Civil Rights Unit

The Role of the Church during the Civil Rights Movement

and the BirminghamChurch Bombing of 1963

C&I 348, Fall 2003

Emmy Bossenga, Susan Chong, Cathy Hwang, Patty Lee

I. Topic

Why you chose this Topic

It is really interesting to see how the role of religion has remained as a stable place of worship, healing, and safety. Our group began this unit plan project with the intent of studying the topic of the church bombings that occurred in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963’s. However, as we continued our search, we began to find that the it was not mere coincidence that churches were bombed quite often during the civil rights era. Churches were not only mere place of worship for the African Americans. It meant a lot more and held much more importance in their communities. It was a place for comfort, healing, peace, worship, endurance, and love; which is why it was also a great place to strip away from the African Americans. Maybe the white supremacists felt that if their greatest place of strength was stripped from them, they would feel powerless. This theme of power was very evident during the civil rights era: the whites being powerful race and the blacks holding little to none of that power. In an effort to portray the battle that occurred between the whites and African Americans in the civil war era in a new and interesting way, we decided to learn and teach about the church and its affect on the African American community during the civil rights era.

Background Information

Each member of our group spoke with their cooperating teacher. Three members are placed in schools that have populations that are mostly 100% Caucasian. Of those, one member is in fourth grade, while the other two are in kindergarten. The fourth member of our group is in a more diverse setting in a fourth grade.

OakwoodGrade School's fourth grade students learn mostly about the well-known aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. There is one chapter that includes information on Women's suffrage and the struggles of African-Americans. Some key aspects of their curriculum include people such as Susan B. Anthony and Esther Morris. The students learn material about dates, places, and people. However, they do not learn about how it affected different people groups in an unbiased manner. One teacher discussed the importance of teaching familiar facts about the era. She stated that they should be able to recognize certain key people and places. However, she also emphasized the need for an opportunity to expand students' knowledge in this area. Without a more concrete knowledge of the events that took place, students may have a difficult time forming their own opinions and views on what took place during the Civil Rights Movement. All in all, OakwoodGrade school has a good general overview of the time period.

Another group member is placed in kindergarten at OakwoodGrade School. When asking the kindergarten teacher if she did anything that related to civil rights at that level, she said the closest she comes to doing something with civil rights is in January when it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day; on that day she sometimes reads a story about Martin Luther King Jr. She said that most years her students are all Caucasian so she does not worry too much about including civil rights material or even including material about diversity within her curriculum. She mentioned how if she does have a student of another race she tries to find occasional books to read to the class that include characters of different races. She said she does not have much material about the topic that is appropriate for this low of a grade level.

A third group member briefly interviewed her cooperating teacher at the small school that she isplaced at currently. This student and staff population in this Paxton, IL school is almost 100% Caucasian. She asked my cooperating teacher what she does to teach civil rights in her kindergarten class, and she said that she doesn’t do anything. She has taught at this school for 26 years and in all her years there, she said that the kindergarteners never/rarely learn about it. The closest they come to learning about the civil rights movement is when they talk about fairness. The students also receive a handout with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s face on it right around his birthday, in January. The teacher tells them that this man helped make life more equal for different people. Then they color it. We were pretty shocked by this. We understand that when children are that young, it is not appropriate to discuss all the great details about the movement. However, we do believe children can and should be taught about the general main points of this time. The cooperating teacher didn’t really think it was necessary for her students to learn about the civil rights movement because they cannot really relate to it, since many of them have not even seen an African American.

A fourth member of our group is placed at an Urbana school in a fourth grade class. After discussing with her current placement teacher on what she or the school does to observe the civil rights movement, she heard some interesting statements. The teacher has stated that she feels that there is a continuum in regards to civil rights. The way she sees it in this present day, is that there is a continuum of how things have changed since then, how they have not changed, and what still needs to be changed. She still feels that the most powerful person in this society is the white male. This is because of the stereotypes that white is better. She thinks its interesting because the children know this fact. They recognize the power dynamic. So, many times her African American students will succumb to having the victim mentality in class. She stated “Victim mentality sometimes takes the place of TRUE civil rights issues.” So, in her classroom she makes sure not to have any of her students, white or black, have this victim mentality. She states that every child has the choice to control her life. She can control what her life looks like and what she wants it to look like. She tries to teach this to all of her students. She also stated that part of her job as their (African American) teacher is to not give into their victim minded-ness. In order to instill this power into each of her students, she uses choice language to empower her students, to show them that their life is their responsibility, and that it is part of their responsibility to advocate what they need from her and for their education. She has said that it is sad to know that her school does not teach civil rights often, since it part of the fifth grade curriculum. However, she reads books to her students, and tries to integrate civil rights issues into as much of her curriculum as possible, such as read alouds, literature groups, and African American community at the school.

The most interesting reading that we found as we were researching was Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963. This letter was written a few months before the BirminghamChurch bombing. This letter gives some background information about what the situation was like in Birmingham, Dr. King described Birmingham as, “…the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States” (King, 1963). He was describing why he was in Birmingham. He went into detail about how he was leading a non-violent campaign and how he was breaking unjust laws. He spoke about the workshops being held and the need for nonviolent direct action. He also spoke about how he was disappointed in the white moderate and white church support. He stated, “People of ill will use time more effectively than people of good will” (King, 1963). Overall, this reading was a good primary source that helped to describe what Birmingham was like before the bombing occurred. We also found the website, 4littlegirls.com to be the best source of background information about the Birmingham church bombing and the reactions and timeline of events of that incidence.

