Name _________________________________
Period _____ Date __________________________
Civil Rights
U.S. History – Mrs. Heacock
150pts.
YOU must COMPLETE 5 of these 7 ACTIVITIES, including:
-1 MUST BE an Internet Activity (Only 1)
-The 1st one will be chosen for you by your teacher
-You MAY complete all the activities for extra credit
Activities:
A. Internet Activity #1 . . . Web-Explore- Choose 3 of 4 sites to visit
B. Internet Activity #2 . . . Info Please WebQuest (10 of 16 Questions)
C. Book Work . . . . Complete Packet Sheet
D. Biography Questions . . . Answer Questions for 3 of the 6 Leaders
E. Song Analysis . . . Choose 2 Songs to complete Evaluation Sheet
F. Freedom Rides Map . . Complete Map & Questions
G. Picture Analysis & Matching . . Picture & Reading Match (4 of 6)
Activity A- Web-Explore
Directions: Visit 3 of the 4 following sites and answer the attached questions
1. http://www.walteromalley.com/hist_hof_robinson.php
a. When did Jackie Robinson enter into the Major Leagues? _______________________
b. What team did he join when he entered? _________________________
c. What negative things happened to Jackei while he was the only black player? _________________
_____________________________________________________________
d. How did Robinson challenge segregation? _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
e. What did Robinson promise Mr. O’Malley? __________________________
_____________________________________________________________
2. http://www.naacp.org/ (click on ‘About NAACP’ on left-hand menu bar)
a. What does NAACP stand For? ______________________________________________________
b. What year was it founded? _________________________
c. What symbol takes up most of the NAACP logo? _______________________________________
d. Click on About Us . . . What are the Top 3 Objectives of the NAACP?
___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
d. Click on History . . . What event led to the creation of the NAACP . . Name 3 Founding members.
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
NAACP (Continued)
e. Under History, Click on Timeline . . . Record the events on the following dates
1918- _________________________________________________________
1935_________________________________________________________
1946_________________________________________________________
1954_______________________________________________________
1964_________________________________________________________
1965_________________________________________________________
f. Why do you think the ‘scales of justice’ are symbolized on the NAACP logo?
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. http://www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart9.html#09a
Scroll down to ‘By Executive Order President Truman Wipes Out Segregation in the Armed forces’
a. What date and year did Truman desegregate the military? _______________________
b. What was the quote that the Executive Order stated it . . . . Provided for, “_________________
_____________________________________________________________”
c. Click on Newspaper front page on the Right . . . What is the 2nd largest heading
_____________________________________________________________
Scroll down to ‘Land Where our Fathers Died’ . . Anzio was an American attack on German Forces in WWII
d. What doe the ‘Notice’ on the window of the cartoon describe? “_________________________
_____________________________________________________________
e. What point is the kid making in his statement at the bottom? _______________________
_____________________________________________________________”
Scroll down to ‘Thurgood Marshall on Saving the Race’ . . . Copy the 1st 3 sentences
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
4. http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/
a. Who founded the Black Panthers? Where & when? _______________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
b. Copy the 2nd Sentence in that 1st paragraph: ______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
c. What did Malcolm X stand for that the Black Panthers liked? ________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
d. What happened on April & May of 1967? Did they deserve what happened? ____________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
e. Scroll down to little boy -What program did the Panthers start and how many did it help?
____________________________________________________________________________________
f. Who worked to undermine the Black panthers and cause the group to fall apart? _______________
g. How did the Black Panthers differ from MLK’s approach?
_________________________________________________________________________
Name __________________________________
Period _____ Date ____________
CIVIL RIGHTS WEB QUEST
U.S. History – Mrs. Heacock
ACTIVITY B . . 10 of 16 must be answered
Log on to your computer and go to this website: www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html You
should see a Civil Rights timeline from 1954 to 2005. Answer the questions by going down the timeline. The
questions are in order according to the timeline.
1. What happened on May 17, 1954? _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2. What did the court case rule? ____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3. Click on the word Thurgood Marshall highlighted in blue. This is his biography, read his biography.
