How do you identify yourself? Most people connect themselves to specific groups of people:
Suggested books: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Growing Up Latino: Memoirs and Stories edited by Harold Augenbraum and Ilan Stavans
Miraculous Day of Amalia Gomez by John Rechy
America is in the Heart: A Personal History by Carlos Bulosan
The Rice Room: Growing Up Chinese-American from Number Two Son to Rock’n’Roll by Ben Fong-Torres
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the West by Dee Alexander Brown
Push: A Novel by Sapphire
A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League by Run Suskind
Suggested movies: Eyes on the PrizeAfricans in America: America’s Journey Through SlaveryStand and DeliverBoys Don’t CryJoy Luck ClubReal Women Have CurvesSmoke SignalsMi Vida Loca
With your friend, start to explore your multiple identi-
ties with the “What Are You?” exercise listed in the first
section of Beginning Activities. Write some of your re-
sponses to the right. Together with your friend, pick an
“identity” theme to explore—this could be about your or
your friend’s ethnicity or other group that you identify
with or would like to identify with more strongly.
Plan ahead and research some activities that you can
do together to celebrate, participate in, or learn more
about that theme. Some examples include visiting a
cultural center or another town or neighborhood; at-
tending a cultural celebration, museum, or art gallery;
seeing a film based on an identity; eating a particular
kind of food; watching a related dance or theater per-
formance; researching the theme at the library together;
making a collage based on that identity; or interview-
ing someone else who shares a similar identity.
* Be sure these books and movies are age-appropriate for your and your friend’s reading and viewing levels. Some of these sug-gestions are more appropriate for older youth.
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Learn about other identities through stories in print and film. Check your local library or online for age-appropriateness and reading/
viewing level. Think about how the author or director explains or shows an identity. Can you relate to any part of someone else’s identity?
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ACTIVITY