, and since it is
problems, then they will be more easily punished in the
Google, it shows the mainstream opinion of people on black
school system. When they become adults, they are less likely
men and women.
than white people to be hired in high-paying jobs because
of discrimination – at an equal level of qualifications and skills,
C. Cette question permet aux élèves de travailler les expres-
an employer will more readily hire a white person. From
sions de l’opinion et les mots de liaison tels que : On the one
there, they are less likely to obtain a large bank loan to buy
hand/On the other hand… What’s more…
a big property or improve their comfort.
To my mind, this quote means that people need to question
the different means of communication they use, because they
can be biased and prejudiced against certain categories of the
population. People should use their intelligence and critical
mind. On the one hand, the campaign targets the people who
launch searches on this engine. On the other hand, this poster
includes the people who are targeted by discrimination. 232-233 2 Living through Segregation <

D. Prejudice has a very real impact: it can kill. The policemen

who shot the black people named on the woman’s T-shirt must
have felt threatened by them only because of the colour of their
skin. It shows that prejudice prevents people from thinking
rationally and critically: the police officers must have jumped to
the wrong conclusions just because they thought that black
people were more likely to be armed and dangerous.

E. Pour conclure, on pourra demander aux élèves d’utiliser

les informations glanées sur la Worksheet n°40 pour faire un
compte rendu oral ou écrit de ce qu’ils ont retenu.

Cette double page revient sur la période de la ségrégation et

des « lois Jim Crow ». Les documents sont interdépendants
et s’éclairent les uns les autres.
On peut traiter les documents en suivant l’une de ces deux
propositions :
– dire aux élèves d’étudier la VIDEO N°37 en classe inversée
et d’en faire une synthèse au cours suivant ; étudier les pho-
tographies en classe en suivant les consignes du manuel ;
– étudier la VIDEO N°37 en classe et demander de travailler
sur les photographies à la maison en suivant les consignes
du manuel.
Si on ne souhaite pas étudier la vidéo The Jim Crow laws
en classe, on pourra distribuer aux élèves l’encadré suivant
Worksheet disponible sur le site compagnon enseignant
afin de leur fournir des clés sur le contexte historique de la
(en version PDF) : http://113916.site.magnard.fr/ressources/1759
ségrégation.

The so-called Jim Crow laws are the laws that defined
Corrigé de la Worksheet n°40
Segregation, a period of American history that lasted
from 1896, when black people were allowed to be “sep-
1. The documents both deal with discrimination. The first
arate but equal” – as opposed to slaves – to 1964, when
one shows the inequalities at school in terms of discipline
the Civil Rights Act was passed. The Jim Crow laws
and was published by the U.S. Department of Education. It
differed from one State to the next, but the principle
reveals that black students are three times more at risk of
remained the same: the white and black populations
expulsion and four times more at risk of facing multiple sus-
were kept strictly separated in all areas of life and it was
pensions than white students. The second document pre-
forbidden to mingle. The black population was
sents the racial wealth gap: it shows that white people are
oppressed and did not enjoy equal rights with the white
on average much richer than other people and earn a much
population.
better income.
2. The figures reveal that there is discrimination and inequa-
lity in education and on the job market, a fact that doesn’t
allow black people to get a fair education and to be employed
fairly.

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 1 The Jim Crow Laws
232
Anticipation
Avant de travailler sur le document vidéo, on pourra demander
aux élèves ce qu’ils savent des « lois Jim Crow ». Certains auront
Cette vidéo est un extrait de documentaire qui présente les déjà, au cours de leur scolarité, travaillé sur le thème de la
« lois Jim Crow » et recueille le témoignage et les souvenirs de ségrégation. Ils seront ainsi médiateurs auprès des autres
plusieurs personnes qui ont souffert de ces lois. Sur la photo élèves pour leur apporter leurs connaissances sur le sujet.
page 232 du manuel, on peut voir W. W. Law.
Mise en œuvre et réponses aux questions
This still from the video represents W. W. Law, a Civil
Rights leader (1923-2002) who is among the people Pour aider à la compréhension, on pourra écrire les mots et
interviewed for this documentary about the Jim Crow expressions suivants au tableau :
laws.
malicious /məˈlɪʃəs/: cruel, malveillant
abide one’s time: attendre son heure
idiosyncrasy /ɪdiəʊˈsɪŋkrəsi/: particularité, manie,
Script VIDEO N°37
idiosyncrasie
Voice over: In 1836, Jim Crow was born. He begins his
strange career as a malicious minstrel caricature of a black Les élèves bénéficieront de plusieurs écoutes pour comprendre
man created by a white man to amuse white audiences. le document. Dans un premier temps, on pourra leur demander
Jim Crow would come to symbolise one of the most tragic de prendre des notes sans s’appuyer sur les questions du
eras of race relations in American history, a time deeply manuel.
rooted in promise and contradiction. 1865: four million
Americans, slaves simply because they were born black, DIFFÉRENCIATION
were now free. But in a little over a decade, that promise
Pour une pédagogie différenciée, les élèves qui se sentent en
was gone, replaced by a rigid system of laws designed
difficulté auront accès aux questions pour mettre de l’ordre
to keep blacks from experiencing any of their newly
dans leur prise de notes et la compléter lors des écoutes sui-
achieved rights. It would be known as the era of Jim Crow
vantes, tandis que les autres essaieront de faire une synthèse
– the American form of racial apartheid.
en anglais de ce qu’ils auront retiré du document. Une mise en
Rev. Hosea Williams: I tried to lean inside and get me a commun à l’oral permettra de corriger et d’étoffer les synthèses.
cup of water, and these white people beat me till I was
unconscious. They thought I was dead. A. The period concerned is called the era of Jim Crow. It began
Vernon Jarrett: My dad said, “As long as you’re living in in 1836 and continued during the 20 th century.
this South, you’re going to have to go to the back door
in this town. Now you just settle for that.” He said, “but B. The Jim Crow laws limited freedom and prevented the black
the one thing I want you to swear and promise to me: people from exercising the rights they had gained at the end
that you will never get used to it.” of slavery. It was a form of racial apartheid also known as
W.W. Law: I’m not ashamed of the segregated and Jim segregation.
Crow experience, all because we were able to devise
techniques for survival that permitted us to abide our C. Some did not fight back and lived by the rules even if they
time and to wait until our change come. did not accept them. But others fought back by improving
the living conditions of their community, building schools and
Voice over: As most blacks were willing to bide their time,
churches, launching businesses, and also campaigning for voting
some began to fight back. In the late 1880s and ’90s, they
rights and seeking justice in court against the mob violence and
embarked on an uncertain campaign to secure voting
lynchings that targeted black people. They also fought by using
rights, build their own communities, schools, businesses
the power of the press to rally people to their cause.
and churches, and to demand redress against mob vio-
lence and lynching. The white supremacists fought back.
Pour aller plus loin
By 1919, the Ku Klux Klan, which had been a Southern
idiosyncrasy, became a national ideology. White suprem- Pour nourrir la réflexion des élèves sur les « lois Jim Crow » on
acy – the power behind Jim Crow – appeared invicible, pourra leur fournir les liens suivants en leur demandant de rendre
and over the next decade, the violence against blacks compte de leurs recherches de façon libre :
would grow even more horrific. But black Americans con- www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/jim-crow-laws
tinued to battle, using the power of the press and ulti- www.britannica.com/event/Jim-Crow-law
mately the power of the courts to pursue their quest for
www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedom-riders-
freedom and equality against racism. The rise and fall of
jim-crow-laws/
Jim Crow is their story, the story of strong men and
women who would never accept the demeaning, threat-
ening and perilous world of Jim Crow. The rise and fall of
Jim Crow is the story of those who, in the face of unend-
ing terror, achieved triumphs – triumphs that would in
time make America a better place, not just for themselves,
but for all of us.

