Challenging Racism Via Literature

In the course of delivering a home office funded project - called: 'Connecting Communities' in Manchester, I brought to the attention of the Learning Trust, the fact that the number of black students of African origin was more than that of non-black children in some secondary schools in some big conurbations in England. The choice of literature, or reading material within the secondary school system was yet to reflect this change.

The learning trust decided to use the text: The Triumph of the Water Lily to organise a literature workshop. The workshop tried to help students obtain knowledgeable insight into the values and life style of Africa's bourgeoning professional middle class.

Nature of workshop

Fifteen teenagers from Charles Edward Brooks Secondary school read the literature text: The Triumph of the Water lily over a four week period (under the supervision of the school's deputy head).

The student robustly endorsed the Triumph of the Water Lily Describing it as: "Engaging" "Extremely absorbing!"

The African professionals described in The Triumph of the Water lily were no different from British professionals. These Africans professionals work hard, and do everything in their power to live successfully in the 21st century; not as freeloaders, but as valuable contributors to the world.

In other words, The Triumph of the Water Lily celebrates Africa's educated elite as the continent's finest resource and urges young people, be they black or white, to see themselves as their community's finest asset.

Resources

The Triumph of the Water Lily: (ISBN: 1- 904213-03-0) (The Triumph of the Water Lily is a useful resource for teenagers experiencing crisis within the schooling system)

A Teacher's guide is also available.

Publisher: Delta Maria Publishing House, 47 Denison Rd, Manchester M14 5LZ

Follow-up work

The students had to summarise the text and explain why it made important reading for teenagers on the threshold of adulthood. They also had to explain why it was an important reading text within a culturally diverse schooling system.

To obtain any of the resource material used in the workshop, please visit us at http://www.theblackhistorymonth.com

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