Freedom Song: Tactics for Transformation
Lesson by Alana D. Murray
The movie Freedom Song chronicles the impact that the Civil Rights Movement had on a small Mississippi town. Freedom Song serves as an excellent case study on the multiple strategies civil rights activists utilized in order to create social change.
Freedom Song is by far one of the best films for secondary students about the Civil Rights Movement. In this powerful drama with a young boy as the protagonist, students get a first-hand picture of the real violence and challenges faced by Movement activists, and their tactics, strengths, and courage. Often movies oversimplify history. This film is engaging and understandable without sacrificing the complexity. Students come to understand what the Movement really looked like beyond the March on Washington. The issues introduced include: the range of legal and illegal tactics used by the white power structure to maintain the status quo; the ways in which the African-American community both protected itself in the short run and was preparing itself in the long run for change; intergenerational collaboration and conflicts; the relationship between the local and national—both with the government and with the Movement groups; and much more. The one area in the movie that could be strengthened is the critical role women played in the Civil Rights Movement.
Aimed primarily at secondary students, this lesson seeks to provide students with the critical viewing skills needed to analyze the complex interplay between oppression and resistance in the Civil Rights Movement.
Grade Level: High School
Time Required: A few class periods
Objectives
Students analyze the nature of oppression.
Students identify multiple strategies utilized in the Civil Rights Movement to resist the layers of institutional racism.
Students refine critical viewing skills.
Materials
Film: Freedom Song. Directed by Phil Alden Robinson. (Turner Network Television, Inc., 2000)
Student Handout 1: Defining Oppression and Resistance
Student Handout 2: Freedom Song: Analyzing Oppression and Resistance
Teacher Handout: Synopsis and Film Guide to Freedom Song
Background: A Brief History of SNCC (see Voting Rights Section of this book)
Procedure
Put students into collaborative pairs. You can pair students in a variety of ways (by birthdays, by choice, by age). These pairs will be critical to the success of the activity. Students will be working in pairs throughout the film.
Once paired, assign students one of the following two words: oppression or resistance. Inform the students as they watch the movie that they are looking for examples of both oppression and resistance. Provide each pair with Student Handout 1: Defining Oppression and Resistance.
In Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice the authors suggest an activity that allows students to delve into the very difficult definition of oppression. In their paired groups students will first brainstorm examples of oppression at three different levels: individual, institutional, and societal/cultural. You should suggest to students that they brainstorm examples that are relevant to their own lives. If students are struggling, teachers could suggest the following examples of oppression:
Taunting individuals based on their appearance (individual)
Denying people access to jobs based on their gender, sexual orientation, or race (institutional)
Denying students the opportunity to attend a school based on their race (institutional)
Denying individuals the right to vote (institutional)
Denial of membership in private organizations such as country clubs, sororities, or fraternities based on a person’s race, gender, or sexual orientation (societal/cultural)
After brainstorming examples of oppression, students in their pairs should brainstorm examples of individual and collective acts of resistance. (It can be helpful for students to draw pictures of the terms prior to brainstorming.) Teachers can also suggest examples of resistance, such as:
Questioning the policies of your school or community which seem unfair (individual)
Refusal by an individual to vacate her or his seat on a public accommodation that unfairly discriminates against individuals (individual)
Organizing by a group or organization to march, walkout, or register voters in order to fight against institutional oppression (group)
Debrief the brainstorming activity with students and introduce students to Freedom Song. Tell students that in this movie we will examine how both oppression and resistance are interwoven in the fictional small southern town of Quinlan, Mississippi. Teachers should explain that both oppression and resistance affect the town in subtle and overt manners.
At this point it is appropriate for the teacher to begin providing directions for the movie. As students watch the movie one of the paired partners will examine the movie for examples of oppression (individual, group, and societal oppression). While one partner looks for signs of oppression, the other student should examine the movie for examples of resistance. Students should be directed to Student Handout 2: Freedom Song: Analyzing Oppression and Resistance.
As the students watch the film the teacher should refer to Teacher Handout: Synopsis and Film Guide to Freedom Song. The film guide provides a roadmap for appropriate points to stop during the movie and process with your students. At the end of each segment it is critical for teachers to allow for time for the collaborative pairs to share their examples with each other.
The richness and depth of this movie allow for multiple ways for the movie to be processed with students. Teachers could emphasize the themes of nonviolence v. self-defense, themes of leadership and empowerment of young people in the Civil Rights Movement, an analysis of the role of the federal government, and the use of songs and rhetoric to motivate and inspire change. Using their notes from the film, students can do the following:
Select three examples in the movie that reflect Martin Luther King Jr.’s perspective on fighting oppression.
“Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such crises and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.” —Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
Identify three examples in the movie that reflect Malcolm X’s perspective on fighting oppression.
“Last but not least, I must say this concerning the great controversy over rifles and shotguns. The only thing that I’ve ever said is that in areas where the government has proven itself either unwilling or unable to defend the lives and the property of Negroes, it’s time for the Negroes to defend themselves.” —Malcolm X, “The Ballot or the Bullet”
Write a short response to the question: Which strategy was the most effective at creating social change?
After students complete these reflections, discuss the interplay between theories of nonviolence and self-defense within the context of the Civil Rights Movement.