Carolina K-12 has developed four curriculum modules for teachers interested in using A Red Record in their classrooms. Read more about these modules below:

An Introduction to Red Record

The history and lasting legacies of lynching in North Carolina and throughout America remains with each of us, even though many prefer to avoid such hard and violent history. In this activity, students will be introduced to A Red Record, which documents lynchings across North Carolina by plotting the locations of these violent murders and linking each entry to primary source news articles. As part of this activity, students will explore the definition of lynching and its prevalence across the state throughout 1860-1950, as well as examine and discuss the countless lives impacted by lynching and how statistics, and even primary sources, fail to convey the substantial impact of this violent practice. Students will also explore the historical context for various periods and how local, state, national, and international events impacted and/or intersected with the practice of lynching. Finally, students will discuss and understand that even though difficult, it is critical that we face this aspect of our shared past today in order to heal, as well as effectively respond to present-day issues of racial injustice. Click here to access this curriculum module.

Lynching and Dehumanization

Anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett recognized lynching as an attack not only against individuals, but as a dehumanizing act of mob violence against the ‘peoplehood’ of African Americans. Thus, whenever possible, Wells named the victims of racist violence and told their stories. In this lesson, students will consider how racial violence, systemic racism, and dehumanization are interwoven. With this framework in mind, they will review A Red Record with a focus on the individual lives that were impacted, and continue to be impacted, due to the history of lynching. Click here to access this curriculum module.

Resistance to Lynching

Dr. Hasan Jeffries wrote in his preface to SPLC’s “Teaching the Hard History of American Slavery” report that the past does not have to be taught exclusively as a story of despair – “hard history is not hopeless history.” While our shared history is is filled with complex, difficult and violent narratives such as lynching, it is imperative that we teach this history, but in a way that highlights the ways various individuals, groups, organizations, etc. resisted. In this lesson, students will specifically examine push back against lynching, from artists to activists to government officials. Students will culminate their learnings by creating a mock 1900s editorial that speaks out against the practice of lynching. Click here to access this curriculum module.

“The Light of Truth”: Acknowledging the Legacy of Lynching

Monuments and memorials are powerful symbols of our collective memory, and who/what societies choose to acknowledge and remember in such spaces can say a lot about our past and present. In this project, after exploring A Red Record, students will choose an individual off of the A Red Record site and (individually or in small groups) create some form of memorialization of the person’s life, the circumstances of their death, and the historical context of lynching that needs to be considered today. Click here to access this curriculum module.