Nearly 70 years after one of the most important U.S. Supreme Court rulings was handed down in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) declaring segregated schools unconstitutional, the promise of desegregation has remained unfulfilled. However, there are still actions that can be taken to address the extant disparities in schools that exist in large…

Recommends studying Fannie Lou Hamer's work in the civil rights movement of the 1960s to teach students a greater appreciation of the citizen's role in enforcing constitutional rights. Includes a role-playing activity, discussion questions, and a handout on Hamer. Suggests students will recognize the relationship between the Fourteenth Amendment…

This unit focuses on the school integration case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (Kansas), and its immediate aftermath. The Supreme Court's 1954 decision was a catalyst for civil rights activism along a broad front over the ensuing decades. The decision and its implementation have stood as a model for similar social and political action…

Presents a lesson tracing the legal evolution toward greater justice in U.S. society from 1865-1965 through congressional acts and Supreme Court decisions. Includes student handouts of major civil rights cases, legislation, and background information. Provides a bar graph for evaluating Supreme Court decisions and congressional acts that advance…

Examines the U.S. Supreme Court "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka" decision and its impact on education and national history. Includes 16 photographs representing various aspects of the history of public school desegregation. (CFR)