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 2 It’s not all
black and white
232
Présentation des documents
On pourra donner aux élèves les informations suivantes sur les
quatre photographies, une fois l’activité terminée.
Photographs
A. This photograph shows a Ku Klux Klan parade in
Washington D.C., on 13 September 1926. We can see a
wide-angle shot of men wearing white pointed hats
and white robes, marching down a wide avenue with the
Capitol in the background. They are all bearing Ameri-
can flags. They seem to be marching shamelessly and
openly with a fierce and proud attitude, despite the fact
that they are advocating hatred and racism.
B. In this picture, photographer Elliott Erwitt captured
a scene that has become famous worldwide. It was taken
in 1950. We can see segregated water fountains in the
State of North Carolina. A black man is leaning towards
the tap and sink for “colored” people, which looks less
modern and clean than the one for “white” people, even
though they share a drainage pipe. Each sink has its own
sign to indicate what sink a person is supposed to use,
according to the colour of their skin. The photo is quite
symmetrical and the man is out of focus, which makes
the sinks even more striking.
C. This picture is very striking. The focal point is a young
white woman who is scowling with hatred and seems to
be shouting. She’s glaring at a black student, Elizabeth
Eckford, who pretends not to hear and carries on. The
caption helps us to understand that, on 9 April 1957,
black students who were supposed to integrate a
non-segregated high school were insulted by white stu-
dents. It illustrates the racism that prevailed at that time.
D. In this photograph, we can see a protest march
against segregation in New York, on Broadway, in January
1965. It seems very peaceful. What makes it interesting
is that there are black and white people from all walks of
life holding signs and marching together. We can see a
white woman in a checkered coat and high-heeled shoes
protesting among black people. Behind her, a black man
in a suit is holding a sign that says: “Segregation is mor-
ally wrong.” In the foreground, a policeman is looking
away from the protestors, which shows that he is not
worried by the demonstration.
Mise en œuvre et réponses aux questions
On pourra au préalable demander aux élèves de travailler par
petits groupes sur une seule photo, afin de la décrire et la
commenter.
Il est indispensable qu’après une phase de mise en commun les
élèves aient une vue d’ensemble de ces quatre photos, qui
retracent quarante années de l’histoire des États-Unis.
A. The four photographs are very interesting because they
retrace forty years of American history concerning the situation
of African Americans. In the first picture, we can see a racist
Ku Klux Klan march with protestors who proudly parade in the
capital city of the USA, in 1926. In the second picture, we can
9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 307
see an illustration of segregation, which went as far as access
to water, in 1950. In the third picture, we can see that in 1957,
schools started to be non-segregated, but integration was
difficult and racism and hatred still prevailed. The last picture,
taken in 1965, is more hopeful because we can see black and
white people protesting segregation together in a peaceful
march. They show an evolution in American laws and also in
people’s mindsets.
B. Cette question est subjective. On pourra donc avoir des
réponses très variées. On invitera les élèves à nuancer leurs
propos en ayant recours aux expressions de l’opinion et en
montrant leur degré de certitude dans leurs réponses.
– The photographer of picture A may have meant to document
the march. The wide-angle shot shows the huge number of
protestors in front of a very powerful American symbol: the
Capitol in Washington, D.C. I think it may conflate racism and
the American government.
– Picture B seems to denounce the absurdity of having two
separate sinks but a common pipe. In my opinion, it is segre-
gation for the sake of segregation. However, it may be a hope-
ful message too – there is something to link black and white
people after all.
– Picture C clearly supports Elizabeth Eckford rather than the
person insulting her. The latter is shown with an ugly scowl
of pure hatred, while Elizabeth Eckford retains all her dignity.
The viewer’s heart goes out to the victim, not the perpetrator.
– Picture D is meant to be hopeful because the focal point is
the white woman. The reason is not that she is more important
because she is white, but that she symbolises union in a struggle
that is no longer one-sided – black and white people march
together and denounce together the fact that “segregation is
morally wrong”. It must be intentionally hopeful.
C. Cette question fait appel à la subjectivité des élèves, mais
les possibilités de réponses sont assez limitées. Pour rendre
l’activité interactive et actionnelle, on pourra donner la consigne
suivante : Choose the best picture to illustrate an article about
inclusion/exclusion. Ceci permettra de les préparer pour le
Your turn!. Les élèves pourront trouver les arguments sui-
vants pour défendre la photo qu’ils ont choisie :
– Picture A best describes the aspect of exclusion because
the Ku Klux Klan, dressed in white, wants a world of white dom-
ination and is racist. There is no notion of inclusion here.
– Picture B also describes the aspect of exclusion because it
illustrates segregation. However, because of the drainage pipe
shared by the two sinks, we can imagine there is a notion of
inclusion here, the hint that separation could end.
– Picture C is ambivalent. It clearly shows exclusion – the white
student insulting Elizabeth Eckford is a symbol of intolerance
and hatred. But because the viewer empathises with the victim,
it also suggests that we are included in this picture, and we are
on Eckford’s side. Besides, it shows the inclusion of black stu-
dents in a former all-white school, and how bumpy a road it was.
– Picture D describes best the double aspect of inclusion/
exclusion. Although it takes place in the same context of segre-
gation, there are now black and white people marching together
to put an end to it. The Blacks have included the Whites in their
struggle, or maybe the Whites have stopped rejecting the Blacks
and see them as equal, at last.
Alternative : Les élèves pourront, en guise de devoir ou comme
une activité récapitulative, réfléchir à l’intention des photographes
(question B) d’une manière différente, avec la consigne suivante :
Pick your favourite photo and imagine a monologue spoken by
the artist witnessing the scene.
Unit 21 307
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 3 Present
a picture
233
Pour cette activité, il sera important de fournir aux élèves un
cadre pour leur recherche. On trouve en effet des images très
choquantes de lynchage et de violence qui montrent l’une des
réalités cruelles de la ségrégation. Il est donc indispensable de
leur proposer des sites Internet qui ont été au préalable vérifiés
par l’enseignant(e).
Ce travail peut être réalisé individuellement ou en petits groupes,
présenté comme une “minute culturelle” au début de chaque
séance, où la classe aura l’opportunité de découvrir à chaque
fois plusieurs photos. On leur demandera de justifier leur choix
d’illustration du titre “Living the segregation, living exclusion”
et d’expliquer le contexte de la photo.
On pourra proposer aux élèves de se référer à ce site d’archives :
www.amistadresource.org, puis aller dans les modules Plantation
to ghetto et Civil rights era.
Le premier lien renvoie à la ségrégation et aux « lois Jim Crow »,
le deuxième à la période de la lutte pour les droits civiques.
Les productions auxquelles on aura abouti à la fin de l’activité 2
It’s not all black and white seront utiles aux élèves qui peuvent
s’en inspirer pour préparer leur présentation.
Alternative : On suggérera aux élèves répartis en groupes de
choisir une photo parmi un corpus préparé en amont par l’ensei-
gnant(e), et d’organiser une exposition sur les murs de la classe
ou du CDI portant le titre “Living the segregation, living exclu-
sion”. Ils devront rédiger une présentation sur une affiche ou
l’enregistrer sur un podcast, comme pour une visite au musée.
Education, the Same
3
234-235
Rights for Everyone
Cette double page propose une réflexion sur l’accès à l’éduca-
tion à travers un extrait littéraire (Fearless Jones, de Walter
Mosley), le témoignage d’Ernest Green qui était l’un des « Neuf
de Little Rock », et le parcours de Ruby Bridges grâce au
Cultural fact, au tableau de Norman Rockwell, The Problem We
All Live With, et à la photographie de Pete Souza, photographe
officiel pendant les présidences de Barack Obama et Ronald
Reagan. Ces documents peuvent être étudiés séparément,
selon que l’on souhaite faire une activité de compréhension
écrite, de compréhension orale ou de production orale.
Dans une classe d’un niveau solide, on pourra même demander
aux élèves de se répartir par groupes de trois (ou six) pour
se pencher chacun en autonomie sur l’une des activités. On
procédera ensuite à une mise en commun.
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9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 308
Dans une classe de LLCER anglais, monde contemporain (« Faire
société », axe d’étude 3 – Égalités et inégalités – Les inégalités),
ou dans une classe d’un niveau solide, on pourra en premier
lieu étudier la page de droite avec la classe entière, puis distri-
buer aux élèves les réponses aux questions (ci-dessous) sur le
texte White books, en plus du Cultural fact. On leur demandera
ensuite de rédiger le récit à la première personne en s’appuyant
sur ce qu’ils ont appris et les informations dont ils disposent.
1 White books
234
Présentation du document
Cette page est un extrait d’un roman de fiction écrit par Walter
Mosley. Ici, le narrateur, qui était innocent et ne mesurait pas
encore les conséquences des « lois Jim Crow » sur sa vie quo-
tidienne, comprend l’impact que la ségrégation aura sur son
accès à l’éducation et à la connaissance.
On pourra donner aux élèves les informations suivantes sur
l’auteur du texte.
Walter Mosley (b. 1952) is an American writer who
focuses mostly on crime fiction. Fearless Jones (2001) is
no exception and is the first volume of a trilogy. About his
novel, Mosley said: “I consider Fearless Jones to be in the
genre of comic noir. Even though these terrible things
happen, very often you end up laughing.” The narrator in
the book is a librarian named Paris Minton – Jones’s friend.
Mosley has received numerous literary awards, including
the Edgar Award in 2019.
Mise en œuvre
On pourra introduire cette activité de compréhension écrite en
demandant aux élèves ce qu’ils pensent du titre White books
et d’imaginer le contexte de l’histoire. Une lecture chronomé-
trée pourra leur permettre ensuite de valider ou corriger leur
hypothèse : on proposera de leur laisser trois minutes pour
découvrir les deux parties. Ensuite, les élèves pourront reprendre
le document à leur propre rythme de lecture.
Cette lecture et la réponse aux questions peuvent se faire indi-
viduellement, en binômes ou en petits groupes comprenant un
élève tuteur qui guidera les autres.
Dans une classe de LLCER, on pourra aller plus loin et les ques-
tionner sur ce que pourraient être des Black books. Connaissent-
ils des auteurs afro-américains ? Qui peuvent-ils citer ?
Réponses aux questions
A. The narrator spends most of his life in his community and is
surrounded by black people. To him, there is no other life and
he is mostly unaware of what is going on in the rest of the South.
He lives in a little shack with his mother, so he is quite poor. He
has heard about lynchings but seems to dismiss them. He is an
innocent child. He leads a regular life, working hard or resting
according to his needs. He seems to feel content and happy
despite the context.
B. Two things show that segregation has a real impact on his
life and his access to education and knowledge: the fact that
he will never be able to borrow a book from the library, and the
fact that the librarian believes that education is reserved for
white people, that white writers wrote books intended for white
readers.
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 C. → We can imagine that the narrator is traumatised by this
encounter with the librarian, but in awe of the beauty of the
library and in love with books. Therefore, because he loves
reading, we can imagine he is going to do his best to prove the
librarian wrong: he is going to get access to an education after
all.
→ This encounter is ironic: without the trauma of the librarian’s
cruelty, the narrator could have remained naive about the impact
of segregation on his life, as in part 1, and could have never
developed the ambition to get an education.
Les élèves, s’ils ont eu accès aux informations données dans
l’encadré plus haut, pourront ajouter : Paris Minton, the narra-
tor, subsequently became a librarian.
2
Little Rock, 235
Arkansas, 1957
Présentation du document
Ce document vidéo revient sur les neuf élèves afro-américains
qui ont intégré l’école de Little Rock, Arkansas, en 1957, après
la déségrégation. Ernest Green témoigne de son expérience
et partage ses souvenirs, avec des images d’archives qui seront
particulièrement intéressantes pour aider les élèves à contex-
tualiser cet événement et ses conséquences.
On pourra fournir aux élèves les informations ci-dessous sur la
déségrégation.
Besides getting equal rights, desegregation was one of
the main aims of the Civil Rights Movement. They fought
for the end of the separation between black and white
people. In 1954, thirteen parents from the city of Topeka,
Kansas, led by Oliver Brown, filed a suit against the
Board of Education of that city because they argued that
segregating their black children prevented them from
getting a fair education. Some of them had to travel far
to reach their “black only” school and the learning con-
ditions were poor. The trial went all the way up to the
Supreme Court of the United States, where it was ruled,
in the now famous decision “Brown vs. Board of Educa-
tion”, that segregation in public schools was unconstitu-
tional. This decision opened/paved the way for deseg-
regation in all fields of life.
The nine black students of Little Rock High School,
in Arkansas, were among the first to try to integrate a
former “all white” school that had been desegregated.
Their struggle was another landmark in the fight for the
implementation of desegregation and to obtain equal
civil rights.
Script VIDEO N°38
Ernest Green: The local newspaper The Arkansas Gazette
at that time indicated that the Brown decision was gonna
change the face of the South forever. I remember those
words. And I thought to myself “Good,” cause I think the
face of the South ought to change.
Orval Faubus: I will not force my people to integrate
against their will.
Ernest Green: The governor of the State, Orval Faubus,
decided that he was gonna use Central as his point of
resistance. None of us, of the nine, anticipated that the
resistance would be as strong as it was. The night before
9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 309
we were to go to school, the governor called out the
Arkansas National Guard unbeknownst to us, and when
we appeared at Central the first day, the National Guard
was there to bar our entrance and let white students go
into the school. What it was like – it was rejection that I
had never experienced like that. It seemed to me that if
they were going to all of this trouble to keep me out, there
was something bigger than my simply going to class. Only
when we got home from school that day did we realize what
an ordeal, personal ordeal Elisabeth had gone through, and
that she certainly faced more of the mob directly. I always
applaud the fact that she was able to keep both her com-
posure and try to figure out how to get out of there.
We started school on the 21st of September.
Journalist: President Eisenhower sends his 500 troops
from the 101st Airborne Division of the United States
Army.
Ernest Green: It was a terrific feeling that the President
of the United States would send troops to escort us into
school. I didn’t know what was gonna happen after that.
It was like going to war every day. You had students who
tried to use as much verbiage as they could to intimidate
us, we had threats and comments that, you know, we
would be killed. For all of us, we decided that this was a
year that we were gonna support each other, we were
gonna try to do as well as we could in academic work –
some were a lot smarter than me! But I also was deter-
mined that this year I was gonna graduate from Central.
The principal of the school told me at one point along the
way that I didn’t have to come to the ceremony and they
would mail me my diploma, and I thought: “Listen, I didn’t
go through all this to pass up the ceremony.” Maybe the
world thought that after Little Rock everything was gonna
be fixed, and one of the important pieces I’m afraid I need
to remind anyone that the history of slavery in this country
makes it very difficult to overcome a lot of issues on race.
We’re a long way from being perfect, but we certainly are
not what we were when I started out. I believe that our
participation at Central is one of those many steps that’s
gone to change the country for the better.
Mise en œuvre
Pour accompagner les élèves dans leur compréhension, on
pourra donner au préalable les éléments suivants :
Arkansas /ˈɑːkənˌsɔː/ • Arkansas Gazette /gəˈzet/ •
Orval Faubus • Central (High School) /ˈsentrəl/ •
Arkansas National Guard /gɑːd/ • President Eisenhower
/ˈaɪzənhaʊə/ • Little Rock.
On leur demandera après une première écoute à quoi/à qui
ces noms font référence.
L’activité proposée est un travail en binômes, chaque élève se
focalisant sur un aspect du témoignage d’Ernest Green. Pour
aller plus loin, on pourra choisir de leur faire commenter les
images d’archives (ils reconnaîtront celle d’Elizabeth Eckford,
qui est à la page 233, s’ils l’ont étudiée, et si ce n’est pas le cas,
ils pourront s’y reporter). Cette activité se prête particulière-
ment à l’utilisation du prétérit simple.
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 Réponses aux questions
A.
Pupil A:
In 1957, in Arkansas, a governor named Orval Faubus decided
to protest desegregation in schools by preventing nine black
students from entering Central High School in Little Rock. The
governor deployed the National Guard to bar the entrance to
those nine students. A crowd of white students was also there
to insult them.
Therefore, the American president, Dwight Eisenhower, sent
troops to Little Rock to escort the students to school.
Pupil B:
Ernest Green felt it was like going to war every day. He and the
eight other students were insulted, threatened, intimidated,
and they must have feared for their lives. However, the Little
Rock Nine helped and supported each other. When Ernest Green
graduated, the principal told him not to come to the ceremony,
but he went anyway because he had worked hard to get his
diploma. Green also thinks that what happened to him contrib-
uted to helping his country evolve towards the better.
B. The immediate consequences of declaring segregated
schools unconstitutional were racist protests and riots on the
part of the white population, who did not have time to adapt
to a new mindset, including when they held official roles, like the
governor of Arkansas. The president had to force the governor
to accept the situation by sending troops there. It is amazing
to imagine that young students had to be escorted to school
by the army in a peaceful country.
3
Ruby Bridges, 235
Louisiana, 1960
Cette photographie de Pete Souza a une portée historique
certaine puisqu’elle montre le tableau de Norman Rockwell
représentant Ruby Bridges à l’âge de six ans allant à l’école
encadrée de U.S. Marshals, en 1960, commenté par le président
Barack Obama lors de la visite de Ruby Bridges à la Maison
Blanche en 2011. Elle témoigne du chemin parcouru depuis
cette époque.
Mise en œuvre
Cette œuvre photographique fonctionne quasiment comme
une mise en perspective historique et les élèves devront s’ap-
puyer sur le Cultural fact pour mieux en comprendre le contexte.
Les questions ont pour but de les amener à une analyse plus
fine et contextualisée de ce qu’ils voient. On pourra donc, au
préalable, partir d’une description de la photographie, sans son
contexte, pour que les élèves formulent des hypothèses.
S’ils ont travaillé sur l’activité 2, ils feront d’eux-mêmes le lien
entre le tableau de Norman Rockwell et les images de Little
Rock. On fera noter aux élèves les dates et les lieux, afin qu’ils
se rendent compte que la situation a perduré.
Réponses aux questions
A. This painting by Norman Rockwell represents what Ruby
Bridges had to go through at the age of six when she entered
a desegregated school. Even if the desegregation law had been
passed in 1954, there were still problems with it in 1960. She
had to be escorted to school by four US Marshals, who pro-
tected her from attacks or threats. However, we can see that
somebody has scrawled an extremely offensive racial slur on
the wall and that someone threw a tomato at her and missed
her – it landed on the wall. Ruby appears small and vulnerable,
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9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 310
because we cannot even see the marshals’ heads, and her
immaculate white dress evokes innocence. The books she is
carrying under her arm suggest her right to an education. It was
Norman Rockwell’s intent to show the absurdity and disgrace
of targeting a child, and to denounce racism at its most hateful.
His painting, The Problem We All Live With, explicitly shows
that the problem is not the little black girl, it is all the people
who hate her because of the colour of her skin.
From the Cultural fact, we learn that Ruby Bridges dedicated her
life to civil rights. After what she went through, it isn’t surprising.
B. This photograph and President Obama’s quote show that
America has come a long way and that the situation of black
