Unequal: A Story of America by Michael Eric Dyson & Marc Favreau

 

Unequal: A Story of America

May 4th, 2024

Unequal: A Story of America by Michael Eric Dyson & Marc Favreau, Nonfiction 2022, 293 pages

Finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award 

Unequal: A Story of America is a collection of biographies that tell the history of racial inequality in America and the brave individuals who fought against it. Dyson and Favreau take their readers from the 1870s all the way into the 2020s, narrating alarming examples of how inequality between Black and White Americans has been rooted in every facet of our society. From well known heroes like MLK Jr., Malcom X, and Iba B Wells to heroes that history has often overlooked, Unequal demonstrates the impact of inequality through generations and inspires individuals today to keep fighting for equality. 

I chose to read Unequal because I wanted to be more informed about the history of inequality and discrimination in our country. I am committed to being anti-racist and realizing my own privilege. I thought a great way to follow through with this commitment was to dive deep into Unequal and learn about Black Americans who endured, fought against, and continue to speak out against inequality in our world today. 

Teaching and Content Considerations:

Unequal is a highly engaging, young adult friendly nonfiction novel. I would suggest Unequal for students who are 6th grade and up! Unequal could be used as a whole class novel, read aloud, or independent reading. If teachers have a social justice unit, any excerpt on Unequal would be an excellent nonfiction "short story" or excerpt to close read. I would recommend this book to students who enjoy nonfiction/ biographies, short stories, history, or students who are interested in learning more about social justice and the history of discrimination (specifically against African Americans) in the United States. 

Instructional Ideas

Hero Passion Project: Similar to my suggestion for the novel The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz, students could pick an individual in this book or another figure who fought back against the inequality of African Americans to learn more about. On the other hands, students could pick a certain sector of discrimination that they would like to expand their knowledge on (i.e. voting rights, sexism and racism against Black women, segregated education, etc). Whatever domain students select, they would have to research and present their findings to the class. Teachers could provide students with a variety of options through which the could present their knowledge to the class: informative pamphlet, podcast, Tik Tok series, etc. 

Parallels to Modern Day: One of the powerful aspects of Unequal is how each chapter is prefaced with a modern example of whatever type of inequality each featured individual fought against. Dyson and Favreau remind readers that this type of injustice against African Americans still exists, or has lasting effects, in today's world. Students could work in groups to find additional modern examples of each type of discrimination after finishing the respective chapters. If read in a whole class setting, teachers could assign a chart for student to document their modern parallels during the course of the novel. 

Possible Read Aloud Passages

• Pages 178-179: " In the 1970s and '80s, Denver, Colorado, decided to integrate its schools as a way of overcoming decades of racial inequality. For the most part, it succeeded...But Denver gave up on its integrations plan in the 1990s, and its schools returned to their earlier, segregated ways and outcomes."
• Before Dyson and Favreau dive into the battle of segregated and greatly unequal schools in Boston featuring Ruth Batson, the authors discuss how Denver attempted, but gave up, on ensuring schools were not segregated. This would be really interesting to dive deeper into with students, especially if one is teaching in the Denver area!
• Pages 143-146: "For the first time since the end of Reconstruction in 1877, the federal government aimed to step in, with military force, to enforce the civil rights of a Black citizen. On September 30th, an advance guard of five hundred federal marshals took up positions around the Lyceum in the center of campus....but as the afternoon wore on and evening approached, hundreds and then thousands of angry students and other onlookers starting milling about, hurling threats."
• Students will be on the edge of their seats reading about James Meredith's story of fighting against discrimination from the University of Mississippi. While students may have learned about Ruby Bridges or the Little Rock Nine, students will realize that there were many more racist school communities, and brave Black Americans, who fought for their right to attend the institution of their choice. Students will be shocked to read how an all our fight, or insurrection, occurred on the Ole 'Miss campus simply because a Black student was begrudgingly admitted onto their school grounds. 
• Pages 84-88: "Separate was never equal, Pauli insisted. Separate, on its face, discriminated against Black people because separate meant that Black people were somehow different. Racism fed off this very idea." 
• Many students are familiar with Brown vs Board of Education. What students will find fascinating in this chapter will be to discover that Pauli Murray, a brilliant Black women aspiring to become a lawyer, actually inspired the arguments for this historic case. However, no mention of Murray was ever made in the legal proceedings. This would be a great segway into exploring other Black women whose efforts and ideas have been overlooked in history compared to men. 

Thoughts and Reflections

I am incredibly grateful to have come across Unequal. I am ashamed (and proud) to admit that I learned A LOT about the history of racism and discrimination in the United States. I really appreciated learning about the different types of racial injustice that occurred, and is still occurring, to Black Americans. I am in awe of their bravery for the fight for equality and sick to my stomach at the long lasting effects of bigotry. Dyson and Favreau craft a powerful ode to the constant fight for equality for Black Americans and inspire their readers to join the cause. 

After reading Unequal,  I have realized just how much more I have to learn about the history of racism. There are so many individuals from this chapter that I would love to expand my knowledge on, especially impactful Black women like Pauli Murray who do NOT get enough recognition. I also would like to explore ways I could become more of an ally in Denver, particularly in the realm of education.