Audiovisual
Resources for the Classroom
| These videos
and audiotapes can help to deepen student
understanding of many of the topics addressed in this book
and introduce themes and events which we did not have space
to address in the book. This guide even includes sources
for some of the films listed.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, as there
are many more high-quality films available on the Civil
Rights Movement and related struggles for civil rights and
self-determination. At the end of this list are a few key
sites with information about additional titles. Although
we recommend all the films below, we have placed a checked
box icon 
next to the films that we most highly recommend if you do
not have time to preview all of them yourself. For the ,
we have limited ourselves also to the films that we knew
were most easily accessible to classroom teachers.
Also see our print and web
resources. |
| A.
Philip Randolph; For Jobs & Freedom
Ask most people who led the 1963 march on Washington and
they’ll probably tell you Martin Luther King Jr. But
the real force behind this event was the man many call the
preeminent Black labor leader of the century and father
of the modern Civil Rights Movement, A. Philip Randolph.
Randolph’s career began during the Harlem Renaissance
as a radical soapbox orator and journalist, who was brought
to help organize the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters.
After a bitter 12-year battle, the porters won the first
labor contract with a Black union. During World War II,
Randolph’s threat of a march on Washington forced
President Roosevelt to ban discrimination in defense industries.
After the war, he called for Blacks to resist the first
peace-time draft until President Truman signed his 1948
executive order desegregating the military. In 1963, Randolph
called again for a march on Washington. 86 min., 1996, WETA,
California Newsreel. HS
|
All
Power to the People
Award-winning documentary on government repression of activist
groups in the 1960s and 1970s, with a focus on the Black Panther
Party. Uses government documents, rare news clips, and interviews
with both activists and former FBI/CIA officers. Excerpts
useful for high school class. 115 min., 1997. HS |
Amandla!
A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony
 Amandla!
tells the story of black South African freedom music and reveals
the central role it played in the long battle against apartheid.
Amandla!'s focus is on the struggle's spiritual dimension,
as articulated and embodied in song. The film brings dozens
of freedom songs to the screen, drawing upon original recordings
and thrilling, sometimes impromptu live performances by celebrated
South African musicians and nonprofessionals alike. 2002.
HS |
And
the Children Shall Lead
 Danny
Glover stars in this drama, based on a true story. In 1964,
segregation is a reality in Catesville, Mississippi, but a
12-year-old Rachel doesn't notice it because she has many
white friends. When a group of civil rights activists come
to town, the tension between black and white citizens grows.
It's now up to Rachel and her friends to persuade the adults
to overcome the barriers that divide them. 58 min., 1985,
Wonderworks. ES |
Apartheid
Revisited: Confronting History
This video follows a group of American students on a trip
through South Africa as they explore the history of this fascinating
nation. The students learn about political struggles that
shaped South Africa, and important roles played by young people
in the evolution of this country. The journey begins at the
National Youth Day Celebration on the 20th anniversary of
the Student Uprising against apartheid. The students then
travel from Johannesburg south to Durban and down the Garden
Route to Capetown, visiting key landmarks and talking with
veterans of the movement about the political and social causes
of apartheid. The students also visit a traditional Zulu village,
explore museums, and meet with student leaders of today to
exchange ideas and experiences. With beautiful location footage
and interviews, viewers share in this journey as the participants
compare the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. to the Freedom
Fight in South Africa. Teaching guide available. 38 min, 1997,
Cambridge Education Production. |
At
the River I Stand
Stirring historical footage shows the community mobilizing
behind the strikers, organizing mass demonstrations, and an
Easter boycott of downtown businesses. The film recreates
the controversies between King's advisors, local leaders,
and younger militants, which led to open conflict. The film
recaptures the driving sense of foreboding as King delivered
his final "I Have Been to the Mountaintop" speech.
56 min., 1993, DVD, California Newsreel. HS |
Autobiography
of Miss Jane Pitman
 The
story of the life of a black Louisiana woman, from the time
of her childhood when she was enslaved in the pre-Civil War
South to 1962, when she witnesses the birth of the Civil Rights
Movement at the age of 110. Based on the book by Ernest J.
Gaines and starring Cecily Tyson and Barbara Chaney. 120 min,
1973. HS |
Battle
of Algiers
 Crisp
compelling drama about the guerilla revolt against the French,
waged by Algerians starting in 1954. Shot on location with
a mixture of actors and real-life participants in the conflict.