people in the US has much improved. It has a historical impact:
it shows how, in fifty years, the people of colour went from
fighting for their rights (to an education, to vote) to being eli-
gible for presidency. In 2011, Obama recognised by inviting
Ruby Bridges to the White House to look at this painting of her
ordeal, the fact that he owed his position to all the civil rights
activists in American history. However, this picture was taken
several years ago, before the birth of the #BlackLivesMatter
movement, which shows there is still work to be done/a long
way to go before we put an end to racism.
Pour aller plus loin : Ruby Bridges parle de sa visite à la Maison
Blanche en 2011, du tableau et des événements que celui-ci
représente :
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/07/15/president-
obama-meets-civil-rights-icon-ruby-bridges (1‘37”).
On choisira de travailler sur cette vidéo tout particulièrement
si on fait le « Parcours témoignages » proposé dans l’introduc-
tion de cette unité du Fichier pédagogique. Cette page Internet
explique également en un court paragraphe la réception de ce
tableau de Norman Rockwell par le public, et la démarche
engagée de l’artiste.
4
Write 235
an introduction
Si les élèves ont eu l’opportunité de travailler sur la totalité de
la double page, ils ne manqueront ni d’idées ni d’arguments.
Pour guider des élèves plus fragiles, on pourra commencer par
leur demander de récapituler chaque document. Les idées
seront prises en notes au fur et à mesure, ou notées au tableau
sous la forme d’une carte heuristique.
L’étape suivante consistera à demander aux élèves de rédiger
leur introduction en s’appuyant sur les arguments proposés par
la classe entière. Il s’agit bien ici de rédiger une introduction et
non pas une argumentation complète.
Productions possibles :
“Segregation in education: it wasn’t all black and white”
– Segregation meant there was little or no access to education
for black people. They were therefore excluded from society,
because they could not hope for influential jobs.
– The narrator in Fearless Jones shows that black children
could be oblivious of their disadvantages, but that sooner or
later, they learnt about them the hard way.
– Not every white person approved of segregation and exclu-
sion: artist Norman Rockwell denounced its absurdity in his
painting The Problem We All Live With.
– The desegregation laws show that there was a willingness
to include black children in society and there was a wish for
diversity by the people in power. But it took time to change
people’s mindsets.
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 Remarque : Ces arguments pourront être évoqués de manière
moins détaillée par les élèves puisque la production demandée
est la rédaction de l’introduction d’un article. Si le Your turn!
s’avère trop difficile dans une classe en demande de méthode,
on pourra proposer ces arguments et travailler ensemble ou
par petits groupes à la rédaction de l’introduction. On pourra
conseiller aux élèves de revoir les fiches méthodologiques n° 5
et 6 pages 326-327.
Varied Voices
4
236-237
for Civil Rights
Cette double page présente aux élèves le contexte dans lequel
Martin Luther King Jr. a improvisé la célèbre phrase “I have a
dream” de son discours et montre la complexité du mouvement
pour les droits civiques à travers la diversité d’opinions de
Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. et de l’artiste engagée Nina
Simone.
1 The March on Washington
236
Anticipation
Le discours de Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream”, est
probablement connu des élèves. En préalable à cette activité
de compréhension orale, on leur demandera de dire ce qu’ils
savent de ce discours, et d’en citer des phrases et/ou des
passages.
Si on souhaite leur faire écouter un extrait, on pourra utiliser
le MP3 n°38 et la Worksheet n°16 (Unité 9, Masters of
Speech) ainsi que le script donné dans le Fichier pédagogique
pages 142-143.
Présentation du document
La vidéo proposée ici donne le contexte de ce discours avec
quelques détails qui pourront surprendre les élèves, notamment
le fait que Martin Luther King Jr. ait improvisé les quatre mots
légendaires “I have a dream” après une remarque de Mahalia
Jackson.
9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 311
Script VIDEO N°39
On August 28, 1963, 250,000 people gathered in the
nation’s capital for the historic March on Washington for
jobs and freedom. The march rallied Americans to stand
up against the continuing political and social injustices
African Americans still faced 100 years after Emancipation.
The march took place at a critical moment in the Civil
Rights movement, and tension and racial unrest had been
building up throughout the year. With anti-segregation
demonstrators making headlines in Alabama, and presi-
dent John F. Kennedy announcing his intention to pass
Civil Rights legislation, the timing was right for a massive
demonstration. Due to security concerns, internal mar-
shals were trained to ensure order within the crowd. But
as it turned out, the marchers chose peace, not violence,
that sunny Wednesday. The event featured speeches from
prominent leaders and musical performances by Jose-
phine Baker, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mahalia Jackson and
many others. The March is probably best remembered
for Martin Luther King Junior’s acclaimed “I Have a
Dream” speech.
But we bet you didn’t know the real story behind those
famous words! King was the last speaker that afternoon,
but not because he chose to be. King only spoke last that
day because no one else wanted to. When organisers of
the March debated who would speak when and for how
long, none of the other speakers wanted the last slot,
because they figured most of the news crews would head
out by mid-afternoon. King agreed to go last and to limit
his remarks to only four minutes. And he didn’t have to
worry about not making the news. The audience gladly
stuck around for his sixteen minute speech. And you
might be surprised to learn that King hadn’t even intended
to talk about his now famous dream that day. During the
pause in his prepared speech, Mahalia Jackson called out
from behind the podium: “Tell’em about the dream, Mar-
tin!” She was referring to an inkling King had touched on
in his speech two months earlier in Detroit. Honouring
her request, King departed from his prepared remarks,
and delivered the legendary speech we all remember
today. Historian believe that the marchers and King’s
speech were important catalysts in passing the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Today, a
memorial marks the spot where Martin Luther King
described his dream of a better America in one of the
most influential and memorable speeches in American
history.
Mise en œuvre et réponses aux questions
On divisera la classe en deux groupes ou on fera travailler les
élèves en binômes pour répondre aux questions. La vidéo ne
posera pas de problème de compréhension, mais les informa-
tions sont nombreuses. Avec une classe fragile, on pourra mar-
quer des pauses lors du visionnage pour faciliter la prise de
notes. Pour le groupe qui en aura besoin, la Worksheet n°41
permettra de repérer des éléments de réponse pour chacune
des questions du manuel.
Unit 21 311
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Worksheet disponible sur le site compagnon enseignant
(en version PDF et en version modifiable) :
http://113916.site.magnard.fr/ressources/1759
Corrigé de la Worksheet n°41
1. a. False: 250,000 people present.
b. False: It took place on August 28, 1963.
c. True: The march took place 100 years after Emancipation.
d. False: It lasted sixteen minutes.
e. True: He “departed from his prepared remarks.”
2. – Standing against social injustices
– To support a project for Civil Rights legislation
– The Civil Rights movement making the news repeatedly
3. Josephine Baker – Joan Baez – Bob Dylan – Mahalia
Jackson – Martin Luther King Jr.
4. It was Mahalia Jackson.
5. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Acts
of 1965.
A. The March on Washington took place on August 28, 1963.
There were 250,000 peaceful marchers who protested against
the political and social injustices suffered by black people
despite the fact that they had been emancipated a century
before. There had been a lot of racial tension for a year, and
President John F. Kennedy had announced that he would pass
Civil Rights legislation.
B. On that day, there were prominent Civil Rights leaders giving
speeches, and there were famous musicians who gave musical
performances – like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Josephine Baker and
Mahalia Jackson. This was also the day when Martin Luther
King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. That
was a peaceful march.
C. Martin Luther King Jr. had to accept to speak last, because
no one else wanted to. He had not planned to talk about his
dream, but his friend Mahalia Jackson encouraged him to do
so. He set his prepared speech aside and improvised the part
we know now as “I Have a Dream.”
D. The March on Washington has become so memorable
because it gathered 250,000 peaceful protesters who listened to
some of the most respected voices of the Civil Rights movement,
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9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 312
and then, unexpectedly, the last speaker delivered an inspiring
speech that everyone remembers to this day: Martin Luther
King Jr. improvised his “I Have a Dream” speech and marked/
made history with it.
En complément de la réponse à la question D, on pourra donner
aux élèves les informations et le lien suivants :
On August 28, 2020, Martin Luther King’s son and his
granddaughter gave a speech titled “Get your knee off
our necks” at the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate
the 57 th anniversary of the March on Washington. They
chose this iconic place to address the police brutality
and racial bias against African-American people.
Video on: www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/us/march-on-
washington-2020.html
2
236-237
Leaders’ voices
Les extraits des discours de Malcolm X et de Martin Luther
King Jr. présentés ici permettront aux élèves de contraster les
opinions des deux plus grandes figures du mouvement des
droits civiques et de comprendre les points de vue opposés –
violence ou non-violence – des militants. On pourra proposer
aux élèves ces courtes biographies.
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little. One of his first
decisions as a civil rights activist was to adopt the “X” as
a family name, because the name “Little” referred to the
plantation owner who had bought his ancestors as slaves,
and his real name was unknown to him. Malcolm X was
imprisoned early in life and became an activist in prison,
simultaneously converting to Islam and embracing
a career as a Muslim preacher. In a few years, he grew
to be a leader of the Civil Rights movement, preaching
violence and the rejection of white people as solutions
to gain equal rights. “The Ballot or the Bullet” is his most
iconic speech. He was assassinated in February 1965.
His ideas inspired the creation of the Black Panther Party
the following year.
Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in a middle-class family
of Christian preachers and embraced this career early
on. He became a Civil Rights leader after supporting the
rebellious act of Rosa Parks, who had refused to give up
her seat to a white woman in a bus in Montgomery,
Alabama, in 1954. Inspired by the teachings of the spir-
itual leader Mohandas Gandhi, who had led India out of
British colonisation through non-violent protests, King
made non-violence the focus of his own speeches. His
most iconic speech was “I Have a Dream”, but his speech
“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” was the last one he gave
before being assassinated in April 1968.
Script MP3 n°103-104
Les enregistrements correspondent aux textes du manuel
p. 236-237.
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Mise en œuvre
Ces deux discours historiques placés en vis-à-vis pourront être
abordés en petits groupes ou en binômes, avec une phase de
mise en commun une fois la lecture terminée, quand les élèves
auront répondu aux questions.
Réponses aux questions
A. The key ideas in Malcolm X’s speech are that despite their
differences with each other, all the black people have a common
enemy, and that is “the white man”. To fight this enemy, if he
does not give in and grants black people civil rights, Malcolm
X says there is no other choice but to resort to violence, unless
the right to vote is finally granted to black people.
The key ideas in Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech are that black
people are victims of oppression and poverty, and that the only
solution to fight this situation is to use non-violence and main-
tain unity. He focuses his speech on dignity – “we are deter-
mined to be people.” As a preacher, he also evokes God and
Christian values.
B. They have in common the fact that they denounce the
poverty, oppression and injustice black people are victims of.
They both insist on the need to find and maintain unity in this
struggle.
But they differ in the means used to reach this goal: Malcolm X
advocates the use of violence – “the ballot or the bullet” – while
King says it’s “non-violence or nonexistence.”
Remarque : Les élèves peuvent aussi réagir (anachroniquement)
à l’absence de référence aux femmes dans les deux discours,
bien que le mouvement pour les droits civiques ait réellement
pris son essor avec Rosa Parks.
C. They seek to stir up a sense of belonging together, a sense
of community and common purpose. They also want their
respective audiences to participate in the struggle (albeit in
different ways).
D. For these two leaders, the consequences of civil rights activism
was death. They were both assassinated. Malcolm X was assas-
sinated in 1965, not even a year after delivering this speech.
Martin Luther King was assassinated one day after giving his
“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, in 1968.
Pour aller plus loin, on pourra demander aux élèves de débattre
en défendant l’un ou l’autre point de vue. Ce travail sera préparé
au préalable dans une classe qui a besoin de temps de réflexion
avant la prise de parole, ou sera improvisé dans une classe à
l’aise, par exemple en LLCER anglais, monde contemporain
(« Faire société », axe d’étude 3 – Égalités et inégalités –
Les inégalités).
Ces discours se prêtent bien à la mise en voix. On pourra
demander aux élèves de choisir un passage de leur choix, n’ex-
cédant pas une minute de discours, afin de le déclamer devant
la classe. On peut même valoriser le meilleur orateur ou la
meilleure oratrice. Pour s’entraîner, les élèves pourront se réfé-
rer au Showtime p. 242. Ils pourront également travailler les
groupes de souffle et accents de mot en écoutant ces extraits
de discours.
9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 313
3
Nina Simone, 237
the ‘artivist’
Présentation du document
Si on connaît l’influence de la pensée de Malcolm X et Martin
Luther King Jr. sur le mouvement des droits civiques, on connaît
moins celle de Nina Simone, qui a fourni aux Afro-Américains
quelques-unes des chansons engagées qui ont marqué et porté
leur lutte. Avec “Mississippi Goddam”, elle a donné voix à
sa colère et à la leur. Elle écrira dans son autobiographie qu’elle
a composé cette chanson en une heure, suite à l’annonce de
l’assassinat de Medgar Evers, alors qu’elle avait jusque-là refusé
d’écrire des chansons engagées.
L’extrait de son autobiographie est un texte rare et essentiel
pour montrer aux élèves la diversité des voix du mouvement
pour les droits civiques et l’évolution des opinions de ses acteurs
à mesure que les événements gagnaient en puissance et en
violence. Il offre également une réflexion profonde sur le pouvoir,
l’oppression et l’exclusion.
Remarque : Les élèves observateurs ne manqueront pas de
relever que Nina Simone commet une erreur dans la date de
l’assassinat de Malcolm X.
Nina Simone (1933-2003) was an American singer, song-
writer and musician who showed an extraordinary musical
talent early in her childhood. She had perfect pitch. It was
her rejection from a scholarship to keep studying at
Julliard, the most prestigious musical school in the United
States, that made her aware of racism for the first time.
She bitterly abandoned classical music to play jazz in
clubs and bars, so as to earn a living. She became a Civil
Rights activist quite late in the history of the movement
– her song “Mississippi Goddam” (released in 1964) was,
in fact, her first protest song of many. She became a lead-
ing voice in the struggle and as such, she suffered from
the violence of white supremacists, narrowly escaping
death several times. She is best remembered for her
activism, although she confessed in her biography that
it had damaged her career.
Mise en œuvre
On pourra proposer aux élèves de travailler sur ce texte
individuellement, mais d’étudier en binômes les paroles de la
chanson (divisée en deux parties) et son importance avec la
Worksheet n°42 . Le travail proposé dans la Worksheet n°42
implique des travaux de recherche et pourra se faire en classe
si on a un accès informatique, ou en devoir à la maison.
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Worksheet disponible sur le site compagnon enseignant
(en version PDF et en version modifiable) :
http://113916.site.magnard.fr/ressources/1759
Corrigé de la Worksheet n°42
1. Medgar Evers was a prominent civil rights activist who was
assassinated in 1963 in Mississippi by a white supremacist.
He organised boycotts, investigated crimes that targeted
black people, and was a very influential black leader. He was
shot in the back as he was going back home one night.
In Alabama, a Baptist church was bombed, killing four young
girls. This happened in September 1963.
2. – She denounces what happened to Medgar Evers and
the four girls who were killed by a bomb. In Tennessee, there
were frequent riots that she denounces too.
– “Hound dogs on my trail”: peaceful demonstrators were
attacked by police dogs to break up the marches.
– “School children sitting in jail”: young teenagers who pro-
tested were arrested and sent to prison.
– She doesn’t feel that she belongs anywhere, because she’s
black.
3. This song is a protest song. It denounces what was hap-
pening at the time of segregation and during the struggles
of the Civil Rights movement.
4. She wishes for equality. She doesn’t care if white and black
people don’t live together side by side, she just wants to
have equal rights. She implies she doesn’t care about tole-
rance and love because she’s tried hard all her life to do what
other people expected of her, and it hasn’t been enough.
5. “Sister Sadie” was a jazz song that was very popular.
Released in 1959 by the Horace Silver Quintet, the lyrics
referred to Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, in which Sister Sadie was married to a runaway slave
and was a domestic servant. And this character in the song
became, for white people, the archetype of what they expec-
ted of black women. It’s very offensive because it implies
that all black women are alike.
6. She repeats “do it slow” over and over because it’s what
the people of her time are saying about desegregation and
equality. They want to take things slowly so as to let people
adapt to this idea – and some leaders of the Civil Rights
movement, like Martin Luther King Jr., thought that going
slowly and non-violently would facilitate a peaceful transition.
Nina Simone thinks that things should happen now, quickly,
because there’s no end to the violence suffered by black
people.
314 Unit 21
9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 314
7. I agree that this song is culturally and historically significant,
because when Nina Simone sang it as a protest song, it hurt
her career among her white audience but became an anthem
for the Civil Rights movement. It was even banned in most
Southern States. It remained one of Nina Simone’s most
famous songs, and she considered it her “first civil rights
song.”
Besides, it is musically significant too. Nina Simone had
perfect pitch. She began this song as a joyful show tune and
made it turn into a dramatic, ominous melody.
Réponses aux questions
A. When Nina Simone became an activist, she only wanted for
black people to get civil rights recognised by law and the Amer-
ican Constitution. But as time passed, she began to think that
white people and black people could never live together, they
were too different. She saw both communities as equal, includ-
ing in their thirst for power. She wanted a black revolution. When
Malcolm X was assassinated, she thought the resort to violence
was inevitable, and even suitable.
B. She was clearly influenced by Malcolm X’s vision and ideas.
She did not believe in the non-violence advocated by Martin
Luther King Jr.
C. On demandera aux élèves de faire un compte rendu oral de
leur travail effectué sur la Worksheet n°42 , ce qui les préparera
pour le Your turn! et permettra à ceux qui ont travaillé sur
l’autre partie de la chanson de s’entraîner à la prise de notes.
4 Podcast contest
237
Cette activité sera plus abordable pour les élèves s’ils ont étudié
la chanson “Mississippi Goddam”, puisque la Worksheet n°42
les guide dans leur compréhension et leurs recherches. Ils pour-
ront appliquer la même démarche pour choisir et expliquer une
chanson. Les podcasts pourront être préparés en petits groupes
et diffusés en classe.
On pourra suggérer aux élèves de débuter leurs recherches
par un article comme celui-ci :
www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/mar/02/nina-simone-
10-of-the-best plutôt que par la liste exhaustive des chansons
de Nina Simone.
S’ils se sont entraînés à la mise en voix des discours, on leur sug-
gérera de réinvestir leur travail sur les groupes de souffle, into-
nations et accents de mot lors de la création de leur podcast.
Dans le cas contraire, on pourra leur proposer d’effectuer le
travail sur le Showtime, p. 242, pour prêter une attention particu-
lière à leurs intonations lors de l’enregistrement du podcast.
22/09/2020 12:55

