The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of the Civil Rights Movement

Assignments/Classroom Practice

Activity 1: Classroom Constitution

Timeframe:

Approximately two class periods

Rationale:

This activity is a conclusion to the first mini-unit on Rights and Laws. The students will write a binding Constitution for the classroom. The goal is to create a series of rules that is agreed upon by as many members of the classroom as possible; consensus would be ideal. Students will also be given a way to amend and change the constitution so as to allow them to adapt their document to situations that they cannot anticipate at the time of its writing. Specific issues that each group must address are: tyranny of the majority, minority rights, and the importance of compromise.

Procedure:

Students will be split into one of three areas (multiple groups covering one area is a possibility): behavior, responsibilities, and consequences. If there are any other areas that they feel are necessary, these can be added.

Each group will be responsible for creating a basic list of rules and rights for their given area. Every member of the group will be given a role: recorder, time-keeper, facilitator or presenter. These roles can be exchanged amongst group members. All of the items that they decide upon including for their group must be passed by a super majority of the group, if not outright consensus. This will, ideally, give them some insight into how laws and rules for the larger society are made, and how compromise is central to creating agreements that large numbers of people can live with. They will then present these to the class, who will then be responsible for amending, challenging or denying their proposals.

On the second day, after all groups have presented, they will then reconvene, delete redundancies, include classmate concerns and re-present their proposals. The class will then vote to ratify the document as a binding set of agreements for the remainder of the course. The remainder of the second day will be spent in reflection, with students responding to the following questions: 1. What was the most challenging part of this process? 2. How did you balance the need to protect minority groups in the classroom with the desires of the majority? 3. How did your group compromise? 4. Are you satisfied with the final document? Why or why not?

For homework, the students will write a short response to the following question: Having gone through the constitution process in the classroom, how does this change the way you think about the Constitution of the US and those who made it, as well as modern day lawmakers? If it does not change the way that you see them, explain why.

Activity 2: Guided Watching Questions for The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, Episode One

Timeframe:

Two to three class periods before sub-unit two.

Rationale:

This is fairly simple; most of the following questions are basic, factual recall questions. The higher order questions will be handled in the post-film discussion session. This film series gives a great overview of what blacks in the United States faced after Emancipation. It is foundational work that will serve them for the remainder of the unit. Most of the items in this first episode will be re-visited in greater depth during the course of mini-unit two.

Procedure:

Students will watch episode one over two class periods. They will answer the following questions:

Part 1:

1. Who/What was Jim Crow? What was he created for?
2. When were slaves freed in the U.S.? How many were there?
3. What does Jim Crow come to represent?
4. What are two things that blacks began to fight for after the Civil War (after 1865)?
5. What did the 13^th Amendment do?
6. Why was land so important after slavery? What did it offer?
7. What happened at Edisto Island? How did learning about it make you feel?
8. What did the 14^th and 15^th Amendments provide for?
9. What are some of the things that alarmed the white establishment after slavery?
10. What did Ulysses S. Grant do to combat groups like the KKK?
11. When federal troops left the South (in 1877), what began to happen?
12. What did many blacks believe would become the key to end white dominance? Who represented that belief?
13. What was Tuskegee? Why did it focus on trades and manual labor?
14. Why was Booker T. Washington such a success/godsend in the eyes of white people? What was he asking black people to do?
15. How was Lucy Laney's school different from Tuskegee?
16. Why was teaching so important in black communities? What were some of the barriers that black educators faced?

Part 2:

1. How were the children and grandchildren of former slaves different from their parents and grandparents?
2. How were laws used in place of social convention to maintain order in the south after emancipation (the freeing of the slaves)?
3. What did the Tennessee courts acknowledge about Ida B. Wells after she had been kicked off the train?
4. Why was speaking out in the South during the 1880s such a significant act? What did black people face when they spoke out?
5. What did Ida B. Wells tell the black residents of Memphis to do? Why did she do this?
6. Who/what did Wells believe were the true targets of Lynchings in the South? Why were they targeted?
7. Why was Mound Bayou significant?
8. What was one of the reasons Mr. Montgomery, the only black representative at the Mississippi Constitutional Convention, compromised with racist whites when he supported their moves towards racial separation?
9. What did Booker T. Washington's Atlanta speech ask black people to do and to accept?
10. How did many in the black community respond to the speech? How did the white press react?
11. What was the result of the Plessy v. Ferguson case?
12. What did black people rely on and resort to in order to survive after Plessy?

Homework/Extension:

Students will be asked to write a short response to the question, of the things you saw in episode one, which stood out to you the most and why? How does seeing this history change the way that you think about yourself, your classmates or the country you live in? If it does not change, explain why.

Activity 3: Socratic Seminar on Violence

Timeframe:

One class period.

Rationale:

Students will be asked to sit in a Socratic Circle and respond to the question: Should blacks have resorted to violence to secure their rights during early Reconstruction? Students will be assessed on the complexity of their responses, their willingness to engage/disengage and their ability to question themselves and other students on the central question. Having clear expectations that everyone is to participate is essential for the success of this workshop. Another option is to force students on the outside to enter the circle by tapping them, or allowing for someone on the inside of the circle to opt out and choose their replacement, but only after a threshold for participation has been met, like x number of questions asked, or x number of responses provided.

Procedure:

Students will sit in a circle of eight. The central question will be posed and conversation will begin. Students on the outside are to write down a minimum number of interesting points that their classmates make as well as keep track of how many boys and girls speak as well as which boys and girls speak. Students will cycle in and out, either through prompting or by their own desire to participate. Having the students write down the things that their classmates are saying while they are observing is a good way to ensure participation and relevance once they enter the circle. The conversation will run for approximately thirty minutes. If the central question does not engender sufficient student response, then other questions can be posed from outside of the circle. Upon completion of the seminar, time will be allotted to allow for reflection and to debrief the process and student responses.

Homework/Extension:

Students will write a short poem on violence and how it relates to struggle, particularly in the context of black life during and after Reconstruction. It should reflect their position in the seminar.