teaching tolerance tolerance.

org

ATime
for Justice
americas civil rights movement

TEACHERS
GUIDE
GRADES
6-12

Includes five lesson plans with student handouts Supports meaningful learning & critical literacy
Meets content standards in U.S. history, civics & Common Core standards in English language arts

Contents
Introduction

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
LESSON 1

A Time for Justice

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

LESSON 2

Nonviolence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
LESSON 3

Facing Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
LESSON 4

Victories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
LESSON 5

The Work That Remains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

1976 Matt Herron/Take Stock

Acknowlegments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

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Introduction
It has been more than half a century since many of the major events of the modern
civil rights movement. For todays studentsand some of their teachersit can seem
like ancient history. But the civil rights movement transformed the country. Through
the persistent use of nonviolent strategiesincluding marches, court cases, boycotts
and civil disobediencebrave black and white Americans joined forces to pursue
the legal equality that the Constitution guarantees to all persons.
This teaching guide provides lessons and materials about the modern civil rights
movementfrom the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision in which the Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional, and the passage, in 1965, of
the Voting Rights Act. The unit encourages students to imagine what life was like in
the Jim Crow South, to understand why so many people were willing to risk their
lives to change it, and to explore how they went about doing so. This teaching guide
has five lessons:

A Time for Justice

This lesson uses Teaching Tolerances award-winning film A Time for Justice to
provide an overview of key events in the modern movement for African-American
equality. If you have time for only one lesson, this would be the likely choice.
Nonviolence
In this lesson, students learn about nonviolence, then read primary source documents from the civil rights movement that show how activists used the practice as
the basis for their actions.
Facing Resistance
People in the struggle encountered fierce resistance. In this lesson,
students learn about some of the brave Americans who gave their
lives in the struggle for freedom.

A Civil Rights
Timeline Poster

Included in the kit is

a full-size classroom
POSTER
BONUS poster with a bonus
Victories
LESSON lesson. The timeline
spans 13 years, from
Students conduct research and, from the standpoint of 50 years
1953
to 1965, showlater, evaluate the victories of the civil rights movement.
ing key events in the
civil rights movement.
The Work That Remains
On the reverse of the
Students study graphs to explore inequalities that persist in education,
poster is an additional
employment and income.
lesson that explores
three themes: UnderThe lessons are organized so that they can be taught sequentially, crestanding a Timeline,
ating a unit about the civil rights movement. However, each lesson
Understanding the
stands alone if that best fits your curriculum needs. In addition, each
Context of the Movelesson is aligned to national curriculum standards. The lessons are
ment and Presenting
Information Visually.
ideal for middle- and high-school (grades 6-12) social studies and lan-

guage arts classes.

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Glossary
discrimination [dih-skrim-uh-ney-shuhn]
(noun) unfair treatment of someone based on their membership in a group defined by
race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation or other factors
de facto discrimination [dee fak-toh dih-skrim-uh-ney-shuhn]
(noun) unfair treatment of someone that is a matter of custom but not based in law
de jure discrimination [dee joo r-ee dih-skrim-uh-ney-shuhn]
(noun) unfair treatment of someone that is based on laws
integration [in-ti-gray-shuuh n]
(noun) a situation in which different groupssuch as those defined by race, ethnicity,
sex, sexual orientation or other factorslive together and use the same facilities
nonviolence [non-vahy-uh-luhns]
(noun) a theory and practice that emphasizes love of all beings and a refusal to
respond to violence with violence
retaliation [ri-tal-ee-ey-shuhn]
(noun) an action taken as revenge or reprisal
segregation [seg-ri-gey-shuh n]
(noun) the separation of a specific racial, religious or other group from the general body
of society
unconstitutional [uhn-kon-sti-too-shuh-nl]
(adjective) inconsistent with the provisions in a countrys constitution

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Resources
An abundance of resources is available for study of the civil rights movement.
This is just a sampling to get you started.

Civil Rights Movement

Separate Is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education
http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/
index.html
Civil Rights Movement Veterans
http://crmvet.org
The Civil Rights Era
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/
aopart9.html
Eyes on the Prize
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize
They Changed the World: the Story
of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
www.montgomeryboycott.com/frontpage.htm
The Murder of Emmett Till
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/till
Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956)
http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/
encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_montgomery_
bus_boycott_1955_1956
Oral History: Little Rock Central High School
www.nps.gov/chsc/historyculture/oral-history.htm

Nonviolence
Civil Disobedience, by Henry David Thoreau
http://thoreau.eserver.org/civil.html
The King Center Glossary of Nonviolence
www.thekingcenter.org/ProgServices/
Default.aspx
A Commitment to Nonviolence:
The Leadership of John Lewis
www.tolerance.org/activity/commitmentnonviolence-leadership-john-l
A Trilogy of Nonviolent Movements
www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/
TrilogyOfNon-ViolentMovements.pdf
On Violence and Nonviolence: The Civil Rights
Movement in Mississippi
http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/articles/62/the-civilrights-movement-in-mississippi-on-violenceand-nonviolence
Waging Nonviolence
http://wagingnonviolence.org

