L.CRJ 261 - Black American Experience-EI

Credits: 3

The course focuses on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion for Black Americans from slavery through to current day. The course examines the lives of a number of historical figures and events including: Father Augustus Tolton, the Dred Scott Trial, the Mark Twain Museum, an Underground Railroad station, the Lincoln Museum and tomb, and the Gateway Arch. The course also examines current figures and events including: discussions with activists and police in regarding the demonstrations in Ferguson, a service project with an agency serving the African-American population, discussions with young people about race, special dinner with simple cooking lesson, drive through Ferguson to site of Michael Brown’s death, and tour of New Cathedral in Saint Louis. Parallels are made between the Black American experience in the Catholic Church and the criminal justice system throughout United States history to current day. The course uses Critical Race Theory to study the topic and will require students to view these issues through the perspectives of Catholic Social Teaching and the Criminal Justice System.
Prerequisite: None
Co-requisite: None
General Education Classification: Identity, Culture, and Society-EI