Civil Rights History (Unit 1)

Unit 1: Roots of the Struggle

Vocabulary/Topics:

Abolition
Activist
Boycott
Civil Disobedience
Civil War Amendments (13, 14, 15)
Equal Protection Clause
Emancipation
Grass roots
Jim Crow
Literacy Tests
Lynching
Reconstruction
Riot
Segregation
Suffrage

Assignment #1: Teaching about "Unsung Heroes"

This lesson was adapted from a lesson from Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice, Volume II.

Resource: 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/profiles/index.html

Part I (20 points):

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

From the list the list above:
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 had done something in their life you can personally relate to.
9. Find one person you have never heard of.
10. Find one person you would like to learn more about.

Use the "Eyes on the Prize Profiles" link and the "African American Profiles" links to find information about most of the people listed above.

Part II: Choose one individual to explore more fully. 
1. Who did you choose to research?
2. What was this person most known for? (What were they trying to accomplish?)
3. What methods did this person use to bring about change?
4. Why did you select this person?
5. What do you have in common with this person?

Assignment #2
Respond to "Remembering Jim Crow"
Resource:
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/remembering/

After listening to "Remembering Jim Crow," answer the following questions.
1. What was Jim Crow?
2. What was the purpose behind Jim Crow?
3. List five examples of Jim Crow laws (in education, housing, marriage, etc.)
4. What strategies did many African Americans utilize in an effort to physically and psychologically survive in the Jim Crow south?

Assignment #3


Visit the pbs link below.
Click on "Go to the Maps."
Next, click on "Lynchings and Race Riots." Select lynchings.
Click on Wisconsin. How many black and how many white lynchings took place in Wisconsin?
Click on Minnesota, Iowa, Illiniois, and Michigan. Were there any black or white lynchings in those states? If so, how many?
Click on states in other regions of the United States. Where do you see the most lynchings (both white and black)? Briefly speculate why the number of lynchings vary depending on region in the United States.
Now select "Race Riots." Did any race riots occur in Wisconsin? Were there any race riots in the Midwest? If so, where and when?
Click on states in other regions of the United States. Do you notice a pattern regarding race riots? Explain.
Now select "Jim Crow Laws." Choose a topic (such as education, hospitals and prisons, etc.) Slide your cursor over Wisconsin to see if we had any Jim Crow Laws in each of the areas listed. Did Wisconsin have any such laws?
Now visit some other Midwestern states. Did any of these states have Jim Crow laws? If so, list some examples.
Click on states in other regions of the country. List several specific examples of Jim Crow laws you discovered in your investigation? Of the laws you read about, which law did you find particularly shocking? Why?

Assignment#4
Responding to "Without Sanctuary"
1. What is backlash?
2. Give some examples of backlash used against southern blacks from the  "Without Sanctuary" movie and NPR story.
3. What does the noose represent in American history?
4. Do you think a noose can be a "hate symbol"? Why or why not?
5. What is a "noose-related" incident? What are the societal impacts of "noose-related incidents"?
6. Are there any hate groups in Wisconsin? If so, how many?

Assignment #5 
Twitter Assignment
If you do not have a twitter account, create one. Follow authors, journalists, activists, and educators writing about Civil Rights issues. Retweet and respond to tweets relating to topics we are learning about in class. Participate in tweet chats relating to civil rights issues. Search civil rights-related hashtags. Retweet and/or reply to relevant tweets.



Extra Credit:
Complete the "Race Sorting Activity"
http://www.pbs.org/race/002_SortingPeople/002_00-home.htm

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