Justice Inquiry: Examining the Civil Rights Movement through Primary Sources

National Council for the Social StudiesDecember 2, 2016Washington, D.C.

PresentersDr. Susan SantoliProfessor and Director of Graduate StudiesUniversity of South Alabama, Mobile, ALssantoli@southalabama.edu

Dr. Susan DuboseAlabama Bicentennial Education CoordinatorAlabama Department of Archives and HistoryMontgomery ALSusan.Dubose@archives.alabama.gov

PROJECT ZERO“Project Zero was founded by the philosopher Nelson Goodman at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1967 to study and improve education in the arts.”

“Goodman believed that arts learning should be studied as a serious cognitive activity, but that “zero” had yet been firmly established about the field; hence the project was given its name.”

http://www.pz.harvard.edu/who-we-are/about

One Aspect of Project Zero is the Visible Thinking Routines

At the core of Visible Thinking are practices that help make thinking visible: Thinking Routines loosely guide learners' thought processes and encourage active processing.

Key Goals of Visible Thinking Routines

• Deeper understanding of content• Greater motivation for learning• Development of learners' thinking and learning abilities.• Development of learners' attitudes toward thinking and

learning and their alertness to opportunities for thinking and learning (the "dispositional" side of thinking).

• A shift in classroom culture toward a community of enthusiastically engaged thinkers and learners.

Categories of Routines

• Core Routines• Understanding Routines• Fairness Routines• Truth Routines• Creativity Routines

I used to think, but now I think Strategy

Purpose: This routine helps students to reflect on their thinking about a topic or issue and explore how and why that thinking has changed. • It can be useful in consolidating new learning as students

identify their new understandings, opinions, and beliefs. • By examining and explaining how and why their thinking

has changed, students are developing their reasoning abilities and recognizing cause and effect relationships.

I used to think, but now I think……

First, observe silently. What are you seeing here?

Now, describe what you see—don’t try to tell what it means or what you think it is.

Now, complete this sentence: I think this information will be about…

Have you revised or added anything to your first reaction? Why?

For weeks they slept on cement floors, used a common toilet that quickly stopped up, and ate nothing but egg sandwiches and undercooked hamburgers.

Have you revised or added anything to your first reaction? Why?

Have you revised or added anything to your first reaction? Why?

“Can you imagine that you were in there with girls and you were in there this long with no bath, no toothbrush, toothpaste to brush your teeth?” she said.

“The only water came from a dripping shower head.”

Have you revised or added anything to your first reaction? Why?

Have you revised or added anything to your first reaction? Why?

It was a day in July of 1963 that SNCC protested a segregated movie theater.

Now, complete this sentence: I think this information was about…

Did you change your first idea?

Was there one thing you saw or read that caused you to change your idea? Which one?

The girls were finally released in mid-September, 1963. They were never charged with any crime, but their parents each had to pay a two dollar boarding fee.

The Girls of the Leesburg Stockade

http://gpbnews.org/post/girls-leesburg-stockade

• Site contains information, photographs and a video interview with some of the women who were jailed.

Question Starters StrategyPurpose: What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?• This routine provides students with the opportunity to

practice developing good questions that provoke thinking and inquiry into a topic.

• It also helps students brainstorm lots of different kinds of questions about a topic.

• The purpose of asking deep and interesting questions is to get at the complexity and depth of a topic.

Brainstorm a list of at least 12 questions about the topic, concept or object. Use these question-starts to help you think of interesting questions:• Why...?• How would it be different if...?• What are the reasons...?• Suppose that...?• What if...?• What if we knew...?• What would you like to ask…?• What are the people saying to each other?• Review the brainstormed list and star the questions that seem most interesting.

Then, select one or more of the starred questions to discuss for a few moments.

• Reflect: What new ideas do you have about the topic, concept or object that you didn't have before?

