Desiree's baby

Critical race theory argues that legal and social instructions are built to privilege white people, it argues that race is not a biological fact, but a social construct. Pritika, Aleena, and Vaisnavi begin their presentation starring Desiree's baby with a summary of the short story. In this story, Desiree has an adoptive mother, Madame Valmonde. She visits Desiree and her baby. In this point of the story, the narrator shows a reminiscent view of the past, revealing that she was adopted. Next, Desiree meets Armand Aubigny, the heir of a prestigious family. Armand falls in love with Desiree despite her mysterious heritage, then they marry each other. Desiree then becomes pregnant with a baby boy, also diminishing any hurtful feelings towards enslaved people. This is the miracle of life, Desiree perceives the value of human life differently after producing another human. Valmonde then visits Desiree again a few weeks after the birth, shocked to see how the baby has grown. Desiree is shocked at the accusation of causing her baby to posess a darker skin color and retorts that her skin is lighter than Armand's. After being isolated by Armand, Desiree falls into depression, worried for her child. Later on in the story, Desiree tells Armand that he is leaving and she proceeds to drown herself. Armand then burns all of Desiree's possessions to clean any evidence that she was part of the family. Finally, Armand finds a letter from Desiree that he had never seen, he has Black heritage. The presenters then discuss the definition of critical race theory, historical context, interracial relationships, power and privilege, representation of race and identity and an insight into the author. The presentation finishes with an introduction to the activity, examining the various types of racisms that exist within society. The class is split into groups, they are then given racist commercials or videos to analyze. This activity was by far the most engaging activity of the latter, it doesn't seem menial to the class and genuinely tests their understanding.