President Johnson appointed him to what? Why was this important?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________
4. Scroll down and take a look at Rosa Parks, and click on her name and read her story. Why is Rosa Parks
important in our study of Civil Rights? What did she do that made her so famous?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________
5. When were buses desegregated? __________________________________________
6. Take a look at the year 1957, and read what happened in this year. Click on the highlighted word integration
and summarize the definition. _________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
7. Look back again at the year 1957, what happened in Little Rock, Arkansas? ____________
__________________________________________________________________
8. What happened on Feb. 1st, 1960? _________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
9. Look at the year 1961, click on the highlighted word freedom riders and write down the definition.
___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
10. Who was James Meredith? ____________________________________________
11. What happened on Aug. 28th, 1963, and who led it? ____________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
12. What was the Civil Rights Act of 1964? ____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
13. March 7th, 1965 was termed “Bloody Sunday”, why was it called this? ______________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
14. What happened to Malcolm X on Feb. 21st, 1965? ____________________________
15. Click on the highlighted word Watts, California and read the paragraph on Watts. What happened there in
1965? ________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
16. Look at the year 1966, and click on the highlighted term Black Panthers, and read the paragraph. What
were the Black Panthers? ___________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Name ____________________________ Period _____ Date
_________________________
Civil Rights Rotation: Book Work
ACTIVITY C . . . ALL
1. Pg. 839 . . Which area of the country had the most/least segregated states in 1950?
a. Segregated by law: _____________________________ Example: ___________________
b. Segregation prohibited: _________________________ Example: ___________________
2. Pg. 856-860 . . . Name 3 groups who sought Civil Rights besides African Americans
a. ______________________ b. ______________________
3.
a. Plessy v. Ferguson Yr. ________
Created policy Called: __________________
Resulted In:
b.
c. ______________________
Brown v. Board of Ed. Yr. ________
STOPPED: __________________
Famous Lawyer: _________________
Group That helped: _________________
Results:
4. Match the following Groups with a famous protest they led:
a. NAACP: ________________________________________________________
Protest:
b. SNCC: ________________________________________________________
Protest:
c. CORE: ________________________________________________________
Protest:
5. Copy the highlighted definitions for the following
a. Civil Rights Act of 1964 - ___________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
b. Voting Rights act of 1965- _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
6. Others in Action . . . pg. 856-860 . .Name the Group, a Leader, and what they wanted changed
Hispanic Americans
Women
Native Americans
Name __________________________________
Period _____ Date ______________
BIOGRAPHY QUESTIONS
U.S. History – Mrs. Heacock
ACTIVITY D . . . 3 of 6
Biography #1: Jackie Robinson:
1. Why did Jackie’s family move to California? ___________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What did Jackie work with Joe Louis to fight? ___________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. How was it difficult for Jackie during Spring training in Florida? ______________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. While playing for the Dodgers how did people threaten him? _________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5. After his retirement what did Jackie do? _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Biography #2: Thurgood Marshall: 10 pts. (2 pts. Each)
1. What do you notice about Marshall’s grandfather that might surprise you?
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Why was Marshall denied admission to the University of Maryland Law School?
____________________________________________________________________________
3. What was Marshall’s 1st major court case about? ________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4. What does the NAACP stand for? ___________________________________________________
5. What did Marshall become? _______________________________________________________
Biography #3: Rosa Parks: 10 pts. (2 pts. Each)
1. What type of school did Rosa Parks attend? ____________________________________
2. Where did Rosa Parks and her husband both work? _____________________
3. Why was Parks arrested? _____________________________________
4. Why did Parks and her family move to Detroit? _______________________
5. Would you have gotten off the bus or stayed on the bus like Rosa Parks did? Why?
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Biography #4: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 10 pts (2 pts. Each)
1. What job did both King, his father, and his grandfather all have? ____________
2. Who did King marry? ________________________________________
3. What happened to King during the bus boycott? ______________________
_______________________________________________________
4. What man did King get his operational techniques from? _________________
5. When was King assassinated? __________________________________
Biography #5: Malcolm X: 10 pts (2 pts. Each)
1. Malcolm’s father Earl was a Civil Rights activist, what did he promote? ________
_______________________________________________________
2. While in prison who did Malcolm study the teachings of? _________________
_______________________________________________________
3. What changed Malcolm’s outlook on integration? ,_____________________
_______________________________________________________
4. How did Malcolm die? _______________________________________
5. What was Malcolm’s’ name before he changed it to X?
_______________________________________________________
Biography #6: Cesar Chavez. 10 pts (2 pts. Each)
