Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What do you know about the Supreme Court case that made racial segregation in public schools illegal? When did this decision take place? How have American schools changed in the years since? 

Teaching Suggestion: This question prepares students to read about a community—Odessa, Texas—that stubbornly resisted legal demands to integrate their schools and society. While the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ended legal segregation in 1954, Odessa is a place that is “locked in time” and did not desegregate until it was forced to by a US district judge in 1982. Students should be encouraged to examine their understanding of segregation as they learn more about the schools in Odessa, Texas.  

• This article from The Conversation explains the reality of discrimination in public schools in 2023. 
• In this report, the Learning Policy Institute reviews the nearly 70-year legacy of Brown v. Board of Education and shows that school segregation is still part of the American education system today.

Short Activity