Murder Mystery: Shining a Light on the Story That the Newspapers Left Out
Lesson by Allyson Criner Brown, Deborah Menkart, and Jenice L. View
The murder of Mississippi voting rights activist Herbert Lee, and subsequent murder of witness Louis Allen, were key events in the history of the modern Civil Rights Movement. However, they were barely mentioned in the local press at the time and the story is missing from textbooks and public memory today.
Patriotism over Democracy: A Critical Analysis of U.S. History Textbooks
Reading by James Loewen
Examination of how U.S. history textbooks misrepresent the role of the federal government in foreign and domestic policy, minimizing the potential power of the people.
Mississippi Burning Is Still Burning: A Critical Film Review
Reading by Judy Richardson
A critical review of the film Mississippi Burning, which characterizes the local African American community as passive victims of racist violence and lifts the role of the FBI to heroic proportions.
Voting Rights Act: Beyond the Headlines
Reading by Emilye Crosby and Judy Richardson
Key points missing from most textbooks about the Voting Rights Act. Many textbooks approach the history of this important legislation through a top-down lens that gives most of the credit to President Lyndon Johnson, along with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but the VRA came into being through intensive organizing and activism spearheaded by the Black community.
Children’s Book on Ella Baker: A SNCC Veteran’s Review
Reading by Judy Richardson
A critical review of the picture book, Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker.
Reinventing My Teaching about the Civil Rights Movement
Teaching Reflection by Alana D. Murray
Murray describes how she rethought her teaching about the Civil Rights movement to align pedagogically with Ella Baker's ideals, relying on the critical role of colleagues and traditional local leadership in creating and sustaining change.
Freedom Fighter: The Life and Legacy of Ms. Dorie Ladner
Interview by Maestra Productions
Dorie Ladner was a passionate civil rights activist and leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This interview about her life was conducted in 2017 by Maestra Productions in collaboration with Bowie State University Department of Fine and Performing Arts and Teaching for Change.