The Freedom Rides• After a general overview of the Freedom Rides• Over 400 individuals participated in the Freedom Rides• What are some questions you might have about those

who participated or would like to ask those who participated? • What age, race, gender, hometown and occupation

were the participants?

On the site below, students can examine the names, races, occupations, ages and hometowns of the riders, then compare to their own ideas. From each group of riders, students can draw conclusions about the overall characteristics of the riders.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/people/roster

Washington, DC to St. Petersburg, Florida June 13-16, 1961

Name Residence Age Sex Race OccupationBobrow, Jerald Pt. Wash, NY 32 M W RabbiCallender, Herbert Bronx, NY 27 M B Union official, United Auto Workers (UAW)Diamond, Ralph South Ozone, NY 36 M B Union official, United Auto Workers (UAW)Lebowitz, JoyceNew York, NY 26 F W Editor, Harvard University PressMassaquoi, Sheree Brooklyn, NY 27 F B SculptorMorton, Edward Albany, NY 32 M B MinisterNegen, Gordon New York, NY 29 M W PastorO'Connor, James New York, NY 31 M W Economics instructor, Barnard College (New York City)Randall, Francis B. New York, NY 29 M W History instructor, Columbia UniversityRandall, Laura New York, NY 25 F W Graduate student in economics, Columbia UniversitySmith, Leslie Albany, NY 35 M B Minister, AME ZionStern, Daniel N. New York, NY 26 M W DoctorWhite, Dupree South Ozone, NY 40 M B Union official, United Auto Workers (UAW)Winston, BennyNew York, NY 42 M B Union official, United Auto Workers (UAW)

Freedom Rides Resources

Montgomery Alabama Freedom Rides Museum• http://preservealabama.wixsite.com/55thanniversaryPBS Site: Freedom Riders • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomrid

ers/

Freedom Summer• http://

www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedom-summer

Step Inside Strategy

Purpose: What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?• This routine helps students to explore different

perspectives and viewpoints as they try to imagine things, events, problems, or issues differently.

• In some cases this can lead to a more creative understanding of what is being studied. For instance, imagining oneself as the numerator in a fraction.

• In other settings, exploring different viewpoints can open up possibilities for further creative exploration.

Step InsideThree core questions guide students in this routine:• What can the person or

thing perceive?• What might the person or

thing know about or believe?

• What might the person or thing care about? Date: June 10, 1961

Location: Memphis, Tennessee Photographer: unknown Source: Bettmann/Corbis/AP ImagesRetrieved from: http://www.learner.org/courses/lens/archive/1071/

Headline/Hashtag/Title Strategy

Purpose: What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?• This routine helps students capture the core or heart of

the matter being studied or discussed. It also can involve them in summing things up and coming to some tentative conclusions.

Headlines, Hashtags or Titles

Invent a headline/hashtag/title for this item that captures an important aspect of it.Could use text, a photograph, a work of art, an object

Headline orTitle

Birmingham Advertiser

Hashtag

Artifact from Alabama Archives

Divide and Describe Strategy-two methodsMethod 1:

• One person identifies a specific section of an image and describes what he or she sees.

• Another person elaborates on the first person’s observations by adding more detail about the section.

• A third person elaborates further by adding yet more detail, and a fourth person adds yet more.

Method 2• As a group or class, ¼ of an

image is shown and students describe what they see and hypothesize what they are seeing.

• Gradually, each remaining ¼ of the image is revealed and students continue to describe and hypothesize

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/m-3767

Questions to ask about photographs:

Building Background• What is a photograph?• Where do photographs come from?• Is a photograph real or make believe?• Why do we take photographs?Observing and Understanding• What do you see in the photograph?• How are the people and objects arranged?• What is in the foreground, background?• What, if any, words do you see?

