The Role of Black Landowners in the Civil Rights Movement
Teaching Idea by Tiferet Ani
Black landowners provided an indispensable support base for the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, as documented in the 82-minute Emmy Award-winning documentary Dirt and Deeds in Mississippi. California Newsreel describes the film, directed by David Shulman and narrated by Danny Glover:
Dirt and Deeds in Mississippi uncovers the largely unknown and pivotal role played by Black landowning families in the deep South who controlled over a million acres in the 1960s. They were prepared to put their land and their lives on the line in the fight for racial equality and the right to vote in America’s most segregated and violently racist state. In the face of escalating terror, Black landowners and independent farmers provided safe havens, collateral for jail bonds, armed protection, and locations for Freedom Schools. They were often the first to attempt to register to vote and run for public office.
Find teaching ideas below for use in conjunction with film: a Socratic Seminar, a textbook revision project, and ideas for further research.
Grade Level: High School
Time Required: Two to three class periods
Teaching Idea 1: Socratic Seminar
Observations
The film Dirt and Deeds in Mississippi is a complex text. As students watch the film, direct them to capture their thoughts in the following three columns:
Emotional reaction to the film.
New learning and powerful ideas that inspired me.
Critical thinking or analysis questions for students to discuss.
Prepare for Discussion
Form student groups and have each group discuss their thoughts from each column. Have each group choose 1-2 of the student-generated analysis questions that resulted in the best discussions and the most complex thinking to nominate for the classwide Socratic Seminar.
Form a Hypothesis in Response to Questions
As students watch the film, have them take notes on the following questions. This will help them prepare for the seminar.
What is the argument of the film? What evidence is used to support the argument? How convincing did you find the film?
What are the main themes, motifs, and symbols in the film? How do they work together to create a rich narrative and work of art?
Why has the narrative illustrated by the film remained hidden for so long
How do political and economic power or the lack thereof reinforce each other?
How has the promise of land been associated with betrayal throughout history for Black communities? What other groups have a similar experience?
To what extent did the federal government play a positive role in this film? How?
How were state discrimination, individual/organizational violence, and financial power used to oppress civil rights activists?
How did Black communities in Holmes County protect themselves and fight for their rights? Which methods do you think were most effective?
Which voices were included throughout the film? How did they add to the film’s effectiveness?
How did events in Mississippi in 1964 impact the broader national Civil Rights Movement?
Socratic Seminar Questions
One of the individuals featured in the film said that without “change from the ground up” the movement wouldn’t have been successful. What was meant by this? Do you agree? Why or why not? Please cite examples of “change from the ground up” in the film to support your responses.
Ruby Magee said, “Owning land meant having choices. Some say knowledge is power but I think land is power.” Which word pair best demonstrates the main idea of the film Dirt and Deeds:
ownership/nonownership
violence/nonviolence
activism/passive resistance
federal government assistance/local organizing
Writing
Following the seminar have students choose one discussion question that resonated most with them and respond to it in writing. Students should incorporate their thoughts, the thoughts of peers, and their reaction in their response. Allow students creative license by not requiring the response to be traditional — a graphic response, poem, etc. should be accepted as long the question and all components are included.
Adapted from Facing History & Ourselves and Cult of Pedagogy.
Teaching Idea 2: Textbook Critique
Prior to screening the film, have students read the information provided on the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project in the textbook you use. Here is an example from Discovering Our Past: A History of the United States (McGraw-Hill Education, 2014, pg. 831).
Freedom Summer Campaign
President Kennedy did not live to see passage of his civil rights bill. He was assassinated in November 1963. President Lyndon Johnson took up the challenge. He pushed Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law outlawed discrimination in hiring. It ended segregation in stores, restaurants, theaters, and hotels. Yet even with this powerful new law, poll taxes and other laws kept African Americans from using their right to vote in many states.
In the summer of 1964, thousands of civil rights workers volunteered to work in the South. Their goal was to help African Americans register, or enroll, to vote. Freedom summer workers faced strong, sometimes violent, opposition. The murder of three young civil rights workers in Mississippi deeply disturbed the nation.
2. As students watch the film direct them to complete the following three-column chart:
Information in the textbook corroborated by the film.
Information in the textbook not corroborated by the film.
Information in the textbook contradicted by the film.
3. Have students discuss their findings and brainstorm additional questions they need answered in order to be able to revise the textbook’s account and where to find that information.
4. After conducting any additional research, direct students to revise the textbook entry for Freedom Summer by including information and primary sources from the film as well as any other sources found in their research. Direct students to connect how African Americans’ relationship to the land supported the work of the activists in the Freedom Summer.
Teaching Idea 3: Further Investigation
Have students form groups and choose one of the following people or topics mentioned in the film (or others requested by students) to conduct further research using secondary and primary sources:
Robert Moses.
40 Acres and a Mule.
Southern Tenant Farmers Union.
New Deal Milestone Project.
Freedom Schools.
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Fannie Lou Hamer.
Robert Clark.
John Lewis.
Ruby Magee.
Mississippi Literacy Tests.
Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission.
Direct students to create a presentation on the individual, group, or topic that explains the significance of the subject and how the subject either contributed to or resisted the Civil Rights Movement. Presentation formats can include:
A website.
A video.
A performance.
A museum exhibit.
A proposal for a monument for a laudatory person or group.