238-239 5 The Vietnam Paradox < et les enjeux de ce conflit pour les Américains en général, et les
Cette double page aborde le paradoxe de la guerre du Vietnam,
sujet qui divisa le Mouvement pour les droits civiques. Tandis
que certains essayaient d’apaiser le climat en espérant que l’en-
gagement des Afro-Américains dans cette guerre favoriserait
l’égalité, d’autres se demandaient pourquoi risquer leur vie pour
un pays qui les considérait comme inférieurs. Pourtant, si l’éga-
lité laissait à désirer aux États-Unis, la fraternité entre soldats au
Vietnam, exposés aux mêmes dangers, gommait les préjugés.
Les élèves découvriront aussi la décision de Muhammad Ali,
autre icône des années soixante, de devenir objecteur de
conscience, et son impact sur sa carrière de boxeur.
1
238
Brothers in arms
Présentation du document
Ces deux photographies prises sur le terrain lors de la guerre
du Vietnam permettront aux élèves de réaliser que les principes
racistes de la ségrégation étaient parfois gommés face à un
ennemi commun, faisant de ces soldats des Américains avant
tout.
Le Cultural fact leur apportera le contexte nécessaire pour bien
comprendre ces clichés mais également pour prendre du recul
par rapport à ce qu’ils voient. Si les images expriment une cer-
taine fraternité entre les soldats, sur le terrain l’égalité n’était
malgré tout pas de mise.
On pourra également distribuer aux élèves les informations
suivantes sur les photographies.
Photograph A: After receiving a fresh supply of ammu-
nition and water flown in by helicopter, men from the US
173 rd Airborne Brigade continue on a jungle “Search and
Destroy” patrol in Phuc Tuy Province, Vietnam, June 1966.
An armoured personnel carrier provides security on the
landing zone in the background.
Photograph B: A trooper from the 101st Airborne Divi-
sion attempts to save the life of a buddy at Dong Ap Bia
Mountain, near South Vietnam’s A Shau Valley on May 19,
1969.
Mise en œuvre
La mise en œuvre suggérée pour cette activité est un travail de
groupe : le groupe A se penche sur la première photo, le groupe B
sur la seconde. On encouragera les élèves à formuler leurs
réponses à l’aide de la boîte Help! qui enrichira leur vocabulaire.
9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 315
Au préalable, le Cultural fact éclairera les élèves sur le contexte
Afro-Américains en particulier. Cet encadré peut être mis en
parallèle avec l’activité 2, The heaviest burden, auquel cas on
répartira aussi le travail entre le groupe A et le groupe B.
On pourra profiter de cette activité pour revoir les pronoms
relatifs.
Réponses aux questions
A. What made the Vietnam War an issue for the Civil Rights
movement was the fact that there was no equality in the drafting
of eligible soldiers: 64% of eligible black Americans compared
to 31% of eligible white Americans. There were twice as many
black casualties as white ones in 1965-66.
B. Photograph A
In this picture, which represents soldiers from the 173 rd Airborne
Brigade in the foreground, we can see a young black soldier
who is carrying a heavy load of war gear and weapons, and who
looks exhausted. His helmet is not even tied. He is staring at
the camera. He is followed by other soldiers, white and black,
and they are all going to the battlefield in a muddy area after
being dropped there by a helicopter.
We can see the tiredness that affects all the soldiers, and perhaps
sense their fear. What is striking is this young man’s look: we
don’t know, just like him, whether he will survive the war or not.
Photograph B
This photograph depicts a white soldier who is performing
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on an injured black soldier, in a
situation that looks hopeless. He is determined to revive his
comrade. They seem wet and muddy, fighting in very tough
conditions on a mountain in South Vietnam.
This picture illustrates the fact that segregation was of no impor-
tance for the soldiers fighting in Vietnam. White and black sol-
diers learnt to live and fight together, and skin colour did not
matter.
C. According to these pictures, segregation was not an issue
(or less of an issue) for the American soldiers on the battlefield,
because they were brothers in arms and fought together against
a common enemy. They had to count on each other and to trust
each other with their lives, so skin colour stopped mattering.
2 The heaviest burden
239
Présentation du document
Ce court encadré permet de définir plus en détail le paradoxe
de la guerre du Vietnam, et plus particulièrement son impact
sur le Mouvement des droits civiques. Le discours de Martin
Luther King Jr. cité dans le texte est celui qu’il a donné en février
1967 à Beverly Hills, en compagnie de quatre sénateurs opposés
à la guerre au Vietnam.
Mise en œuvre et réponses aux questions
Ainsi qu’il a été mentionné dans la mise en œuvre de l’activité 1,
on peut étudier ce texte en parallèle avec le Cultural fact en
divisant la classe en deux groupes, ou en répartissant les élèves
en binômes.
A. The paradox was that in their own country, black people did
not have civil rights and still suffered the consequences of seg-
regation, but their country told them to enlist and risk their lives
to fight the war against North Vietnam.
Unit 21 315
22/09/2020 12:55
 This situation divided the Civil Rights movement as to what the
enlisted black soldiers should do. 4 Webquest
239