1. What did Cesar’s family do for a living before the Great Depression? ____________
____________________________________________________________________
2. What did Cesar’s family do when they moved to California after loosing their ranch?
__________________________________________________________
3. What did Chavez help do when he joined CSO in the 1950’s? ____________________
_______________________________________________________
4. What was the final name of the organization Chavez founded himself? What type of farms
did they strike? _______________________________________________
5. Name 3 ways Chavez Protested to help Farm Workers: __________________
___________________________________________________________
Name __________________________________
Period _____ Date ______________
SONG ANALYSIS
U.S. History – Mrs. Heacock
ACTIVITY E . . . 2 of 6
Choose 2 of the attached songs to analyze below
If you have the ability, you can find these song to listen at: http://www.gilderlehrman.org/historynow/06_2006/interactive.php
If your song can be played, listen to your song first. Then read through the lyrics several times, and begin filling
out this sheet.. Focus on what this song means to the people singing it, those that are mentioned in the songs and
those that are meant to hear the song itself
SONG #1- Title: ____________________________________
Information: Copy the informational sentence or small paragraph above each song.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Class Appeal: Who do the lyrics appeal to? African Americans, Whites, Everyone? Explain
giving specific words or terms in the song that show this.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Does this song ask something of someone? Examples like: Be strong, be peaceful, etc . . . Who
does it ask, the singers, or other people? Give a specific example from the song lyrics.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Who does the song mention . . . A type of person or a real person? Is the song mentioning them
positively or negatively?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
What is the overall focus of the song? What point is it trying to get across or what do you
think it hopes to get people to do?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SONG #2- Title: ____________________________________
Information: Copy the informational sentence or small paragraph above each song.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Class Appeal: Who do the lyrics appeal to? African Americans, Whites, Everyone? Explain
giving specific words or terms in the song that show this.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Does this song ask something of someone? Examples like: Be strong, be peaceful, etc . . . Who
does it ask, the singers, or other people? Give a specific example from the song lyrics.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Who does the song mention . . . A type of person or a real person? Is the song mentioning them
positively or negatively?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
What is the overall focus of the song? What point is it trying to get across or what do you
think it hopes to get people to do?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
**OVERALL:
WHY DO YOU THINK THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT INSPIRED THESE TYPES OF SONGS?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Name __________________________________
Period _____ Date ______________
Picture Analysis & Matching
U.S. History – Mrs. Heacock
ACTIVITY F
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
MAP ACTIVITY
In 1947 a civil rights group called the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) began protests in
which African Americans rode in the white-only section of interstate buses. In 1960 the Court ruled that
segregation of bus stations was illegal. CORE decided to put pressure on Pres. Kennedy by enforcing this
ruling.
To accomplish this CORE organized a series of protests called the Freedom Rides, in which black
and white bus riders traveled together to segregated bus stations in the South.
The Freedom Rides began May 4, 1961 when two buses left Washington D.C.
They planned to ride through the South to New Orleans, LA.
Using the following information trace the route taken by CORE.
**Fill out the key as you complete the assignment.
1. Place a dot on Washington D.C. where the CORE members loaded the bus.
2. Place a dot on Richmond, Virginia and a dot on Greensboro, North Carolina.
*Your dots indicate cities where the Freedom Riders stopped.
3. Place a star on Charlotte, North Carolina and connect the dots with a
line.
*Your star indicates a city where violence occurred and the line indicates
the route taken by CORE.
*Just south of Charlotte, NC in Rock Hill, South Caroline they encountered
violence. Two riders were beaten and another was arrested for using a
white restroom.
4. Place a dot on Atlanta, Georgia and draw a line connecting Charlotte to
Atlanta.
*In Atlanta the riders had dinner with Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mr. King did not think they would make through Alabama.
5. Draw your line from Atlanta to the Alabama border.
6. Place a star right across the border into Alabama.
*The riders encountered violence in Anniston, Alabama.
They were met by a mob including the Ku Klux Klan. One of
the buses was firebombed and the passengers attacked by the mob.
7. Draw a line from your star to Birmingham, Alabama. Place a star here too.
*In Birmingham the group met violence and the police offered no
protection. Because of several attacks the ride was called off and the
riders flew to New Orleans, LA where the ride was scheduled to end.
On May 17, 1961 the leaders of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) decided to
continue the Freedom Rides. They faced the same violence as the CORE group. This group started from
Nashville, Tennessee on one bus.
Use the following information to trace the route taken by SNCC.
8. Place a dot on Nashville, Tennessee.
9. Draw a DASHED (----) line from Nashville to Birmingham, Alabama.
*A dashed line indicates the route taken by SNCC.
*In Birmingham they were arrested for violating segregation laws.
10. Next they traveled to Montgomery, Alabama. Draw a dashed line from
Birmingham to Montgomery and place a star on Montgomery, AL.
* In Montgomery many of the riders were beaten severely before the
police stepped in.
11. Riders rode to Meridian, Mississippi where they ended the ride. Draw a
dashed line from Montgomery to Meridian.
On May 29th President Kennedy directed the Interstate Commerce
Commission to ban segregation in interstate terminals.
**Turn to p. 855 in your textbook and check to see if your map is filled out
correctly.
1. Which two groups conducted Freedom Rides through the South?
What do each of the acronyms stand for?
2. Why did the two groups initiate the Freedom Rides? What were they
hoping to accomplish?
3. In which cities did they encounter violence? Do you think they thought
they would encounter violence? Why or why not.
