Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Read about the persisitence of President Lyndon B. Johnson in finally enacting the momentous civil rights legislation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Find out about his adversaries and allies in getting this legislation passed.
Library of Virginia
Virginia Memory: Gilbert Hunt and the Richmond Theater Fire
A lesson about the Richmond Theater Fire in 1811. Many perished in the fire. Those who were saved were helped from inside by Dr. James McCaw, who dropped them from a window to Gilbert Hunt, who caught them enough to break their fall. The...
Library of Virginia
Virginia Memory: Arthur Ashe
What are the characteristics of a person worthy of being a member of the Human Being Hall of Fame? A champion of human dignity around the world, Arthur Robert Ashe overcame the discrimination he faced growing up in Richmond to become a...
US Department of Justice
U.s. Department of Justice: Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
A complete government description of Section 3789d of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, which explicitly prohibits the federal government from controlling state or local police agencies, and which explicitly...
The Henry Ford
Rosa Parks Bus at Henry Ford Museum
This site tells the story of Rosa Parks but also the story of the bus and what happened to it and with it through the years.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Securing the Right to Vote: Selma to Montgomery Story
[Free Registration/Login Required] Lesson plan asking this essential question: "What conditions created a need for a protest march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 and what did that march achieve?"
Read Works
Read Works: Front of the Bus
[Free Registration/Login Required] An interview with Roland Crevecoeur about his experiences during segregation. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Truman Announced a Fair Deal
Health insurance, minimum wage, and equal rights are things we take for granted. But it was not always so. These are some of the things President Truman fought for in what he called the "Fair Deal."
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Rosa Parks Arrested
This 3-part article explores Rosa Park's famous act of civil disobedience -- refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger. Her subsequent arrest sparked a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system and the 1956 Supreme...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: The Supreme Court: Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
PBS offers a synopsis of the landmark Supreme Court cases of Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger which "affirmed and refined its position on affirmative action".
Black Past
Black Past: Afro American Council (1898 1907)
An article about the founding of the Afro-American Council in 1898 and its goals for addressing rising violence against African Americans.
Black Past
Black Past: Meredith, James
A brief encyclopedia entry about James Meredith, the first black to integrate the University of Mississippi. A link will take you to a website so you can see the papers he donated to Old Miss.
Black Past
Black Past: White, Walter
A brief encyclopedia entry about the influential civil rights leader, Walter White.
Black Past
Black Past: Young, Coleman
This encyclopedia entry recounts the colorful life of Coleman Young, long time mayor of Detroit.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Travel Places of the Civil Rights Movement
This site provides a list of historic places of the Civil Rights Movement, complete with an itinerary and a map. Clicking on a place on the map will give information about that place.
The Best Notes
The Best Notes: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This is an online study guide/notes for the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis.
The History Cat
The History Cat: The California Gold Rush
Describes the events that led to the California Gold Rush, the lives of the miners, the discrimination faced by Chinese immigrant miners and African Americans, the women who mostly stayed behind when their husbands went west as well as...
Black Past
Black Past: Roberto (Walker) Clemente
This brief encyclopedia entry gives an overview of Roberto Clemente's outstanding career in baseball as well as his humanitarian efforts in Latin America.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: An Act of Courage: Arrest Records of Rosa Parks
A vividly detailed account of the events that led to the arrest of Rosa Parks for "violating a city law requiring racial segregation of public buses". Provided are copies of documents relating to her arrest that were used as evidence in...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Campaigns for Economic Freedom
This teacher resource highlights how racial discrimination affected the economic conditions of African Americans in the twentieth century. It includes a detailed lesson plan as well as videos and documents for students to explore. There...
The Best Notes
The Best Notes: Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
This is an online study guide/notes for the book Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis. This nonfiction book describes the...
Other
Presentations From the Life of Frederick Douglass
The actor Fred Morsell, a Frederick Douglass reenactor, provides plays about the 19th century civil rights leader as well as other resources about Douglass's life and work.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Decision in the Streets
Recounts the interracial Ad Hoc Committee to End Racial Discrimination's protests of racial inequality and unfair hiring practices in San Francisco in 1963-64.
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Montgomery Bus Boycott
Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks along with other early protestors sparked a yearlong boycott of the Montgomery bus system that culminated in the desegregation of public transportation in Alabama and throughout the country.