Provides viewers a picture of colonialism in Algeria and resistance.
122 min., 1965. HS |
Black American History
Series IV: Civil Rights
The fourth volume of the series takes an in-depth look at
the Civil Rights Movement. See the struggle for equality as
famous figures from our past fought for their rights and the
rights of others. 1998, MS. |
Blood
in the Face
 Allowed
access to national gatherings of U.S. radical right groups
including the Ku Klux Klan and the Posse Comitatus, Blood
in the Face straightforwardly presents the views of people
whose avowed goal is to forge a political union which will
transform North America into one Aryan nation. Blatantly and
without flinching, members of these groups describe their
agenda of anti-Semitism, racism, and extreme nationalism.
78 min., 1991, First Run/Icarus. |
Blue-Eyed
Jane Elliot leads a group of 40 teachers, police, school administrators,
and social workers in Kansas City—Blacks, Latinos, whites,
women, and men. The blue-eyed members are subjected to pseudo-scientific
explanations of their inferiority, culturally biased IQ tests,
and blatant discrimination. In just a few hours under Elliot’s
withering regime, grown professionals become despondent and
distracted, stumbling over the simplest commands. This video
includes a reflection by Elliot upon how the simple classroom
exercise she devised for her rural Iowa elementary school
children the day after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination
has transformed her life. Facilitator’s guide included.
86 min (30 min version available), 1995, California Newsreel.
HS |
Brother Outsider:
The Life of Bayard Rustin
This hour-long portrait unfolds both chronologically and thematically,
using interviews and traditional documentary techniques, as
well as experimental approaches. Though Bayard Rustin did
not keep a journal, the film uses his first-person voice wherever
possible, gleaned from his extensive writings, papers and
personal correspondence, and numerous recorded interviews.
Brother Outsider creates an aesthetic that reflects Rustin’s
position as an outsider, a troublemaker, and an eloquent speaker
who refused to be silenced. “Brother Outsider
illuminates as never before Rustin’s fascinating public
career and his equally intriguing private life. It is a film
worthy of his valuable legacy.”—Clayborne Carson,
Stanford University. 83 min., 2003, Sam Pollard. HS |
Chicano!
History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement
Ground-breaking for the material it covers, the series is
one of the few to address the history of Mexican Americans
in general and that of the Chicano Movement in particular.
It begins in New Mexico with Reies López Tijerina and
the land grant movement, is picked up by Rodolfo "Corky"
Gonzales in Denver who defines the meaning of Chicano through
his epic poem I am Joaquin, embraces César Chávez
and the farm workers, turns to the struggles of the urban
youth, and culminates in growing political awareness and participation
with La Raza Unida Party. 4 tapes, 60 minute tape, 1996, NLCC
Educational Media. HS |
Crisis
in the Classroom: Little Rock and Boston
In Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, Governor Faubus did everything
in his power to prevent nine black children from entering
a formerly all-white school. The Eisenhower administration
insured that the Supreme Court's order mandating school desegregation
was enforced. Learn about a similar segregation incident that
happened in Boston. A&E examines these two famous examples
of the long battle over school desegregation through extensive
footage and interviews. 50 min, 1994, 20th Century Mike Wallace
Series. MS/HS |
El
Norte
Tells the story of a brother and sister forced to flee their
country of Guatemala where their father has dared to challenge
the repressive landowners. Provides insights into the challenges
faced by many Central American immigrants as they travel north
and try to survive in the United States. 140 min. HS |
Ethnic
Notions
This classic documentary traces the evolution of deeply rooted
stereotypes about African-American women and men that have
fueled anti-Black prejudice and hatred. The history of the
development of the major figures—faithful Mammy, loyal
Toms, carefree Sambo, male dominating Saphire, leering Coon,
and wide-eyed Pickaninny—that have permeated U.S. popular
culture from the antebellum period to the Civil Rights era
is presented, with a sharp economic and political analysis
and commentary about the far reaching consequences of such
stereotyping. 56 min., 1987, California Newsreel. |
|
Eyes on the Prize : Series I—America’s
Civil Rights Years 1954-1965
Documents the Movement from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to
the Voting Rights Act
 Awakenings
1954-1956: The murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Money,
Mississippi and Moses Wright's courageous testimony identifying
his nephew's killers, and the 12-month-long Montgomery bus
boycott.
