In this video segment adapted from American Experience: "Freedom Riders," watch newsreel footage, archival photos, and interviews to explore how Freedom Riders made efforts to end the segregation of African Americans in the Southern United States. Even after the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that the segregation of black and white riders on interstate buses was unconstitutional, Southern states continued to enforce local segregation laws. In response, members of both races decided to force the issue and challenge illegal segregation by riding together in buses headed to the South.

In this video segment adapted from American Experience: "Freedom Riders," view newsreel footage, archival photos, and interviews to explore how the Freedom Rides of 1961 brought about the end of racial segregation in interstate transportation. The Freedom Riders, aware that their nonviolent protest would elicit violence from some Southerners attempting to enforce local segregation laws, were determined to continue their protest even in the face of possible arrest. A series of events involving the U.S. attorney general, a U.S. senator, the governor of Mississippi, and a federal agency put an end to discriminatory practices in public transportation. This initial, unambiguous victory for the Civil Rights Movement paved the way for further progress.

In addition to helping black residents register to vote and establishing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, education was another important goal of Freedom Summer. Years of substandard and segregated schools and libraries had contributed to high rates of illiteracy (which, in turn, had led to disenfranchisement) and a lack of knowledge about black history and culture. Volunteers teaching in the Freedom Schools found that adults as well as children were eager to learn. The experience gave many black people newfound hope that things were about to change.

Learn about the trailblazing, gender non-conforming performer Gladys Bentley with this digital short from Unladylike2020. Gladys Bentley fled her homophobic Trinidadian immigrant family in Philadelphia, PA at age 16 to join New York's Harlem Renaissance jazz scene as a cross-dressing performer. In a time when homosexuality was widely considered sinful and deviant, Bentley wore men's clothing -- a tuxedo and top hat -- and became famous for her lesbian-themed lyrics covering popular tunes of the day, and for openly flirting with women in the audience. In the 1950s, succumbing to pressure from the black church and McCarthy Era harassment of the LGBTQ community, Bentley said of her gender identity, "I am a woman again!" Constantly reinventing herself, Bentley challenged norms and pushed boundaries. Support materials include discussion questions, vocabulary, a research project on queer identity during the Harlem Rennaissance, and a close reading of Bentley's famous essay, "I am a Woman Again".

This is a survey of the social, political, economic, cultural, and intellectual history of people of African descent in the formation and development of the United States to the Civil War/Reconstruction era up to the present. African American History includes the study of African origins and legacy, trans-Atlantic slave trade, experiences of African Americans during Colonial, Revolutionary, Early National, Antebellum, Civil War/Reconstruction, segregation, disenfranchisement, civil rights, migrations, industrialization, world wars, the Harlem Renaissance, and the conditions of African Americans in the Great Depression, Cold War and post-Cold War eras. This course will enable students to understand African American history as an integral part of U.S. history.

Explore the history of voter suppression efforts in the U.S., from the Jim Crow era through the post-1965 Voting Rights Act era, in this video clip from Whose Vote Counts | FRONTLINE. Learn about the strategies that were legally implemented in southern states to disenfranchise Black people, the violent backlash that ensued when Black people challenged these policies, and the events that led up to the signing of the epic 1965 Voting Rights Act.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Immigration and Nationality Act which replaced the quota immigration system that had been in existence since the 1920s, with a preference system based on labor skills needed by the United States, and those who had a pre-existing family tie in the country. This lesson will explore past U.S. immigration laws that affected Asian immigration and naturalization, how the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 came about because of the Civil Rights Movement, and how the 1965 Act changed the demographics of the country over the next twenty years and beyond.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 5.1, 6.4, 7.5, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9
Geography: 5.13
Historical Knowledge: 5.22, 6.20, 6.21, 8.22, 8.25, HS.52, HS.57, HS.58, HS.61, HS.63, HS.64, HS.65
Historical Thinking: 5.24, 7.25, 8.30, 8.31, 8.32
Social Science Analysis: 5.26, 5.27, 6.24, 6.27, 7.29, 8.36, HS.72, HS.73, HS.74, HS.75

The 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement's 1963 March on Washington is a great teaching opportunity. We offer some helpful resources.

