In this paper, the author outlines the results of a research study conducted on one class cohort, focusing on the impacts of teaching Black women's history through Anne Moody's 1968 memoir, "Coming of Age in Mississippi," on their understandings of race and the experiences of Black women. Specifically, Moody's memoir provides a rich…

In the high school history textbooks children read, too often they find that labor's role in American history--and labor's important accomplishments, which changed American life--are misrepresented, downplayed, or ignored. That is a tragedy because labor played (and continues to play) a key role in the development of American democracy and the…

Given the current national debate over immigration reform and the plethora of anti-immigrant policies, practices, and laws, school curriculums should include materials that will allow students to learn about, and reflect on, the impact this debate has on the lived realities of those most impacted. Specifically, teachers and their students will…

When Morris Dees was a young man in Alabama, the law said that black people couldn't drink from the same water fountain as white people, or sit at the same lunch counter. Back then, the government created and sanctioned divisions between human beings. The Civil Rights Movement changed all of that, of course, and ended state-mandated apartheid in…

"A Place at the Table" contains a teacher's guide, a 40-minute videotape and a 144-page textbook. The kit is designed to help students explore the historical, ongoing struggle to realize the national ideals of freedom and equality. This teacher's guide comprises 13 lesson plans (one for the video and one for each of the 12 chapters in…

Reviews a fascinating lesson plan designed to acquaint students with the methods and devices used to deny blacks the right to vote in the pre-Civil Rights era south. Students take the same test that Alabama required of resident blacks to vote. Includes a copy of the exceptionally difficult test. (MJP)

Presents a lesson plan for teaching about the role of African-American religious leaders in the U.S. civil rights movement. Provides scripts with which students play the roles of various members of a community. Explains that students decide which speakers would be most likely to lead the local civil rights movement. (SG)

Offers an activity designed to illustrate the historical context of current legal questions relating to equal rights. The activity shows how the definition of equality has been expanded as a result of the continuous hard work of individuals and civil rights groups. (JDH)

Warns against reinforcing what is called the "sacred mythology" of the "miracle at Philadelphia," and urges teachers to tell the full story of the flaws, fights, and decades of legal and political work required to bring the original constitution in line with the U. S. Declaration of Independence. Supports this argument with a…

This book provides a road map for renewing knowledge and understanding of the Articles of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Chapter 1, "Blueprint for Freedom," describes the historical background of the Constitutional Convention and the Bill of Rights. Chapter 2 gives a brief description of the four parts of the…

Reviews case law, constitutional principles, and early American writings which deal with the idea of private property. Concludes that, in the future, the issues of laissez-fare capitalism, government regulation, and the welfare state will require further clarification of our conception of private property. (JDH)

In 1964, Congress passed Public Law 82-352. This civil rights act forbade hiring, promoting, and firing discrimination based on sex or race. Title VII of the act created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to implement the law. Subsequent legislation expanded the role of the EEOC. Today, the EEOC enforces laws that prohibit…

On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas." State-sanctioned segregation of public schools was declared a violation of the 14th Amendment and was unconstitutional. This historic decision marked the end of the…

This lesson plan introduces students in grades 6-8 to Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of nonviolence and the teachings of Mohandas K. Gandhi that influenced King's views. After considering the political impact of this philosophy, students explore its relevance to personal life. In these 6 lessons students will: (1) examine the philosophy of…

Incorporates material from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's into the high school curriculum as part of a unit on the Reconstruction Era. Discusses the background and passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and the beginning of Jim Crow laws as precursors to the Civil Rights Movement. (KO)