Fighting Back 1957-1962: The 1957 battle to integrate Central
High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and James Meredith's
1962 challenge to the white-only enrollment policy of the
University of Mississippi.
Ain't Scared of Your Jails 1960-1961: College students
begin to take a leadership role in the Civil Rights Movement.
Lunch counter sit-ins; the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC); the Freedom rides initiated by the Congress
of Racial Equality (CORE).
No Easy Walk 1961-1963: The new strategy of the mass demonstration,
as tried out in Albany, Georgia, and Birmingham, Alabama.
The emergence of Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on
Washington, D.C.
Mississippi: Is This America? 1962-1964: Both white resistance
to the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi and the equally
strong determination of white and black organizers to bring
Mississippi blacks into the political process.
Bridge to Freedom 1965: The march from Selma to Montgomery,
Alabama. Total time 6 hours, 1987, PBS, Blackside Inc. |
|
Eyes on the Prize II - Eyes on the Prize II: America at
the Racial Crossroads 1965-mid 1980s
The Time Has Come (1964-1966) reveals a new ideology within
the Civil Rights Movement, the insistent call for power,
as it gains popularity among black Americans. Malcolm X
and the Nation of Islam strike a resonant chord in New York.
Its echoes can be heard in the South, where the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) turns the call
for "Freedom Now!" into one for "Black Power!"
Two Societies (1965-1968): The Movement comes north. Martin
Luther King and the Chicago Freedom Movement confront the
Daley machine. Riots in Detroit.
Power! (1966-1968): This section explores three paths taken
to power. In Cleveland, the ballot box lifts Carl Stokes
to the office of mayor. The Black Panthers take up law books,
breakfast programs, and guns in Oakland. For a time, parents
win educational control of their public school district
in Brooklyn.
The Promised Land (1967-1968): This charts Martin Luther
King's often overlooked final year, from his declaration
of opposition to the war in Vietnam, through the beginning
of his Poor People's Campaign, to his 1968 assassination
in Memphis.
Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More (1964-1972): A new sense of
black pride and black consciousness is evidenced by a prizefighter
named Cassius Clay (a.k.a. Muhammad Ali), on the campus
of Howard University in Washington, D.C., and at the National
Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana.
A Nation of Law? (1968-71): The killing of two Black Panther
leaders in Chicago and the rebellion at New York's Attica
state prison that left 43 dead.
The Keys to the Kingdom (1974-80): Anti-discrimination
laws are put to the test. Boston's schools are ordered to
desegregate, but some whites resist violently. Affirmative
action scores a victory in Atlanta but is challenged with
the Bakke Supreme Court case.
Back to the Movement (1979-mid 80s): The powerlessness
of Miami's black community results in rioting in the Liberty
City section. But in Chicago, an unprecedented grassroots
crusade empowers the black community and takes Harold Washington
to victory as the city's first black mayor. The series ends
with a look back at the people who made this movement a
force for change in America.
Total time 8 hours, 1990, PBS. Blackside. |
February
One
 In
one remarkable day, four college freshmen changed the course
of American history. February One tells the inspiring
story surrounding the 1960 Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins
that revitalized the Civil Rights Movement and set an example
of student militancy for the coming decade. This moving film
shows how a small group of determined individuals can galvanize
a mass movement and focus a nation’s attention on injustice.
|
Finally
Got the News
Offers black workers' views of working conditions inside Detroit's
auto factories, focusing on the League of Revolutionary Black
Workers and their efforts to build an independent black labor
organization. Beginning with a historical montage, from the
early days of slavery through the subsequent growth and organization
of the working class, the film examines the crucial role of
the black worker in the American economy. 55 min., 1970, First
Run/Icarus. HS |
Four Little
Girls
Spike Lee takes an up-close look at a bombing that killed
four young girls and considers the impact this act had on
the Civil Rights Movement. Features film footage, home photographs,
comments, and interviews with family members, friends, and
Movement activists. All or part of this film can be shown
as a follow-up to students’ reading The Watsons Go to
Birmingham. 102 min., 1997, HBO Studies. MS/HS |
| Free
at Last Civil Rights Heroes Series
 Emmet
Till/Medgar Evers: Part 1
This program documents the stories of two of the Civil Rights
Movement's unsung heroes, individuals who were catalysts
for the Movement's progress and success. This segment presents
the story of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black youth who
was brutally beaten and shot in 1955 for allegedly whistling
at a white woman. His murder and the subsequent murder trial
brought national attention to the horrors of racism. The
program also focuses on the dramatic story of Medgar Evers,
a field secretary for the NAACP who was assassinated in
June 1963 in the front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi.