4. When they met Martin Luther King, Jr. in Atlanta he mentioned that they
would not make it through Alabama? Why would he think that way?
Did they make it?
5. In conducting the Freedom Rides how were these people following the
example set by Martin Luther King, Jr. and his beliefs on how to end
discrimination?
6. Would you have been willing to join the Freedom Riders in 1961?
What would cause you to choose to GO or NOT to go?
Name __________________________________
Period _____ Date ______________
Picture Analysis & Matching
U.S. History – Mrs. Heacock
ACTIVITY G . . . 4 of 6
.
Study the Pictures and scan the Readings and match each picture to the correct reading.
Pictures are marked A – F
Readings are Marked 1-6
Match #1 . . .
Picture _____ Reading _____
Group Represented: _______________________
Picture Description: ______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Copy 1st 2-3 sentences of the Reading: _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Link (What gave you a clue that these two matched? ____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Match #2 . . .
Picture _____ Reading _____
Group Represented: _______________________
Picture Description: ______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Copy 1st 2-3 sentences of the Reading: _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Link (What gave you a clue that these two matched? ____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Match #3 . . . Picture _____ Reading _____ Group Represented: ____________________________
Picture Description: ____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Copy 1st 2-3 sentences of the Reading: _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Link (What gave you a clue that these two matched? ____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Match #4 . . .
Picture _____ Reading _____
Group Represented: ______________________
Picture Description: ____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Copy 1st 2-3 sentences of the Reading: _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Link (What gave you a clue that these two matched? ____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Match #5 . . . Picture _____ Reading _____ Group Represented: ____________________________
Picture Description: ____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Copy 1st 2-3 sentences of the Reading: _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Link (What gave you a clue that these two matched? ____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Match #6 . . Picture _____
Reading _____
Group Represented: ____________________________
Picture Description: ______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Copy 1st 2-3 sentences of the Reading: _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Link (What gave you a clue that these two matched? ____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Biographies of Famous African Americans:
Biography #1: Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, the grandson of a slave. Jackie
was the youngest of five children. When he was six months old, his father deserted the family. His
mother moved them to California where it was easier for blacks to live and get work. In those days,
life was very hard for black people in the South. This upset young Jackie. He became very involved in
sports. He played football, basketball, baseball and ran track. In college he was a top football player.
He left college before graduating.
Jackie worked for the National Youth Administration at a work camp but the camp was closed. In the
fall of 1941, he joined the Honolulu Bears professional football
team and then was drafted into the Army. While stationed in
Kansas with the Army, he worked with Joe Louis, a famous
boxer, to fight unfair treatment of black people in the military.
After leaving the Army, Robinson joined the Kansas City
Monarchs. They were a team in the Negro League. This team
was made up of African American baseball players. He soon
become one of the leagues top players but did like the low pay
and constant traveling. He didn't want to make baseball his
career. The Brooklyn Dodger president, Branch Rickey, had
been looking for a black player to bring into the major leagues.
Those leagues were closed to blacks at that time. In 1945,
Robinson signed a contract to play for a Dodgers farm team,
the Montreal Royals. Many owners and sportswriters were
against this. They thought bringing blacks into the league would
destroy major league baseball.
At first it was very difficult. During spring training in Florida,
Robinson had to ride in the back of the bus and some games
were even canceled because he was playing. Even so, he was
a great player and when Rickey wanted to move him up to the Dodgers, even though a petition was
passed around the players trying to ban him from playing, hardly anyone signed it. Things didn't get
any easier though. The St. Louis Cardinals threatened to go on strike. Pitchers often threw the ball
directly at Robinson, base runners tried to spike him, and people called him all sorts of bad names.
He even received hate mail, death threats, and warnings that his baby boy would be kidnapped. But,
gradually, the fans and players realized how good he was at baseball. They started coming just to
see him play.
Jackie had agreed to hold his temper back that first year of play but after that, he became angry when
people made remarks about being an African American often getting in fights with officials or other
players. He became very active in civil rights causes and helped many black players in the league.
Jackie continued to play baseball until 1957. At that point, his health was declining and diabetes took
away his sight in one eye and reduced his sight in the remaining eye.
After his retirement Robinson became a successful businessman and active supporter of political
causes, devoting many of his efforts to the pursuit of a better life for African Americans.
Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. Jackie died on October 24, 1972.
Biography #2: Thurgood Marshall
Born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 2, 1908, Thurgood Marshall was the grandson of a slave. His
father, William Marshall, instilled in him from youth an appreciation for the United States Constitution
and the rule of law. After completing high school in 1925, Thurgood followed his brother, William
Aubrey Marshall, at the historically black Lincoln University in Chester, Pennsylvania. His classmates
at Lincoln included a distinguished group of future Black leaders such as the poet and author
Langston Hughes, the future President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, and musician Cab Calloway.
