Primary
PBS

Pbs: African American World History

For Students 9th - 10th
Featuring an excerpt from a memoir written by Ruby Bridges telling of her experience as the first African American child to attend an all white elementary school in New Orleans in the year 1960.
Primary
NBC

Nbc Learn: Finishing the Dream: 1955 56: Buses and Boycotts

For Students 9th - 10th
A collection of archival video clips covering the early days of the civil rights movement in the United States. Looks at reaction to the lynching of a teenager named Emmett Till in Chicago, Rosa Park's protest, the Montgomery Bus...
Handout
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: Ruby Bridges

For Students 9th - 10th
A biographical look at Ruby Bridges who became famous at six years of age by being the first Black child to attend a desegregated school in America.
Article
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Webisode 14: Let Freedom Ring

For Students 9th - 10th
Series episode covers the civil rights movement and the struggle for equality in post-World War II America.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Activist

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Through two primary source activities and a short video, students will learn about Parks' lifelong commitment to the Civil Rights Movement.
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson on the Civil Rights movement is organized into three sections: "Identifying the Need for Change," "Ordinary People in the Civil Rights Movement," and "Historic Places in the Civil Rights Movement."
Primary
University of Groningen

American History: Documents: Plessy v. Ferguson 1896

For Students 9th - 10th
View this document to access background information and the opinions of the Supreme Court in the Plessy v. Ferguson case (1896).
Website
Other

Apartheid Museum: Understanding Apartheid

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This is an extensive teaching and study unit on apartheid in South Africa, complete with teacher notes and assessment materials. It looks at the historical roots of apartheid until the release from prison of Nelson Mandela in 1990. It...
Lesson Plan
Other

Historical Thinking Matters: Rosa Parks: Intro

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Extensive teaching aid to help students understand the Montgomery Bus Boycott using primary sources such as letters, police reports, leaflets, and speeches. Includes many student activities and resources.
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Contesting Futures: America in the 1960s: The Kennedy Promise

For Students 11th - 12th
Discusses Kennedy's rise to power and the challenges he faced from within the government, his focus on foreign policy, the conflict with Cuba, American involvement in Vietnam, support for racial equality and civil rights, and Kennedy's...
Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Dwight Eisenhower: Domestic Affairs

For Students 9th - 10th
President Eisenhower tried to follow a middle road in proposing and supporting domestic affairs during his presidency. Read about the policies he put forward. Read also about his dealing with Senator Joseph McCarthy, and his spotty...
Website
Other

United Nations: Historical Images of Apartheid in South Africa

For Students 9th - 10th
Follow the history of the apartheid government in South Africa, from its formation to racial discrimination to the efforts by the UN to abolish apartheid. An extensive gallery of captioned photos creates a dramatic visual history.
Website
Other

Civil Rights Movement Veterans

For Students 9th - 10th
Remembrances of Civil Rights Movement workers who were active in the 1960s and '70s. Excellent site to gauge the impact of the movement on the workers themselves. Information about the Movement with eyewitness stories, poetry,...
Website
Other

Helium: The History of Apartheid in South Africa

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about Apartheid in South Africa, and what the main reasons were that worked toward it coming to an end. Very informative information.
Handout
Digital History

Digital History: To the Heart of Dixie

For Students 9th - 10th
In the early 1960s civil rights activists put the ban on segregation to the test. In 1961, "Freedom riders," boarded buses headed south to test the federal ban on segregated travel. And in 1962, the University of Mississippi was ordered...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Out of the Night That Covers Me

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Through the novel Out of the Night That Covers Me, students will explore the impact of racial segregation, family heritage, and the historical significance of pre-civil rights Alabama. This unit of study is recommended for students in...
Primary
Thurgood Marshall Website

Thurgood Marshall: The Bicentennial Speech: Remarks of Thurgood Marshall

For Students 9th - 10th
Text of Thurgood Marshall's Bicentennial Speech given in 1987, in which Marshall pointed out the inadequacies of the U.S. Constitution in addressing civil rights and liberties.
Lesson Plan
Yale University

Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: Supreme Court Rules on School Desegregation

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This thoughtful unit explores the history of school desegregation legislation, including a discussion of the impact of the Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education decisions. A six-week plan of lessons, along with other sample...
Website
University of Virginia

Virginia Center for Digital History: Television News of the Civil Rights Era

For Students 9th - 10th
A rich collection of streaming video samples of television news footage from 1950 to 1970, along with an assortment of primary source documents, first-person accounts, a glossary of terms, and essays and analysis for learning about the...
Website
South Carolina Educational Television

South Carolina Etv Commission: Celebrate Freedom: Tuskegee Airmen

For Students 9th - 10th
A multimedia experience about the Tuskegee Airmen, an all African American flying squadron established in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1941. This exhibit celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the struggles and accomplishments of this group of...
Website
Other

New York Public Library: Africana Age: The Civil Rights Movement

For Students 9th - 10th
This is an extensive review of the Civil Rights movement from the 1940s to the 1960s. Read about the ways African Americans protested discrimination in employment and education over several years. Be sure to click on the images to find...
Article
Curated OER

History Matters: "Says Lax Condidtions Caused Race Riots"

For Students 9th - 10th
Read several articles from the Chicago Daily News on July 28, 1919, reporting on the various aspects of the Chicago race riots. One article, by Carl Sandburg, used sources from the black community.
Lesson Plan
University of California

History Project: Chicago Race Riot, 1919

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson plan for high school students explores the race riot in Chicago in the summer of 1919. Students are asked to explain the reasons for the riot and address the questions in the lesson plan. Included are excerpts from 26 primary...
Website
Other

In Pursuit of Freedom & Equality: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

For Students 9th - 10th
Teachers and students can find a comprehensive summary of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case. Learn about the myths and find out the truth. The activities offered are especially meaningful. Students can perform a...

Other popular searches