B. Martin Luther King Jr. thought that the people who suffered
the most from inequality and the war were the black people,
and the white people who lived in poverty. They had to “bear
the heaviest burden” because black people struggled for equal-
ity in their country and died for the United States in the Vietnam
War.
On pourra suggérer quelques sites pour faire des recherches
sur la carrière et la vie de Muhammad Ali :
www.history.com/topics/black-history/muhammad-ali
www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad-Ali-boxer
Pour présenter l’athlète, on laissera le choix du support aux
élèves, mais on peut en proposer plusieurs : une affiche pour

3
la classe, un document et des photographies à projeter (diapo-
239
rama, Prezi…), ou une vidéo.
A conscientious objector Pour aller plus loin, on pourra également suggérer un quiz à
l’échelle de la classe, puisque tous les élèves auront fait une
recherche. Ils prépareront en petits groupes quelques questions
Présentation du document
auxquelles les autres groupes devront répondre le plus vite
Les documents proposés pour cette troisième activité permet- possible.
tront aux élèves de mieux connaître ou découvrir Muhammad
Ali et les conséquences de sa décision d’être objecteur de
conscience à la guerre du Vietnam sur sa carrière de boxeur.
L’image est tirée du film documentaire The Greatest, tourné 240-241 6 Elected for Change <
en 1974, et reprend la scène dans laquelle Ali refuse son enrô-
lement.