Just before graduation, he married his first wife, Vivian "Buster" Burey.
In 1930, he applied to the University of Maryland Law School, but was denied admission because he
was Black. This was an event that was to haunt him and direct his future professional life. Thurgood
sought admission and was accepted at the Howard University Law School that same year and came
under the immediate influence of the dynamic new dean, Charles Hamilton Houston, who instilled in
all of his students the desire to apply the tenets of the Constitution to all Americans. Paramount in
Houston's outlook was the need to overturn the 1898 Supreme Court ruling, Plessy v. Ferguson
which established the legal doctrine called, "separate but equal." Marshall's first major court case
came in 1933 when he successfully sued the University of Maryland to admit a young African
American Amherst University graduate named Donald Gaines Murray. Applauding Marshall's victory,
author H.L. Mencken wrote that the decision of denial by the University of Maryland Law School was
"brutal and absurd," and they should not object to the "presence among them of a self-respecting and
ambitious young Afro-American well prepared for his studies by four years of hard work in a class A
college."
Thurgood Marshall followed his Howard University mentor, Charles Hamilton Houston to New York
and later became Chief Counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP). During this period, Mr. Marshall was asked by the United Nations and the United Kingdom
to help draft the constitutions of the emerging African nations of Ghana and what is now Tanzania. It
was felt that the person who so successfully fought for the rights of America's oppressed minority
would be the perfect person to ensure the rights of the White citizens in these two former European
colonies. After amassing an impressive record of Supreme Court Justice.
Biography #3: Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was taught by
her mother, who was a school teacher, and then attended segregated schools. Parks went to the allblack Alabama State College.
In 1932, she married Raymond Parks and they both worked for their local chapter of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Parks became the local NAACP
secretary in the 1943 and advisor of the NAACP Youth Council in 1949.
On December 1, 1955, Parks was riding home from work on the bus. The bus driver ordered her to
give up her seat to a white man and she refused. She was arrested, found guilty of disorderly
conduct, and fined $14. The bus incident led to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement
Association, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In 1957, Parks lost
her job and relocated with her family to Detroit because they feared for their safety.
Biography #4: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael
Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather
began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in
Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the
present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor.
Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from
high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from
Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which
both his father and grandfather had been graduated. After three years of
theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he
was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded
the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate
studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the
degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon
intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.
In 1954, Martin Luther King accepted the pastorale of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in
Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by
this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early
in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of
contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his
presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956,
after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring
segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. During these days of boycott,
King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time
he emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank.
In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization
formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this
organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year
period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five
hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote
five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham,
Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of
conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he
planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful
march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream",
he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he
was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five
honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the
symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.
At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel
Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of
$54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.
On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis,
Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that
city, he was assassinated.
Biography #5: Malcolm X
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother, Louis Norton
Little, was a homemaker occupied with the family's eight children. His father, Earl Little, was an
outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Earl's civil
rights activism prompted death threats from the white supremacist organization Black Legion, forcing
the family to relocate twice before Malcolm's fourth birthday. Regardless of the Little's efforts to elude
the Legion, in 1929 their Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground, and two years later
Earl's mutilated body was found lying across the town's trolley tracks. Police ruled both accidents, but
the Little's were certain that members of the Black Legion were responsible. Louise had an emotional
breakdown several years after the death of her husband and was committed to a mental institution.
Her children were split up amongst various foster homes and orphanages.
Eventually Malcolm and his buddy, Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis, moved back to Boston, where they were
arrested and convicted on burglary charges in 1946. Malcolm placated himself by using the sevenyear prison sentence to further his education. It was during this period of self-enlightenment that
Malcolm's brother Reginald visited and discussed his recent conversion to the Muslim religious
organization the Nation of Islam. Intrigued, Malcolm studied the teachings of Nation of Islam leader
Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad taught that white society actively worked to keep African-Americans
from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic and social success. Among other
goals, the Nation of Islam fought for a state of their own, separate from one inhabited by white
people. By the time he was paroled in 1952, Malcolm was a devoted follower with the new surname
"X." He considered "Little" a slave name and chose the "X" to signify his lost tribal name.
Intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was appointed a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of
Islam. Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing new mosques in cities such as Detroit,
Michigan and Harlem, New York. Malcolm utilized newspaper columns, radio and television to
communicate the Nation of Islam's message across the United States. His charisma, drive and
conviction attracted an astounding number of new members. Malcolm was largely credited with
increasing membership in the Nation of Islam from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.
