Disenfranchised- is the revocation of the right of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or rendering a person's vote less effective, or ineffective Climax- meaning its the point of were the story gets exiting and more alive Conspiracy- a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful Literacy- the ability to read and write. Segregation- the action or state of setting someone or something apart from other people or things or being set apart Eulogy- a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has just died Painstaking- done with or employing great care and thoroughness Rhetoric- the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, esp. the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques. Reputed- the opinion generally held of someone or something; the state of being generally regarded in a particular way Racism- the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. Civil Rights- the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality. Integrate- combine (one thing) with another so that they become a whole Jim Crow Laws- were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. Poll Tax- a tax levied on every adult, without reference to their income or resources. Literacy Tests- refers to the government practice of testing the literacy of potential citizens at the federal level, and potential voters at the state level. Black Muslims- it has been specifically used to refer to African-American organizations that describe themselves as Muslim BPP (Black Panther Party)- was an African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982. CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)- is a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)- is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. NUL (National Urban League)- is a nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)- is an American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)- was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Stokely Carmichael- was a Trinidadian-American black activist active in the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. James Farmer- was a civil rights activist and leader of the American Civil Rights Movement Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.- was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement Elijah Muhammed- was an African American religious leader, and led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975 Bobby Seale- is an African-American civil rights activist, who along with Huey P. Newton, co-founded the Black Panthers on October 15, 1966. Roy Wilkins- was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s Sit-ins- a form of protest in which demonstrators occupy a place, refusing to leave until their demands are met. Freedom Rides- were civil rights activists that rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decision Boynton v. Virginia Rioting- were civil rights activists that rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decision Boynton v. Virginia Law Suits- is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy Writing- the activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing text Marching- walk in a military manner with a regular measured tread Boycotts- withdraw from commercial or social relations with (a country, organization, or person) as a punishment or protest.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Freedom Summer was part of the larger Civil Rights Movement of the mid- twentieth century. Why do you think this movement necessary?
2. Describe and define Freedom Summer. Why do you think activists decided to focus on registering voters? What other issues could they have chosen to highlight?
3. Mississippi was called the “last frontier” of the Civil Rights Movement. Why? Why do you think it was chosen as the focus of Freedom Summer?
4. One of the aims of the Civil Rights Movement was to overturn the Jim Crow system of the South. What was Jim Crow? Was segregation legal? Discuss.
5. Civil Rights workers tried to help African-Americans in the South register to vote. What were some of the obstacles African-Americans faced when trying to register to vote? Discuss the constitutionality of these obstacles.
6. Who was Medgar Evers? Why was he assassinated? 7. Although white students helped to bring media attention to the Civil Rights
Movement, there were some complications. Discuss the pros and cons of white
students going down South to be a part of Freedom Summer. 8. The Ku Klux Klan targeted Michael Schwerner for assassination. Why? What
did Schwerner do to upset the Klan?
9. Lyndon B. Johnson was president of the United States during Freedom Summer. How did Johnson deal with the events of Freedom Summer?
10. Were you surprised by the violence the Civil Rights Movement provoked? Why do you think the KKK and others reacted so violently? Discuss.
11. Discuss the legacy of Freedom Summer. What were its consequences for American society overall?
ACTIVITIES:
1. Follow this link (http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/oh_freedom/) to the American Radio Works website where you can listen to a three-part special on Freedom Summer and see a slideshow.
2. In small groups, research and review the major events of the Civil Rights Movement leading up to and including the summer of 1964. Create a timeline illustrating the events of Freedom Summer. These timelines can be in Powerpoint format, poster-board, or any other creative medium. Share these projects with the larger class or group.
3. What do your older relatives remember about Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Movement? Interview older members of your family or your community about their recollections and/or experiences of Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Movement.
4. Using a medium of your choice, design a memorial for Michael Schwerner, James E. Cheney and Andrew Goodman.
PRIMARY SOURCE EXPLORATIONS:
Excerpt of theVoting Rights Act (1965)
In the wake of the tragic events of Freedom Summer, Congress signed the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965. After reading the excerpt below, ask students to consider the questions which follow.
AN ACT To enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act shall be known as the "Voting Rights Act of 1965."
SEC. 2. No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.
1. What does Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act argue? What kind of “qualifications” for or “prerequisites” to voting existed before this act was passed? How do you think it was enforced?
2. Why do you think the Voting Rights Act mentioned the 15th Amendment? (Bonus research: read the text of the 15th Amendment and compare/contrast its provisions with that of the Voting Rights Act.)
Disenfranchised- is the revocation of the right of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or rendering a person's vote less effective, or ineffective
Climax- meaning its the point of were the story gets exiting and more alive
Conspiracy- a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful
Literacy- the ability to read and write.
Segregation- the action or state of setting someone or something apart from other people or things or being set apart
Eulogy- a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has just died
Painstaking- done with or employing great care and thoroughness
Rhetoric- the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, esp. the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
Reputed- the opinion generally held of someone or something; the state of being generally regarded in a particular way
Racism- the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.