Ralph Hudson/AP

Questions ContinuedReflecting and Analyzing• Who do you think the people are?• Where are these people? What do you think the people are doing?• What do you think the people might be saying • to each other?• What time of day/season do you think it is? What makes you think that?• How do you think the people in the photograph feel? Why?• Why/When do you think this image was made?• What can you learn from examining this image?• If someone made this photograph today, what would be different?• What would be the same?• What more would you like to know about this photograph?• What can we learn about this historical event, through the photographs, that we might not be able to

learn by just reading about it in a textbook?

March on Washington Lesson Ideashttp://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington/pictures/march-on-washington/march-on-washington-for-jobs-and-freedom

Activities taken from Santoli, S. P., and Vitulli P. Examining the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom through Primary Sources in The Black History Bulletin, volume 75, number 2.

After some background information on the March on Washington:• Providing an Overview•Using Music as a Source• Primary Documents from the March

Providing an Overview of the March

• A great way to give students an overview of the March is through a video. Two options are:• Short YouTube video that gives an overview of the day: “Nobody

Turn Me Around: A People’s History of the 1963 March on Washington (4 minutes, 20 sec) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDpZtxMcFwc

• The National Archives has an excellent video, in three segments (each about 10 min) on the National Archives YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQYzHIIQ1O4

Using Music as a Source

• Great background on music of the Civil Rights Movementhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/reflect/r03_music.html

Three Civil Rights/Freedom Songs for analysis in studying the 1963 March on Washington:1. "We Shall Overcome"2. "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around"3. "People Get Ready"

We Shall Overcome• Background information: Often called the anthem of the Civil

Rights Movement, "We Shall Overcome" was heard throughout the day of the March. In the following video, you'll hear Joan Baez sing this song as she sang it during the day of the March on Washington.

• Baez was a popular folk singer of the 1960s whose songs often reflected human rights or civil rights concerns. She was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War. She still performs today.

• Have students watch a YouTube video of this performance with copies of the lyrics.

Questions that might be asked:

• As you listen to and/or read the lyrics of this song, what goals to be achieved are reflected here?

• What is the mood of this song?• What does the verb "shall" indicate?• One of the verses uses the verb "are" rather than "shall." What is the statement made with this verb?• To what might the word "today" refer? Would it mean just the March itself?

Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around

Background information: This song was based on an African American spiritual that was sung during the 1800s. As with "We Shall Overcome," verses could be added and words modified as necessary.Questions to ask:• Why would African American music used in the 1800s be revived for use

during the Civil Rights Movement?• Why does the singer insist that nobody will turn him/her around? From what has she/he turned?• What does "freedom land" represent?• What words or phrases let you know that contemporary events have been added to this gospel song that weren't there in the 1800s?• What is the "injunction" in stanza two of the written lyrics?

People Get ReadyBackground information: This song was not sung at the March on Washington because it was not written until the year after. This song, written by Curtis Mayfield, was inspired by the March on Washington. It has many of the characteristics of traditional gospel songs.Questions:• What changes was the singer anticipating?• What might the train symbolize?• How does this song capture the spirit of the March on Washington?

Other music analysis ideas:• The Library of Congress song analysis sheet is a tremendous way for students to analyze songs. The analysis

sheetcan be distributed before playing or reading a song so that students will be listening for specific aspects. It can alsobe used effectively in groups by assigning one category to each group. http://www.loc.gov/teachers/lyrical/tools/docs/songs. pdf• One characteristic of many songs of the Civil Rights Movement was that verses could be added as needed

becausethe songs were often sung while people walked or marched. Can you add another verse to a song that reflects theCivil Rights Movement or that reflects a human rights goal of today?• What reactions might songs have created among those attending an event?• What mental image(s) come to mind as you hear the song? Create a visual representation that represents this

song.• What are some things that you learned from the songs that you might not have learned from reading about the

March?