II. Instructional Strategy

We decided to simulate the influence that the church had on the community during this era using centers. Within these centers we will use virtual field trips through photography, film clips, and tape recordings of the different activities the African American churches were involved in to participate in the civil rights movement. We will also use role playing, debates, and simulations so that the students will be able to relive the experiences that African American people had gone through during the 1960’s. We will also integrate the arts through drama and art. Students will not only role play, but they will have opportunities to participate in skits. Students will also be able to illustrate their own pictures that correspond with the activities in the centers.

The literacy links that will be used for this project are newspapers. We felt that using newspapers from the 1960’s would make the situations that arose during the civil rights movement more real and tangible to the students. We will also be integrating writing activities by having students reflect on what it must have been like for African Americans or Caucasians to be living in that time period. They will also be reflecting on the activities that they do in their centers. We also thought that during this time in literature, students could be reading, Watsons Go to Birmingham, by Christopher Paul Curtis.

III. Unit Sketch

Tuning In

Put the words hate crime, discrimination, racism, prejudice, and intolerance on sheets of paper around the room. In groups students will go to one of the sheets of paper and write what comes to mind when they hear the word; an example, definition, etc. Share ideas with class.
Students will watch the beginning of the movie, America’s Civil Rights Movement: A Time for Justice. (Teacher will pre-watch and select an appropriate clip)
Hold discussion about the movie: Did they see examples of any of the words on the wall? Should they add anything to the sheets on the wall? Did students like watching the video? Why/why not? How did it make them feel? What had a bigger impact, reading the words and thinking of example/definition or seeing the video examples? Why? Any other comments.
The class can discuss important events and figures of the time period that they know and that the movie talked about (i.e. Martin Luther King Jr., KKK, etc.).

Preparing to Find Out

The topic will be narrowed down to churches during the civil rights movement and the Birmingham church bombing. As students “prepare to find out, they will investigate through different centers what the church meant to the African Americans during the civil rights movement. Four different centers will introduce students to the time period including the relationship of the church and the African American community; the relationship of the church and personal African American strength; the relationship between the church and the overall community including people who were not African American; and how what the church represented then can be related to present day. Each center can be introduced to the class and can be explained and modeled. Make sure students have necessary background knowledge necessary.
Center 1: Church and the African American community: In this center students will listen to music, or watch African American choirs singing. Students can read the lyrics from songs that were popular during this time period such as “We Shall Overcome.” At the center students can discuss their ideas about the church and how it was a place of coming together to gather, sing, and socialize. Students should be familiar with the concept of a community; they will then personally reflect on how the African American churches helped build community. They might respond to a question such as: In listening to the singing, and picturing a large gathering of people singing the lyrics you read, how would that affect community? How would you feel if you sang lyrics that you felt strongly about along with a large group of other people who felt just as strongly about what you were singing. What would be the affect?
Center 2: Church and personal strength: In this center students will look at pictures of scenarios of protests, such as sit-ins, reading materials at grade level can also be included so students can get a sense of what happened to African Americans who participated. In their center students can discuss how they would feel if they were in this situation, knowing what they were up against. What would they want/need? Students can read about how churches were a place where African Americans got training before they participated in events to strengthen them and familiarize them with what they would experience. Students can personally reflect by drawing a place they might go to get strength when they are scared about doing something courageous.
Center 3: What people who were not African American thought during this time: In this center students will think about “the other side.” They will participate in a scenario where they think about what a Caucasian person may have felt; what were the different Caucasian beliefs. They will read a statement from Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail: “First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season.” (This statement might be something that is introduced to the whole class and its basic meaning is discussed before the center so students have a general idea about what Dr. King is talking about). In the center discuss the statement. Personally, students can reflect on what it might have felt like to be a Caucasian during that time…would they feel threatened, angry, confused, think anything was wrong with actions by the government, police, the KKK? Why? Or is it hard for them to do this? Why?
Center 4: Reflective: Students will be asked to think of a place they feel comfortable, a place where they like to meet with their family and/or friends, and a place where they feel like they belong. Students will be asked to draw a picture of this place and write in detail about what makes it special. Include people who are at, or visit this place. This will be kept for a later activity.
After students have gone through all of the centers, the class will hold a discussion about what they think they learned, i.e. what the church meant to the African American people.

Finding Out

Students will be in groups of two or three and each will receive a photograph. The photographs will be of the Birmingham church, what it looked like after the bombing, how the people looked in response to the bombing, etc. Students will look at their one picture. They will describe as much as they can, and try and come up with the time period, who is in the picture, where the picture was taken, etc. Once they have discussed this, they will get with another small group and the groups will look at their pictures together. They will tell each other what they had noticed about their picture and then the groups will discuss how they think their pictures relate. An overhead will be shown of the pictures and the class will try and come up with a way to organize all of the pictures. A class discussion will be held to decide what the pictures were pictures of and why they organized the pictures the way they did.

Sorting Out

Students will think about who was affected by the church bombing. A list will be created. Then from that list students will take on roles of people who might participate in a mock trial for this bombing. Students will take on roles and the research and take notes about what their role might say in the trial. Then the class will have a trial. After the trial the students can discuss what they think about the arguments of both sides. What is their conclusion?

Going Further