Songs of the South

Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...

Though often used in shows of patriotism, Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "Born in the U.S.A." is critical of America's role in the Vietnam war and its treatment of American veterans. High schoolers analyze the song's lyrics in an activity...

Discuss South African apartheid, the anti-apartheid movement, and the literature and music it inspired. Slides contain images and facts about life in South Africa during apartheid, social uprisings such as Soweto, and the various...

Students view and discuss The 25 Greatest Protest Songs video as compiled by VH1. They focus on when and why each of the songs were written, looking for patterns.

Students listen to and discuss the purpose of protest music. They analyze an editorial cartoon related to Jim Crow and read questions from the literacy tests given to African-Americans. They work together to write a song about the...

Learners read New York Times articles, letters, and listen to songs written from a soldier's perspective during the Civil War in order to understand who was fighting in the Union Army. This is a great lesson, complete with weblinks,...

Here is a complex lesson that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. This plan helps young historians develop a deep understanding...

Somewhere around 660,000 South African children have been orphaned due to AIDS diagnoses in their family. Carol Dyanti, or Mama Carol, has dedicated herself to providing for these children. Discuss other prominent figures and their...

Pupils analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of the anti-lynching...

“Nobody knows de trouble I’ve had/Nobody knows but Jesus/Nobody know de trouble I’ve had/Glory hallelu!” What do slave songs reveal about the role of religion in the lives of slaves? Class members read “An Introduction to the Church in...