The crowds and controversy surrounding Malcolm made him a media magnet. He was featured in
a week-long television special with Mike Wallace in 1959, The Hate That Hate Produced, that
explored fundamentals of the Nation of Islam and Malcolm's emergence as one of its most important
leaders. After the special, Malcolm was faced with the uncomfortable reality that his fame had
eclipsed that of his mentor Elijah Muhammad.
Racial tensions ran increasingly high during the early 1960s. In addition to the media, Malcolm's
vivid personality had captured the government's attention. As membership in the Nation of Islam
continued to grow, FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agents infiltrated the organization (one even
acted at Malcolm's bodyguard) and secretly placed bugs, wiretaps and cameras surveillance
equipment to monitor the group's activities.
When Malcolm received criticism after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy for saying,
"[Kennedy] never foresaw that the chickens would come home to roost so soon," Muhammad
"silenced" him for 90 days. Malcolm suspected he was silenced for another reason. In March 1964 he
terminated his relationship with the Nation of Islam and founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc.
That same year, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The trip proved life
altering, as Malcolm met "blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers." He returned to the
United States with a new outlook on integration. This time, instead of just preaching to AfricanAmericans, he had a message for all races.
Relations between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam had become volatile after he renounced Elijah
Muhammad. Informants working in the Nation of Islam warned that Malcolm had been marked for
assassination (one man had even been ordered to help plant a bomb in his car). After repeated
attempts on his life, Malcolm rarely traveled anywhere without bodyguards. On February 14, 1965 the
home where Malcolm, Betty and their four daughters lived in East Elmhurst, New York was
firebombed (the family escaped physical injury).
At a speaking engagement in the Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965 three
gunmen rushed Malcolm onstage and shot him 15 times at close range. The 39-year-old was
pronounced dead on arrival at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Fifteen hundred people
attended Malcolm's funeral in Harlem at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ on February 27,
1965. After the ceremony, friends took the shovels from the gravediggers and buried Malcolm
themselves. Later that year, Betty gave birth to their twin daughters.
Malcolm's assassins, Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson were convicted
of first-degree murder in March 1966. The three men were all members of the Nation of Islam.
Cesar Chavez
Researcher: Rachel Sahlman
Artist: Dick Strandberg
Cesar Estrada Chavez was born March 31, 1927 near Yuma,
Arizona. Chavez was named after his grandfather, who escaped
from slavery on a Mexican ranch and arrived in Arizona during the
1880s. Chavez' grandparents homesteaded more than one
hundred acres in the Gila Valley and raised 14 children. Chavez' father, Librado, started
his family in 1924 when he married Juana Estrada. Cesar was the second of their six
children. Librado worked on the family ranch and owned a store in the Gila Valley. The
family lived in an apartment above the store.
Chavez began school at age 7, but he found it difficult because his family spoke only
Spanish. Chavez preferred to learn from his uncles and grandparents, who would read
to him in Spanish. In addition, Chavez learned many things from his mother. She
believed violence and selfishness were wrong, and she taught these lessons to her
children.
In the 1930s, Chavez' father lost his business because of the Great Depression, and the
family moved back to the ranch. However in 1937, a severe drought forced the family to
give up the ranch. The next year, Chavez and his family packed their belongings and
headed to California in search of work. In California, the Chavez family became part of
the migrant community, traveling from farm to farm to pick fruits and vegetables during
the harvest. They lived in numerous migrant camps and often were forced to sleep in
their car. Chavez sporadically attended more than 30 elementary schools, often
encountering cruel discrimination.
Once Chavez completed the eighth grade, he quit school and worked full-time in the
vineyards. His family was able to rent a small cottage in San Jose and make it their
home. Then in 1944, Chavez joined the navy and served in World War II. After
completing his duty two years later, Chavez returned to California. He married Helen
Fabela in 1948, and they moved into a one-room shack in Delano. Chavez again
worked in the fields, but he began to fight for change. That same year, Chavez took part
in his first strike in protest of low wages and poor working conditions. However, within
several days the workers were forced back to the fields.
In 1952, Chavez met Fred Ross, who was part of a group called the Community Service
Organization (CSO) formed by Saul Alinsky. Chavez became part of the organization
and began urging Mexican-Americans to register and vote. Chavez traveled throughout
California and made speeches in support of workers' rights. He became general director
of CSO in 1958.
Four years later, however, Chavez left CSO to form his own organization, which he
called the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA). The name was later changed to
the United Farm Workers (UFW). In 1965, Chavez and the NFWA led a strike of
California grape-pickers to demand higher wages. In addition to the strike, they
encouraged all Americans to boycott table grapes as a show of support. The strike
lasted five years and attracted national attention. When the U.S. Senate Subcommittee
looked into the situation, Robert Kennedy gave Chavez his total support.
