Films About the Civil Rights Movement
Resource by the Zinn Education Project
A selection of films about the Civil Rights Movement.
Looking for Justice at Turkey Creek: Out of the Classroom and into the Past
Teaching Reflection by Hardy Thames
Students study the African-American community of Turkey Creek, Mississippi, exploring whether the changes in the community relate to social and economic growth or social justice issues and then create projects with research and action components.
Teaching Eyes on the Prize, Teaching Democracy
Reading by Judy Richardson
Richardson shares key insights and considerations for teachers when using the Eyes on the Prize film.
At the River I Stand: The 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Reading by California Newsreel
The documentary film At the River I Stand skillfully reconstructs the two eventful months that transformed a strike by Memphis sanitation workers into a national conflagration, and disentangles the complex historical forces that came together with the inevitability of tragedy at the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
A School Year Like No Other, Eyes on the Prize: Fighting Back: 1957–1962
Lesson by Bill Bigelow
Students write poetry or prose in reaction to viewing "Eyes on the Prize: Fighting Back 1957-62" and two readings.
Freedom Song: Tactics for Transformation
Lesson by Alana Murray
Freedom Song is by far one of the best films for secondary students about 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.