Executive Order 11111—Providing Assistance for the Removal of Obstructions of Justice and Suppression of Unlawful Combinations Within the State of Alabama | The American Presidency Project
Hispanic Americans - Themed Resources
Explore the culture, contributions and interactions of Hispanic peoples in North America through rare maps, historical documents from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, local histories, recorded songs, interactive games, and detailed online bibliographies. From the Library of Congress
Women's History - Themed Resources
Examine print materials, photographs, and webcasts presenting women’s sometimes-overlooked contributions to history; learn about women as diverse as Jane Addams, Dorothea Lange, Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman and Zora Neale Hurston. from Library of Congress
Report of Military Support of Law Enforcement - Los Angeles August 1965
Report of the California National Guard of their activities in suppressing the Watts Riots of 1968. Combing through this students can find statistics, and a timeline of events. This can be used in combination with other documents to determine accuracy - did the National Guard report this differently than the news media and civil rights organizations? What implications does this have on the use of martial law in America?
July 2, 1964: Remarks upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill | Lyndon Johnson
Lessons showing the link between the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement can be enhanced with these words of Lyndon Johnson when he signed the Civil Rights Act into law.
Today in far corners of distant continents, the ideals of those American patriots still shape the struggles of men who hunger for freedom.
We believe that all men are entitled to the blessings of liberty. Yet millions are being deprived of those blessings—not because of their own failures, but because of the color of their skin.<br>
The reasons are deeply imbedded in history and tradition and the nature of man. We can understand—without rancor or hatred—how this all happened.<br>
But it cannot continue. Our Constitution, the foundation of our Republic, forbids it. The principles of our freedom forbid it. Morality forbids it. And the law I will sign tonight forbids it.
My fellow citizens, we have come now to a time of testing. We must not fail.<br>
Let us close the springs of racial poison. Let us pray for wise and understanding hearts. Let us lay aside irrelevant differences and make our Nation whole. Let us hasten that day when our unmeasured strength and our unbounded spirit will be free to do the great works ordained for this Nation by the just and wise God who is the Father of us all.<br>
Thank you and good night.
Martin Luther King - Nobel Lecture
Although the "I have a Dream" speech sucks all of the academic air out of the room, the Nobel speech offers a deeper reflection of Martin Luther King
Research Guides: Emmett Till Archives: Media Coverage: Magazines
Links to newspaper and magazine articles describing and showing the results of the torture and murder of Emmett Till
Segregation Forever | Equal Justice Initiative
Unbelievable quotes can be found in this collection
The Trials of The Scottsboro Boys
Comprehensive collection of articles, artifacts and documents from the "Famous Trials" site at the University of Missouri - Kansas City
Truman Library: Desegregation of the Armed Forces Online Research File
This collection focuses on President Truman's decision to desegregate the U.S. Armed Forces. It includes 247 documents totaling 1,187 pages, covering the years 1938-1953. Supporting material includes an Archival Materials Guide and finding aid, Records of the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services (Record Group 220).
White Man's Guilt - James Baldwin , Ebony Magazine August 1965
"The Only Good Pig Is a Dead Pig": A Black Panther Paper Editor Explains a Political Cartoon
The trumpet of Conscience : By Martin Luther King, jr : Internet Archive
The text of five lectures that Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered in November and December 1967 for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
American Rhetoric: Malcolm X - The Ballot or the Bullet (3 April 1964)
Civil Rights Act (1964)
This act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. This document was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.
Alex Haley interviews Malcolm X
There's a lot of good material here, certainly come of it can be mined for a good civil rights lesson. This is an interview with Playboy Magazine
Is Civil Disobedience Ever Justified as a Method of Political Change?
Great debate series. Two short readings with comprehension and critical thinking questions. Letter from Birmingham Clergy to King compared against King's letter from a Birmingham Jail
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Google Cultural Institute
Google's Cultural Institute's collection of images and primary documents documenting the history of the Civil Rights Act. Great for research Web Quests and teachers looking for images. Material is presented in a timeline.
Anti-busing Marchers in Pontiac - 9-6-71 - Critical Commons
In August 1971, ten school buses were dynamited by members of the Ku Klux Klan in Pontiac Michigan. As part of the northern white backlash against forced integration in the north, it is just the sort of event that is seldom acknowledged in US History classes. This site provides news coverage of the protest movement against busing in Michigan and commentary that describes the particular manner in which the news media communicate the story.