45 min., 1999, School Library Journal. HS
The Birmingham Four/Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman: Part
2
Documents the stories of several of the Civil Rights Movement's
martyrs, individuals who were catalysts for the Movement's
progress and success. The program presents the dramatic
story of the four young girls who were killed when a bomb
exploded during their Sunday school classes in Birmingham,
Alabama, on September 15, 1963. The program also looks at
the details of the murders of civil rights activists Michael
Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman and of the subsequent
federal trial of their killers. 45 min., 1999, School Library
Journal. HS
Viola Liuzzo/Rev. James Reeb/Jimmy Lee Jackson/Vernon Dahmer:
Part 3
The story of Jimmy Lee Jackson, whose death at the hands
of an Alabama State trooper spurred the march from Selma
to Montgomery. The program also looks at the details surrounding
the murder of Rev. James Reeb, a Unitarian minister from
Boston who traveled to Selma, Alabama, in March of 1965
for a protest march. His death at the hands of four locals
received national attention from Washington's political
establishment. The program also documents the story of Viola
Luizzo, a Michigan housewife who was killed by Ku Klux Klan
members while driving home from the Freedom March from Selma
to Montgomery, Alabama. The final segment of the program
looks at the murder of Vernon Dahmer, president of a local
chapter of the NAACP, who died in 1966 after the Ku Klux
Klan set fire to his home. The ringleader of the attack
was convicted of the crime 30 years later and sentenced
to life in prison. 45 min., 1999, School Library Journal.
HS |
Freedom
on My Mind
Nominated for an Academy Award, winner of both the American
Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians
awards for best documentary, this landmark film tells the
story of the Mississippi freedom movement in the early 1960s
when a handful of young activists changed history. We witness
the growing confidence and courage of poverty-stricken sharecroppers,
maids, and day laborers as they confront jail, beatings, and
even murder for the simple right to vote. One who joined the
campaign, Endesha Ida Mae Holland, a former prostitute, today
a Ph.D., recalls, "White people looked me in the face
for the first time. I couldn't turn back." 110 min.,
1994, California Newsreel. |
Freedom Song
 Danny
Glover, Vicellous Reon Shannon, Vondie Curtis Hall, and Loretta
Devine star in this dramatic account about the impact the
Civil Rights Movement had on a small Mississippi town in 1961.
The program presents the story of an African-American teenager
(Shannon) who joins a grassroots student crusade to desegregate
his hometown of Quinlan, Mississippi, even though his involvement
with the group threatens his relationship with his father
(Glover). Teaching Guide and background information at Turner
Learning. 117 min., 2000. MS/HS |
Fundi
Highlighting the turbulent 1960s, this film adds to our understanding
of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement by looking at its history
from the perspective of Ella Baker, the dynamic activist affectionately
known as the Fundi, a Swahili word for a person who passes
skills from one generation to another. Fundi reveals the instrumental
role that Ella Baker played in shaping the American Civil
Rights Movement. Fundi fills a gap for those who know little
of the history of the black struggle. It is a compelling portrait
of an extraordinary woman who has devoted her life to struggle
and to the people who take part in it." —Harry
Belafonte. Joanne Grant. 63 min., 1981, First Run/Icarus.
HS |
The
Global Assembly Line
Inside look at the lives and working conditions of women and
men employed in the “free trade zones” of North
America and Asia, as U.S. companies close their factories
searching the globe for a cheaper labor force. Provides a
close-up of the people who make the clothes worn and electronic
goods used in the U.S. 32 and 58 min. versions, New Day Films.
HS |
Hearts
and Minds
 Academy
Award-winning, controversial documentary on the war in Vietnam,
made while the war was still in progress. It is an agonizing
appraisal of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and a must for every
thinking American. The urgency and power of its message hits
where it hurts, and its logic and fairness are impressive.