Civil Rights Martyrs

Civil Rights Memorial
www.splcenter.org/civil-rights-memorial

Segregation Showdown at Little Rock

www.npr.org/series/14158264/
segregation-showdown-at-little-rock

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Standards
Activities and embedded assessments address the following standards
(McREL 4th edition, www.mcrel.org).
LESSONS

Standard

POSTER

Standard8. Understands the central ideas of American

constitutional government and how this form of government has shaped the character of American society

Standard14. Understands issues concerning the disparities between ideals and reality in American political
and social life

Standard8. Uses listening and speaking strategies for

different purposes

Standard9. Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media

BEHAVIORAL STUDIES
Standard4. Understands conflict, cooperation, and
interdependence among individuals, groups, and
institutions

CIVICS

UNITED STATES HISTORY

Standard29. Understands the struggle for racial and
gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties

LANGUAGE ARTS
Standard7. Uses skills and strategies to read a variety
of informational texts

GEOGRAPHY
Standard13. Understands the forces of cooperation and
conflict that shape the divisions of Earths surface

WORLD HISTORY
Standard43. Understands how post-World War II reconstruction occurred, new international power relations
took shape, and colonial empires broke up

(continued)

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Activities and embedded assessments address the following Common Core

State Standards for English Language Arts (www.corestandards.org)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS COMMON CORE STATE Standard

SPEAKING AND LISTENING

1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with
diverse partners, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including
visually, quantitatively, and orally.
3. Evaluate a speakers point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow
the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience.
5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information
and enhance understanding of presentations.

1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences
from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions
drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize
the key supporting details and ideas.

9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information
clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

POSTER

8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of
the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

WRITING

6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking.

READING INFORMATIONAL TEXT

LANGUAGE

4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by
using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts and consulting general and specialized
reference materials, as appropriate.

LESSONS

3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions,
demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

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LESSON 1

A Time for Justice

A Film Overview of the Civil Rights Movement

Framework
In this lesson, students watch the Academy Award-winning film A Time for Justice
that highlights some of the major events of the modern civil rights movement. The
film and activities provide an overview of the movement and engage students with
some of the big questions the movement raisesabout the struggle for equal rights
under the law, about how that struggle was waged and about the importance of the
civil rights movement in United States history.
Objectives
Students will be able to:
locate key events of the civil rights movement on a timeline
gather information from a film
recognize that, in addition to movement leaders, everyday people participated in the
freedom struggle
assess how the civil rights movement changed the United States
Materials
Handout: Alone in a Crowd (page 11)
Poster: A Civil Rights Timeline (included with the kit)
Film: A Time for Justice
Activities
Preparing to Watch the Film
1. In pairs, look at the photograph on the handout. Have you ever seen
it before? If so, discuss with your partner what you know about what
it shows. Then, whether you know the photo or not, discuss it in more
detail. What do you notice about the people in the photo? Who is in
front? What is she doing? How do you imagine she feels? Who are the
other people in the photo? What are they doing? What do you imagine they are saying? How do you imagine they feel? What makes you
think so? What feelings do you have when you look at the photo?
The photograph was taken in 1957. The young black woman is Elizabeth Eckford. She was one of nine black students who set out to attend
Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. The Supreme
Court had ruled in 1954 that segregated schools were unconstitutional.
The Little Rock Nine, as they came to be called, were attempting to
do what the law said was their right: to attend a school that had, until
then, educated only white students.

Essential Questions
What were some key
events in the civil
rights movement?
Who participated
in the civil rights
movement? How did
they participate?
Why were people willing to risk their safety
to participate in the
civil rights movement?
How did the civil rights
movement change the
United States?

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What do you already know about the civil rights movement? Also, when you think
about the civil rights movement, who comes to mind? What are some important events in
the movement that you know about?
2. You are going to watch a film about the struggle for civil rights in the mid-20th century. The film is a series of stories about important events in the movement. Here is a
numbered list of those events:
1. Murder of Emmett Till
2. Montgomery Bus Boycott
3. Integration of Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Ark.
4. Lunch-counter sit-ins
5. Freedom Rides
6. Birmingham, Ala.
demonstrations
Letter from a Birmingham jail
bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church
7. Voting rights actions
registration drive
murder of civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Miss.
murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson
Bloody Sunday
Count off by sevens. Form a group with those who called the same number you did.
On the list above, find the event that has the same number as your group. Then locate
that event on the timeline, noting the year in which it happened. For example, group
#2 needs to find the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Create a physical timeline by having
groups line up in the order in which the events that they have been assigned happened. When the line is in place, start with the first event, and have someone from
that group say aloud, The murder of Emmett Till, 1955. Proceed in this fashion until each group has announced its event and the year in which it happened. This will
give you a general idea of when these key events took place and the order in which
they happened. Knowing that will help you get more out of the film.