Civil Rights- the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.
Integrate- combine (one thing) with another so that they become a whole
Jim Crow Laws- were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965.
Poll Tax- a tax levied on every adult, without reference to their income or resources.
Literacy Tests- refers to the government practice of testing the literacy of potential citizens at the federal level, and potential voters at the state level.
Black Muslims- it has been specifically used to refer to African-American organizations that describe themselves as Muslim
BPP (Black Panther Party)- was an African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982.
CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)- is a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)- is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909.
NUL (National Urban League)- is a nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States.
SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)- is an American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)- was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.
Stokely Carmichael- was a Trinidadian-American black activist active in the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement.
James Farmer- was a civil rights activist and leader of the American Civil Rights Movement
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.- was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement
Elijah Muhammed- was an African American religious leader, and led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975
Bobby Seale- is an African-American civil rights activist, who along with Huey P. Newton, co-founded the Black Panthers on October 15, 1966.
Roy Wilkins- was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s
Sit-ins- a form of protest in which demonstrators occupy a place, refusing to leave until their demands are met.
Freedom Rides- were civil rights activists that rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decision Boynton v. Virginia
Rioting- were civil rights activists that rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decision Boynton v. Virginia
Law Suits- is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy
Writing- the activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing text
Marching- walk in a military manner with a regular measured tread
Boycotts- withdraw from commercial or social relations with (a country, organization, or person) as a punishment or protest.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Freedom Summer was part of the larger Civil Rights Movement of the mid- twentieth century. Why do you think this movement necessary?
2. Describe and define Freedom Summer. Why do you think activists decided to focus on registering voters? What other issues could they have chosen to highlight?
3. Mississippi was called the “last frontier” of the Civil Rights Movement. Why? Why do you think it was chosen as the focus of Freedom Summer?
4. One of the aims of the Civil Rights Movement was to overturn the Jim Crow system of the South. What was Jim Crow? Was segregation legal? Discuss.
5. Civil Rights workers tried to help African-Americans in the South register to vote. What were some of the obstacles African-Americans faced when trying to register to vote? Discuss the constitutionality of these obstacles.
6. Who was Medgar Evers? Why was he assassinated? 7. Although white students helped to bring media attention to the Civil Rights
Movement, there were some complications. Discuss the pros and cons of white
students going down South to be a part of Freedom Summer. 8. The Ku Klux Klan targeted Michael Schwerner for assassination. Why? What
did Schwerner do to upset the Klan?
9. Lyndon B. Johnson was president of the United States during Freedom Summer. How did Johnson deal with the events of Freedom Summer?
10. Were you surprised by the violence the Civil Rights Movement provoked? Why do you think the KKK and others reacted so violently? Discuss.
11. Discuss the legacy of Freedom Summer. What were its consequences for American society overall?
ACTIVITIES:
1. Follow this link (http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/oh_freedom/) to the American Radio Works website where you can listen to a three-part special on Freedom Summer and see a slideshow.
2. In small groups, research and review the major events of the Civil Rights Movement leading up to and including the summer of 1964. Create a timeline illustrating the events of Freedom Summer. These timelines can be in Powerpoint format, poster-board, or any other creative medium. Share these projects with the larger class or group.
3. What do your older relatives remember about Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Movement? Interview older members of your family or your community about their recollections and/or experiences of Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Movement.
4. Using a medium of your choice, design a memorial for Michael Schwerner, James E. Cheney and Andrew Goodman.
PRIMARY SOURCE EXPLORATIONS:
Excerpt of theVoting Rights Act (1965)
In the wake of the tragic events of Freedom Summer, Congress signed the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965. After reading the excerpt below, ask students to consider the questions which follow.
AN ACT To enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act shall be known as the "Voting Rights Act of 1965."
SEC. 2. No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.
1. What does Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act argue? What kind of “qualifications” for or “prerequisites” to voting existed before this act was passed? How do you think it was enforced?
2. Why do you think the Voting Rights Act mentioned the 15th Amendment? (Bonus research: read the text of the 15th Amendment and compare/contrast its provisions with that of the Voting Rights Act.)
Follow this link (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0621.html#article) for the New York Times June 22, 1964 reporting on the disappearance of Michael Schwerner, James E. Cheney and Andrew Goodman.
Spirituals played a large role in the Civil Rights Movement. Follow this link (http://otter.middlebury.edu:8080/ramgen/amcivmedia/civil_rights_music/sncc_WokeUp. rm) to listen to the members of the Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC) singing a spiritual.
Follow this link (http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=100) to access the full text of the Voting Rights Act of 1865.
WEBSITES
The History of CORE
http://www.core-online.org/history/history%20opening.htm Images of Hope and Hate http://www.newseum.org/mississippi/
Civl Rights in Mississippi Archive
http://www.lib.usm.edu/~spcol/crda/index.html
The Mississippi Burning Trial
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/price&bowers/price&bowers.htm
AricanAmericans.Com: August 4, 1964: Three civil rights activists found dead
http://www.africanamericans.com/CivilRightsSlaying.htm