New Jersey Statutes - Title 18A Education - 18A:35-1 2-year course of study in history - New Jersey Attorney Resources - New Jersey Laws
This is the text of the New Jersey statute that requires students complete two years of US History for graduation. Note that it still includes the word "Negro"
Local Activists Call for a Bus Boycott in Montgomery
This leaflet, produced by Jo Ann Robinson and others in response to Rosa Parks' arrest on December 1, 1955, called for all African Americans to stay off city buses on Monday, December 5. Robinson was president of the Women's Political Council, an organization of African-American professional women who worked for greater political influence from the Black community. She was later arrested for her role in the boycott.
Civil Rights | Classroom Resources | PBS Learning Media
Features an impressive array of audio, video, and text sources from Frontline and American Experience shows, Eyes on the Prize, and other sources. Also offers an interactive Civil Rights movement timeline and four lesson plans: Campaigns for Economic Freedom/Re-Examining Brown/Taking a Stand/Understanding White Supremacy. REquires registration but free
March in Frankfort - "What Goes Down in History?" HSI: Historical Scene Investigation
In this lesson students explore a series of oral history accounts which discuss the March on Frankfort in 1964 then try to decide how it will be remembered in history. This is a "doing history" lesson that invites students to ask questions of their own.
School Desegretation - "What was the first day of School like?" - HSI: Historical Scene Investigation
Students listen to various oral history recordings of what it was like for many Kentuckians on the first day that their school was integrated. Using their analysis of the evidence, they then decide how they would describe the first days of school desegregation in Kentucky. In other words, how did people in Kentucky experience school desegregation?
This is a "doing history" lesson in which students are put into the role of the historian trying to make sense of the past.
J.T. Johnson and Al Lingo – StoryCorps
On June 18, 1964, J.T. Johnson (L) and Al Lingo (R) were two of several protesters who jumped into the whites only pool at the Monson Motor Lodge in St. Augustine, Florida. At StoryCorps, they talked about how the owner of the hotel tried to force them out by pouring acid into the pool. This is a two minute audio of one of the swimmers
Alabama State Democratic Party Logo - "White Supremacy"
This 1966 newspaper article shows the Alabama state Democratic party logo with the phrase "white supremacy". It was removed in 1966.
How Martin Luther King Jr. Wrote 'I Have A Dream' - Nerdwriter1 - YouTube
Teachers and students shouldn't be discouraged by the name of the site - this is an insightful, academically powerful look into the rhetoric of King's iconic speech. Although students recognize the name of this speech more than any other in American history, they probably haven't dug into it on a phrase by phrase basis to see how it works. Learning more about how speeches are written shows students the power of language.
Review of Black Monday; October 28, 1954 :: Historical Manuscripts and Photographs
Written by the judge who would alter preside over the Emmitt Till case, this primary sources can be used by students and teachers to appreciate the argument of white supremacists in the south after Brown v. Board.
Address to the first Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) Mass Meeting**
The text (and audio) of Martin Luther King's first address as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association. He was only 26 years old when this was recorded. This speech was delivered at the Holt Baptist Church on the Monday night following the Thursday arrest of Rosa Parks. The boycott was only one day old and this meeting was held to determine if there was enough support among the entire black community of Montgomery to continue. It lasted 13 months.
Mrs. Rosa Parks is a fine person. (Well,) And, since it had to happen, I'm happy that it happened to a person like Mrs. Parks, (Yes) for nobody can doubt the boundless outreach of her integrity. (Sure enough) Nobody can doubt the height of her character (Yes), nobody can doubt the depth of her Christian commitment and devotion to the teachings of Jesus. (All right) And I'm happy, since it had to happen, it happened to a person that nobody can call a disturbing factor in the community. (All right) Mrs. Parks is a fine Christian person, unassuming, and yet there is integrity and character there. And just because she refused to get up, she was arrested.
And I want to say that we are not here advocating violence. (No) We have never done that
I want to say that in all of our actions, we must stick together. (That's right) [applause] Unity is the great need of the hour (Well, that's right), and if we are united we can get many of the things that we not only desire but which we justly deserve. (Yeah) And don't let anybody frighten you. (Yeah) We are not afraid of what we are doing (Oh no), because we are doing it within the law. (All right) There is never a time in our American democracy that we must ever think we are wrong when we protest. (Yes, sir) We reserve that right
And as we stand and sit here this evening and as we prepare ourselves for what lies ahead, let us go out with the grim and bold determination that we are going to stick together. [applause] We are going to work together. [applause] Right here in Montgomery, when the history books are written in the future (Yes), somebody will have to say, "There lived a race of people (Well), a black people (Yes sir), 'fleecy locks and black complexion' (Yes), a people who had the moral courage to stand up for their rights. [applause] And thereby they injected a new meaning into the veins of history and of civilization." And we're going to do that.
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Program
More students recognize the "I have a Dream" speech than almost any other in US History. Have that look at the names on the program distributed that day - what do they recognize? What is important about those names?