Watching the Film

3. Watch the film. It begins at the grave of Jimmie Lee Jackson, then goes back in
time to set the context of segregation and tell the story of the murder of Emmett Till.
From there, the events are shown in the order in which they happened. Each of the
events you found on the timeline has a segment devoted to it. (Note: Because the film
is so rich with images and shows so many important parts of the civil rights movement, students will get the most out of it if they see it twice. Have students watch the film once to get
the big picture and understand the emotional impact. Then have them watch it again pausing at the end of each segment to take some notes.)
Understanding the Film
4. Once you have watched the film, step back from the specific incidents to think
about the movement as a whole. Write down some answers to the following questions
so that you can participate in a class discussion. The discussion will help you generalize about the events you have seen.
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What did you find most striking about the civil rights movement?
What surprised or confused you about the civil rights movement?
What were the goals of the civil rights movement?
What were the strategies of the movements participants?
In what ways did the civil rights movement succeed? What made those successes possible?
What remains to be done to create a truly just and equitable society?
What questions do you still have about the civil rights movement?

Recognizing Change Over Time

5. As you saw in the film, the civil rights movement brought about some big changes
in the United States. Thinking about what you have seen and discussed, list some of
those changes. Then create a before-and-after photograph display that shows them.
You can find before photos online and in some of the resources listed in the Introduction. The after photos may also come from Internet sources, or you can take photos
yourself that show scenes that would not have happened before the modern movement
for African-American equality. For example, a before picture might show African
Americans sitting in the back of a bus, while the after picture might be a photo that
you have taken of an integrated bus. To accompany your visual display, write an answer to this question: Why did the changes that the civil rights movement brought
about matter? Display student projects so you can see one anothers work.
Extension Activity
To learn more about the events in the film, form seven groups, and have each group
take one of the events. (Note: Have students form groups based on interest or randomly
assign the events.) With your group, research your event so that you can explain it to
your classmates. You can probably find some information in a textbook. In addition,
review the Resources list in the Introduction. Have members of your group present
the information to the class. Begin each presentation by finding the event on the
timeline poster and telling your classmates when the event happened. Include any
historic photographs you have found.

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LESSON 1

Snapshot

A Time for Justice

Bettmann/CORBIS

Alone in a Crowd

HANDOUT

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LESSON 2

Nonviolence
Framework
Three constitutional amendments extending rights to African Americanson paper
at leastwere ratified during Reconstruction. They ended slavery, made African
Americans citizens and extended voting rights to former slaves and their descendents. Despite this, African Americans, particularly in the South, were often denied
these rights. They endured segregation, were often prevented from voting, and faced
intimidation, threats and violence, all of which made it difficultoften impossible
to live freely.
Civil rights activists in the 1950s and 1960s chose nonviolence as a way
to secure and exercise legal rights for African Americans. Inspired
by the successes of Mohandas Gandhi in the Indian independence
movement, civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. came to believe that a nonviolent approach was the best way to address AfricanAmerican inequality. Why did they choose nonviolence? How did they
implement it? In this lesson, students learn what nonviolence means,
identify different nonviolent strategies that civil rights activists used,
and explore why those strategies were so often successful.

Objectives
Students will be able to:
understand the philosophy of nonviolence
explain why civil rights activists in the 1950s and 1960s chose
nonviolence as a way to attain equal rights
identify and evaluate the efficacy of a variety of nonviolent strategies
that civil rights activists used

Essential Questions
What is nonviolence?
Why did many
civil rights activists
choose nonviolence
as a way to pursue
equal rights?
What nonviolent
strategies did
they use?
Why were nonviolent
strategies often
successful?

Materials
Handout: Six Principles of Nonviolence (page 15)
Handout: SNCC Statement of Purpose (page 16)
CORE Rules for Action (available at http://crmvet.org/docs/corerules.pdf)
Workshops in NonviolenceWhy? (available at www.crmvet.org/docs/
nv_core_workshop.pdf)
Activities
The Theory of Nonviolence
1. This lesson focuses on nonviolence, which was at the heart
of the modern civil rights movement. (Note: Write the word
nonviolence on the board.) Brainstorm what you think it
means to be nonviolent. List your ideas on the board.

