Free Black and Latino Studies Teacher Resources

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Slavery, Resistance, and the Laws of Connecticut

This lesson explores the relationship between laws and slavery, as students analyze primary source evidence to explore how enslaved individuals resisted Connecticut’s ‘Black Codes’.

Antebellum Black Communities in Connecticut

Where did Black Connecticans find community before the Civil War? Students will explore the spiritual, economic, social, and personal opportunities provided by these communities through examples from Hartford, Middletown, Norwich, and Bridgeport.

Education During Reconstruction

Examine Reconstruction through the eyes of two Black Connecticans who worked to educate others. After analyzing primary sources, students will describe the role of education in the pursuit of equity, past and present.

Civil Rights Workers of Connecticut

What does it mean to be an active citizen? Students will learn how Connecticans joined the 1960s civil rights movement on national and local levels, and identify strategies used in the past and present to effect change.

The Black Panther Party in Connecticut

Students will analyze excerpts from Black Panther Party Newspapers to determine the goals and strategies of the Party, then use these sources to make a claim about its legacy. An extension lesson provides a deep dive on the New Haven Black Panther Trials.

Connecticut Tobacco: Migration and Immigration

Explore the history and experiences of different groups (including Jamaicans and Puerto Ricans) who came to Connecticut to work in the tobacco industry. Oral histories and a contemporary video bring to life the opportunities and challenges of migration.

Art of Belonging: Shaping Puerto Rican Identity in the Diaspora

Students will explore how Puerto Ricans in Connecticut preserve and share their identities through the arts. By analyzing artistic traditions, students will explore the dynamics of African, Spanish and Taíno identities in Puerto Rican identity.

Bomba, Plena, and Resistance

This lesson introduces the Puerto Rican music of bomba and plena through the local and legendary Cepeda family. Students will learn about the Afro-Puerto Rican roots of the genres and analyze how bomba and plena have been used throughout history to confront social issues.

María Colón Sánchez and the Puerto Rican Day Parade

This lesson explores community organizing through the life and work of María Colón Sánchez. Students will analyze interviews, photographs, and newspaper articles to consider the role of intersectionality and identity-based organizing in community activism.

Puerto Rican Activism in Connecticut

The migration of Puerto Rican people to Connecticut came with various forms of activism to make Connecticut a more equitable and just community. Students will study examples from the 1950s-70s to compare different strategies.

About The Project

The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History received a Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to fund this project, which was carried out from September 2022-August 2024. Connecticut Museum staff worked in close collaboration with a Teacher Advisory Board and community partners to develop and pilot these resources before publishing them. Our goal is that these packs will amplify the voices, history, and contributions of Black and Latino people in Connecticut, and support teachers in, as the Connecticut Social Studies Frameworks suggest, “using local and state history wherever and whenever possible.”

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-251647-OMS-22. The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these materials do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

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One Elizabeth Street
Hartford CT, 06105

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Museum Hours:

Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm, Thursday until 8 pm
Sunday 12 pm - 5 pm

Research Center Hours:

Tuesday-Saturday 12 pm - 5 pm, Thursday until 8 pm
Always by appointment only.