VI. HISTORY OF AFRICAN IMMIGRATION AND THE UNITED
STATES
6A. Lesson Plan
Objectives: Students will learn about:
1) The long history of African immigration to the United States
2) Early African forced immigration to the English Colonies during the Europeans’ transatlantic slave
trade
3) Africans’ voluntarily immigration to the United States throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries
4) The historical connection between Liberia and the United States
5) The historical connection between Sierra Leone and the United States
6) Ancient Africa from which began the Black Diaspora
Key Geography/Location terms: Your local city and state, Ghana and Senegal (These countries are
examples of areas from which Europeans took Africans, during the transatlantic slave trade) — See
appendix for map of contemporary Africa (Grades K-12)
Key Terms: Diaspora, enslavement, forced immigrant, indentured servant, middle passage, slavery,
transatlantic slave trade, voluntary immigrant; Teachers may also review terms from other lesson plans
(Grades 4-12) — See appendix for glossary of terms
Map(s): Map of Africa showing the transatlantic slave trade origination points; contemporary map of
Africa — See appendix for contemporary map
Background Readings:
“Africans in America: Philadelphia’s Newest Immigrants,” and “The Communities” specifically Ghana,
Liberia, and Senegal in African Immigrants Directory: A Guide to Community Resources in the Greater
Philadelphia Area — See appendix
“Philadelphia’s African Communities At A Glance,” in Extended Lives: The African Immigrant
Experience in Philadelphia: A Balch Institute Community Profile — Available with educational materials
Hambleton, Vicki. “Africans in the United States.” Footsteps, March/April 2001, 2.** — See
www.footstepsmagazine.com for article
Ashabranner, Brent. The New African Americans. North Haven, Connecticut: Linnett Books, 1999.
(Grades 4-12)
Tolbert, Emory J. “African Americans: The Unwilling Immigrants.” No. 2, African Americans: A
Historical Perspective by Roy S. Bryce-Laporte and Emory J. Tolbert. Washington, D.C.: The Portfolio
Project, Inc., 1992. — See appendix
Bryce-Laporte, Roy S. “The Voluntary Coming of Blacks to America.” No. 2, African Americans: A
Historical Perspective by Roy S. Bryce-Laporte and Emory J. Tolbert. Washington, D.C.: The Portfolio
Project, Inc., 1992. — See appendix
**This issue is entitled “Black Immigration to the United States” and contains several useful articles,
student activities, and resources. It is also available at your public library. See appendix for complete
publisher information
Activities:
Grades K-3
Histories of Slavery
Using the picture book, From Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester and Rod Brown and the
colorful book Ancient Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade (available through Modern Curriculum Press),
introduce students to the forced immigration of Africans to the United States and the Ancient Africa. —
See appendix for publisher information
African Games
Help students identify and focus on the countries of Ghana and Senegal. These countries are examples of
areas from which Europeans took Africans, during the transatlantic slave trade. Using The Multicultural
Game Book by Louise Orlando, allow students to play games from each of these countries. — See
appendix for map. (Grades 1-6)
Grades 4-12
African Immigration Timeline
After reviewing the background readings, ask students to create a timeline of African immigration to the
United States from earliest explorers to present day Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Have students share and
compare their timelines with one another. Option: Students may also draw illustrations or write
explanations to accompany their timelines.
Grades 9-12
Africans Then and Now
Ask students to compare from Africans’ countries of origin then and now.
♦ Discuss similarities/differences between the African immigrants then and now.
♦ Why did they come?
♦ How did they come?
♦ How did they build communities?
♦ How did they keep home ties, if they did so?
♦ Compare African immigrants with other immigrant groups such as Asian or European immigrants.
What are similarities and/or differences?
(Teachers may also use some of these questions with grades 4-8)
Assessment:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What was the legal status of the first Africans to arrive in the English Colonies?
Give two reasons why Europeans enslaved Africans?
Name two countries that have areas from which Europeans took Africans?
Name three countries from which African immigrants voluntarily immigrated to the United States
during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Name three countries from which African immigrants are immigrating to Philadelphia today.
Name three similarities/differences between African immigrants in the past and today
6B. Supplementary activities for students
Grades K-3
Stories of Slavery
Share the following books with students: The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia
Hamilton and Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen
6C. Reference materials
Asante, Molefi K. and Mark T. Mattson Historical and Cultural Atlas of African Americans. New York:
Macmillan Pub Co, 1992. (specifically Chapter Two: The Transatlantic Journey) (Grades 6-12)
Asante, Molefi Kete. African American History: A Journey of Liberation. Maywood, New Jersey: The
People’s Publishing Group, Inc., 1995 (Grades 6-12)
Asante, Molefi K. and Mark T. Mattson The African-American Atlas: Black History and Culture. New
York: Macmillan Pub Co, 1998. (specifically Chapter Two: The Transatlantic Journey) (Grades 6-12)
Ashabranner, Brent. The New African Americans. North Haven, Connecticut: Linnett Books, 1999.
(Grades 4-12)
Bennett, Lerone. Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America. New York, NY: Penguin, 1993.
(Grades 9-12)
Du Bois, W. E. B. The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study/ With a New Introduction by Elijah Anderson.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996. (This book notes that a few Africans immigrants
(mostly men) lived in South Philadelphia during the early 1900’s.) (Grades 9-12)
Franklin, John Hope and Alfred A. Moss Jr. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans,
Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2000. (Grades 6-12)
Hamilton, Virginia. The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales. New York: Knopf, 1993. (K-6)
Jacobs, Heidi Hayes, Michal L. LeVasseur, and Brenda Randolph. Eastern Hemisphere: Geography,
History, Culture. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc, 2001. (Grades 6-12)
Johnson, Charles and Patricia Smith. Africans in America: America’s Journey Through Slavery. New
York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1998. (Grades 9-12)
Multicultural Milestones in United States History: Volume One to 1900. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Globe Fearon, 1995.
Paulsen, Gary. Nightjohn. New York: Delacorte Press, 1993. (Grades K-6)
Van Sertima, Ivan. They Came Before Columbus. New York: Random House, 1976.(Grades 9-12)
Van Sertima, Ivan. Early American Revisited. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1998.
(specifically chapters one and two) (Grades 9-12)