Time Life Pictures (ghandi); AP Photo/Dave Pickoff (MLK)

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2. An important leader in the development of nonviolence as a political strategy was

Mohandas Gandhi, who led Indias successful nonviolent struggle for independence
from Britain in the early 20th century. Martin Luther King, Jr. was greatly influenced
by Gandhis teachings; through Reverend King, nonviolence became a cornerstone of
the movement for African-American equality in the mid-20th-century. Much of what
you will learn about nonviolence in this lesson can be traced back to Gandhi.
Look at the handout Six Principles of Nonviolence. (Note: Randomly call on six students
to read aloud the principles of nonviolence. You may want to draw from a deck of cards with
a students name on each card as a way to ensure that you choose students randomly.) After
students have read aloud the six principles of nonviolence, compare these six items to
the list your class brainstormed, revising your class list as necessary.
Nonviolence in Action: Primary Sources
3. What did the theory of nonviolence look like when civil rights activists used it? To
find out, youre going to read some primary source documentsthat is, documents
that were actually written during the civil rights movement. First you will look at the
SNCC [pronounced Snick] Statement of Purpose. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee started in 1960, formed by studentsboth black and whitewho
had been involved in the lunch-counter sit-ins. Read the SNCC Statement of Purpose and answer the questions that follow. Doing so will help you understand what
nonviolence meant to the members of SNCC, and why they believed it was the best
way to create a more just society.
4. Then read CORE Rules for Action. You can find the document at: http://crmvet.
org/docs/corerules.pdf. CORE is the Congress on Racial Equality. It was founded in
1942 and became a key organizing force during the activism of the 1950s, 60s and beyond, and was firmly committed to nonviolence. After you read the CORE document,
discuss with a partner what it adds to your understanding of nonviolence in the civil
rights movement.
5. Finally, look at a third document. You can find it at: www.crmvet.org/docs/nv_core_
workshop.pdf. This one is from CORE, too. Read Workshops in NonviolenceWhy?
With your partner, discuss these questions: What is the purpose of this document?
Why did CORE believe it was important to train people in nonviolence? What, if anything, surprises you about this document? Why?
Nonviolence in Action: Research and Application
6. What did those principles of nonviolence look like in practice? With your partner,
join another pair to form a group of four. With your group, choose one of the following events from the civil rights movement: Montgomery Bus Boycott; integration of
Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock; lunch-counter sit-ins; voter registration drives; Birmingham Childrens March; 1963 March on Washington; march from
Selma to Montgomery. Research your chosen event in sources you will find on the
Resources list in the Introduction. After you have read about the event, copy the Six
Principles of Nonviolence onto a piece of paper. With the members of your group,
see howor ifeach principle was part of the action you have read about. Present
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your findings to the class, with each group ending its presentation by assessing how
much or how little the event demonstrated the six principles.
Nonviolence Today
7. Think about how nonviolence might be a way to approach injustice today. As a
class, brainstorm some current examples of injustice. The problems might be in
your own communityfor example, maybe there are homeless people living on the
streetor they might be larger-scalefor example, racial profiling by police or workplace discrimination faced by Muslim Americans. With the two other people you
worked with on the Six Principles activity, choose one of the problems to focus on.
Recall the different nonviolent strategies that were used during the civil rights movement. Which, if any, of these strategies might be useful for addressing the problem
youre looking at? Why do you think they would be useful? Which, if any, might not
be so useful for addressing the problem? Why do you think they would not be useful?
With your group, prepare a presentation for the class in which you assess how well
nonviolence might work in dealing with a current problem. After all the groups have
shared their presentations, discuss the following: How effective might nonviolence be
in dealing with current problems?

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LESSON
LESSON 5
2

HANDOUT

Six Principles of
Nonviolence

1
2
3

A Time for Justice

 onviolence is not passive,

N
but requires courage

4
5
6

 onviolence seeks reconciliation,

N
not defeat of an adversary
 onviolent action is directed at
N
eliminating evil, not destroying
an evil-doer
 willingness to accept suffering for the
A
cause, if necessary, but never to inflict it
 rejection of hatred, animosity or
A
violence of the spirit, as well as refusal
to commit physical violence
Faith that justice will prevail

Source: www.thekingcenter.org/ProgServices/Default.aspx

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LESSON 2

HANDOUT

SNCC Statement of Purpose

A Time for Justice

We affirm the philosophical or religious ideal of nonviolence as the foundation of our purpose, the presupposition of our faith, and the manner of our
action. Nonviolence as it grows from Judaic-Christian traditions seeks a
social order of justice permeated by love. Integrating of human endeavor
represents the crucial first step towards such a society. SNCC believes that
through nonviolence, courage displaces fear; love transforms hate. Acceptance dissipates prejudice; hope ends despair. Peace dominates war; faith
reconciles doubt. Mutual regard cancels enmity. Justice for all overthrows
injustice. The redemptive community supersedes systems of gross social
immorality. SNCC is convinced that by appealing to conscience and standing on the moral nature of human existence, nonviolence nurtures the atmosphere in which reconciliation and justice become actual possibilities.
excerpt from This is SNCC, 1960

According to the SNCC Statement of Purpose:

On what would a nonviolent social order rest?

How does integration relate to that social order?

What can nonviolence bring about?

How does nonviolence bring about those realities?

