Objective:
Students will become aware of how the struggle for equality changed in the mid 1960’s.
Introduction:
Students should understand that the riots and issues of economic injustice and segregation that sparked them posed a challenge for Americans in the civil rights movement. For many the dream of achieving integration through peaceful means had been shattered. By 1965, the leading civil rights groups, while still sharing the goals of racial equality and greater opportunity, began to drift apart. New leaders emerged as the civil rights movement turned its attention to the North where African Americans faced not legal racism, but deeply entrenched and oppressive racial prejudice.
Procedure:
Students should be divided into six groups. Each group should select a name from those listed below. Research will be done as a group in the library. They should research the life of their person. They will need to make an outline of the important activities and events of that person’s life. They will need to write the biography. Once this is done they will present their information back to the entire class. Students should consider the following key questions as they are writing their report: What event or situation caused the leader to become involved in the civil rights movement? What were the leader’s major contributions to the movement? What were the effects of those contributions and how did the American people react to the leader’s efforts?
Key People:
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1. Malcolm Little
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2. Stokley Carmichael
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3. Huey Newton, Bobby Seale
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4. Floyd McKissick
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5. James Meredith
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6. Medgar Evers
