Boundary Crossing

from SCORE H/SS!

http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?ar=861&ttnewsletter=ttnewsgen-091307

Description: In May 1954, the U. S. Supreme Court issued its famous Brown v. Board of Education decision that was to end segregation in schools. A civil rights organization called the NAACP attempted to register black students in previously all-white schools throughout the South. One of those schools was Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. More than fifty years later, America is still struggling with the issues of racial segregation. Using the backdrop of the Little Rock Nine experience, examine the issue of voluntary segregation in your school and develop a plan for Boundary Crossing. Standard 11.10.5

Author: Teaching Tolerance

Lesson ID: 138

Establishing Justice: Moot Court Activity

from SCORE H/SS!

http://rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/establishin_justice/

Description: The decisions of the Supreme Court during the 1960's had a profound effect in the areas of civil and due process rights of the accused. The Court took the initiative in expanding the rights of criminal defendants, particularly at the state level; as a result, the Court itself became the focus of public controversy. This moot court activity will examine some major cases during the 1960's. Students need to be aware of the impact that the Warren Court decisions had on society to understand the significance of recent constitutional history in their own lives. Standards 11.10.2 and 12.5.4 civics

Author: Adapted from a Lesson by Joan Thompson, Blackfoot High School

Lesson ID: 361

Evolution of Civil Rights

from SCORE H/SS!

http://rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/evolution_of_civilrights/

Description: Listen to the story of a Japanese American who wanted to be a school teacher but could not be hired. Learn how cities segregated people of color from swimming pools and other public facilities. These are local stories behind the conditions that led to the Civil Rights Movement. Record your own local stories to add to this site. Standards 3.3.3, 11.10.5, and 12.2.1 civics

Author: Silvia Salem, San Bernardino High School, San Bernardino

Lesson ID: 369

Future of Affirmative Action

from SCORE H/SS!

http://rims.k12.ca.us/activity/lbj/index.html

Description: Has Affirmative Action been fair? Has it fulfilled its original intent? Is it still needed? Explore these questions from the perpective of various interest groups in the U.S. and argue your case before the Senate Subcommittee. Standard 11.10.5, 11.11.5, and 12.10

Author: Michael Ballard, Canyon High School

Lesson ID: 435

American Suffrage Movements

http://www.constitutioncenter.org/education/ForEducators/LessonPlans/Suffrage/5471.shtml

Description: Consider the role of individual initiative by completing historical research on various initiatives involved in American suffrage movements (African-Americans, women, D.C. residents, Native Americans, and 18-20 year olds). After examining your understanding of "initiative" and what it means to take initiative through a written response and class discussion, consider the initiative of the Founders as exemplified in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. In groups, read and paraphrase the language of the Voting Amendments and share primary and secondary sources concerning suffrage. Finally, focus on the ability of a single person to make a difference in a community, state, or national initiative. Standards 8.6.6, 8.8.3, , 11.10.4, 11.10.5, 11.10.6, 11.10.7, 12.2.4, and 12.6.4 civics

Author: Bill of /Rights Institute

Lesson ID: 61

An Organized Legal Campaign

http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/resources/three.html

Description: Beginning in the 1930s, African American attorneys developed a long-range strategic plan to use the legal system to weaken and destroy segregation. Two institutions led the way: the Howard University School of Law and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In groups of four, describe the civil rights strategies of Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP, and Howard University and create a poster to pursuade others to join the effort. Standards 11.10.3, 11.10.4, and 12.6.4 civics

Author: Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Lesson ID: 69

Birmingham 1963

http://www.archives.state.al.us/teacher/rights/rights3.html

Description: On April 12, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. was sentenced to a nine-day jail term for his part in desegregation demonstrations. It was during this time that King wrote his essay, "Letter from the Birmingham Jail," which described his concerns for the laws of America and his hope for justice for black Americans. The national media publicized the powerful water hoses and the German shepherd police dogs that were used by the firemen and the policemen of Birmingham against the demonstrators. The documents in this lesson include telegrams sent to or by Gov. Wallace concerning the events in Birmingham. The notorized statements from the Intercitizens Committee, Inc. provide a contrast to the official state government version of events in Birmingham. Standard 11.10.4

Author: Alabama State Archives

Lesson ID: 145

Brown v. Board of Educaton: A Landmark in American Justice

http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/resources/five.html

Description: In 1952, the Supreme Court agreed to hear school desegregation cases from across the country. Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP had arrived at their destination at last, but the battle to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson and to bring down legal segregation took years to unfold. In this lesson, students will examine both the integrationist and segregationist arguments through role play, and begin to explore the impact of the Court's decision through a primary source photographic analysis activity. Standards 11.10.3, 11.10.4, 12.5.2, and 12.5.4 civics

Author: Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Lesson ID: 164

Case in Point: Learning About the Significance of Court Cases in the History of Civil Rights

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20040514friday.html

Description: Consider the importance and influence of various civil rights court cases, then reflect on the lasting social and political impact these cases have had, as well as the prejudices that may still exist regarding the issues addressed by each case. In doing this you will respond to an account of the events leading up to the murder of Emmett Till. Then you will learn about the re-opening of the Emmett Till murder case by reading and discussing the article "Directors Elated by Plan to Revisit 1955 Murder." Research a famous civil rights trial; create a poster highlighting the importance of the trial. Write an essay about the right and prejudices involved in the trial they researched, and how they are at work today. Standards 11.10.2 and 12.10

Author: Rachel Klein, The New York Times Learning Network, Bridget Anderson, The Bank Street College of Education in New York City

Lesson ID: 189

Challenging Segregation in Public Education

http://www.historynow.org/06_2006/lp1.html

Description: In the last decades of the nineteenth century, the Supreme Court handed down decisions in a number of cases that would determine the legal meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. In each case the court gave a narrow reading to the amendment. Finally, in 1896, in Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court handed down an interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment that would last for nearly a century. The decision declared that the ?equal-protection? clause permitted the separation of races in public facilities as long as the facilities were equal because if ? . . . one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them on the same plane.? Students will examine primary documents and factual references to analyze the history of the struggle to end segregation in public education. They identify the strategy used by the NAACP to overturn the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, and they identify how events in the twentieth century affected the campaign to end segregation. Standard 11.10.2, 11.10.3, and 11.10.4

Author: Roberta McCutcheon, Gilder Lehrman

Lesson ID: 1435