Source: http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/primarydocuments/This_Is_SNCC.pdf

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LESSON 3

Facing Resistance
Framework
Achieving full legal equality for African Americans took a hard-fought battle and a
long time. Why? Groups with power rarely give it up easily. That was certainly the
case among many whites in the South. Civil rights activists in the 1950s and 1960s
risked their jobs, their homes, their safety and their lives to gain their rights. This
lesson focuses specifically on those who lost their lives in the struggle. Students construct a matrix to identify patterns in the deadly violence that was committed against
African Americans and civil rights activists in the South. Who were
these too-often nameless individuals? Who killed them, and why? An
extension activity provides opportunities to explore other kinds of resistance and retaliation that African Americans and civil rights activEssential Questions
ists faced.
Objectives
Students will be able to:
identify people who gave their lives fighting to achieve equal rights
recognize that, in addition to movement leaders, everyday people participated in and made sacrifices in the freedom struggle
recognize patterns and generalize about violence against black
Americans and civil rights activists
Materials
Handout: Facing Violent Resistance to Change (page 20)
Handout: 40 Martyrs Who Gave Their Lives for Civil Rights (page 21)
Tape, paper
Activities
1. What do you already know about the obstacles that civil rights activists faced as they struggled to gain legal equality? For example,
you probably know that Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing
to give up her seat on a bus. Getting arrested was something
people risked when they stood up for their rights. As a class,
brainstorm more examples of what happened to civil
rights activists as they worked for freedom. Then
look at photos on the handout of some incidents during the struggle. Add these situations to your list
of ways that some white Southernersmany of
whom were law officersresisted the movement
for equal rights. In this lesson you will learn more
about the resistance that civil rights activists faced
and overcame in their struggle.

AP Photo/Gene Herrick

Who opposed equal

rights for African
Americans? How did
they express their opposition?
Why did people risk
their lives to participate in the civil
rights movement?
Who died in the
struggle for AfricanAmerican equality?
Why is it important to
know their names and
their experiences?

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2. Form a small group. (Note: Assign to groups some of the people from the 40 Martyrs
handout of people who gave their lives for civil rights. The number of people you assign will
depend on how much time you have for the activity, but try to have at least 10 so students
can see a pattern. At the front of the room, hang the four column titles in a header row. Put
the titles high enough that there is plenty of room for students to post a few sample pages under them in columns.) With your group, read about the people you have been assigned.
For each person, you will need two sheets of notebook-sized paper cut in half horizontally. (That will give you four pieces of paper for each person.) On one sheet, write
the name of the person you read about. Use a marker so that people in their seats will
be able to read what you write. On another, write that persons race and age. On a
third piece, write who killed them, and on a fourth page, write why they were killed.
When youre finished, use tape to hang your pages in the appropriate column on the
matrix that the class is building.

4. Some of the people you have learned about were killed simply for being black. Others had chosen to act for equal rights knowing that they might be injured or killed.
Why do you think some people willingly
risked their lives? Write a statement that
could be posted at a civil rights memorial
in honor of the people you have learned
about. Your memorial statement should
include:
black
white
summary statements about the people
the rev.
age
52
leaders
george
lee
and why they were killed
an explanation of why people were willing to risk their lives for civil rights
Emmett
Black
J.W. Milam
a statement that explains how their sacriAge
14
Roy Bryant
Till
fices furthered the cause of civil rights
a statement about why it is important
to know their names and to remember
wharlest
Black
Unidentified
their sacrifices
Age 38
white men
jackson

who was
Killed

5. Struggles for equal rights continue. For

example, in the United States today, LGBT
people are working to gain legal equality.
With your group, do a news search to find

William
Moore

their
race
and age

White
Age 36

who
killed
them

Floyd
Simpson

Sample Matrix
The matrix helps
reveal patterns
of who was killed
and why.

why they
were
killed
for leading
voter
registration
drive
He spoke
to a white
woman
Had been
promoted to a
white mans job

Marching
against
segregation

A TIME FOR JUSTICE TEACHERS GUIDE

18

TEACHER COMPLETES THIS ROW AS EXAMPLE

3. Once all the groups have posted their information, have each group share the information it gathered. (Note: For all the activities that require you to call on students, use
a technique to ensure all students are involved.) Now look at the matrix verticallyin
columnsto make it easier to see patterns. One student will read aloud all the pages
in the column titled Their Race and Age. With your group, answer these questions:
What do you notice about the race and age of the people who were killed? Is there
a pattern? Were most of them white or black? Were most young or old? Have each
group share whatever pattern it discovered. (Note: As groups share their insights, make
a chart that summarizes the patterns that they identify.) Follow the same procedure with
the next two columns: Who Killed Them and Why They Were Killed.

teaching tolerance tolerance.org

out about their efforts and about resistance to those efforts. Using as a model the profiles of 40 people who gave their lives for civil rights, tell the story of one person who
suffered simply because of his or her sexual orientation or because he or she was
fighting for equal rights.

