Lighting the Fire for Freedom:
Moments in the Struggle for Equality in America
Name: ______
Remember to follow the assignment for each page. Some will require full, well-developed sentences.
Purpose: The purpose of this packet is to allow you to document the knowledge you gain while we examine various moments in the American Civil Rights Movement. You should use this packet while you are reading and watching the various documentaries we will view.
Directions: Your task for each of the moments is to find out the who, what, when, where, why and how of these significant instances in history. For many of the moments you will be asked to find a quote or a line that best captures something about the moment. For some of the moments, you will be asked additional, specific questions. Your answers should be written in full, well-developed sentences when this is assigned for homework.
The following chart contains the names / titles of all of the resources you will likely use in this unit. Please put a check next to each resource after you have read it or viewed it. Please also put the date on which you read / viewed the resource.
Resource: / Read / Viewed: / Date:“Prologue” / ______/ ______
“Tuskegee Airmen” / ______/ ______
“Baseball’s Finest Moment” / ______/ ______
“Brown v. the Board of Education” / ______/ ______
The Murder of Emmett Till / ______/ ______
“The Montgomery Bus Boycott” / ______/ ______
Warriors Don’t Cry / ______/ ______
“The Sit-Ins” / ______/ ______
“The Freedom Rides” / ______/ ______
4 Little Girls / ______/ ______
“Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” / ______/ ______
“The Second Emancipation Proclamation” / ______/ ______
“The March on Washington” / ______/ ______
“Mississippi Freedom Summer” / ______/ ______
“The Civil Rights Act of 1964” / ______/ ______
“Selma” / ______/ ______
“The Voting Rights Act of 1965” / ______/ ______
“Meredith March, Chicago, Black Panthers” / ______/ ______
“Separate and Unequal” / ______/ ______
These readings will be distributed in class.
1954: The Tinder
Brown v. the Board of Education
· When did the decision come down from the Court (when was it issued)?
· Where were the five school districts that were being sued located?
· What did the decision say? Explain the positive and negative aspects of the decision.
· Why was the court case necessary?
· Who were the important people in the court case? Include Marshall and the Clarks in your explanation.
· How was this court case different from the other legal battles the NAACP had engaged in?
· How does the case show the power of individuals or groups to create change?
1955: The Spark
The Murder of Emmett Till
· When did the murder occur?
· Where did the murder occur? Color Mississippi red on the map on the 1961 page.
· What happened to Emmett Till?
· Why wasn’t justice served in the Emmett Till murder case?
· Who were the important people involved in this tragic event? Give a brief description of each.
· How does the Emmett Till murder impact the people of the United States?
· Write down one memorable line from the video and explain why you think it is important.
1955: The Flame Begins to Catch
The Montgomery Bus Boycotts
· When did the bus boycotts take place?
· Where is Alabama? Color it orange on the map on the 1961 page.
· What happened in Montgomery from December 1, 1955 until the boycott ended?
· Why shouldn’t Rosa Parks be described as ‘tired’ and ‘old’?
· Who were the important people involved in the boycott? Choose at least two and describe their role in the boycott.
· How did the Montgomery bus boycott effect the economy of Montgomery?
· How do the boycotts show the power of individuals to create change?
1957: Little Rock Is Burning
The Little Rock Nine
· When did the legal battle to integrate Little Rock Central High School (LRCHS) begin?
· Where is Arkansas? Color it yellow on the map on the 1961 page.
· What is Melba talking about when she says that “it felt as though we always had a white foot pressed against the back of our necks”? (7) Give two specific examples of the “white foot.”
· Why are the nine students willing to make such extraordinary sacrifices to attend LRCHS?
· Who were the leading political figures involved in the integration? Explain at least two and tell their role the integration.
· How does the battle to integrate LRCHS illustrate the struggle between state and federal government? Support your answer with a quote from the book.
· Do you believe the integration of LRCHS was a success? Answer the question with a quote from the text and explain your answer.
1960: Grass Roots Add Fuel to the Fire
Sit-Ins
· When did the Sit-Ins begin?
· Where did the Sit-Ins begin? In what city? Shade North Carolina green on the 1961 map.
· What happened during the Sit-Ins?
· Why are the Sit-Ins known as a “grass-roots” movement? (Use a dictionary.)
· Who were the leading people involved in the Sit-Ins? Explain the roles of at least two of them.
· How do the Sit-Ins demonstrate civil disobedience?
· Look up SNCC and the SCLC. If you had to chose to join either SNCC or the SCLC, which would you join and why?
1961: Fire to Fight Fire
The Freedom Rides
· When did the freedom rides begin?
· Where did the freedom riders travel? Star the states in which freedom rides took place.
· What happened to the freedom riders?
· Why were they riding across the South?
· Who organized the violence that met the freedom riders?
· How do the freedom rides illustrate the conflict between state and federal government?
1963: The Fires of Freedom Burn
Bombingham
· When did each of the following take place?
The Children’s Marches: ______
The forced integration of University of Alabama: ______
The Second Emancipation Proclamation: ______
The murder of Medgar Evers: ______
The bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church: ______
· Where is Alabama? Highlight it on the map on the previous page.
· What happened in each of the following moments:
The Children’s Marches:
The forced integration of University of Alabama:
The Second Emancipation Proclamation:
The murder of Medgar Evers:
The bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church:
· Why was Birmingham such an important city?
· Who are each of the following people and what is their role in Birmingham in 1963?
John F. Kennedy:
George Wallace:
Martin Luther King, Jr.:
Eugene “Bull” Connor:
Fred Shuttlesworth:
· How did the deaths of Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins create change? Support your answer with historical events from the reading and the film. Your events could be from years after 1963.
1964: Mississippi is Burning
Freedom Summer
· When did the denial of black Americans’ right to vote become widespread in the South?
· Where did the workers during freedom summer come from?
· What happened to Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney?
· Why was Freedom Summer necessary?
· Who were the perpetrators of the crimes that took place during Mississippi Freedom Summer?
· How did the Civil Rights Act change federal law? How did Freedom Summer change federal law?
· Write down one memorable line from the reading that demonstrates the courage shown by black and white Americans in Mississippi in 1964.
1965: The Fire of Freedom Burns
Selma
· When did the tools used to prevent Selma’s residents from voting become illegal?
· Where did Bloody Sunday take place?
· What happened in Selma in March of 1965?
· Why was the media so important to the Civil Rights Movement? Your answer needs to have at least one quote from either the film or the reading.
· Who were the people marching at Selma?
· How do the events of at Selma foreshadow the eventual split between SNCC and the SCLC?
· Why is it ironic that the film that ABC interrupted to broadcast the images of Bloody Sunday was Judgement at Nuremberg? (This is a challenge question – try your best, please!)