Civil Rights Mini Course-Teaching about Unsung Heroes

This lesson was adapted from a lesson from Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice, Volume 2.
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/15_01/Hero151.shtml

Part I:
In class each student will receive one index card with a brief description of an "unsung hero" from the Abolitionist Movement through the post Civil Rights Era. Spend a few minutes acquainting yourself with your unsung hero.

Each student will also receive a handout with the following questions:
1. Find one person who stood up against slavery.
2. Find one person who resisted the unequal treatment of women and African Americans.
3. Find one person who used non-violent civil disobedience as a form of resistance.
4. Find one person who was willing to use force if necessary to achieve the goals of their cause.
5. Find one person who thought the best method of bringing about change was to change laws.
6. Find one person who thought the most effective way of bringing about change was to organize people at the grassroots level.
7. Find one female civil rights activist.
8. Find one person who fought to expand voting rights.
9. Find one person who played a pivotal role in the Brown v. Board of Education decision.
10. Find one person who has held important leadership positions in civil rights organizations.

Once you have located all of these people and your handout is completely filled out, return to your desk.

We will conclude with a brief discussion of the activity and all of the individuals we learned about.

Part II:
As a class, we will select 5-6 individuals we will learn more about. These individuals will be the subjects of our culminating activity project.

Unsung Heroes:
Elaine Brown, Constance Baker Motley, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Maxine Waters, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ida b. Wells, Melba Patilla Beals, Thurgood Marshall, Howard Zinn, Henry David Thoreau, William Lloyd Garrison, John Lewis, Fannie Lou Hamer, Bernice Reagon, Angela Davis, Frederick Douglass, Kenneth Clark, Sojourner Truth, Archibald Cox, Charles Sherrod
More Unsung Heroes:
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/15_01/role151.shtml