58 min., 1975, Norma McLain Stoop, Peter Davis. HS |
A
History of the Civil Rights Movement
 Lynchings,
"Separate but Equal" facilities, and Jim Crow laws
provide the realistic backdrop for this insightful and moving
visual history of the Civil Rights Movement. The most dramatic
moments in the fight for equality are presented, from the
historic case of Plessy vs. Ferguson to roles of
many prominent African Americans like Booker T. Washington,
Marcus Garvey, A. Philip Randolph, Thurgood Marshall, Martin
Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Interviews with Andrew Young,
James Farmer, and other leading authorities, illuminate the
enduring spirit that inspired bus boycotts, lunch counter
sit-ins, freedom marches, and demonstrations. 1994, Schlessinger
Media. ES,MS,HS |
Ida B. Wells: Passion for Justice
Ida B. Wells, teacher, journalist, and life-long crusader
against racism and sexism in America, is profiled in William
Greaves’ documentary. Having herself been born into
slavery in a small Mississippi town, Wells called upon people
of conscience to bring moral, political, and economic pressures
to bear against the evils she identified. 58 min., 1989, The
American Experience Series. |
Incident
at Oglala
 Documentary
of the events at the Oglala Reservation which led to the shooting
of two FBI agents and the imprisonment of Native-American
activist Leonard Peltier. People on all sides of the issue
are interviewed, allowing students to draw their own conclusion
as to who was responsible. This video serves not only as a
documentary on the Peltier case, but also provides a rare
picture of conditions on Native-American reservations today.
Narrated by Robert Redford. 93 min., 1992, Miramax Films.
HS |
Intolerable
Burden
In the autumn of 1965, sharecroppers Mae Bertha and Matthew
Carter enrolled the youngest eight of their 13 children in
the public schools of Drew, Mississippi. The Intolerable Burden
places the Carter's commitment to obtaining a quality education
in context, by examining the conditions of segregation prior
to 1965, the hardships the family faced during desegregation,
and the massive white resistance, which led to resegregation.
While the town of Drew is geographically isolated, the patterns
of segregation, desegregation, and resegregation are increasingly
apparent throughout public education systems in the United
States. 56 min., 2003, First Run/Icarus Films. HS |
Judy
Baca: A World of Art Series
Judy Baca has dedicated her career to "giving voice"
to the marginalized communities of California, empowering
people through art. Her most well-known and ambitious project
is the Great Wall of Los Angeles, begun in 1976 and still
in progress. Nearly 400 inner-city youths, including members
of rival gangs, have worked on the Great Wall project, which
is more than a mile long. Baca believes that the collaborative
process and problem solving involved in making art—murals
in particular—can be used as the basis for social change.
This program shows Baca at work on two public art projects:
a mural for the student center at the University of Southern
California and a "re-peopling" of Fort Ord, the
now-deserted military base that was used as a staging area
during the Vietnam War. 30 min., 1996, A World of Art Series. |
The
Killing Floor
 Two
African-American men migrate from the country to Chicago during
World War I and land jobs in a packing house. They respond
very differently to the challenges presented. The film deals
forthrightly and effectively with racism in the workplace
and the union. It ends with 1919 riots and their aftermath.
118 min., 1985, Columbia Tri-Star Home Video. HS |
The
Lemon Grove Incident: A Story of Early Desegregation
In 1931, children of Mexican descent were barred from entering
the Lemon Grove Grammar School. Outraged that their children
were being denied the same quality of education as Anglo children,
the Mexican American community of this San Diego suburb sued
the Lemon Grove School Board and won. (The judge determined
that the children could not be segregated because they were
Caucasian.) The story of the nation's first successful legal
challenge to school segregation is told using a combination
of dramatized scenes, archival footage, and the recollections
of witnesses. 60min., 1986, KPBS. |
Living
the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky: Personal
Stories of the Fight for Racial Equality
 This
documentary, part of a multimedia project of the Kentucky
Oral History Commission, features Kentuckians who took part
in the Civil Rights Movement sharing their own stories of
the struggle for justice and equal treatment. It is designed
to give a feel for the times, to explain some of the issues
that were particularly important in Kentucky, and to inspire
young people by showing how people their age have made a difference
in society. To facilitate classroom use, the hour-long video
is divided into segments that may be viewed separately. Related
biographies, a historical timeline, and lesson plans written
by Kentucky teachers for various grade levels can be found
at www.ket.org. 60 min.,
2001, Kentucky Oral History Commission of the Kentucky Historical
Society. |
Lumumba
 This
video is a unique opportunity to reconsider the life and legacy
of one of the legendary figures of modern African history.
