Learning target: We can describe how the civil rights movement has shaped modern American politics
The next two days we’re going to be talking about the movement for African-American civil rights because it illustrates the different change strategies one can use to change the political system. It also highlights issues of federalism and states rights that we’ve discussed and that are important for the issue of pollution in the river.
We’ll start with this quote, “Who the hell is Diane Nash?” Robert F. Kennedy (JFK’s brother) said this in 1961 when he was Attorney General. He had just worked out a way to avoid violence and end the Freedom Rides, an effort by civil rights activists to desegregate interstate buses and bus stations. The first group of Freedom Riders had just been flown from Alabama to New Orleans and Kennedy thought the crisis was over. But Diane Nash, a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee based in Nashville, quickly organized replacement riders from nearby universities. When Kennedy found out a new group of riders was headed from Nashville to Birmingham to continue the rides he called his aide in New Orleans and said “Who the hell is Diane Nash?” Diane Nash was one of the quiet leaders of the movement who doesn’t get a lot of space in the history books. I want you to understand who she is because she was only 22 when this occurred and because the civil rights movement was much broader than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and involved people from all walks of life and all parts of the country, and it still does.
I’ll show a clip from this video about the Freedom Riders so you get a sense of what we’re talking about. If you miss class you can watch from 33:00 to 45:00.
After this, we’ll switch into project mode. We made good progress last week. I’ll show you this calendar so you see where we are and what the schedule is. There’s a meeting on Tuesday after class about the river at the Public Lands Center. It will include many of the non-profits and public agencies and will be a good place to do some networking and outreach. I’ll be going to this and will encourage you to as well if you’re free.
We’ll then talk about the choice of venue for the event. I have more information on the potential to use the school’s performing arts center in Silverton. We’ll discuss the pros and cons and see if we can come to an agreement. If we get stuck in consensus, we’ll move to a vote. We also need to think about the best day and time for the event.
I will also pass out a description of different jobs that we’ll need to do to pull off the event. I’ll introduce this and tomorrow you’ll sign-up, so your homework is to look this over and decide on your preferences. Follow the instructions on the sheet
After break we’ll spend the rest of the class talking about civil rights. I’ll show this webpage of electoral maps going back to the founding of the country. I want you to take note of “Solid South” for the Democrats from the Civil War all the way until 1964. What happened in 1964? This was the year that Democratic president Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.
I’ll review this timeline of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
Then we’ll watch a section of this video (1:04:00 -1:15:00) on LBJ and how he got the Civil Rights Act through a gridlocked Congress. Parties aren’t as powerful or unified as they used to be so this kind of strategy isn’t really effective today, but it gives you a sense of how politics can work in Washington to overcome opposition and get something done.
This video will bring us up to 1965, the March from Selma to Montgomery, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. To understand this we’ll watch this video over the next two days. I want you to pay attention to the differences in tactics between the Dr. King and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the role of the courts and the executive branch, and the issues of federalism and states’ rights raised by this event. Also the role of the media was critical in creating the necessary pressure to push the political system forward. The March from Selma to Montgomery is arguably the most important exercise of freedom of assembly in our country’s history.
We’ll watch the first half of the video during this class period and finish it tomorrow.
Homework due Tuesday, October 20th
Decide on your preferences for jobs in our group project. Follow the instructions on the sheet. If you haven't finished the Term Paper Topic Worksheet, do this as well.
The next two days we’re going to be talking about the movement for African-American civil rights because it illustrates the different change strategies one can use to change the political system. It also highlights issues of federalism and states rights that we’ve discussed and that are important for the issue of pollution in the river.
We’ll start with this quote, “Who the hell is Diane Nash?” Robert F. Kennedy (JFK’s brother) said this in 1961 when he was Attorney General. He had just worked out a way to avoid violence and end the Freedom Rides, an effort by civil rights activists to desegregate interstate buses and bus stations. The first group of Freedom Riders had just been flown from Alabama to New Orleans and Kennedy thought the crisis was over. But Diane Nash, a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee based in Nashville, quickly organized replacement riders from nearby universities. When Kennedy found out a new group of riders was headed from Nashville to Birmingham to continue the rides he called his aide in New Orleans and said “Who the hell is Diane Nash?” Diane Nash was one of the quiet leaders of the movement who doesn’t get a lot of space in the history books. I want you to understand who she is because she was only 22 when this occurred and because the civil rights movement was much broader than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and involved people from all walks of life and all parts of the country, and it still does.
I’ll show a clip from this video about the Freedom Riders so you get a sense of what we’re talking about. If you miss class you can watch from 33:00 to 45:00.
After this, we’ll switch into project mode. We made good progress last week. I’ll show you this calendar so you see where we are and what the schedule is. There’s a meeting on Tuesday after class about the river at the Public Lands Center. It will include many of the non-profits and public agencies and will be a good place to do some networking and outreach. I’ll be going to this and will encourage you to as well if you’re free.
We’ll then talk about the choice of venue for the event. I have more information on the potential to use the school’s performing arts center in Silverton. We’ll discuss the pros and cons and see if we can come to an agreement. If we get stuck in consensus, we’ll move to a vote. We also need to think about the best day and time for the event.
I will also pass out a description of different jobs that we’ll need to do to pull off the event. I’ll introduce this and tomorrow you’ll sign-up, so your homework is to look this over and decide on your preferences. Follow the instructions on the sheet
After break we’ll spend the rest of the class talking about civil rights. I’ll show this webpage of electoral maps going back to the founding of the country. I want you to take note of “Solid South” for the Democrats from the Civil War all the way until 1964. What happened in 1964? This was the year that Democratic president Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.
I’ll review this timeline of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
Then we’ll watch a section of this video (1:04:00 -1:15:00) on LBJ and how he got the Civil Rights Act through a gridlocked Congress. Parties aren’t as powerful or unified as they used to be so this kind of strategy isn’t really effective today, but it gives you a sense of how politics can work in Washington to overcome opposition and get something done.
This video will bring us up to 1965, the March from Selma to Montgomery, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. To understand this we’ll watch this video over the next two days. I want you to pay attention to the differences in tactics between the Dr. King and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the role of the courts and the executive branch, and the issues of federalism and states’ rights raised by this event. Also the role of the media was critical in creating the necessary pressure to push the political system forward. The March from Selma to Montgomery is arguably the most important exercise of freedom of assembly in our country’s history.
We’ll watch the first half of the video during this class period and finish it tomorrow.
Homework due Tuesday, October 20th
Decide on your preferences for jobs in our group project. Follow the instructions on the sheet. If you haven't finished the Term Paper Topic Worksheet, do this as well.