Examining the Legacy of the American Civil Rights Era

Materials and Technology

Printouts

Websites

Preparation

 

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

• Copies of Richard Wright’s Black Boy or another appropriate work

back to top

 

PRINTOUTS

• Selected Focus Scenes from Black Boy
• America Then – America Now Chart
• Analyzing the Civil Rights Era Chart
• Contemporary Event Research Chart
• Comparative Historical Analysis Questions
• Response Options
• Civil Rights Era Websites
• Contemporary Issues Websites

back to top

 

WEBSITES

• Facing History, Facing Ourselves collection on Civil Rights
  

  Facing History and Ourselves has many resource books, study guides, videos, lesson plans and web links to help students explore the U.S. civil rights movement.

back to top

 

PREPARATION

1. Select and obtain copies of Black Boy or another work by an African-American author students will read.  Students need to read and discuss the work before beginning the activities in this lesson.
2. Because of the potentially sensitive nature of some of the conversation in this lesson, consider your students’ readiness for an investigation of the contemporary black-white racial divide in America.  Read the English Journal article “Walking the Talk: Examining Privilege and Race in a Ninth-Grade Classroom” for ideas (such as the privilege walk) on how to prepare students.
3. Obtain and preview a copy of the documentary Legacy: Black and White in America (optional).  If you choose to show the documentary, select scenes that are most relevant for the discussions you wish to occur.  You may need to obtain permission for viewing the documentary because of the isolated use of school-inappropriate language in a few scenes.
4. Make copies of all necessary handouts.
5. Arrange for access to Internet connected computers for Sessions Two and Three.

 

back to top