TOPIC 9.2 Reagan and Conservatism

It’s Mourning in America: Hip Hop v. Ronald Reagan

AP KC-9.1.I.A, B, C - Ronald Reagan’s victory…allowED conservatives to enact significant tax cuts…LEading to Opposition and Intense political and cultural debates continued over issues of diversity…

Objective: Students will use primary and secondary source material to make a historically defensible claim on the impact of Reagan’s policies on African American communities. 

These key concepts in an Antiracist classroom:

“Instead of a War on Poverty, they got a War on Drugs so the police can bother me.” - Tupac Shakur

No other country in the world imprisons more of its citizens than the United States. This can be traced back to Reagan era policies. The same policies also significantly exacerbated the wealth gap between white and African Americans. During the 1980’s, the lyrics of a new American art form sharply contrasted the message from Reagan’s famous re-election campaign, “It’s Morning in America.”

Notes

The audiovisual aspect adds to the effectiveness of this DBQ and will keep your students engaged as they analyze Reagan era polices. It’s not a traditional DBQ, as there is not a lot of nuance in the documents, but it effectively summarizes an African American critique of the Reagan era. (No other US president has received so much attention from popular music. Popular artists like Jay Z “(Reagan turned me into a monster.”) and Kendrick Lamar (“Blame Reagan.”) have commented on his legacy. Killer Mike dedicated an entire song to Reagan a few years ago.) 

By the end of the lesson, I am confident that your students will be able to explain 9.2 key concepts “goals of the Conservative Revolution” and “debates over ethnicity continue.”