Divided We StandChapter Four: Exploring The

Civil Rights Movement

Teaching The Civil Rights Movement• Demonstrate the complexity of the struggle on all levels

– The individual, regional, national– Importance of contributions of ordinary people

• Using Music– Demonstrates correlation between history and music– Can be used as diagnostic assessment (prior knowledge)

• Movies– Generate discussion– Background information

• Simulations/Reenactments– March on Washington

• Contrasting Views– Martin Luther King, Jr. v Malcolm X– Plessey v Ferguson

• Powerful Images– CRM photographer Charles Moore– Generate discussion– Journal responses

• Creativity– Civil Rights tree– Bumper Stickers

Why Teach the Civil Rights Movement?

• Gives students understanding of how the Civil Rights Movement changed society today, and how it affects them

• Struggle for Civil Rights still occurs today– Immigration– Gay rights– Affirmative Action

Lesson Plans• Lesson 1: Ideas and Ideals in Civil Rights Movement

– Engaging activity about Fairness and Education (Is Education a Right?)– Concept map w class – Use as springboard to set stage for CRM and Review

– Framers of Nation-Democratic Ideals (Enlightenment thinkers)– Strong v. Weak Central government – Civil War– 14th Amendment– Plessey - What was country like at time of the Plessey decision?– WWII - How is country different after WWII? Desegregation of Military…

• Lesson 2 Plessey v. Ferguson /Brown v. Board Debate– Use primary source documents of arguments to research for debate

arguments– Class split into 4 groups: Each group creates a poster representing one

side in each case.– Short debate between sides on each case.

• Lesson 3: Looking Deeper at Brown v. Board of Education– Use resources including Primary Source documents from Lib. of Congress– Importance of Unanimity– Where is Topeka? 5 cases, where did they come from? Deep South?

Warren's Reading Copy of the Brown Opinion, 1954•Chief Justice Earl Warren's reading copy of Brown is annotated in his hand.

•Warren announced the opinion in the names of each justice, an unprecedented occurrence.

•The drama was heightened by the widespread prediction that the Court would be divided on the issue.

•Warren reminded himself to emphasize the decision's unanimity with a marginal notation, "unanimously," which departed from the printed reading copy to declare, "Therefore, we unanimously hold. . . ." In his memoirs, Warren recalled the moment with genuine warmth. "When the word 'unanimously' was spoken, a wave of emotion swept the room; no words or intentional movement, yet a distinct emotional manifestation that defies description." •"Unanimously" was not incorporated into the published version of the opinion, and thus exists only in this manuscript.

Lesson Plans• Lesson 4 Other Controversies in Civil Rights

• Affirmative Action• Bakke v. Regents of U.C.• Proposition 209

Students compare Photos from Civil Rights Era Marches with Prop 209 Marches

• Lesson 5 Federal Government in Education– Discussion1 Education

• Why is Education so Important?• Why is it at the heart of beginning of CRM?• What happens to people w/o education?• What kind of jobs can you get?• What is the effect of mass under education/illiteracy?

– Discussion 2 Federal Government in Education• Did Brown make Fed Govt. stronger or weaker?• Should Federal Govt. be involved in Education at expense of local control?• What would framers of Constitution say?• Is education mentioned in Constitution?• Is education a fundamental right? Does it need Federal govt. protection?

Civil Rights Memorial“Until Justice rolls down like waters and

Righteousness like a mighty stream” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

The memorial bears the dates of the major events of the civil

rights era and the names of 40 people who died in the struggle

for the cause.