Mise en œuvre et réponses aux questions

Avant de demander aux élèves de lire le texte, on leur suggérera
de décrire les deux photos qui accompagnent cette activité.
Certains connaîtront peut-être le boxeur Muhammad Ali (1942-
2016) et pourront apporter des informations sur sa carrière. Le
Your turn! qui suit cette activité leur demande de mener des
recherches sur la vie et la carrière de Muhammad Ali, cet homme
dans une curieuse position d’icône, tour à tour adulé et haï par
les Blancs, mais adoré par les Afro-Américains.
L’article proposé ne devrait pas poser de difficultés particulières.
Les élèves peuvent l’aborder individuellement, en classe ou à
la maison.

A. Cassius Clay was an American boxer who became world
heavyweight champion. When he became a Muslim minister, he
changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Being a conscientious
objector stopped his boxing career, but he resumed it in 1970.
B. On 29 April 1967, he was stripped of his champion title
because he had been drafted into the army and refused to
become a soldier and fight in the Vietnam War. He was sen-
Cette double page évoque les Afro-Américains en politique, à
travers le discours d’acceptation de Barack Obama en 2008 et
celui de Lori Lightfoot à la mairie de Chicago en 2019. Elle pose
la question de la diversité réelle du paysage politique américain
et de l’inclusion des Afro-Américains parmi les décideurs. En
quoi les choses ont-elles évolué ou changé depuis les événe-
ments décrits dans la double page précédente où nous évo-
quions l’accès à l’éducation ?

tenced to five years in prison and a heavy fine, and the boxing
authorities forbade him to box.
C. Réponse libre des élèves. On les encouragera à s’appuyer sur
les documents de cette double page pour justifier leur opinion.
On leur proposera d’utiliser des expressions telles que : I agree/
disagree (with)… I approve/disapprove of… I’m convinced that…
I share his/her opinion…
→ I am convinced that Muhammad Ali was right to become a
conscientious objector because it was wrong for America to
deny him civil rights for so long, since he was black, and then
ask him to risk his life for his country.
→ I share your opinion on this. However, I also think that he
could have been a role model.
→ As for me, I disapprove of Muhammad Ali’s decision. He was
wrong to become a conscientious objector, because he could
have become a symbol on the battlefield and shown that true
equality between white and black soldiers was possible – there-
fore it was also attainable in his own country.
1
240
Yes, we can
Présentation du document
Le discours de Barack Obama lors des résultats de sa première
élection en 2008 est devenu historique et il est incontournable
dans le thème de cette unité. S’il est connu des enseignants
sans le moindre doute, il ne fait pas nécessairement partie du
bagage culturel des élèves. On proposera donc d’en étudier
l’extrait le plus marquant. La photographie qui accompagne le
document montrera l’émotion et l’espoir que cette élection ont
fait naître, notamment pour les Afro-Américains.
Mise en œuvre
On peut décider de faire écouter ce discours aux élèves avant
et pendant la lecture pour les aider à s’imprégner de la prosodie,
surtout si on envisage de demander une mise en voix à partir
de ce lien : www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEo7lzfpdCU (à partir de
13’26’’ jusqu’à 16’02’’).

