Unequal: A Story of America by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau
Reviewed by Stasy Sandoval, Aaliyah Saiz, Drake Rodriguez, Emily Perez
Review:
Unequal: A Story of America presents the history of Black Americans through the lenses of those who fought for equality by including events from the past in connection to the state of the United States. While the horrible history that occurred to black people since the beginning of slavery is stated in most history class curriculums, rarely are their names attached to the fight for equality on their behalf besides that of Martin Luther King Jr. In other words, the history of black Americans is so rarely told by them.
Unequal bridges the gaps of history and clearly presents the names of people like Ida B. Wells-Barnett whose contributions in the fight to end inequality are forgotten, quickly brushed over, or simply never acknowledged. The authors maintain relevance not only through their in-depth history research but also by demonstrating how that same fight for equality has transcended centuries and generations all for one reason: racism.
Since the ending of slavery, the rights of black people were never respected or acknowledged. Ida B. Wells, the first black woman to own a newspaper in the United States, knew as much. In the wake of Tom Moss's lynching, Wells fought to make it known his death was not for any crime he committed but rather that it was "an excuse to get rid of Negroes who were acquiring wealth and property and thus keep the race terrorized and 'the n--- down'" (32). Although lynchings are considered a thing of the past, Ahmaud Arbery's murder in 2020 falls below the same category under a different time period: an innocent black man killed by three civilian white men under the guise of enacting justice as they walk away unscathed. Through the killings of Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery, the authors point out one of the many reasons why not much progress has been made to extinguish inequality, "In July 2013, a majority-white jury in Florida declared George Zimmerman innocent of any crime, and he walked away a free man. The same story is repeated again and again---and as with George Zimmerman and the men who shot Ahmaud Arbery, the perpetrators are charged with a crime only when protesters force the government to act. When a Black person is killed under suspicious circumstances, white people move quickly to assign guilt to the victim, not the perpetrator. These false stories---much as they did in lynching's heyday---serve to fuel the cycle of white violence" (36). The authors' message is clear: the fight for equality did not only stem on one person's contributions and that black people's struggle continues despite the pretty picture our history books paint for us. While the history of Black Americans is one of pain and constant obstacles, it is important to remember to not let this side of history be the only side that is seen and taught. There were victims but there were also those who fought in the name of those victims and their history is as much part of the creation of the United States as any war against another country for this particular fight is far from over.
Biography:
Michael Eric Dyson is one of the authors for the novel we are
doing called Unequal: A Story of
America, he has written over 25 books, in which some came New York Times best sellers, and won two NAACP Image Awards. Some of his other works include 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Death and How It Changed America, his works typically include civil rights, hip-hop, Black culture, and politics and he's written on prominent poc like Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, 2 Pac, ect. These topics are significant to him as he is a person of color so these topics mean a lot to him as it affects him significantly. The book relates to his life as he is a person and has many experiences that are talked about in the book and wants these ideas if racial inequality and racism to be taught since it isn't being taught in the face of
poc in America now. He got his education at Carlson-Newman college and continued to get his MA and PhD at Princeton University (1991 & 1993). So not only is he an author but he is a Professor and has taught at Princeton, Brown, and Georgetown, and currently is a professor at Vanderbilt University, as well as being a preacher and pastor at a church for over 40 years.
Marc Favreau is also the author of Unequal, he is known for being the editorial director of The New Press. One of his more popular edits alongside Ira Berlin and Steven F. Miller is, Remembering Slavery: African Americans Talk About Their Personal Experiences of Slavery and Emancipation and on his own, Crash:
The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America and Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia. There is not much information on him other than he lives in New York City and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. His connections to the novel is that he has a good amount of experience in the topics that come up in the novel, since he’s written about slaves' experiences so he gets the experiences and
narratives depicted from people of color which is the end goal in the novel Unequal.
Instructional Resources:
https://youtu.be/nU_jdRTaPMI
This is an introduction of the novel from one of the two authors of the text, Michael Eric Dyson. He briefly explains what the novel is about and hopes to influence his potential audience to read it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgqV8Y7vQ5E
An introduction of Michael Eric Dyson, who explains what his process of writing is, and the impact of editors and how important it is to be persistent and on task. He is an integral part of adding emotion and passion to the novel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvAHWapsxPY
An introduction to our other author, Marc Favreau, who expresses his love for history and his fascination with stories from the past. He is an integral part of the novel’s historic accuracy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXs0dUOVXzg
Michael Eric Dyson talks about cancel culture, and how he believes that people of all colors should be given second chances. This ties to what a central theme of the novel is, which is inequality and how to make strides towards fixing it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqzyW_-pI4U
Michael Eric Dyson, Jordan Peterson, Michelle Goldberg, and Stephen Fry discuss the topic of White Privilege. Adding a different perspective, Peterson challenges the novel’s author in key points he writes about in the novel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lsDJnlJqoY
A video created by Harvard University that sheds light upon the various inequalities that happen around the country. From racial, income, cultural, and education, there are different topics in this video that aid towards the message that Dyson and Favreau write about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qat_3FWpZeQ
Having to do more specifically with the opportunity gap as a concept, this visual video explains what the opportunity gap is, and the struggles that may come with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xdfVAPvv9A
This is a video that showcases two different schools, and a different student being interviewed to represent that school. One school is in a low income area and has little support, while the other has above average programs and much more opportunity than the other.
Preview:
Creativity at its finest
Thought provoking
Visionary
Understanding of the African American struggle
California Common Core Standards:
Research and present knowledge Assess how point and view of purpose shapes the content and style of text
Resources and Preparation:
Choose images and print them
Construction paper white
Construction paper variety pack
Explosion boxes order or get ahead of time
Paints, decorations, images related to the topic been discussed.
Instructional Plan:
Mix and Match Group
Ida B. Wells
Tom Moss
Ned Cobb
Buck Franklin
Amhaud Arbery
George Floyd
Emmett Till
Human Greed
Privilege
White Privilege
1.) Using images that relate to African American Civil Rights Activists, Movement, Victims of Racism, and images of the reasons White Americans created barriers for African Americans educator test the knowledge of their students based on the lessons or information being taught in their History classes.
2.) Form group of 5 to 6
3.) Every group get a blank construction paper
4.) Guess the Activist, Movement, Victims of Racism, or Image
Explosion Box Revolutionary Project
1.) Form groups of 5 or 6 groups
2.) Also create an explosion box with
3.) Construction paper, paints, any decorations or images dealing with African American’s experiences/history before after slavery and segregation
4.) Be creative and be bold
Bibliography
"About." Michael Eric Dyson, 7 Feb. 2023, michaelericdyson.com/about/.
Crash: The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America- Bookshop, bookshop.org/p/books/crash-the-great-depression-and-the-fall-and-rise-of-america-marc-favreau/114266.
"Dr. Dyson Bio." Dr. Dyson Bio | Martin Luther King Jr. Week | Nebraska, mlkweek.edu/dr-dyson-bio.
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