This kit explores the ways in which King and his legacy have been portrayed in various media forms. The first lesson follows a chronology of King's life through interactive decoding of rich media documents (comic books, billboards, songs, music videos, etc.). The following lessons use excerpts of Dr. King's speeches from 1963, 1967 and 1968 to examine his views on social change; explore the portrayal of King in magazine covers, advertisements, Web sites, film clips and monuments; and use letters to the editor about celebrating King to explore challenges to change.

This five-minute video introduces students to the findings of the Kerner commission, a panel of experts President Lyndon Johnson convened to make policy recommendations following the protests, violence and disorder that occurred in over 150 cities in 1967. The commission recommended a series of sweeping changes, including reforms in policing tactics and efforts to reduce urban poverty. But Johnson largely ignored the findings of the study. Useful in helping students make connections between the 1960s and today, the video sets up an engaging class discussion on race, poverty and policing.

Content Advisory: This video includes footage of police violence. This resource contains additional material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

In this video from the American Masters film Ralph Ellison: An American Journey, scholars discuss conflicts between Ralph Ellison and the leaders of the Black Arts Movement. Ellison was often criticized for prioritizing aesthetics over politics, putting him at odds with a younger generation of Black artists who had lost faith in the integrationist ideals of an earlier era.

Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

In this unit, students explore social, cultural, and political events that helped define America in the decades following the Second World War. The lesson on the Civil Rights movement revolves around the question: Why did the Montgomery Bus Boycott succeed? In another, students compare speeches by JFK and John Lewis regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the Women in the 1950s lesson plan, students use secondary sources and popular images to explore whether "the happy housewife" was reality or perception. Finally, students will encounter opposing views on whether the Great Society was successful, and what led many Americans came to oppose the Vietnam War.

This segment from American Experience: Simple Justice captures the legal issues and opening arguments in Brown v. Board of Education.

Poet Sonia Sanchez, interviewed here for Eyes on the Prize, describes what the outspoken civil rights leader Malcolm X represented to African Americans in the 1960s.

StoryWorks develops inclusive and transformative educational theater experiences that provide students with the opportunity to examine our country’s civil rights history. Through content consistent with school curriculum standards, the program engages students in experiential learning and inspires them to ask deeper questions about the historical underpinnings behind contemporary issues. The process creates pathways to civic engagement, creates lasting memories and instills a tangible sense of social belonging. This StoryWorks educational project is built around Beautiful Agitators, a theatrical play about Vera Mae Pigee, a hair stylist and business owner in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights era. Using her beauty parlor as a hub for Delta-based organizing and resistance, Pigee operated her salon by day and then transformed it into a clandestine center for civil rights organization and education in the evenings. Known for her big hats and larger than life personality, Mrs. Pigee led the direct action that registered nearly 6,000 African Americans to vote in the region. Although Pigee was largely left out of the history books, along with many women of the movement, our play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum revives her legacy, highlighting her methods and tactics. Inspired by the innovative K-12 civil rights education standards developed by the Mississippi Civil Rights Commission. Our commitment is to expand upon the standards by further developing content related to social justice, power relations, environmental justice, diversity, equity, mutual respect, and civic engagement. Beautiful Agitators combines inquiry with higher-order thinking skills of analysis, evaluation and synthesis. Set in a beauty parlor owned and operated by a Black woman in the Mississippi Delta, our curriculum is based on our investigation into primary sources and their relationship to critical moments in the national movement. This foundation of historical context allows for students and educators to find contemporary parallels which further engage learners to reflect upon the legacy of the civil rights movement and the struggles that we, as citizens, continue to grapple with today.View the complete play Beautiful Agitators on the StoryWorks Theater site.Implementation1. Beautiful Agitators Performance Classroom watches a prerecorded, staged reading of the play Beautiful Agitators, which was created and performed by artists from the Mississippi Delta, home of Vera Mae Pigee.2. Lesson Plan Activities Following the eight-lesson plan structure, students will read aloud or act out scenes from the play. This participatory interaction with the text and the historical events promotes a high level of engagement from the students and encourages experiential learning. These activities directly correspond to scenes in the play and to specific content area standards. Teacher leads guided discussions and helps to explain the historical context and theme of each scene. Students/actors have the opportunity to share their experiences having portrayed these historical figures. 

Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and the role of women in the civil rights movement.

Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and the role of the youth activism in the civil rights movement.

Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and the power and influence of the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission.

Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and the struggle to pursue nonviolent resistance.