School: Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Track: Youth Class: Topic Library — Year 1 (Foundations) Presented by: Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Muslim Ordained Minister
This lesson is educational information and is not legal advice. Laws vary by state. If you are in danger right now, call 911.
Before you start
- This space is private. Nobody sees what you read or answer. Your progress stays on your device.
- We never ask your name. Not here, not on the test, not on the certificate. Earned certificates are downloaded blank; you write your own name after.
- Pass the test at 80% or higher to earn this unit's certificate. Retakes are unlimited. Answers are not shown: go back and find what you missed.
- If you are in danger right now: call 911. If you cannot talk out loud, text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line) or call or text 988 any time, day or night.
- This unit is about fairness: racism in plain words, true stories of young people who changed things, and what to do safely when you see unfair treatment. The rule that runs through all of it: people are never the problem — unfair treatment is.
The lesson
Part 1. Fair and Unfair — What Racism Means in Plain Words
Three words, in plain language. Prejudice is judging a person before you know them, by the group they belong to. Discrimination is prejudice put into action: treating someone unfairly because of that group. Racism is prejudice and discrimination aimed at people because of their race.
These words point at actions and attitudes, not people. The problem is always the unfair treatment — a rule, a habit, a joke, a choice — never the person it lands on. But it can be changed.
Fairness does not mean everyone is the same. Differences are ordinary. Fair means the same respect, chances, and welcome for all.
Part 2. True Stories — Young People Who Changed Things
Ruby Bridges was six years old in 1960, in first grade. Unfair laws in her state kept Black children and white children in separate schools. A court ordered the schools opened, and Ruby became the first Black child to attend her elementary school. Because some people were angry, four federal marshals walked with her into school all year to keep her safe. Ruby did not miss a day. Her courage changed what was possible for other children.
The Children's Crusade happened in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. More than a thousand students marched peacefully to ask for fair treatment. Many were arrested simply for marching. Their courage moved the whole country: the Civil Rights Act became law the next year.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a minister — a pastor — who taught fairness, peacefully, and that every person has worth. Change does not wait until you are grown.
Part 3. Words That Wound — Slurs, Exclusion, and "Just Joking"
A slur is a cruel word aimed at a person's race or background. Slurs wound because they do not describe anything the person did — they attack what the person is. Hearing them again and again can make a person feel unsafe at school.
Exclusion wounds more quietly. Leaving someone out — of the game, the table, the team chat — because of who they are is discrimination in everyday clothes, online too: a removed group-chat member, a player mocked for an accent.
Now the honest part: "I was just joking." A joke is funny when the person it is about is laughing too. If a "joke" needs someone's race or background as the punchline, it is not really a joke — it is a wound with an excuse attached. If it landed as cruelty, treat it as cruelty, and do not repeat it.
Part 4. What To Do When You See It — The Upstander Steps
A bystander watches something happen. An upstander does something safe and helpful. None of these steps asks you to fight or risk danger. Ever.
- Do not join in. Do not laugh along, repeat the slur, or pass the post on.
- Support the person targeted. Sit with them. Include them. "That wasn't okay — are you all right?" repairs more than most people realize.
- Get a safe adult. A teacher, counselor, coach, parent, or other trusted adult. If the first adult shrugs it off, tell the next one. Keep telling until an adult acts.
- Tell what happened, clearly. What happened, who was involved, when. Save a screenshot if it happened online.
Never confront anyone physically, gang up, or promise secrecy when someone is being hurt.
Part 5. Kindness as a Practice — And When To Tell a Safe Adult
Kindness is not only a feeling. It is a practice — something you do on ordinary days. Share the seat. Learn to say names correctly. Include the new student. When fairness is your habit, standing up is easier.
Some moments are always tell-an-adult moments, right away: bullying that keeps happening; threats, online or in person; a pattern — the same person targeted again and again; anything that makes someone — or you — afraid or unsafe. Telling is not snitching. Telling a safe adult to stop harm is how harm actually stops.
If you are the one targeted, help exists any time: 911, call or text 988, or text HOME to 741741.
Words to know — Fairness and Courage
- Prejudice — judging a person because of the group they belong to.
- Discrimination — treating someone unfairly because of the group they belong to.
- Racism — prejudice and discrimination aimed at people because of their race.
- Slur — a cruel word aimed at a person's race or background.
- Exclusion — leaving someone out because of who they are.
- Upstander — a person who responds to unfair treatment with a safe, helpful action.
- Safe adult — an adult who believes you and will act to help.
- Segregation — keeping groups of people apart by rule or law.
Myths vs facts — Fairness and Courage
- Myth: Young people are too small to change anything. Fact: Ruby Bridges was six, and the Birmingham marchers were students. Their courage changed laws.
- Myth: If it was meant as a joke, it cannot hurt anyone. Fact: A "joke" whose punchline is someone's race or background wounds. Judge the effect, not the excuse.
- Myth: Standing up means fighting or arguing with the person doing it. Fact: The upstander steps are safe: do not join in, support the person targeted, get a safe adult.
- Myth: Telling an adult is snitching. Fact: Telling to stop harm — bullying, threats, a pattern — is protection, not betrayal.
- Myth: Being fair means treating everyone as if they are all the same. Fact: Fairness means the same respect, chances, and welcome for everyone.
