Objectives

• Students will be able to examine artists’ commentary on the American economy in various forms of media. 

• Students will create their own commentary on contemporary economic issues they face in their day-to-day life.

Instructions

Step 1: Distribute the document, “A Cartoonist Comments on American Economic Priorities.” This is a 1969 cartoon by Eugene Payne called “Sorry, My Hands Are Full, But God Bless You Anyway.” Read aloud or ask a student to volunteer to read the words in the cartoon and the written quote below the cartoon. Ask the students to identify the date of the cartoon. Ask students to describe the visual image of the cartoon. 

Step 2: In small groups, ask students to discuss the significance of the cartoon, considering the question: What role does the government play in alleviating or worsening poverty? 

Step 3: Watch Gil Scott-Heron reading his 1970 poem, “Whitey on the Moon” from :42-2:06: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otwkXZ0SmTs. They can also read the text of the poem in the document of the same name. 

Step 4: Again in small groups, ask students to discuss how racial dimensions of economic inequality add a layer of significance to Scott-Heron’s poem versus Payne’s cartoon, still considering the question: What role does the government play in alleviating or worsening poverty? 

Step 5: Facilitate a full class discussion about how these two documents provide perspectives on American economic priorities in the late 1960s and early 1970s. What are Scott-Heron and Payne’s commentaries about the country’s priorities? How do they both use humor to shed light on these issues?

Step 6: Individually, students can choose to either draw their own cartoon or write their own poem that relates to the living conditions in their own community.