In 1968, Chavez began a fast to call attention to the migrant workers' cause. Although
his dramatic act did little to solve the immediate problems, it increased public
awareness of the problem. In the late 1960s, the Teamsters attempted to take power
from the UFW. After many battles, an agreement was finally reached in 1977. It gave
the UFW sole right to organize field workers.
In 1973, the UFW organized a strike for higher wages from lettuce growers. During the
1980s, Chavez led a boycott to protest the use of toxic pesticides on grapes. He again
fasted to draw public attention. These strikes and boycotts generally ended with the
signing of bargaining agreements.
Cesar Chavez died on April 23, 1993.
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Author's last name, first name, middle initial. "Title of biography." SPECTRUM Home &
School Magazine. [http://www.incwell.com/Spectrum.html] (date accessed). © IncWell
DMG, Ltd.
"Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around" is a traditional song that was adopted by the civil rights movement in Albany, Georgia in
the early 1960s. This particular recording features the SNCC Freedom Singers, a student group that traveled around the country singing
at mass meetings and rallies. "Chief Pritchett" refers to Albany's police chief Laurie Pritchett, "Mayor Kelley" refers to Albany Mayor Asa
Kelly.
Lyrics
Ain't gonna let nobody, turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let nobody, turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Marching up to freedom land
Ain't gonna let segregation (Lordy), turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let segregation (Lordy), turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Marching up to freedom land
Ain't gonna let no jailhouse (Lordy), turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let no jailhouse, turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Marching up to freedom land
Ain't gonna let no nervous Nellie (Lordy), turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let no nervous Nellie (Lordy), turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Marching up to freedom land
Ain't gonna let Chief Pritchett (Lordy), turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let Chief Pritchett (Lordy), turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Marching up to freedom land
Ain't gonna let Mayor Kelley (Lordy), turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let Mayor Kelley (Lordy), turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Marching up to freedom land
Ain't gonna let no Uncle Tom (Lordy), turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let no Uncle Tom (Lordy), turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Marching up to freedom land
Ain't gonna let nobody, turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let nobody, turn me around
Keep on a walking, keep on a talking
Marching up to freedom land
"Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around" performed by the SNCC Freedom Singers from Sing For Freedom, recorded by Folkways in
New York (SF 40032), provided courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. © 1992. Used by permission.
All photographs are from the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963 (Courtesy of the National Archives and Records
Administration)
This Little Light of Mine" is a traditional gospel song that was given slightly updated lyrics reflecting the mood of the civil rights era.
This recording was done in 1963 by three teenagers from the Montgomery Improvement Association: Mary Ethel Dozier, Minnie
Hendrick, and Gladys Burnette Carter. Montgomery, Alabama, is considered the birthplace of the modern civil rights movement and
had a strong singing tradition.
Lyrics
Oh, this little light of mine,
I'm going to let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm going to let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm going to let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine,
Let it shine.
Oh, deep down in the South,
I'm going to let it shine.
Deep down in the South,
I'm going to let it shine.
Deep down in the South,
I'm going to let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine,
Let it shine.
Oh, we have the light of freedom,
We're going to let it shine.
We have the light of freedom,
We're going to let it shine.
We have the light of freedom,
We're going to let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine,
Let it shine.
Oh, God gave to us,
We're going to let it shine.
God gave to us,
We're going to let it shine.
God gave to us,
We're going to let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine,
Let it shine.
Oh, all in the church,
We're going to let it shine.
All in the church,
We're going to let it shine.
All in the church,
We're going to let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine,
Let it shine.
Oh, this little light of mine,
I'm going to let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm going to let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm going to let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine,
Let it shine.
"This Little Light of Mine" performed by Mary Ethel Dozier, Minnie Hendrick, and Gladys Burnette Carter from Sing For Freedom,
recorded by Folkways in New York (SF 40032), provided courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. © 1992. Used by permission.
All photographs are from the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963 (Courtesy of the National Archives and Records
Administration)
This version of "Oh Freedom" was recorded in November, 1963, at a voter registration rally in Jackson, Mississippi. One of the
organizers, Willie Peacock, leads demonstrators in the singing. "Barnetts" refers to Ross Barnett, Governor of Mississippi in 1963.
Lyrics
Oh freedom, oh freedom,
Oh freedom over me,
And before I'll be a slave,
I'll be buried in my grave,
And go home to my Lord and be free.
No segregation, no segregation
No segregation over me,
And before I'll be a slave,
I'll be buried in my grave,
And go home to my Lord and be free.