Think it through — Fairness and Courage
The situation: In a class group chat, two students post "jokes" about a classmate's name and accent, then remove her from the chat. A friend says, "Just stay out of it — they'll stop eventually." What is happening here, and what can you do?
Walk it through: (1) Name it (Parts 1 and 3): mocking a name and accent targets who she is, not anything she did — prejudice in action. "Jokes" are not harmless because tellers call them jokes. Removing her from the chat is exclusion. (2) Your moves (Part 4): do not join in or forward the posts; support her — sit with her at lunch; save a screenshot; tell a safe adult what happened, who was involved, and when. Nobody has to confront anyone — the upstander steps are safer. (3) The pattern rule (Part 5): repeated targeting is exactly when telling an adult is required, not optional.
Cases & codes to study — Fairness and Courage
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (Supreme Court of the United States, 1954)
- The facts: Laws in several states kept Black and white children in separate public schools. Families sued, saying that broke the Constitution.
- The question: Does separating schoolchildren by race deny them the equal protection promised by the Fourteenth Amendment?
- The ruling and the outcome: The Court said yes — unanimously. Separate schools for children separated by race are inherently unequal. The families won, and school segregation by law was declared unconstitutional.
- Why it matters to you: This decision opened the door Ruby Bridges walked through (Part 2). Fairness in school is a constitutional promise, not a favor.
- 📄 Court document: https://www.brownvboard.org/_files/ugd/098e0a_1f49330e2a4a4023b86b273cd198c313.pdf (full opinion, May 17, 1954)
The law itself — read the real words
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (United States law, signed July 2, 1964) — this law made segregation in public businesses illegal, banned unfair treatment in jobs, and ended segregation in public places and public schools. National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act
Try this — Fairness and Courage
- ☐ Learn to say every classmate's name correctly; ask politely about any you are unsure of.
- ☐ Write down your three safe adults: your first calls for bullying, threats, or a pattern.
- ☐ Practice the sentence out loud: "That wasn't okay — are you all right?"
- ☐ Check your group chats and games: is anyone left out? Invite them in.
Resources to keep — Fairness and Courage
- 911 — if you or someone else is in danger right now.
- 988 (call or text) — support any time, for heavy feelings.
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 — if you would rather type than talk.
- Childhelp: 1-800-422-4453 — help if an adult is pressuring or hurting you.
- National Archives — archives.gov — the Civil Rights Act.
What you earned / what's next — Fairness and Courage
✅ Fairness and Courage complete (quiz score 80% or higher): You can explain prejudice, discrimination, and racism in plain words; retell Ruby Bridges' and the Children's Crusade's stories; say why slurs, exclusion, and "just joking" wound; work the upstander steps safely; and name when telling a safe adult is required.
Your certificate
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Certificate of Completion — Fairness and Courage — Standing Up for Each Other
This certificate is presented by Muslim Ordained Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
Awarded to: ______________________________ (write your name here after you download — your name is never collected or stored by this school)
Date completed: ______________
Congratulations. Fairness is a practice, and courage can be quiet — a seat offered, a name said right, an adult told in time. Keep standing up for each other. — Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
This is a certificate of educational completion from Minister Destiny Testimony Schools. It is not a state license, a government certification, or legal training for representing anyone.
What's next: Return to the Topic Library for your next Year 1 Foundations unit.
Sources
- National Park Service (nps.gov) — "Ruby Bridges" (https://www.nps.gov/people/rubybridges.htm) — Ruby Bridges, age six, escorted by four federal marshals, Nov. 14, 1960; Part 2.
- National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution (nmaahc.si.edu) — "The Children's Crusade" (https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/childrens-crusade) — over one thousand students marched in Birmingham, May 2, 1963; Part 2 (told age-safe).
- Nobel Prize (nobelprize.org) — "Martin Luther King Jr. – Biography" (https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/) — Dr. King as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church (1954); Part 2.
- United States Courts (uscourts.gov) — "Brown v. Board of Education Podcast" (http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/supreme-court-landmarks/brown-v-board-education-podcast) — decided May 17, 1954, unanimously; Cases & Codes.
- National Archives (archives.gov) — "Civil Rights Act (1964)" (https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act) — signed July 2, 1964; the code entry.
Your Progress — On Your Device Only
- Learning outcomes: On completing this unit, the student can:
- define prejudice, discrimination, and racism, and state that unfair treatment — never a person — is the problem;
- retell the stories of Ruby Bridges and the Children's Crusade and name Dr. King as a minister;
- explain why slurs, exclusion, and "just joking" wound;
- list and apply the upstander steps without physical confrontation or danger;
- describe kindness as a practice and name the situations that always require telling a safe adult;
- state what Brown v. Board of Education decided and what the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made illegal.
- Study time: Approximately 45 minutes. Students move at their own pace.
- Assessment: A 10-question test drawn only from this unit's lesson. 80% or higher passes and earns the certificate. Answers and scores stay on the student's device; retakes are allowed.
- Level: Topic Library — Year 1 (Foundations) · Youth school · working rank on completion path: Freshman → Sophomore.
- Version: Version 1.0 — October 2026.
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools — Youth. Educational information only, not legal advice. Help lines: 911 · 988 (call or text) · Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741) · Childhelp 1-800-422-4453.