Framing the Movement

Resources for framing the Civil Rights Movement for students and ourselves.


traditional-narrative.jpg

QUIZ

Civil Rights Movement Mythbusters Quiz
By Teaching for Change

Through this quiz, and the answers that appear after each question, participants learn some of the history of the Civil Rights Movement that is all too often omitted from the textbooks.


READING

Key Narratives for Teaching about the Civil Rights Movement
By Deborah Menkart and Judy Richardson

A list of key narratives that are central to an accurate study of the history of the Civil Rights Movement. The list can be used as a guide to critique textbooks, mainstream media, and curricula.


TN-Rosa.jpg

READING

Key Issues in Race and Education Timeline
By Andrea Guiden, Akashi Kaul, and Jenice L. View

A timeline highlighting key moments in the history of race and education.


TN-eyes-on-prize.jpg

READING

Teaching Eyes on the Prize, Teaching Democracy
By Judy Richardson

Description of the Eyes on the Prize documentary miniseries, the themes that weave throughout, and how the series can enrich classroom learning.


1_u4w54gjSd7NxdebUgY7rxw.png

READING

And the Youth Shall Lead Us: Stories of Young People on the Frontlines of U.S. Social Movements
By Allison Acosta, Allyson Criner Brown, and Deborah Menkart

These stories demonstrate that young people have played a lead role ― standing on the shoulders of those who came before them ― throughout U.S. history. It helps dispel the exceptional narratives perpetrated by the corporate media when they highlight selected groups and individuals (generally white students) such as the Parkland students and Greta Thunberg. Their important and brave work needs to be presented in a fuller context.


READING

Big Shoes to Fill
By Deborah Menkart

A community building activity for teachers or students to write about "in whose shoes I walk for justice" or some way they have walked for justice in their shoes.


TN-button.png

READING

Uncovering the Movement: A Staff Development Seminar
By Alana D. Murray

A workshop designed to give teachers and other school staff a chance to examine their own understanding of the Civil Rights Movement and consider the impact of the traditional narrative on students.


READING

Resistance 101: A Lesson on Social Justice Activists and Strategies
By Allison Acosta and Deborah Menkart

A lesson to introduce students to people throughout U.S. history, including many young people, who fought for social justice and civic change using a range of strategies.


Edna-Griffin.jpeg

READING

The Myth-Busting History of Edna Griffin
By Katy Swalwell and Jennifer Gallagher

Edna Griffin’s life work provides a powerful counter narrative to the traditional framing of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. She was a woman living in the North who used court cases, boycotts, sit-ins, and protests to improve her community starting well before 1954. Through her decades of activism, she strategically employed a range of tactics from radical direct action to more moderate approaches rooted in a politics of respectability. She also made connections between racism and other social concerns like war, labor struggles, education, and criminal justice.


Additional Resources


LESSONS AND TEACHING REFLECTIONS

 
 
 

Additional lessons for framing the Civil Rights Movement, including Women Make History, a poetry lesson, a lesson on Native American boarding schools, and several more.

 

READINGS

 
Instruction_in_nonviolent_selfdefense_June_1964.jpg

Additional readings for framing the Civil Rights Movement, including an interview of Bernice Johnson Reagon about “The Borning Struggle” and a piece on teaching about the pivotal year 1963.

 

BOOKLISTS

 
CRT_general.png
 

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Films, videos, and archives for teaching about the Civil Rights Movement.