Extension Activity
Intimidation, threats and violence all contributed to keeping African Americans
at second-class status. You have learned about those who died in the struggle for
equal rights. But many took risks and suffered in other ways. As an extension activity, learn more about other forms of resistance and retaliation that African Americans faced. Start with these examples: Listen to Fannie Lou Hamer (www.nbclearn.
com/_portal/site/learn/finishing-the-dream/1964-spotlights) talk about being evicted
from her home because she registered to vote. Read about Massive Resistance (www.
vahistorical.org/civilrights/massiveresistance.htm), a movement dedicated to closing
public schools rather than implementing court-ordered integration. Look at photos
(www.crmvet.org/images/imgstrug.htm), including a white man pouring acid into a
swimming pool that black children had integrated. Find other examples of ways that
whites tried to prevent African Americans from exercising their rights. Share the
examples with the class.

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SNAPSHOT

HANDOUT
A Time for Justice

Charles Moore / Black STar (firehoses, dogs); Bettmann/Corbis (march)

Facing Violent Resistance to Change

LESSON 3

Let It Fly
Thats how Cardell Gay remembered the day in 1963
when Birmingham, Ala. police turned fire hoses on
young people who were protesting for their rights.
Gay was 16 at the time. People like Gay risked their
safety and their lives for equal rights.

tolerance.org

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LESSON 3

HANDOUT

40 Martyrs

A Time for Justice

Who Gave Their Lives for Civil Rights

MAY 7, 1955

April 23, 1963

June 21, 1964

January 10, 1966

The Rev. George Lee

killed for leading
voter-registration
drive, Belzoni, Miss.

William Lewis Moore

Slain during one-man
march against segregation, Attalla, Ala.

Vernon Dahmer
Black community
leader killed in Klan
bombing, Hattiesburg, Miss.

August 13, 1955

June 12, 1963

Lamar Smith
Murdered for organizing black voters,
Brookhaven, Miss.

Medgar Evers
Civil rights leader
assassinated,
Jackson, Miss.

James Chaney,
Andrew Goodman &
Michael Schwerner
Civil rights workers
abducted and slain
by Klansmen,
Philadelphia, Miss.

August 28, 1955

September 15, 1963

Emmett Louis Till

Murdered for speaking to a white
woman, Money, Miss.

Addie Mae Collins,

Denise McNair,
Carole Robertson
& Cynthia Wesley
Schoolgirls killed
in bombing of
Sixteenth Street
Baptist Church,
Birmingham, Ala.

October 22, 1955

John Earl Reese

Slain by Nightriders
opposed to school
improvements,
Mayflower, Texas
January 23, 1957

Willie Edwards Jr.

Killed by Klansmen,
Montgomery, Ala.

September 15, 1963

Virgil Lamar Ware

Youth killed during
racist violence,
Birmingham, Ala.
January 31, 1964

April 25, 1959

Mack Charles Parker

Taken from jail
and lynched,
Poplarville, Miss.

Louis Allen
Witness to murder of
civil rights worker,
assassinated, Liberty, Miss.

September 25, 1961

April 7, 1964

Herbert Lee
Voter registration
worker, killed by
white legislator,
Liberty, Miss.
April 9, 1962

Cpl. Roman
Ducksworth Jr.
Taken from bus and
killed by police,
Taylorsville, Miss.
September 30, 1962

Paul Guihard
European reporter
killed during Ole Miss
riot, Oxford, Miss.
tolerance.org

Rev. Bruce Klunder

Killed protesting
construction of
segregated school,
Cleveland, Ohio

July 11, 1964

Lt. Col. Lemuel Penn

Killed by Klansmen
while driving north,
Colbert, Ga.
February 26, 1965

Jimmie Lee Jackson

Civil rights marcher
killed by state trooper, Marion, Ala.
March 11, 1965

Rev. James Reeb

March volunteer
beaten to death,
Selma, Ala.
March 25, 1965

Viola Gregg Liuzzo

Killed by Klansmen
while transporting
marchers, Selma, Ala.
June 2, 1965

Oneal Moore
Black deputy killed
by Nightriders,
Varnado, La.

Ben Chester White

Killed by Klansmen,
Natchez, Miss.
July 30, 1966

Clarence Triggs
Slain by Nightriders,
Bogalusa, La.
February 27, 1967

Wharlest Jackson
Civil rights leader
killed after promotion to white job,
Natchez, Miss.
May 12, 1967

Benjamin Brown
Civil rights worker
killed when police
fired on protesters,
Jackson, Miss.
February 8, 1968

Samuel Hammond,
Delano Middleton
& Henry Smith
Students killed when
highway patrolmen
fired on protesters,
Orangeburg, S.C.

July 18, 1965

Willie Brewster
Killed by Nightriders,
Anniston, Ala.

May 2, 1964

Henry Hezekiah Dee

& Charles Eddie
Moore
Killed by Klansmen,
Meadville, Miss.

June 10, 1966

August 20, 1965

Jonathan Daniels
Seminary student
killed by deputy,
Hayneville, Ala.

April 4, 1968

Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr.
Assassinated,
Memphis, Tenn.

