Using art to teach students about the global reach of racism and justice

Abstract

Students at Santiago Creek Community School, an alternative campus operated by Alternative, Community, and Correctional Education Schools and Services (ACCESS) of Orange County, California, undertook an international service-learning experience: the design, making, and exchange of murals with students doing a similar project in Capetown, South Africa. The project emphasized use of student voice, collaboration, and partnership, while also highlighting empathy, equality, and a sense of global connectedness. Service-Learning Coordinator Jim Perez submitted this effective practice in July 2006 as part of a report on ACCESS.

Issue

Santiago Creek Community School serves students who have been expelled from the public school system. The mural project was seen as an opportunity to reconcile some of the students' difficult experiences in Orange County, and to exchange them with another culture.

Action

The students studied South Africa and its history by reading a world history text and watching the film A Long Night's Journey into Day.

Core Curriculum

Apartheid and the efforts of Nelson Mandela's African National Congress and the South African government to dismantle the system of racial hierarchy and segregation that had dominated society for 42 years.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the South African approach of "restorative justice."
The lives of Amy Biehl's murderers -- and how they were changed once they were compelled to accept responsibility for their criminal act. (Amy Biehl's history is explained below, in the Context section.)

Additional Academic Components

Two foreign visitors, arranged through the Amy Biehl Foundation, enhanced the students' understanding of South Africa.

Nombuelo Moeti, a 17-year-old student, discussed her life on the outskirts of Capetown and the current dynamics of race in the city.
Themba Diniso, 32, shared his work on behalf of the Foundation teaching literacy.

The visits, not only enriched the students' experience with other cultures, but also allowed them to develop a comparative understanding of their own lives, liberties, and limitations in America.

The Mural

To learn more about the design and construction of murals, the students researched the Los Angeles muralist Judith Baca. The students visited Baca's websites (www.judybaca.com, www.sparcmurals.org) to survey her work, and took a fieldtrip to see the half-mile long "Great Wall" in the Tujunga Flood Control Channel of the San Fernando Valley.
When planning their own mural, the students provided the ideas and energy that drove the agenda while the teacher facilitated and mediated the brainstorming sessions.
The students completed a mural, entitled "Tree of Hopes," that showed the student artists arm-locked in a human-chain while being pushed forward by the roots of a large tree. On each of the roots, the students had drawn a single "hope" such as "family," "end pollution," and others. On the mural were the words: "Culture is strength. Love united us in hard times. Past sacrifice gives birth to new life. Our roots push us forward."

Recognition and Celebration

The mural was presented to their South African counterparts in an exchange ceremony at the First Annual Amy Biehl International Youth Festival on the nearby campus of Soka University in Aliso Viejo. At the festival, the students organized and hosted booths designed to entertain and educate younger children and assisted with event logistics.
At a recognition ceremony before the Orange County Board of Supervisors, the student artists received a "Building Bridges Award," and were asked to give acceptance speeches, allowing the project to meet additional academic standards in public speaking.

Context

The Amy Biehl Foundation, developed by Peter and Linda Biehl in honor of their daughter Amy, was created to support programs that promote cultural understanding. Amy Biehl was murdered in South Africa when trying to register voters for the first all-race elections. Based on Amy Biehl's story and the need to promote more cultural understanding in Orange County, the mural project was introduced to the students of Santiago Creek.

More than 80 percent of students at Santiago Creek Community School are Latino; two in three are male, and most are between the ages of 13-19.

The project duration was from January to July 2004. Community partners included the Amy Biehl Foundation, the Orange County Human Relations Council, Soka University, and local artists, with the ACCESS teacher working to establish and maintain the partnerships. A supplementary grant from Fedco was used to purchase materials for the project.

Outcome

The project was a model for quality service-learning in each of the following key areas:

Encouraged student voice
Integrated learning
Ingrained a sense of civic responsibility
Promoted collaboration
Required partnership

The service-learning unit evaluation sheet gave the project a total score of "Exceptional" in overall quality, thus supporting continued implementation of the unit.

The students received citations from local State Assembly and Congress members.
Articles on the project appeared in local newspapers.
The project also generated substantial media coverage, all of which reinforced the students' sense of accomplishment and efficacy in contributing to the public good.

Evidence

The teacher and students evaluated the project to determine successes and areas for improvement.

Additionally, a basic, ten-item pre/post measurement of history/social science content standards germane to student learning on South Africa was given. Substantive gains were made on each informational dimension, particularly in the area of understanding the role of the United Nations in facilitating the dismantling of apartheid.

Posted On

August 23, 2006

For More Information

Cyndie Borcoman

Santiago Creek Community School

2323 N. Grand Ave.

Santa Ana, CA 92705

Phone: (714) 543-5407

Fax: (714) 542-0762

Resources

Schnell-Cisneros, H., Perez, J., and Christian, C. Alternative Education Options for Youth and Adults in Orange County. CalServe Final Evaluation Report - Orange County Department of Education/Alternative, Community, and Correctional Education Schools and Services (ACCESS). June 2005.

Related Activities

Conservation in Context: The Evander Childs High School Murals Project

Richards Student Showcase: Community History and Fine Arts Unit

Youth Mural Programs

101 Ideas For Combining Service & Learning