The purpose of this course is to examine the African American experience in the United States from 1863 to the present. Prominent themes include the end of the Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction; African Americans' urbanization experiences; the development of the modern civil rights movement and its aftermath; and the thought and leadership of Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. WARNING: Some of the lectures in this course contain graphic content and/or adult language that some users may find disturbing.

Until about 1966, the Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. King and the other national Black organizations focused on ending segregation, changing racist attitudes, advancing equality under the law, and securing the vote. Because of the system of Jim Crow laws, the Movement’s attention was largely on the South. Protests also highlighted economic inequalities and jobs and demanded government responses to effect change. In the “long hot summer” of 1967, over 20 uprisings and disorders took place in cities across the country. This prompted President Johnson to appoint a study commission led by former Illinois Governor Otto Kerner to examine these uprisings and make recommendations. Additional rioting occurred in 1968 in reaction to the assassination of Dr. King. The 1968 Kerner Commission report is a detailed, thoughtful, and clear-eyed analysis of these urban disorders with a comprehensive and bold set of recommendations for addressing systemic racism and its economic and social consequences.

The Civil Rights Movement in America featured many different leaders, some with very different approaches they thought would help African Americans achieve equality. Of these figures Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X are two of the most influential. Students will analyze one writing from each of these leaders to determine what their beliefs were and how they were different from one another, before discussing these beliefs and differences with a partner. Image: Warren K. Leffler (photographer), Library of Congress (source). Public Domain.

The Civil Rights Movement for African American equality is one of the defining social movements of the 1950s and 60s.  Ordinary people took to the streets to demand equality.  This lesson will explore the various forms of protest that defined the movement.  Two of the most notable leaders of the movement were Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.  While both men shared the common goal of equality, their approaches were very different.  Martin Luther King preached nonviolent civil disobedience, while Malcolm X demanded equality “by any means necessary.” You will examine famous speeches and articles written by both men to form your own opinion of which approach is more effective to have your demands met.StandardsCC.8.5.11-12.FCC.8.6.9-10.GCC.8.3.12.D