TOUR, PRE-VISIT and POST-VISIT
MATERIALS

Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

Grades 6 – 12

Tour

(Teachers, If you are self-guiding you may use this tour. It comes with an activity sheet.)

  • Step 1 - Introduction– Define civil rights, racism, segregation, and white privilege – Ask what this looks like (today or in the past)?
  • Step 2 – immerse yourself in exhibit to get a FEEL for life for Blacks in OR in 1960s & 70s
  • Step 3 (2 parts)
  • Part 1 – find and record answers to 3 Big Questions
  • Question 1 = What obstacles did Blacks experience in Oregon in the 1960s-70s?
  • Question 2 = What actions did Blacks and their supporters take to overcome the obstacles they faced in Oregon in the 1960s-70s?
  • Question 3 = Based on your life experiences today and what you’ve learned about Black history explain how African Americans and others succeeded in overcoming racial obstacles both in Oregon and nationally, and what still needs to be accomplished? Provide evidence from this exhibit AND your life.
  • Part 2 – to help you find the answers to the 3 Questions, select 1 artifact, 1 image, 1 activist, and 1 quote and describe in writing what or who it is, what it tells about civil rights in Oregon, and how you feel about it? You may take photos of multiple sides of your artifact.
  • Step 4 – Do 1 activity: pick an activist group or person and share an action you’ll take OR select and present top 6 building blocks of a healthy society OR find a partner and read/act out loud The Raisin in the Sun excerpt in the exhibit.
  • Step 5 – Conclusion- Share findings as a group on the 3 Big Questions. Ask: Did anything surprise you?

Pre-Visit Materials

(Teachers, Complete one or more of these activities beforestudents’ visit to the museum to help them comprehend the Civil Rights tour.)

1)Know key Black history and civil rights dates in the United States. Use the one-page Oregon Historical Society timeline “Civil Rights in the U.S. Are Protected by the U.S. Constitution” or research on one’s own for a description of these dates. Working individually, or in groups of two, students should create a 1-page exhibit text panel that provides the date, name of the event or action, and description of the event or action. Students may add historic images or create borders. Arrange the 1-page documents in chronological order to make a timeline for the class to read. Leave space to add more items to the timeline after the museum visit.

2)Learn how to “read” one historic photograph and two historic documents to learn about laws and activism affecting Black Oregonians.

  1. Act Forbidding Racial Intermarriage (Miscegenation) in Oregon, 1866

First, use the online link to zoom in on the document so you can see it well enough to rewrite the heading and sections 1 and 2 (the first two paragraphs) for easy reading.

Second, read the document to answer the following question: in 1866, could a white man fall in love with and legally marry a fully black woman in Oregon? If they did marry, what punishment might they experience in Oregon?

Third, research when blacks and whites could legally marry in Oregon. What was this date? Are you surprised?

  1. “Read” the image: Demonstration Calling for Police Reform, Portland, 1970

First, use the online link to zoom in on the photograph so you can study it closely. Begin with a basic description of only what you see. )For example, I see black and white people in a group outdoors.) What are the expressions on their faces? Are they moving? What do the signs say?

Second, who are the Panthers? What did they do? Why should they be free? Who are the Pigs? Why should they be jailed? Once you have looked at all of the details in the photograph, share what type of event you think it is, what the people want, and why. To answer these questions you must look at two sources of information:

  1. First, read the online article in the Oregon Encyclopedia titled “Black Panthers in Portland” at
  2. Second, study the Panther’s 10-Point Platform – see the image and the ten points below.
  3. Third, describe the image of the Black Panther in the news article below. (For example, I see a Black man with a black beret on his head, wearing a black leather jacket, and with a large rifle and ammunition.) What is the expression on his face? Does he appear to be a pacifist like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, or a militant? Are the 10-points of the Black Panther platform militant, or not? Why did he and the Black Panthers look so militant and why is he holding a gun? (Teacher answer: He and the Black Panthers wanted to show they were not afraid of anyone and to show that they were willing to die for their beliefs – and some did. And they wanted to put fear into white people – like the fear they experienced for years from white people in general and from police. The Black Panthers saw themselves as defenders of the black community who were experiencing so much violence. They were moving from feeling powerless to feeling powerful.)

