Social issues intertwined with math

When I get back to school after this amazingly freezing week off of school (AKA February Break in Massachusetts), I am going to introduce Equations to my sixth graders. I am going to pull in some really heavy social issues regarding equality and inequality in society. 

I'm thinking about gender equality and race equality. Maybe talk about Black History Month a little bit and the Civil Rights of the 1960's. I think that in these kids' search for identity, they need to be exposed to stuff like that. Has anyone tried to do anything like this and was it successful?

It's going to eventually tie into math somehow.