Like Malcolm X, Patrice Lumumba is remembered less for his
lasting achievements than as an enduring symbol of the struggle
for self-determination. Lumumba's vision of a united Africa
gained him powerful enemies: the Belgian authorities, who
wanted a much more paternal role in their former colony's
affairs, and the CIA, who supported Lumumba's former friend
Joseph Mobutu in order to protect U.S. business interests
in Congo's vast resources and their upper hand in the Cold
War power balance. The architects behind Lumumba's brutal
death in 1961, a mere nine months after becoming the country's
first Prime Minister, recently became known and are dramatized
for the first time in "Lumumba.” Extensive background
information and primary documents for classroom use available
at Zeitgeist Films.
115 min., 2000, Zeitgeist Films. HS |
Mighty
Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks
 In
the film, boycott participants and witnesses are joined by
their sons, daughters, grandchildren, cousins, nieces, and
nephews to tell the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The
film begins with the traditional focus on Rosa Parks, but
does provide very useful footage on the Bus Boycott overall.
Free for teachers. 40 min., 2002, Teaching Tolerance. ES-HS |
Montgomery Bus Boycott
 First grade teacher Maggie Donovan (former SNCC member) introduces her elementary school students to the desegregation of the buses, placing Rosa Parks in the context of the larger community efforts. We see how the lesson involves families, promotes literacy, and culminates with a student-authored play. 16 min., 2006, Teaching for Change. ES
|
Out
of the Past
A documentary about the history of gay rights movements in
America. Told through the eyes of Kelli Peterson, a 17-year-old
high school student in Salt Lake City, Utah, the film explores
Kelli's history-making experience of forming a Gay Straight
Alliance in her public school. It also profiles past movements
and their activists, providing a comprehensive account of
the gay and lesbian struggles throughout America's history.
For more information about the film visit PBS.
70 min., 1997. |
Resurgence:
The Movement for Equality vs. the Ku Klux Klan
Focusing on a bitter two-year strike led by black women against
a chicken processing plant in Laurel, Mississippi, Resurgence
contrasts two sides of a political battle in the United States:
efforts of union and civil rights activists to achieve social
and economic reform, and an upsurge of activity in the Ku
Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party. 54 min., 1981, First
Run/Icarus. |
The
Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
A landmark four-part series, The Rise and Fall of Jim
Crow explores segregation from the end of the civil war
to the dawn of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Lynchings
and beatings by night. Demeaning treatment by day. And a life
of crushing subordination for Southern blacks that was maintained
by white supremacist laws and customs known as "Jim Crow."
It was a brutal and oppressive era in American history, but
during this time, large numbers of African Americans and a
corps of influential black leaders bravely fought against
the status quo, amazingly acquiring for African Americans
the opportunities of education, business, land ownership,
and a true spirit of community. Informational website and
ordering information at PBS.org.
4 cassettes 56 min. each, California Newsreel, 2002. |
The
Road to Brown: The Man Who Killed Jim Crow
The Road to Brown is the story of segregation and the brilliant
legal assault on it, which launched the Civil Rights Movement.
It is also a moving and long overdue tribute to a visionary
but little known black lawyer, Charles Hamilton Houston, "the
man who killed Jim Crow." Moving from slavery to civil
rights, The Road to Brown provides a concise history of how
African Americans finally won full legal equality under the
Constitution from the precedent-setting cases Houston waged
during the 1930s, to the final posthumous 1954 triumph of
Brown v. Board of Education. It depicts the interplay between
race, law, and history. The example of Charles Houston's determination
will inspire today's students to take America further down
the long road to social justice. 56 min., 1990, California
Newsreel. |
Road
to Freedom: The Vernon Johns Story
 James
Earl Jones stars in this fact-based feature as Vernon Johns,
the preacher whose words gave birth to the Civil Rights Movement.