Primary Documents from the March

• Three documents for analysis:• Flyer advertising the March on Washington• Program of the March on Washington• Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream

speech

• How did organizers appeal to both African Americans and Whites?• What were the five objectives of the march as stated by

the organizers?• Six men’s names appear at the top of the appeal. Who

were these men and what was their connection with the Civil Rights Movement?• What provides evidence that this was an organized event?• Was this document written to inform, to persuade or

both? Why did you decide this?

http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/6-legacy/detail/march-on-washington.html

• Where did the day’s program take place? What was significantabout this location?• The flyer advertising the March listed six names as the organizers of the March. Do you see any of their names on the program?

• Some of the people on the program represented various political, social and religious groups. What are some of the groups that were represented and why might these groups have been involved in the March?• There are several women names in the Tribute to Negro Women Fighters for Freedom (#5).• Which names do you recognize? Why might women be especially recognized?

https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc_large_image.php?doc=96

https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc_large_image.php?doc=96

Although we commonly refer to MLK Jr.’s speech as the I Have a Dream speech, it was originally titled Normalcy-Never Again.• An early draft of the speech, with the above title, is filed in

the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. collection and a digital version is available through the King Center. (http://www.morehouse.edu/kingcollection/index.php)

• A first-hand account of the writing and delivery of the speech can be found in an article on the Washington Post site, written by Clarence B. Jones in 2011. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/14/AR2011011406266.html)

• National Public Radio produced several articles to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the March. (http://www.npr.org/news/specials/march40th/part1.html)

"I HAVE A DREAM ..."(Copyright 1963, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.)Speech by the Rev. MARTIN LUTHER KINGAt the "March on Washington"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree is a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But 100 years later the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later the life of the Negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination…..

https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf

• What situations are identified with specific states?• In paragraph three, King refers to a “check.” What does the term symbolize• What are the reasons that King suggests that Washington DC is an appropriate place for

this event?• What references to songs are in this speech?• Why is King’s speech directed to all Americans?• In paragraph two, King refers to a “symbolic shadow.” What historical person was the

source of this shadow?• In paragraph three, King says, “The Negro still is not free.” Since slavery had been

outlawed in the 1800s, what did he mean by this statement?• Although we often call this speech “I Have a Dream” those words were not in the original

draft. King constructed this part of the speech as he went along. What might have inspired him to add to his original in this way?

Students could compare the earlier draft with the final version that was delivered.A document analysis sheet from the National Archives and Records Administration that can be used with any document: http://www.archives/gov/education/lessons/worksheets/written_document_analysis_worksheet.pdf.

All Ready for You!• Beyond the Bubble

• Civil Rights Movement in Context

• Reading Like a Historian• Cold War Civil Rights Cult

ure• Teaching Tolerance

• Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice

• Library of Congress• Lesson Plans

• National Archives• Lesson Plans by Era

• Discovery Education• Civil Rights: An Investigation

• EdSitement: Competing Voices of the Civil Rights Movement • Civil Rights Curriculum Unit

• ICivics: The Road to Civil Rights• Road to Civil Rights

• Best of History Websites:• American History: Civil Rights

•  Alabama Dept. of Archives and History• Lesson Plans/Classroom Activities

• The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute• https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/liberation-curriculum/lesson-plans

• Civil Rights Teaching Resources (has state links)• http://civilrightsteaching.org/resources/

• PBS: The Civil Rights Movement: A Time for Change• http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons_plans/the-50th-anniversary-of

-the-march-on-washington-lesson-plan-a-time-for-change/

• Picturing America• https://picturingamerica.neh.gov/

Other Resources• Civil Rights 101

• http://www.civilrights.org/resources/civilrights101/?referrer=https://www.google.com/

• Civil Rights Battles in Black and White• http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/archive-14/?_r=0

• PBS American Experience• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/filter/civil-rights/• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/index.html

• PBS Learning Network: Civil Rights• http://aptv.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/civil/

• Rosa Parks Museum• http://troy.edu/rosaparks/index.html

• Annenberg Learner Essential Lens: Analyzing Photographs Across the Curriculum• http://www.learner.org/courses/lens/