No more Barnetts, no more Barnetts,
No more Barnetts over me,
And before I'll be a slave,
I'll be buried in my grave,
And go home to my Lord and be free.
Oh freedom, oh freedom,
Oh freedom over me,
And before I'll be a slave,
I'll be buried in my grave,
And go home to my Lord and be free.
"Oh Freedom" performed by Willie Peacock and demonstrators. From Movement Soul, Folkways Records (FD 5486), provided courtesy
of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. © 1980. Used by permission.
All photographs are from the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963 (Courtesy of the National Archives and Records
Administration)
"Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" was adapted from a traditional gospel song called "Keep Your Hand on the Plow." The song had
particular meaning for the sit-in students who were the first to be "locked in jail" for long periods of time. This version is sung by
organizers in Greenwood, Mississippi. "Barnett" refers to Ross Barnett, Governor of Mississippi in 1963.
Lyrics
Hold on, hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, why don't you hold on
When __ was locked in jail,
Had no money for to go his bail,
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, why don't you hold on
Hold on, hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, why don't you hold on
Barnett Barnett, don't you know,
Mississippi is next to go
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, why don't you hold on
Hold on, hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on, why don't you hold on
"Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" performed by by Bob Moses and a Greenwood Mississippi woman. Recorded by Guy Caravan in
Mississippi. From Sing For Freedom, (SF 40032), provided courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. © 1992. Used by
permission.
All photographs are from the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963 (Courtesy of the National Archives and Records
Administration)
"I'm on My Way to Freedom Land" is a traditional gospel song. This version is sung by the Birmingham Movement Choir, a large group
that sang at mass meetings throughout Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. They once performed for forty nights in a row during a
particularly tense time in the civil rights movement. The actions of organizers in Birmingham, as well as the media coverage that they
received, created support for the Civil Rights Bill of 1964.
Lyrics
I'm on my way to freedom land
I'm on my way, oh Lord,
To freedom land.
I'm on my way to freedom land
I'm on my way to freedom land
I'm on my way to freedom land
I'm on my way, oh Lord,
To freedom land.
If you don't go, don't you hinder me
If you don't go, don't hinder me
If you don't go, don't hinder me
I'm on my way, oh Lord,
To freedom land.
It's an uphill journey, but I'm on my way
It's an uphill journey, but I'm on my way
It's an uphill journey, but I'm on my way
I'm on my way, oh Lord,
To freedom land.
There is nothing you can do, to turn me around
There is nothing you can do, to turn me around
There is nothing you can do, to turn me around
I'm on my way, oh Lord,
To freedom land.
I asked my mother, come and go with me
I asked my mother, come and go with me
I asked my mother, come and go with me
I'm on my way, oh Lord,
To freedom land.
If my mother don't go, I'll go anyhow
If my mother don't go, I'll go anyhow
If my mother don't go, I'll go anyhow
I'm on my way, oh Lord,
To freedom land.
Are you on your way, to freedom land
Are you on your way, to freedom land
Are you on your way, to freedom land
I'm on my way, oh Lord,
To freedom land.
I'm on my way to freedom land
I'm on my way to freedom land
I'm on my way to freedom land
I'm on my way, oh Lord,
To freedom land.
(repeat)
"I'm On My Way" performed by the Birmingham Movement Choir from Sing For Freedom, recorded by Guy Caravan in Birmingham
(SF 40032), provided courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. © 1992. Used by permission.
All photographs are from the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963 (Courtesy of the National Archives and Records
Administration)
"We Shall Not Be Moved" is a traditional song that has been used in the labor movement as well as the civil rights movement. This
recording was made in Selma, Alabama, in March of 1965. This version is sung by demonstrators who had gathered in the streets of
Selma to demand the right to continue their protest march to Montgomery. Martin Luther King, Jr., was present at the demonstration.
"Jim Clark" refers to the notoriously abusive sheriff of Selma.
Lyrics
Tell Mayor Smitherman, we shall not be moved
Tell Mayor Smitherman, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the water
We shall not be moved
All the state troopers, we shall not be moved
All the state troopers, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the water
We shall not be moved
Tell Governor Wallace, we shall not be moved
Tell Governor Wallace, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the water
We shall not be moved
We love everybody, we shall not be moved
We love everybody, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the water
We shall not be moved
Tell Jim Clark, Lord, we shall not be moved
Tell Jim Clark, Lord, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the water
We shall not be moved
We shall not, we shall not be moved
We shall not, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the water
We shall not be moved
"We Shall Not Be Moved" by Demonstrators, Selma Alabama, from Freedom Songs: Selma, Alabama, Folkways Records (FH 5594),
provided courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. © 1965. Used by permission.
All photographs are from the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963 (Courtesy of the National Archives and Records
Administration)