When racial violence leads to the rape of a young woman and
the brutal murder of a fellow church deacon, Johns urges his
congregation to stand up for their rights. "When you
see a good fight, join it!" Johns proclaims in this powerful
look at the beginnings of the most dramatic revolution of
the 20th century. 100 min., 1994. ES,MS,HS |
Ruby
Bridges
 Disney
presents this live-action film starring Kevin Pollak and Penelope
Ann Miller. When six-year-old Ruby is chosen to be the first
African American to integrate her local New Orleans elementary
school in the 1960s, she is subjected to the true ugliness
of racism for the first time. With the guidance and love of
her mother, Ruby struggles for a better education. Adapted
from the book by Robert Coles, child psychiatrist, Harvard
professor, and Pulitzer Prize winning author. He was witness
to Ruby's struggles and is played by Kevin Pollack. 90 min.,
1997, Buena Vista. ES-HS |
Salt
of the Earth
Social drama detailing the struggle for equality of Mexican-American
miners and their wives. The men must fight for the rights
enjoyed by their White co-workers, the women for equality
with the men. Based on an actual strike in Silver City, New
Mexico in 1951-52. Most of the roles are played by strikers
and their families. The film was financed by a miner’s
union. Many of the film professionals involved with the direction,
writing, and acting were prevented from working in Hollywood
at the time due to the McCarthy hearing accusations against
them. Visit the film
website. 94 min. |
Separate
But Equal
 Sidney
Poitier and Burt Lancaster star in this poignant film depicting
the Civil Rights Movement and the Supreme Court decision against
segregation. Poitier plays Thurgood Marshall, an NAACP lawyer
who later became the first black member of the Supreme Court.
See how he took one black community's plea for a single school
bus to the highest court in the nation.
186 min., 1991. Republic. ES-HS |
Standing on my Sisters Shoulders
One of the best films on the Civil Rights Movement, this award-winning documentary reveals the movement in Mississippi in the 1950s and 60s from the point of view of the courageous women who lived it- and emerged as its grassroots leaders. The film is full of riveting historical footage and original interviews with Fannie Lou Hammer, Annie Devine, Unita Blackwell, Mae Bertha Carter, Victoria Gray Adams and more. Voter registration, the fight for equal education, desegregation, and of course the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party's challenge at the Convention are featured. Order from Teaching for Change.
61 min., 2002, DVD
|
Strange
Fruit
In 1937, after seeing a photo depicting the lynching of a
black man in the South, Bronx-born high school teacher Abel
Meeropol wrote a poem entitled "Strange Fruit" that
begins with the words: "Southern trees bear a strange
fruit. Blood on the leaves and blood at the root." He
set the poem to music and a few years later Billy Holiday
recorded it in a legendary heartbreaking performance. The
film intertwines jazz genealogy, biography, performance footage,
and the history of lynching. 57 min., 2002, California Newsreel. |
Understanding
the Civil Rights Movement
This informative program explores the history behind the Civil
Rights Movement of the 1960s, featuring archival footage and
photographs. Details the events leading up to the Civil Rights
Movement of 1960s, including important legislation passed
after the American Civil War, the Jim Crow laws, and more.
The program highlights important protests and demonstrations
of the Civil Rights Movement, and illustrates how Black Americans
will able to overcome the constraints of a segregated society.
46 min., 2000, Educational Video Link. ES/MS |
The
Untold Story of Emmet Louis Till
People who knew Mamie Till Mobley call her the mother of the
Civil Rights Movement, yet she died in relative obscurity
in Chicago in the spring of 2003. The brutal murder of her
14-year-old son, Emmett Till, in Mississippi in August 1955
for allegedly whistling at a white woman did as much as anything
to spark the fight for civil rights. The crime touched the
nerves of sex and race. It was straight-up dynamite. Under
the threat of death, two sharecroppers—Willie Reed and
Moses Wright, Emmett's great uncle—gave testimony that
should have put away Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam. Instead,
an all-white jury acquitted the two men, who practically confessed
to the murder in a Look magazine article four months later.
In a place where a black man could die for eyeballing a white
person, think of the guts it took to walk into a hostile courtroom
and testify against two white men. Then there was Emmett's
mother, whose gracious grit made her son's murder an international
story. 2002, Keith Beauchamp. |
Viva
La Causa
The people united will never be defeated!. ¡Viva la
Causa! 500 Years of Chicano History, a two-part educational
video in English, offers a compelling introduction to the
history of Mexican-American people. Based on the book 500
Years of Chicano History in Pictures, edited by Elizabeth
Martinez, this video is suitable for youth in grades five-12
and up, as well as community gatherings. Part One of the video
depicts Mexican Americans from their pre-Columbian origins
through Spanish colonization, the U.S. takeover of today's
Southwest in 1848, the people's resistance, workers creating
great wealth, and their massive strikes, up to World War II.