316 Unit 21

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 Les éléments de la question B peuvent être relevés en classe,
et leurs détails recherchés en devoir à la maison. Comme la
question D appelle aussi à effectuer une recherche, une mise
en œuvre possible de cette séance peut se faire en salle infor-
matique ou en laboratoire de langues, avec écoute du discours,
réponse aux questions, entraînement à répéter un extrait d’une
minute. La mise en commun se fera en classe entière.
Avec une classe fragile, on proposera une répartition en binômes
ou un travail de groupe, comprenant un élève tuteur qui aidera
les élèves à se répartir les tâches et servira de coach pour l’en-
traînement de chacun à l’oral.
Si l’on souhaite faire commenter l’image qui accompagne le
discours, on pourra fournir aux élèves la légende suivante :
Fort Greene Brooklyn, New York, November 4 th 2008:
Obama election celebration. A crowd spontaneously
gathers in the streets to celebrate and dance after
Barack Obama is declared winner of the 2008 presi-
dential election.
On pourra proposer aux élèves d’imaginer la conversation entre
les deux personnes au premier plan de la photographie, en se
focalisant sur leurs émotions, espoirs et attentes. Ceci leur per-
mettra notamment d’utiliser le present perfect, en écho au
discours lui-même.
Production possible :
“I have been waiting for so long for such a momentous event!”
“I think change has come to America, as Obama says!”
“I cannot believe he has been elected! We have been through
so much!”
Réponses aux questions
A. Obama’s acceptance speech focuses on the idea that America
will keep changing and becoming even more inclusive, as it has
progressed in the last century – in Ann Nixon Cooper’s lifetime.
B. He alludes to a great number of historical events and break-
throughs:
– “a generation past slavery” (l. 7): Ann Nixon Cooper was born
a generation after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862.
– “couldn’t vote for two reasons: because she was a woman
and because of the color of her skin” (l. 9-11): alludes to seg-
regation and the fact that women couldn’t vote, until they
“reach[ed] for the ballot” (l. 19) in 1920.
– “Despair in the Dust Bowl” (l. 20): the Dust Bowl was an area
devastated by a historical drought. And “Depression across
the land”/“New Deal” (l. 21-22) refers to the Wall Street Crash
of 1929 and its consequences, and President F. D. Roosevelt’s
solution.
– “when the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened
the world” (l. 24-25) is a reference to the attack on Pearl Harbor
by the Japanese army allied to Nazi Germany, and the subse-
quent participation of the United States in the Second World
War.
– “the buses in Montgomery” (l. 28): this alludes to the protest
campaign sparked by Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to give her
seat to a white person. The black people living in Montgomery
boycotted the city buses. One year later, a law was passed to
say it was unconstitutional in that State to segregate buses.
– “the hoses in Birmingham” (l. 28-29): in 1963, black students
demonstrated non-violently for civil rights and were hit by
high-pressure water jets from fire hoses used by the authorities.
9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 317
Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the United
States.
– “a bridge in Selma” (l. 29): this alludes to a series of marches
that took place in 1965. The project was to go from Selma to
Montgomery. It was led by Martin Luther King Jr. It was a peace-
ful march that was severely repressed by the local authorities.
This event was filmed, showing the brutal assault of the author-
ities on horseback or on foot, armed with tear-gas, billy clubs
and bullwhips. It became a landmark of the Civil Rights move-
ment.
– “a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that ‘we shall
overcome’” (l. 29-30): it’s Martin Luther King Jr.
– “a man touched down on the moon” (l. 32) refers to the
Apollo 11 mission of 1969.
– “a wall came down in Berlin”/“a world was connected”
(l. 32-33): both events took place in 1989. The second one was
the advent of the Internet.
C. Pour les questions C et D, les élèves pourront avoir recours
aux expressions suivantes : It is my impression that… I am of
the opinion that/I hold the opinion that… As far as I am con-
cerned…
By talking about his own election at the end of such a list of
historical landmarks, it is my impression that Barack Obama
meant to show that this moment, too, was both historical and
historic: a man of colour was now President of the United States
after centuries of struggle by the black people to be included
in their country’s life and government. He particularly talks about
the last century and a half, to show how the Blacks went from
being slaves to having equal rights in the American Constitution,
and to the highest elected office in the United States. As far as
I am concerned, this speech was intentionally worded like this
to make it memorable, and it worked since we are still talking
about it.
D. On encouragera les élèves à se focaliser sur l’axe 7 « Diversité
et inclusion » pour cette réponse.
The two terms of President Obama have brought some change,
but have also turned part of the country against black people
again – there is still exclusion. For instance, there are still prej-
udices in education (as seen in this unit) and in the image some
people have of black people, which leads to inequality of pros-
pects and treatment. The #BlackLivesMatter movement shows
that black people keep being killed by the authorities, who
sometimes act on prejudice rather than on facts and reason.
Barack Obama kept addressing the problems caused by racism
in his country, for instance after the death of Trayvon Martin in
2012, when this young black teenager was shot by a member
of his neighbourhood watch. However, Barack Obama managed
to enforce health programmes for poor people (“Obamacare”)
and struggled to limit the economic crash of 2008, both of which
impacted the poorest population of his country – a vast per-
centage of them being African Americans.
He granted civil rights for gays and lesbians, showing during
his second term a spirit of inclusion that he had not displayed
during his first term. I hold the opinion that his politics evolved
according to the societal context of his country.
However, this spirit of inclusion excluded undocumented immi-
grants. He was nicknamed “the deporter-in-chief” for deporting
two million illegal migrants back to their country of origin, while
trying to pass a law that would help them gain citizenship.
I am of the opinion that he could have done better. Therefore,
we can conclude that Barack Obama only partly brought the
change he had promised.
Unit 21 317
22/09/2020 12:55
 2 Lori Lightfoot,
Mayor of Chicago
241
L’élection de Lori Lightfoot en 2019 est un autre tournant de
l’histoire politique américaine. En élisant à la tête de Chicago,
un lieu réputé pour sa corruption et sa violence, une femme
noire et homosexuelle, la ville a marqué une volonté de chan-
gement et d’évolution. Lori Lightfoot est connue pour son
franc-parler et son honnêteté. Son opposante principale était
Toni Preckwinkle, une autre femme noire d’influence dans la
politique de la ville depuis 2010. L’article sur les résultats de
l’élection et son discours de réception permettront aux élèves
de réfléchir aux enjeux d’une politique plus inclusive.
Présentation du document
On pourra donner aux élèves les informations suivantes sur Lori
Lightfoot.
Lori Lightfoot (b. 1962) was elected Mayor of Chicago
in 2019. She had started her career as a lawyer, partly
due to her modest family background: having juggled
seven jobs to pay for her studies, she was aware of what
inequalities and poverty meant and wanted to right
some wrongs. Her early interest in politics led her to be
elected to different government positions before
becoming a mayor. Her election has been considered
momentous because as an openly homosexual Afri-
can-American woman, she brings hope for gender
equality and the end of discrimination and prejudice.
Mise en œuvre
Si on choisit de travailler sur l’élection de Lori Lightfoot, on
s’attachera à réaliser les activités 2 et 3 ensemble, car elles
s’éclairent l’une et l’autre. Les questions et le texte sont facile-
ment accessibles aux élèves, et la diction de Lori Lightfoot dans
le discours est très abordable. On pourra donc proposer une
mise en œuvre simple, avec un travail individuel pour les deux
activités.
Ici encore, le discours se prête bien à une mise en voix. On
pourra laisser aux élèves le choix de leur passage et on leur
demandera de s’entraîner au préalable avec la vidéo.
Remarque : le Picture Challenge p. 245 concerne aussi Lori
Lightfoot. Ce peut être une bonne activité de rebrassage des
connaissances culturelles et du vocabulaire avant l’évaluation.
Réponses aux questions
A. The Chicago election campaign was an unusual event
because the two candidates were two black women – Lori Light-
foot and Toni Preckwinkle. The elected candidate, Lori Lightfoot,
is gay.
B. Chicago is depicted as the third most populous city in the
United States. It is not a very united city, because there were a
lot of candidates for the election’s first round – no less than
fourteen. This city has a bad reputation because gun violence
makes some areas dangerous. It also has financial problems.
It suffers, according to Lightfoot, from an “endless cycle of cor-
ruption.” She wants to make Chicago more inclusive (“We can
and will finally put the interests of our people, all of our people”),
even if her election proves that the city is already set on this
path.
318 Unit 21
9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 318
3 Acceptance Speech
241
Ce discours de remerciement et d’acceptation de son élection
montre la combativité de Lori Lightfoot et l’importance qu’elle
accorde à un monde plus tolérant et inclusif. Sa référence à
Martin Luther King Jr. et à la foi ne devrait pas échapper aux
élèves.
Mise en œuvre
On proposera aux élèves de visionner la vidéo en prenant des
notes, et de s’aider des questions posées dans le manuel pour
rendre compte de la teneur du discours de Lori Lightfoot. Dans
un deuxième temps, une fois le document bien compris, on
accordera aux élèves le temps nécessaire pour débattre de la
question B.
Script VIDEO N°40
Today, you did more than make history. You created a
movement for change. You know, when we started this
journey eleven months ago, nobody gave us much of a
chance. We were up against powerful interests. A pow-
erful machine and a powerful mayor. But I remembered
something Martin Luther King said when I was very young:
“Faith,” he said, “is taking the first step when you can’t
see the staircase.” Well, we couldn’t see the whole stair-
case when we started this journey, but we had faith. An
abiding faith in this city, its people and in its future. So we
took that first step. And as Father Mike says: “We let our
faith overcome our fears.” Out there tonight, a lot of little
girls and boys are watching. They’re watching us and
they’re seeing the beginning of something, well, a little
bit different. They’re seeing a city reborn. A city where it
doesn’t matter what colour you are, and where surely it
doesn’t matter how tall you are. Where it doesn’t matter
who you love, just as long as you love.
Réponses aux questions
A. The main subject of Lori Lightfoot’s message is that the city
is going to change for the better, becoming more inclusive and
embracing its diversity. She talks about hearing Martin Luther
King Jr. as a young girl, then addresses the young children of
her city to imply that her mandate is going to have a historical
impact.
B. → I believe that it is. Lori Lightfoot is saying she is going to
bring change, and to help the city to embrace its diversity
because the colour of one’s skin and one’s sexual orientation
won’t matter. But the fact that she was elected shows that
already, it is the result of a change towards more inclusive
politics: she is a woman, she is black and she is openly gay.
Her main opponent was also a black woman. The people who
voted for them in the first round wanted this change.
→ I cannot agree with what you are saying. This was already
the hope people had when Barack Obama was first elected in
2008, and the change they had hoped for did not happen as
they wished it would, otherwise Donald Trump would not have
been elected and the #BlackLivesMatter movement would not
have been necessary.
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 Le débat peut être :
your project 241 – soit au sein d’un seul groupe avec chaque élève qui défend un
point de vue différent, en argumentant ses choix. Ces saynètes
Les deux projets proposés sont de difficulté variée. de discussion éditoriale pour American Heritage peuvent ensuite
être jouées devant la classe complète ;
– soit en répartissant les élèves dans des groupes en fonction
YOUR PROJECT #1 de leur affinité pour tel discours. Chaque groupe préparera
alors son argumentation pour défendre le discours choisi, et le
You are applying for a job as a speechwriter for the newly- débat aura lieu en classe entière entre les groupes.
elected mayor of a big American city. You have been asked
to show your talents.
Critères Non En cours
Write a speech entitled “Voices of Diversity, Paths to Inclu- d’évaluation POI acquis d’acquisition Acquis
sion” that deals with the recent history of black people in
America and the issues they still face. Say how the new mayor L’élève respecte bien le
will bring about necessary change. format de la présentation
(interaction orale).
Ce projet est une production écrite qui conviendra si on s’est L’élève donne son point de
penché sur plusieurs discours proposés dans l’unité. Il s’agit ici vue et argumente de façon
pour les élèves de rédiger un discours d’acceptation pour le/ étayée.
la maire d’une grande ville américaine de leur choix, et qui
L’élève illustre ses propos
devra s’intituler : “Voices of Diversity, Paths to Inclusion.” à l’aide d’exemples précis.
À ce titre, avoir travaillé sur le discours de Lori Lightfoot est
souhaitable, car il offre un bel exemple sur ce thème. La langue riche lexicalement
et syntaxiquement permet
Ce projet peut être réalisé individuellement par des élèves qui les nuances.
sont de bon niveau, et en groupes pour ceux qui ont besoin de
s’entraider et de se répartir les tâches. Afin de les accompagner, La prononciation est correcte
on pourra au préalable leur demander de reprendre les discours et rythmée.
de cette unité pour en déceler les codes et les subtilités : struc- L’élève ne lit pas ses notes et
ture, rythme, rôle des répétitions, aspect narratif… la présentation est fluide.
Pour étoffer le contenu, on les encouragera à reprendre
quelques-unes des questions soulevées par la double page Voir aussi la grille d’évaluation critériée adossée au CECRL
d’ouverture et à s’appuyer sur quelques repères historiques (A1 → C1), p. 399 de ce Fichier.
qui illustreront leur thème.
Si on a déjà travaillé sur l’unité 9 Masters of Speech, les élèves
trouveront l’occasion de rebrasser quelques connaissances et
techniques, et de réutiliser le vocabulaire de la page 95. Il ne
s’agit pas, ici, de déclamer le discours, mais bien de le rédiger.
OPEN YOUR EARS! 242