January 3, 1966

Samuel Younge Jr.

Student civil rights
activist killed in dispute, Tuskegee, Ala.
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teaching tolerance tolerance.org

LESSON 4

Victories
Framework
The people who transformed the United States in the civil rights movement did so,
for many years, nonviolently. Despite the violence they enduredviolence sometimes committed by the very people who were supposed to enforce the laws that
guaranteed equal rights for African Americansthey did not strike back with violence. In this lesson, students reflect on ways that the modern civil rights movement
succeeded, and what made those successes possible.
Objectives
Students will be able to:
analyze what made victories possible in the civil rights movement
evaluate the successes of the mid-20th-century struggle for AfricanAmerican equality
Essential Questions

Materials
Poster: A Civil Rights Timeline (included with the kit)
Activities
1. The civil rights movement has been, in many ways, successful. The
United States is far more integrated than it was at the end of World War
II, and many more African Americans have been able to exercise their
rights. For many years, the movement was nonviolent, despite the fact
that those who resisted change often used violence to try to maintain
segregation. Find the following key victories on the timeline:
integrating buses in Montgomery, Alabama
the Civil Rights Act of 1964
the Voting Rights Act of 1965
President Eisenhower ordering federal troops to
enforce school desegregation
the outlawing of poll taxes in federal elections

What are examples of

the civil rights movements victories?
What actions contributed to these victories?
How did everyday
people help bring
about change?
How have people
since the civil rights
movement used nonviolence as a way to
bring about change?

2. Depending on your interest, choose one of the victories

listed above. (Note: Encourage students to choose so that all
five victories are addressed.) Then form groups based on
each victory (e.g., everyone who chose the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 would form a group). With your group, work
backwards from the victory, asking: What actions led to it?
What factors contributed to making it happen? What resistance was overcome? How? What role did everyday people
play? To find answers to these questions, use the timeline
and the Resources list in the Introduction to help you.

1976 Matt Herron/Take Stock

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teaching tolerance tolerance.org

3. Make a graphic that shows the process that led to the victory your group is studying. When youre done, look closely at your graphic. What stands out to you? Why
does it stand out? What would you say about the impact that everyday people can
have in changing things?
4. Display the graphics in the classroom. (Note: Choose one student in each group to be
the groups spokesperson.) Each group takes a turn sharing insights about what was
most striking in its findings.

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teaching tolerance tolerance.org

LESSON 5

The Work That Remains

Framework
The civil rights struggles of the past half-century have achieved some very visible
successesthere are no more Colored Only signs, for example. But what about the
less visible areas of life? In this lesson, you will look at data about education, employment and income to see whether African Americans have attained equality in these
important areas and evaluate what remains to be done to create a truly just and equitable society.
Objectives
Students will be able to:
read graphs to identify the ways that inequality persists
analyze why inequalities continue today
Materials
Handout: Education Data by Race (page 26)
Handout: Ongoing Economic Inequality (page 28)
Race, Wealth and Intergenerational Poverty (http://prospect.org/cs/
articles?article=race_wealth_and_intergenerational_poverty)
Activities
1. To help make sense of the information you will be analyzing in this lesson, read
Race, Wealth and Intergenerational Poverty. Either write answers to the following questions or discuss them with a partner. According to the article, how might
historical inequalities affect current opportunities? For example, if someone had
an inadequate education at a segregated school for black children, how might that
affect how well his or her children do at school? Why might it have
that effect? In a similar vein, if someone had a low-paying job because only low-paying jobs were available to African Americans, how
Essential Questions
might that affect his or her childrens job possibilities? As you continue with this lesson, keep in mind how the effects of racism affect
What inequalities
subsequent generations.
continue to exist?
2. Now look at Education Data by Race. It shows two graphs that will
provide you with data that will help you think about both the successes of the civil rights movement and the work that remains to be done.
Study the graphs and answer the questions on the handout. Then
look at Ongoing Economic Inequality and answer the questions on
that handout.

What work remains to

be done in the effort
to create a just and
equitable society?

3. Put it all together by answering these questions: How has the modern civil rights
movement succeeded? What inequalities remain? Why do you think those inequalities remain? Write your answer in the form of an essay or an (extended) email to a
A TIME FOR JUSTICE TEACHERS GUIDE

24

teaching tolerance tolerance.org

friend or family member who wants to know what you have been learning about the
long-term effects of the civil rights movement.
4. What role can I play in making our society more just? Begin your reflections by
writing a journal entry or discussing your thoughts with another student. Then come
up with a plan for steps that you and your classmates can take to help create a more
equitable situation in your school or community.

A TIME FOR JUSTICE TEACHERS GUIDE

25

LESSON 5

HANDOUT
A Time for Justice

Education Data by Race

On the two graphs below, the horizontal axis shows the passage of time and the vertical axis
shows percentages. In addition, each graph has two sets of data: one representing black Americans; the other representing all Americans (including blacks). Use the key to understand the
graphs, examine the data and answer the questions that follow.

