As you visit each station, you will have to complete a different task. Each task will you help develop a better understanding of various events during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Please use this packet to complete each task. You do not have to write in complete sentences or restate the question.

Station #1 Brown vs. Board of Education Topeka, Kansas (1954)

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) brought a series of lawsuits against segregation in graduate schools, law schools, and colleges. After winning those cases, Thurgood Marshall challenged segregation in K-12 public schools.

Read the article from iCivics.org on the Supreme Court decision and answer the following questions

  1. What Supreme Court case made segregation possible / legal?
  1. Why was Oliver Brown suing the the school system in Topeka, Kansas?
  1. What amendment to the Constitution did the segregation of students violate? ______This amendment guarantees “equal ______.”
  1. What was the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown?
  1. How did this decision affect schools around the US?

Station #2 The Death of Emmett Till (1955)

First Watch the video The Story of Emmett Till (5 minutes)

Secondly, read the article How Emmett Till’s Murder Changed the World

  1. Why was Emmett Till murdered?
  1. Why were his murderers acquitted (found innocent) of the charges against them?
  1. How do we know that these men killed Emmett?
  1. Why is Emmett Till considered to be like Rosa Parks?

Station #3 The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Watch this excerpt on the Montgomery Bus Boycott (5 minutes) from the video series Eyes on the Prize

Read the article on the Bus Boycott from Duckster and answer the following questions

  1. Who was Rosa Parks and what was her role in the boycott?
  1. What was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s role in the boycott?
  1. How did African-Americans get to work or school during the boycott?
  1. What did some of the white people in Montgomery do to stop the boycott?
  1. How did the boycott finally come to a successful ending in 1956? (381 days after it started)

Station #4 The Little Rock Nine (Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1957)

Watch the video Little Rock (12 minutes)

  1. Why did Governor Faubus call out the National Guard?
  1. How did President Eisenhower respond?
  1. Review: How do the terms Federalism, Separation of Powers, and Checks and Balances apply?
  1. What do you think would have happened to the Supreme Court decision in Brown if states could ignore the ruling to desegregate?

Station #5 The Freedom Riders 1960

In 1960, the Supreme Court ruled that segregated restrooms and restaurants in interstate travel were illegal/unconstitutional. The Congress for Racial Equality trained volunteers in non-violence to travel south and integrate bus stations.

Watch the video The Freedom Riders History and answer the following questions.

  1. What happened to the Freedom Riders who exercising their constitutional rights?
  1. How did these non-violent riders respond to the efforts to stop them?
  1. Why did these Freedom Riders say “Jail, no bail” when they were arrested for their constitutional rights?

Station #6 The Greensboro Sit-ins 1960

Watch the video Legacy of the Greensboro Four (4 minutes)

  1. Why did these four men sit-in at the Woolworth’s counter on February 1 and kept returning?
  1. What impact did the Greensboro Four have on college students and the US?

Station #8 The Birmingham Campaign, 1963

Watch Birmingham (4:22)

Read Letter from Birmingham Jail (on my webpage)

  1. Why does Dr. King call for nonviolent direct action?
  1. Why must Dr. King and African-Americans pressure the white community to gain their rights?
  1. Why is it difficult for African-Americans to “wait” to gain their equal rights? (Provide 2 examples)
  1. Results – How did the Birmingham nonviolent protests impact nearly everyone in the entire USA?

Station #8 Dr. King’s I Have a Dream Speech

Watch (5:31 minutes)

Pick two lines from the it that indicate the tone speech. Write down the two lines and explain why they are important.

Station #9 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Read The Civil Rights Act and describe how it changed life all across America.

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Read by scrolling down to Voting Rights Act: Signed into Law and Voter Turnout Rises

  1. Scroll down to Selma Spurs Johnson to Call for Voting Rights Act. How do the events at Selma lead to passage of this act?
  1. What does the Voting Rights Act do and authorize (permit)?

Station #10 Compare Malcom and Martin: Watch Malcom X Open the file on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X on Violence and Integration

Malcolm X / Similarities / Dr. King
On Whites in the Civil Rights Movement
On Integration
On Violence