The Role of Freedom Songs
Desegregation Josh Davidson Desegregation Josh Davidson

The Role of Freedom Songs

Reading by SNCC Digital Gateway
One cannot understand the history of the Civil Rights Movement absent the role of freedom songs. Here is a description of their importance from the SNCC Digital Gateway, followed by the song “If You Miss Me from the Back of the Bus.”

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Teaching About Race and the Media
Traditional Narrative Josh Davidson Traditional Narrative Josh Davidson

Teaching About Race and the Media

Lesson by Julian Hipkins III
The corporate media portrayed events happening across the country through a lens of white supremacy, ignoring or misreporting tales of state sponsored terrorism. This lesson introduces students to the impact of the corporate media on the Civil Rights Movement, the role of the Black press, and organizing by African Americans to hold the white press accountable.

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Congo, Coltan, and Cell Phones: A People’s History
Transnational Solidarity Allison Acosta Transnational Solidarity Allison Acosta

Congo, Coltan, and Cell Phones: A People’s History

Lesson by Alison Kysia
More than 5 million people have been killed in Democratic Republic of the Congo since the late 1990s. Just as the bloodshed of the colonial period was financed by highly lucrative natural resources like rubber, the violence today is likewise fueled by natural resources, including coltan, a mineral required for cell phone production. This role play activity allows students to look back at Congo’s history and see the connections between the brutality of colonialism and the contemporary injustice in Congo.

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“Is This America?” 50 Years Ago Sharecroppers Challenged Mississippi Apartheid, LBJ, and the Nation
Voting Rights Josh Davidson Voting Rights Josh Davidson

“Is This America?” 50 Years Ago Sharecroppers Challenged Mississippi Apartheid, LBJ, and the Nation

Reading by Julian Hipkins III and Deborah Menkart
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party arrived at the 1965 Democratic Party Convention in Atlantic City on a bus with more than 60 sharecroppers, farmers, housewives, teachers, maids, deacons, ministers, factory workers, and small-business owners. Students can learn from the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party about how to take on the Goliaths in politics.

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Exploring the History of Freedom Schools
Voting Rights Josh Davidson Voting Rights Josh Davidson

Exploring the History of Freedom Schools

Lesson by Deborah Menkart and Jenice L. View
This lesson uses primary documents to introduce the history and philosophy of Freedom Schools. The lesson is inquiry-based, hands-on, and engages students in critical reflection. Therefore, students learn about Freedom Schools not only from the readings, but they also experience the pedagogy. 

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