High School Graduation Rates

90
80
79

70
60

66

50

51

40
30

36

20

22

10
0%

80

BLACK STUDENTS
TOTAL STUDENT POPULATION

14
8

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 American Community Survey

1. How did high-school graduation rates change for the entire U.S. population between 1940 and 2008?

2. How did high-school graduation rates among black Americans change during those years?

3. Based on the data in the graph, what can you infer about high-school graduation rates among
white Americans?

4. What do you think might account for the differences in high-school graduation rates between
black Americans and white Americans? To answer the question, think about what you read
about the intergenerational effects of racism.

tolerance.org

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HANDOUT
Graduates with Bachelors Degree
30

28

BLACK

26

TOTAL
21

20

17

10
5

0%

17

11

18

11

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 American Community Survey

1. How did the percentage of college graduates in the American population change in the years
between 1940 and 2008?

2. How does that compare to changes in the percentage of African-American college graduates
during the same time period?

3. Based on the data in the graph, what can you infer about the percentage of white Americans
with a college degree?

4. What do you think might account for the differences in percentages of black Americans and
white Americans with college degrees? To answer the question, think about what you read about
the intergenerational effects of racism.

tolerance.org

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LESSON 5

HANDOUT

Ongoing Economic Inequality

A Time for Justice

Unemployment Rate
16 years old and over
25
BLACK

20

TOTAL POPULATION

15
10
5

08

06

20

04

20

02

20

00

20

98

20

96

19

94

19

92

19

90

19

88

19

86

19

84

19

82

19

80

19

78

19

76

19

74

19

19

19

72

0%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

www.bls.gov/spotlight/2010/african_american_history/

1. Reading the Graph:

What does the horizontal axis show?
What does the vertical axis show?
What do the red and blue areas show?
What line is implied but not shown? Where would it fall on the graph?

2. What does the graph show about unemployment among African Americans compared to
unemployment in the total population? What can you infer about unemployment among whites?

tolerance.org

A TIME FOR JUSTICE

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HANDOUT
3. What do you think might account for the difference between the two groups?

4. Think about the ways the civil rights movement succeededin ending legal segregation of
public facilities, in integrating public schools, in securing voting rights for African Americans.
What do all these changes have in common?

5. Many actions taken by civil rights activists directly addressed specific problems. For example,
sit-ins directly challenged segregation at lunch counters, just as Freedom Riders directly challenged segregation on interstate buses. Why do you think that there was no action that directly
targeted unemployment rates?

6. To continue with the ongoing work of creating an equitable society, how would you address
that difference today?

tolerance.org

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HANDOUT
Economic Data By Race
25
20

BLACK
WHITE

15
10
5
0%

Unemployment Rate
w/ Bachelors Degree

Living in Poverty

Source: Economic Policy Institue, 2011; U.S. Census, 2007

1. What do the two bars on the left show? The two bar graphs on the left (Unemployment Rate
with Bachelors Degree) show different information than the line graphs about unemployment
that you looked at before. How are they different?

2. What do the bar graphs show about the percentage of people with college degrees who
are unemployed?

3. As you did with the overall unemployment rate among blacks and whites, think about why
there is a difference in the unemployment rate of white people with college degrees and black
people with college degrees. Why do you think the civil rights movement did not directly address
this discrepancy?

tolerance.org

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HANDOUT
4. What would you suggest doing now to create equity in unemployment rates?

5. Based on what you have read about how the effects of racism can be felt across generations, how
do you think this discrepancy might affect the next generation of African Americans?

6. Look at the two bars on the right called Percent Living in Poverty. What do the bars show? Read
Race, Wealth, and Intergenerational Poverty (http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=race_wealth_and_
intergenerational_poverty) What do you think are the causes of the inequality that the data shows?

tolerance.org

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HANDOUT
Median Income Per Family by Race
60,000
50,000
BLACK
WHITE

40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
$0
Median Income
Source: U.S. Census 2007

7. Finally, look at the graph Median Income Per Family by Race. What does it show? What does
this data suggest to you about the successes of the civil rights movement? If this situation continues, what would you predict would happen to the next generation of wage earners? What does the
data suggest still remains to be done?

tolerance.org

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teaching tolerance tolerance.org

Acknowledgments
Writer Julie Weiss, Ph.D.
Project Manager Thom Ronk
Teaching Tolerance Director Maureen Costello
Editors Sean Price, Lisa Ann Williamson
Design Director Russell Estes
Senior Designer Valerie Downes
Design Staff Michelle Leland, Sunny Paulk, Scott Phillips
Production Regina Collins, Kimberly Parson
Web Director Ryan King
Web Content Producer Annah Kelley

A TIME FOR JUSTICE TEACHERS GUIDE

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If not us, then who?

If not now, then when?
John Lewis

400 Washington avenue

montgomery, al 36104
www.tolerance.org