Civil Rights

Students deepen their knowledge of the civil rights icon and listen to and share their thoughts and reflections.

Does "freedom of speech" extend to hate speech? Is countering hate a form of free speech? Students explore current controversies over free speech rights, including at schools and colleges.

Did the Civil Rights Movement only involve the South? Was it the product of a few great leaders? In this lesson, students deepen their understanding of the civil rights movement, explore some mythologies surrounding it, and consider how sometimes "history" distorts the truth.   

This lesson uses current civil disobedience actions by the Poor People's Campaign as an invitation to explore why people engage in civil disobedience. Students consider the goals, pros and cons, and risks of this type of action through small group discussion, video, and other methods.  (Also see thi...

Critics charge that the real goal of a new federal commission to investigate voter fraud is to justify efforts to make it more difficult for people of color to vote.  Students learn about and discuss the controversy.  

In this lesson, students learn about the controversy over new federal guidelines aimed at ensuring that "transgender students enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment." Students explore their own responses to it, and discuss how they can make their school welcoming to transgender...

Students learn about and discuss  the US Department of Justice's report on the Ferguson Police Department and consider reforms that would address the injustices described in the report.   

In this circle activity, students share their thoughts and feelings about events in Ferguson and reflect on a quote about protest from Martin Luther King Jr.

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. In this lesson, students explore the interplay of this legislation with the Civil Rights Movement, and consider what role everyday people play in making change.

This lesson consists of two student readings followed by discussion questions. The first reading reviews the history of the Freedom Summer project, which took place 50 years ago. The second reading discusses some of the challenges to voting rights that we face today.