Los decendientes africanos en Latinoamérica (African descendants in Latin America)

¡Hola familia!  In keeping with Black History Month, 7th and 8th grade students will be viewing a 4-part documentary on the presence of African descendants within the Latin American community.  Over the last two classes, 7th and 8th graders have seen starting watching a series titled, "Black in Latin America," hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates.  Below is a link to the first episode, "Haiti and the Dominican Republic: The Roots of Division." It explores the history between the two nations, their economical differences, how slavery impacted each country differently, the things they have in common, and the many differences between the two communities.

Students have been given instructions on the assignment, which are listed below.  They will answer the 10 questions on a separate sheet of paper, and prepare to have a 20-25 minute discussion in class on Thursday, February 9th.  The minute markers in parentheses indicate points in the video where students can find their answers.  Parents, please feel free to watch this very enlightening documentary with your students. ¡Hasta pronto!

Spanish Online Assignment (7^th and 8^th Grade)

Due Thursday, February 9^th 2017

Documentary Viewing and Class Discussion

30 points, Homework Grade

1.    In class, students have started watching “Black in Latin America Episode 1 – Haiti and the Dominican Republic: The Roots of Division” in class.

2.    At home or online, students will finish watching the documentary on ImagineSpanish.blogspot.com.  Look for the February 7^th blog article.

3.    Discussion questions will be posted along with the documentary.  Students will write down answers to their questions.

4.    Students will prepare to have a discussion about the documentary, their answers, and opinions about what they learned in the video.

Answer the following questions with 2-4 sentences each.

1. What is the name of the capital of the Dominican Republic, the first city in the Americas to import slaves ( see 1:40)?

2. What is merengue? ( see 1:59)

3. How do Dominicans describe themselves in terms of ethnic/racial background? What it their viewpoint in regards to their African ancestry? ( see 5:40)

4. The economy and slavery systems between Haiti and the D.R. were very different.  Explain the differences between their natural resources and how slaves were treated in each country. ( see 8:01 and 27:45)

5.How did the 1822 Haitian occupation of the D.R. affect public opinion of Haitians? ( see 12:20)

6.Who was Rafael Leónidas Trujillo? How did he affect relations, if any, between the D.R. and Haiti? (see 18:59)

7.Who was Jean-Claude Duvalier? What affect did he have on Haiti's economy? What did Duvalier have in common with Trujillo in terms of the United States and their stance on Communism? (see 47:21)

8.What is Vodou (aka "voodoo")?  Expain Vodou's importance to Haitian in regards to their African ancestry and their war against the French. ( see 31:30).

9. Explain why is the river along the Haiti/D.R. border called "Massacre River." (see 21:30)

10.Discussion Question: Can you see similarites between the historical struggle between these two nations and the current events we see in the U.S. (i.e., closing of borders, racial division, social and ecomonic classes based on race)?

Food for Thought (not mandatory for assignment): What aspects of the video grabbed your attention the most? Did you learn something you had not known before?