Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History with 21 Activities
Introduction The struggle for civil rights for African Americans exploded dra matically in the 1960s As black children in the south faced hos tile white mobs to enroll in school the nation watched their bravery on the evening news Television showed fire hoses turned on nonviolent demonstrators police dogs tearing at human flesh churches bombed and children killed as the strug gle between racism and resistance engulfed the country The quiet heroism of black men women and children inspired those who watched from a distance Soon many young people and some who were older streamed south to join in the civil rights struggle The southern Civil Rights Movement recognized its greatest leader in the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr Like many move ment leaders he based his commitment on his deep Christian faith In a brilliant synthesis Reverend King combined the non violent resistance tactics of Mahatma Gandhi with the prophetic Jewish cry for justice of Rabbi Abraham Heschel and his own Christian preaching on love of enemies Even when he was beaten and jailed his family threatened his home bombed Rev erend King refused to respond with violence or hatred By the thousands people followed his example and committed their lives to a nonviolent loving struggle for justice Black and white Christian and Jewish they found common ground in the Civil Rights Movement High school and college students of all races traveled south as Freedom Riders peacefully violating law and custom as they rode side by side in the back and the front of Greyhound buses Daring young people led the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee SNCC in organizing and teaching in freedom schools in lunch counter sit ins and in voter registration
Daring young people led the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee SNCC in organizing and teaching in freedom schools in lunch counter sit ins and in voter registration drives And then the struggle moved north In northern cities like Chicago and Milwaukee white mobs screamed spit and threw rocks at peaceful marchers who sought to integrate all white neighborhoods Although Chicago had no laws separating white from black children in schools residential housing segregation kept black and white families and children apart as effectively as the segregation laws of Mississippi and Alabama This movement is not a part of history but a part of present day political reality In this book children will revisit the early days of the Civil Rights Movement Each chapter includes profiles of civil rights leaders These profiles introduce significant women leaders like Septima Clark and Diane Nash as well as famous men of the movement Each chapter also provides activities for children Activities range from a Freedom Feast to a one act play recreat ing a lunch counter sit in Chapter One Let the Children Lead describes segregation in the United States before the Civil Rights Movement This chapter highlights the early struggle for integrated schools and introduces heroes of the movement beginning with teenage Bar bara Johns and six year old Ruby Bridges Chapter Two Tired of Being Mistreated introduces Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr The exciting success of the 1955 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott demonstrates the success of united action and the early stages of a public mass movement In Chapter Three Nonviolent Resistance Student Sit ins 1960 young people again take center stage as they stage dra matic nonviolent protests that capture the attention of the entire
world Black college students show heroism and determination as they move into leadership roles alongside their elders If Not Us Then Who ask the Freedom Riders of Chapter 4 Black and white old and young the Freedom Riders put their lives on the line as they challenge segregation in buses waiting rooms and restaurants Chapter 5 describes people across the South Standing up for Freedom from the 1963 Children's Crusade in Birmingham to Selma's Bloody Sunday in March 1965 By day civil rights demonstrators stood up to fire hoses and police dogs By night civil rights leaders fell victim to midnight assassins lurking on dark streets and hiding in bushes In 1963 the March on Washington celebrated the Civil Rights Movement Chapter 6 I Have a Dream describes the march and the steady progress of the dream of justice for all The great march celebrated the movement and claimed its rightful place in the center of the American political scene Chapter 7 Praying with My Feet examines the religious roots of the Civil Rights Movement People from diverse reli gious traditions came together in the movement agreeing that each of their religions required a moral commitment to justice and equality Chapter 8 You May Be Killed focuses on the Freedom Sum mer of 1964 Hundreds of young men and women streamed south to work in a massive voter registration campaign That summer had barely begun when the prophetic warning of the chapter title was tragically fulfilled for three young men in Mis sissippi Chapter 9 The Struggle Continues focuses on the multiple civil rights movements active at the beginning of the twenty first century Although the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s won great victories African Americans still continue to seek an end to prejudice and discrimination based on racism Other groups seeking justice both in this country and around the world have been inspired by their
Throughout this book the Civil Rights Movement appears as a living force This movement is not a part of history but a part of present day political reality Learning about the origins of the movement sheds light on today's struggles against prejudice and discrimination Stories of the great achievements of young peo ple in the movement can inspire each person to care and to dare and to work for justice today Learning about the origins of the movement sheds light on today’s struggles against prejudice and dis
