Read Works
Read Works: A Tale of Segregation: Fetching Water
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage shares a first person account of experiencing the hatred related to segregation while in desperate need of water. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Billie Holiday Was Born
Billie Holiday is one of the most well-known blues singers of all time. Visit this Library of Congress site for more about her early years and some great photographs.
Human Rights Watch
Global Caste Discrimination
This in-depth article about the concern over caste system in such countries as India reveals how this form of social organization is discriminatory and racist.
PBS
Pbs: p.o.v. Flag Wars (Economic Competition Between Two Social Classes)
A case study in different points of view about the process of gentrification. Explore what happens when new residents move into an older African-American neighborhood. Where realtors and buyers see run-down homes in need of...
Other
California Newsreel: Videos on African American Life
This company claims to be the "oldest and most notable non-profit documentary production and distribution center in the nation." It offers a rich collection of videos on all aspects of African American life and history: e.g., Academy...
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: u.s. Supreme Court: Plessy vs. Ferguson
Transcript of the infamous Supreme Court decision that established the constitutionality of the principle of "Separate but equal," public facilities for members of different races. This was eventually overturned by the 1954 and 1955...
CommonLit
Common Lit: "Little Things Are Big" by Jesus Colon
A learning module that begins with "Little Things Are Big" by Jesus Colon, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher...
Read Works
Read Works: A Museum of Their Own
[Free Registration/Login Required] This infomrationa text piece discusses the accomplishments of several African-American baseball players from the days of segregation and the museum that has been built to honor their accomplishments....
Black Past
Black Past: Civil Rights Congress (1946 1956)
This encyclopedia entry talks about the Civil Rights Congress, a group that gave legal defense for blacks, but was hampered by its support of the Communist Party during the Cold War.
Black Past
Black Past: Fisk Jubilee Singers
In this interesting encyclopedia article, you can read about the beginning of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a gospel group which performed spirituals all over the country and the world.
Black Past
Black Past: Hughes, Langston
This encyclopedia article is a brief biography of Langston Hughes, the influential poet during the Harlem Renaissance.
Black Past
Black Past: Marshall, Thurgood
This very brief encyclopedia entry gives a short overview of Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court judge.
Black Past
Black Past: Mingus, Charles
In this encyclopedia entry, you learn about Charles Mingus, jazz bassist and composer.
Black Past
Black Past: Newton, Huey
A brief encyclopedia entry about the life of Black Panther, Huey Newton.
Black Past
Black Past: Robeson, Paul
This encyclopedia entry tells about Paul Robeson, famous baritone, and his struggles for racial equality. A link to a website for more information on African-Americans is provided.
Black Past
Black Past: Bert Williams
This encyclopedia article gives a good overview of the life of Bert Williams, a black entertainer of the early 1900's who broke many color lines.
Black Past
Black Past: Whitney Young, Jr.
This encyclopedia article gives biographical information about Whitney Young, civil rights leader and president of the National Urban League.
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.
Orca Book Publishers
Orca Book Publishers: Middle Row Teaching Guide [Pdf]
When their friend Dune goes missing, Raedawn and Vince launch a search for him, eventually finding him at a mountain grow-op. The novel Middle Row by Sylvia Olsen also deals with racial barriers at school. This teacher's guide includes a...
Orca Book Publishers
Orca Book Publishers: Yellow Line Teaching Guide [Pdf]
Yellow Line by Sylvia Olsen is a novel about racial prejudice in a small town, where whites and natives do not mix. When Vince's friend Sherry starts to date Steve, who is native, Vince tries to break them up. But when he finds himself...
BBC
Bb Ci Audio Interviews: Alice Walker
The BBC provides audio clips from two different radio interviews with Alice Walker. Additional content includes a brief biography and a list of key works.
Other
Civil Rights Teaching
Online companion to the book "Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching", but many useful resources for any classroom.
CommonLit
Common Lit: The Watson's Go to Birmingham 1963" by Christopher Paul Curtis
Selected (7)reading passages (grades 7-11) to pair with "The Watson's Go to Birmingham -- 1963" by Christopher Paul Curtis. At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Kenny Watson and his family embark on a road trip from Michigan to...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
Selected (12) reading passages (grades 7-11) to pair with "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. A young Scout watches her father, prominent lawyer Atticus Finch, defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman in the...