Understanding and Teaching the Civil Rights Movement

Hasan Kwame Jeffries is an associate professor of history at The Ohio State University and the author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama's Black Belt.

Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 3
Hasan Kwame Jeffries

Part One. Dispatches from the Frontline: Reflections on Teaching the Civil Rights Movement
Who Is Fannie Lou Hamer? A Movement Veteran Reflects on Teaching Civil Rights History 13
Charles E. Cobb Jr.
“They won’t just be reading about history—they’ll be living it”: The Anderson Monarchs Civil Rights Barnstorming Tour 22
Steve Bandura
Rosa Did More Than Sit and Martin Did More Than Dream: Pushing beyond the Master Narrative with High School Students 39
Adam Sanchez
“I had this black professor at UT”: Teaching Civil Rights and Black Power to White and Black College Students 47
Leonard N. Moore

Part Two. “Bigger than a hamburger”: Reframing the Civil Rights Movement
Obstacles to Freedom: Life in Jim Crow America 59
Stephen A. Berrey
Freedom Rights: Reconsidering the Movement’s Goals and Objectives 73
Hasan Kwame Jeffries
The Ballot and the Bullet: Rethinking the Violent/Nonviolent Dichotomy 83
Christopher B. Strain
Place Matters: The Indispensable Story of Civil Rights Activism beyond Dixie 95
Patrick D. Jones

Part Three. “Now that he is safely dead, let us praise him”: Teaching Iconic Civil Rights People, Organizations, and Events
Complicating Martin Luther King Jr.: Teaching the Life and Legacy of the Movement’s Most Iconic Figure 113
Charles McKinney
Not That Kind of Tired: Rosa Parks and Organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott 131
Emilye Crosby
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Teaching the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Project 144
Nicole A. Burrowes and La TaSha B. Levy
Teaching Malcolm X beyond the Mythology—By Any Means Necessary 159
Clarence Lang
The Long Hot Summers of the 1960s: Teaching the Racial Disturbances of the Civil Rights Era 175
Shawn Leigh Alexander, John Rury, and Clarence Lang
Power to the People! A Curriculum for Teaching the Black Panther Party and the Transition from Civil Rights to Black Power 185
Jakobi Williams

Part Four. “The essence of scholarship is truth”: Sources for Teaching the Civil Rights Movement
Everybody Say Freedom: Using Oral History to Construct and Teach New Civil Rights Narratives 197
J. Todd Moye
Freedom Songs: Building a Civil Rights Playlist 209
Charles L. Hughes
Two Thumbs Up: Movies and Documentaries to Use (and Avoid) When Teaching Civil Rights 224
Hasan Kwame Jeffries
A Rich Record: Using Primary Sources to Explore the Civil Rights Movement 241
John B. Gartrell
The Revolution Was Not Televised but It Is Available Online: Using the SNCC Digital Gateway to Tell Civil Rights History from the Bottom Up 247
Karlyn Forner

Part Five. “Strong people don’t need strong leaders”: Methods for Teaching the Civil Rights Movement
Stay Woke: Teaching the Civil Rights Movement through Literature 261
Julie Buckner Armstrong
“Nonviolence is impossible”: Role-Playing in the Classroom 276
Wesley Hogan
California Democracy Schools: A Model for Teaching Civil Rights to Students of All Ages 291
Michelle M. Herczog
Walking in Their Shoes: Using #BlackLivesMatter to Teach the Civil Rights Movement 300
Shannon King
Contributors 313
Index 319