Part Two includes the 1943 "Zoot Suit Riots," early
efforts to fight discrimination, the farmworkers' struggle,
student protests, the Chicano Moratorium against the U.S.
war in Vietnam, and new Chicano art. Two 30 min. tapes, 1995,
Elizabeth Martinez/South West Organizing Project. MS/HS |
We
Shall Overcome
An inspiring film that follows the development of the song
that became the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. It combines
archival footage with music and interviews, and invites students
to feel themselves part of the “We” in “We
Shall Overcome.” A good resource for teaching the Civil
Rights Movement and the role of song in social change. 58
min., 1989, California Newsreel. |
Zoot
Suit
 This
musical chronicles the life of Henry Reyna, leader of a group
of Mexican Americans who are set to do time in San Quentin
for their part in the Zoot Suit Riots in 1942 Los Angeles.
104 min., Luis Valdez, HS.
|
|
California
Newsreel
Educational videos on African-American life and history,
race relations and diversity training, African cinema, labor
studies, workplace issues, campus life, and media and society.
|
First
Run/Icarus Films
Distributor of progressive documentary films and videos. |
| Viewing
Race
A source for grassroots organizations, libraries, and other
nonprofits on the best of independent films and other resources
on the subjects of race and diversity. |
Women
Make Movies
A multicultural, multiracial, non-profit media arts organization
that facilitates the production, promotion, distribution,
and exhibition of independent films and videotapes by and
about women.
|
|
The
Long Road to Freedom: An Anthology of Black Music
 Between
1961 and 1971, Belafonte sought to create a comprehensive
document of what he calls "African-matrixed music":
"African rooted, Africa as origin, evolved from an
original African form." The rough timeframe Belafonte
follows begins with the arrival of blacks in America in
the early 17th century and ends at the dawn of the recording
age. Harry Belafonte, BMG, 2002. |
Remembering
Jim Crow: African Americans Tell about Life in the Segregated
South
 A
viscerally powerful book and compact-disc compilation of firsthand
accounts of the Jim Crow era drawing on the 1,200 interviews
with African Americans that make up the Duke University collection
called Behind the Veil: Documenting African American Life
in the Jim Crow South. Readers and listeners will confront
"the dailiness of the terror blacks experienced at the
hands of capricious whites" and of "the capacity
of the black community to come to each other's aid and invent
means of sustaining the collective will to survive."
The editors provide lucid historical context for recollections
of family, work, school, and church. Two one-hour compact
discs, 50 black-and-white photos, and the book: Chafe, William,
et al., eds. Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell
about Life in the Segregated South. New York, NY: New
Press, 2003. |
The
Best of Nina Simone
 Nina
Simone was a simply brilliant musician, a genius who has taken
in a wide range of influences—gospel, jazz, folk, classical,
blues, European art song, musical theater, and R&B, and
blended them together into unique works of art. Nina Simone,
1990 (1962), Polygram Records. |
Mississippi
Becomes a Democracy
This documentary tells the story of the 1960s voter registration
drive in Mississippi that culminated in Freedom Summer and
the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party's move to unseat
the regular delegation to the Democratic Convention in Atlantic
City in 1964. The documentary brings the story to life through
a combination of archive tape and recent interviews with legendary
civil rights activists. Interviews with some of the major
organizers, including Bob Moses and Fannie Lou Hamer, show
how the events of that year set the stage for sweeping reforms.
Interviews with today's generation of black politicians in
Mississippi show the fruit of those struggles and what remains
to be accomplished. 2003, Soundprint. |
Will
the Circle Be Unbroken? An Audio History of the Civil Rights
Movement in Five Southern Communities and the Music of Those
Times
 This
compilation takes listeners into the homes, schools, streets
and courtrooms of Atlanta, Georgia; Little Rock, Arkansas;
Jackson, Mississippi; Montgomery, Alabama; and Columbia, South
Carolina. It reveals how back room negotiations, federal intervention,
violent resistance, litigation, and mass movement came together
to form one of the most profound social phenomena of this
century. A 13-week listing guide is available online at the
series website. 1997, Southern Regional Council. |
American
Roots Collection
Includes 26 tracks from musicians such as the Freedom Singers,
Lead Belly, Woodie Guthrie, Josh White, and Sweet Honey in
the Rock. Smithsonian Folkways. Catalog #40062, 1996. |
Voices
of the Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs
1960-1966
Over 40 songs including “If You Miss Me from the Back
of the Bus,” “We Shall Not Be Moved,” “Woke
Up This Morning with My Mind on Freedom,” and “We
Shall Overcome.” Smithsonian Folkways. Catalog #40084. |
| |
|
