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Increases in obesity and diet-related diseases are major health problems in the United States. During the last 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in the nation’s obesity rates, correlating with increased rates of cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, Type 2 diabetes, increased health-care costs, reduced quality of life and increased risk for premature death.

In this lesson, students explore the ways that decisions by local government affect their lives. They’ll review research and data about a few recent local elections to push back against the myth that a single vote doesn’t count. They’ll learn how laws in their state encourage or suppress voter engagement. And in an extension activity, eligible students learn how to register to vote.

This lesson is the second lesson of the series The Color of Law: The Role of Government in Shaping Racial Inequity. In this lesson, students examine how government policies helped white people access economic benefits while preventing African Americans from accessing these same benefits.

What do educators need to participate in an open and honest conversation about the content of The New Jim Crow? Effective instruction about The New Jim Crow requires advanced preparation for how to talk about race and racism.

What is needed to end mass incarceration and permanently eliminate racial caste in the United States? Legal and policy solutions alone are not enough to dismantle racial caste because the methods of racial control within this system are “legal” and rarely appear as outwardly discriminatory. A social movement that confronts the role of race and cultivates an ethic of care must form or else a new racial caste system will emerge in the future.

In this lesson, students learn about the expansion and restriction of voting rights in the United States, examine court rulings, discuss voter disengagement, and explore a voting rights timeline. Students will also learn how to register to vote.