#1 We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community.

#2 We want full employment for our people.

#3 We want an end to the robbery by the CAPITALIST of our Black Community.

#4 We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings.

#5 We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society.

#6 We want all black men to be exempt from military service.

#7 We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of black people.

#8 We want freedom for all black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.

#9 We want all black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their black communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States.

#10 We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace. And as our major political objective, a United Nations-supervised plebiscite to be held throughout the black colony in which only black colonial subjects will be allowed to participate, for the purpose of determining the will of black people as to their national destiny.

3)Read “On Racism and White Privilege” in Teaching Tolerance at and explain in writing or in a presentation format, such as PowerPoint, how the author defines “racism” and “white privilege”.

4)List, or research, ways in which racism and white privilege continue to negatively impact blacks today (think about at school, in the neighborhoods, in jobs, by law enforcement, in the media, shopping, hanging out, sports, in entertainment, etc.). Share examples from your life.

5)As a class, brainstorm actions you, your classmates, and your teachers can do to reduce or eliminate racism and white privilege in your school. “Right on!”

Post-Visit Materials

(Teachers, Complete one or more of these activities AFTER students visit the museum to help them comprehend the Civil Rights materials.)

1)Expand Black history and civil rights dates in Oregon - and the nation - using Dr. Darrell Millner’s article at and the attached expanded history timeline compiled by Oregon Historical Society.

2)Fill in the chart to IMAGINE how similar but different life was for black and white youth your age in the 1960s and 70s in Oregon. Below is a completed example for the teacher.

Topic / How similar to today? / How different from today?
Elementary – High School / All attended school in grades K-12 / Black youth were mostly segregated in 4 schools that were 90% black. Very few black teachers and principals.
College / Both allowed to attend / Few black students and teachers.
Housing / All lived in houses / Neighborhoods were racially segregated due to practices such as redlining and restricted covenants. White and black youth did not live next door to each other.
Press / Media / All listened to the news / Blacks often stereotyped as “criminals” and community events aimed at whites
Fashion / All enjoy fashion / Blacks began wearing hair naturally in Afros and wearing Dashikis
Churches / Found in all neighborhoods / Racially segregated
Music / Mainstream music was by white artists / Black DJs, Black artists and genres – Motown, rhythm and blues
TV / All watched. Programming ended at 12pm / Very few blacks and people of color on TV
Sports / All watched sports on TV / Mostly white teams and if Black football players usually not quarterbacks due to racial attitudes toward their ability
Language / All spoke English / Black English: Uncle Tom! Keep the faith! I’m hip!

3)Pick a favorite quote. Using information from the exhibit and the pre-visit and post-visit materials you studied, write in your own words what it means AND discuss why you picked it.

4)Research the 9 organizations from the museum exhibit. Explain which you will pick, ANDwhy?

5)This image is from a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland in 2016. Read the words on the sign. Think about what you know about racism, white privilege, black history, segregation, justice and equality in Oregon and the U.S. What do you think this means?

6)Look at the image below to answer these questions in the image.

  1. First, debate with your classmates what action (speak out, vote, or protest) has the greatest impact in overcoming racism and achieving equality in Oregon and the nation.
  2. Second, brainstorm an action YOU will take to accomplish the goals of justice and equality for blacks and all people in Oregon (and the nation). You may want to incorporate some of the ideas from the activists and strategies in the museum exhibit.

7)Read the poem, Harlem, written in 1951 by Langston Hughes. Write what you think it means, thinking about what you learned in the pre-visit and post-visit materials and in the exhibit, Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years.

Harlem

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over—

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Questions? Contact age 1