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February 2013
LESSON PLAN
Letter from a
Montgomery Jail
CLASS DISCUSSION
In photographs she is a sweet, petite woman, but behind
her gentle smile Rosa Parks was a fiercely committed activist
for racial equality. Before her groundbreaking display of civil
disobedience on December 1, 1955, Rosa was a passionate
advocate of civil rights. She was both secretary of the
Montgomery, AL chapter of the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as well as its
youth coordinator. When she was arrested for refusing to
give her seat on a city bus to a white man, she called E.D.
Nixon, a prominent black lawyer and president of the local
NAACP. Her community rallied around her: a group of black
professional women known as the Women’s Political Council
(WPC) swiftly began circulating flyers calling for a citywide
boycott of Montgomery municipal buses. Nixon reached
out to 18 black ministers in Alabama, asking them to spread
word of the boycott to their congregations in their Sunday
sermons. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. led the
campaign and coordinated the protest into a sophisticated
organization known as the Montgomery Improvement
Association, a precursor to his Southern Christian Leadership
Conference. In a demonstration that lasted over a year,
Montgomery protestors dealt a successful blow to the city’s
bus system.
Lesson Plan Continued
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USPS COMMUNITY CONNECTION
February 2013 Lesson Plan • Letter from a Montgomery Jail
The demands of the Montgomery
Improvement Association were simple
and threefold:
1. Courteous treatment of blacks on city
buses
2. First come, first served seating, with
whites in front and blacks in back
3. Hiring of black drivers for the black bus
routes
The refusal of city officials and bus
company officials to comply with these
simple requests spurred the extension
of the boycott, which ended up lasting 381 days.
As the Montgomery Improvement Association
staged the boycott, a black attorney named Fred
Gray and the NAACP worked through the Federal
Court system, claiming that segregation on public
buses was unconstitutional. The case made its way
to the Supreme Court, which ruled in December of
1956 that segregation on public buses was against
the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which
said that all citizens were afforded equal protection
of the laws.
ACTIVITY
Download the Rosa Parks Education Kit on
www.uspsconnection.com (click on “Education Kits” in
the left-hand navigation menu). Read through Rosa’s
story thoroughly so your class has an understanding of
Rosa’s background, accomplishments and legacy.
Ask important questions like…
• What do you think it meant to Rosa to be a citizen?
What does it mean to you?
• Why are American citizens granted the liberties they
enjoy, like freedom of speech, freedom of religion,
and the right to vote?
• As citizens, what are we responsible for, and how
can we help protect the rights of other citizens?
Identify the following vocabulary words and how
they relate to Rosa’s story:
• Segregation
• Integration
• Prejudice
• Community
• Nonviolent/ peaceful protest
• Civil disobedience
• Acceptance
• Equality
• Rights
In April of 1963, Dr. King – like Parks – was
arrested for planning a peaceful march
during his “Birmingham Campaign.”
Sitting in his jail cell, he collected reports
from smuggled issues of the Birmingham
News. Angered and impassioned about
the work he had to do, he began writing
notes in the margins. It became an
almost 7,000-word essay on the virtues
of civil disobedience and the Civil Rights
Movement, now known as “Letter from a
Birmingham Jail.”
Now, assuming the role of Parks, write your own
Letter from a Montgomery Jail. In a five- to sevensentence paragraph, explain how you think Rosa felt
about civil disobedience and Dr. King’s methods.
• Why did she do what she did?
• What was her ultimate goal, and what was the
change she wanted to see?
Challenge yourself to use all the vocabulary words above.
Note to teachers: Depending on the maturity level
of your students, you may elect to compose a letter
together as a class, have students work in groups, or
expand the essay length for more advanced students.
DESIRED OUTCOME
The work of nonviolent protestors during the Civil
Rights Movement opened a dialog among the
American public over what it means to be a citizen.
It also challenged us to consider what our national
values are. This activity will first of all teach your
students what civil rights are and why we have them,
and it will also demonstrate to them how these
rights are federally granted and protected. Thanks to
tireless activists like Rosa Parks, our nation came to
know that human liberties are above state authority.
In this Activity, your students will learn how a society
can be taught such lessons.
CURRICULUM STANDARDS
I.Culture
a. Concepts such as similarities, differences,
beliefs, values, cohesion, and diversity
b.How beliefs, behaviors, and values allow groups to solve problems of daily living
The name, likeness, signature and copyrighted words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are used by permission of Intellectual Properties Management, Atlanta, Georgia, as exclusive licensor of the King Estate.
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USPS COMMUNITY CONNECTION
February 2013 Lesson Plan • Letter from a Montgomery Jail
c. How culture changes in response to changing concerns
d.How individuals learn elements of culture
through interactions with other members of the group
II. Time, Continuity, and Change
a. Past, present, future, and change
b.Key people, events and places associated with
the history of our nation
c. Historical events that occurred in times
different than our own, but have a lasting
consequence on our future
III.Civic ideals and practices
a. How we can have influence on how people
live and act together
b.Concepts such as individual dignity, fairness,
freedom, the common good, rights, and
responsibilities
c. Civic participation based on studying
community issues, planning, decision-making,
voting and cooperating