This lesson traces the long history of how African Americans have used music as a vehicle for communicating beliefs, aspirations, observations, joys, despair, resistance, and more across U.S. history.
The NAACP fights to establish anti-lynching laws in the years between the World Wars
A wealth of information on economic justice in the United States. Includes video (requires Adobe Flash).
The homepage of the National Urban League, whose mission "is to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity and power and civil rights."
The OYEZ Directory offers hyperlinks to Supreme Court cases. Choose the topic you'd like to search under, like "Attorneys," or "Civil rights," for example.
Contains a copy of the original program for the March on Washington that featured Martin Luther King. Provides a summary of the civil rights movement at that time.
By researching these "ordinary" people and the now historic places where they brought about change, students will discover how the simple act of sitting at a lunch counter in North Carolina could be considered revolutionary, and how, combined with countless other acts of nonviolent protest across the nation, it could lead to major legislation in the area of civil rights for African Americans.
Online companion to Ken Burns documentary about boxing legend Jack Johnson. Very extensive site that gives you the life story of Johnson and the challenges he faced. Can be used as a companion to the PBS documentary.
Trace the elements of history, literature, polemic, and autobiography in the 1847 Narrative of William W. Brown, An American Slave.
After analyzing photojournalist James Karales's iconic photograph of the march, reading background material on it, and considering what the marchers might have thought and felt, students write and illustrate a postcard describing this civil rights event from a marcher's viewpoint.
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun provides a compelling and honest look into one family's aspirations to move to another Chicago neighborhood and the thunderous crash of a reality that raises questions about for whom the "American Dream" is accessible.
The Undefeated is an illustrated poem written to commemorate the birth of the author's daughter and the inauguration of President Barack Obama. The book remembers unforgettable, unafraid, unbowed, famous and overlooked figures from Black history. The poem
[Free Registration/Login Required] An article that discusses the 13-15th amendments and their impact on social history.
In this video segment, NewsHour correspondent Gwen Ifill remembers civil rights activist Dr. Dorothy Height, who was a leader in both the African-American and women's rights movements. [5:06]
Discover the people, groups, and events behind the Civil Rights Movement. Learn about means of non-violent protest, opposition to the movement, and identify how it took all three branches of the federal government to effect change. Protest posters, fictional diary entries, and a map of the movement's major events develop a greater understanding of the struggle for civil rights.
LESSON OBJECTIVES: Describe the processes that led to the expansion of rights for African Americans. *Identify the role of the three branches of government in establishing and protecting rights. *Describe methods that civil rights activists used to protest segregation. *Identify individuals and groups that influenced the Civil Rights Movement. *Explain the significance of civil rights Supreme Court cases: Brown v. Board of Education, Loving v. Virginia, Bailey v. Patterson, Heart of Atlanta v. US. *explain the significance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1968, the 24th Amendment, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act.
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This lesson is designed to apply Common Core State Standards and facilitate a comparison of informational texts and primary source material from the Scottsboro Boys trials of the 1931 and 1933, and the fictional trial in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird (1960).
From the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, this exhibition on Brown v. Board of Education shows much of the struggle of the Civil Rights era, not only to achieve equality in educational opportunities but to achieve equality in all realms of American life.
The debate over slavery ultimately helped drive the United States into civil war, but before it did, there were decades of careful balance between slaves states and free states. In this lesson, students learn about that balance and its geography, including the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Label slave states and free states. *Identify and draw geopolitical changes brought about by the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. *Compare United States maps of 1820 and 1850. *Use charts to illustrate the 1850 slave population in slave states.
From the basics about slavery to the attitudes that defended it and the efforts of those who wanted to see it abolished, in this lesson students learn about this dark part of America's past.
** Please note: The section about the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 has been moved to a new mini-lesson called Slave States, Free States that explores the debate about the expansion of slavery. We recommend teaching this mini-lesson along with the Slavery lesson. Find it in our Geography Library.
LESSON OBJECTIVES: Explain the impact of slavery on African Americans. *Identify modes of resisting slavery through the actions of Nat Turner and Dred Scott. *Explain the ‘necessary evil' defense of slavery. *Describe the methods of the abolitionist movement. *Identify the inconsistencies in the founding documents regarding the legal existence of slavery