Critères Non En cours Acquis

d’évaluation PE acquis d’acquisition

L’élève respecte bien le

format de la présentation
(discours).

L’élève argumente de façon

étayée.

L’élève illustre ses propos à

l’aide d’exemples précis.

La langue riche lexicalement

et syntaxiquement permet
les nuances.

Voir aussi la grille d’évaluation critériée adossée au CECRL

(A1 → C1), p. 398 de ce Fichier.

YOUR PROJECT #2 PHONOLOGY MP3 n°105 MP3 n°106

American Heritage magazine is preparing for its “Speeches

that will make History” review. In groups, choose one of the 2. La syllable accentuée est celle qui précède -age.
speeches from this unit for the issue. Justify your choice. 3. La syllabe accentuée est :
demonstrate • denigrate • deprecate • propagate • regulate •
Ce projet est plus accessible mais demande d’avoir consacré humiliate
du temps à l’étude des différents discours de cette unité. On
posera un cadre plus précis sur ses exigences en fonction du
niveau de sa classe et des capacités de ses élèves – sur le temps
d’intervention et le type de production orale.

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 C. La ségrégation n’était pas seulement une question de sépa-
AUDIO MYSTERY ration, mais aussi de préjugés et d’oppression, de racisme et
d’exclusion.
script MP3 n°110
Exercice 5
Are you ready to guess the mysterious identities of five The world of segregation was a world of hatred, intolerance
people named in this unit? I’ll give you only three clues for and oppression that the Civil Rights movement overcame by
each. Grab your pen and… let’s begin! marching for their rights, boycotting buses and campaigning
Drafted – Vietnam – champion. for change and equality. For a long time, Blacks had been
Politics – two mandates – yes we can. excluded and neglected, disparaged and gagged, so much so
Civil rights activist – artist – revolution. that in the 1960s some activists were advocating for violence
Mayor – Democrat – Chicago. while others were in favour of peaceful marches and civil diso-
bedience. They struggled for access to education and the right
Assassinated – Civil Rights leader – “the Ballot or the
to vote, used placards and demonstrations to denounce the
Bullet.”
biases and intolerance that alienated them. By empowering
Have you found the names yet? themselves, they forced the government to enforce the laws
Now see if you can introduce each person using the clues and address the issues of preconceptions and prejudice.
I gave you!

Solution : Muhammad Ali, Barack Obama, Nina Simone, Lori

Lightfoot, Malcolm X. rule the grammar! 244-245

Spice up your vocabulary 243

Exercice 1
A. compliment
– Compliment is the antonym of the three other words.
B. oppress
– Parade, march and demonstrate have very close meanings.
C. acceptance
– Preconception, bias and prejudice are three words to talk
about judging before knowing.
D. resilience
– Intolerance, hatred and racism are all negative reactions to
diversity.
Exercice 2
Noun Verb Past participle Exercice 1
protest protest protested A. They have fought for their rights for decades.
alienation alienate alienated B. It all started 60 years ago.
denigration denigrate denigrated C. Since the end of segregation, things haven’t been easy.
tolerance tolerate tolerated D. The KKK has existed for decades.
E. President Obama was elected several years ago.
Exercice 3 F. Segregation lasted for years.
A. If the government wanted to enforce desegregation, they
had to educate people to become more tolerant. Exercice 2
B. Rosa Parks had to be rather defiant on the day she decided A. They knelt and wept before the march.
to protest against segregation on the bus. B. His heart sank when he heard the verdict.
C. In many respects, prejudice is related to ignorance more than C. He meant to go to the rally but he forgot.
hatred. D. They sent a clear message to the KKK.
D. The chant “We shall overcome” is emblematic of that era. E. Martin Luther king Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
E. It was easy to disparage and oppress black people in the F. They shot Malcolm X in Washington Heights.
context of segregation.
Exercice 3
Exercice 4
Then the pastor rose. While he spoke, George closed his eyes.
A. La lutte pour les droits civiques fut difficile, mais malgré la He felt the words that he was about to speak fly from him. He
haine et la négligence, les militants furent résilients et vain- felt the power of God go out in him. Then the voice of the pas-
quirent l’inégalité. tor ceased, and Gabriel opened his eyes in the silence and
B. Alors que la désobéissance civile avait tendance à être non found that all eyes were on him. And so he rose and faced the
violente, d’autres formes de manifestation incitaient les mani- congregation.
festants à la violence.

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 Exercice 4
A. She has taught the history of black Americans in several
universities.
B. They have sent him to jail simply because he was black.
C. I have rung all my friends to rally support.
D. They have taken him to court for minor offences.
E. He has shown great courage when faced with adversity.
F. The black supporters have won their case against the KKK.
Exercice 5
A. How many times have you been arrested by the police?
B. When did she meet these radical thinkers?
C. How often did you visit these KKK members?
D. How long did it take them to read Michelle Obama’s Becoming?
E. When did you meet your future wife?
F. Who was the first black American President?
Exercice 6
A. It has been a long time since he last saw her.
B. When he realised the protest would be a failure he decided
not to go.
C. Nina Simone never met Malcolm X.
D. Black people have always fought for their rights.
E. A lot of black people got killed during the Vietnam war.
F. He has never forgotten they insulted him.
Exercice 7
A. He is the guy who/that attacked the protesters.
B. The weapons that/which/ Ø they used have disappeared.
C. The man who/that/ Ø they lynched was only 23.
D. This is the KKK leader who/that was convicted.
E. The speech that/which/ Ø he gave was very moving.
F. The man who/that/ Ø I saw was not colored.
Exercice 8
A. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks fought for equality
between the whites and the blacks.
B. Nina Simone’s autobiography was published in 1991.
C. The Civil Rights movement put an end to segregation.
D. The Help is a movie that depicts the life of black people in
the 1960s.
Exercice 9 → Interactive Test
9782210112803_HTR_LDP_303-346.indd 321
Autres ressources numériques pour les élèves
(QR code/site compagnon)
Audio Words: Sonorisation des principaux termes de l’unité :
Picture
challenge 245
Le but de ce Picture challenge est de rebrasser le champ lexical
étudié tout au long de cette unité 21. Les mots et expressions
qui figurent dans la rubrique Spice up your vocabulary!
(Manuel p. 243) pourront servir de base aux phrases deman-
dées. Les mots et expressions des boîtes Help! pourront éga-
lement être utilisés.
Production possible :
This cartoon by Joe Fournier shows Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of
Chicago, delivering a speech about change and inclusion in her
city. The caricature shows her with a pleasant smile and an open
attitude, but we can see the hint of an iron personality. She
appears harmless – we know she is quite a small person – and
uses this to her advantage. She is saying that there are two sorts
of mindsets concerning change, and two kinds of people to
implement them. She’s asking the “machine politicians” if they
think she’s the kind of person who likes imperceptible and slow
change, or the kind of person who likes to jump right in and
change things quickly and efficiently. She uses the bandage met-
aphor, because when you remove a bandage from a wound,
there are also two kinds of way: the slow one that is painless but
painstaking, or the fast one that hurts for a minute but fixes
things more quickly. This cartoon implies that she is a person
who will favour fast and efficient change.
Unit 21 321
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