| A “Discriminating”
Time Line: A Look at the Impact of Brown v. Board
Students examine the landmark Supreme
Court decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.
Then they consider the following statement:
“Racial discrimination substantially
decreased in the United States as a result of the Brown
v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kan. (1954) decision.”
Students work in focus groups to examine
a segment of time from 1896 to 1965. The focus groups identify
and detail significant examples of racial discrimination
in the United States during their period. Then they present
their findings to the rest of the class.
After all presentations have been made,
the class as a whole evaluates the impact of the Brown decision
on racial discrimination in America.
To make this exercise visual, a timeline
may be arranged somewhere in the room on which groups may
place their information. Perhaps a blank sheet of paper
may serve as a medium to prepare the information for presentation
and then be placed on the timeline.
Standards
Social Studies
Grade 10
History, Benchmark F
The United States in the 20th Century
14. Analyze the origins, major developments, controversies
and consequences of the civil rights movement with emphasis
on:
a. Brown v. Board of Education.
People in Societies, Benchmark B
Interaction
3. Explain how Jim Crow laws. legalized discrimination
based on race.
Government, Benchmark A
Rules and Laws
1. Examine the United States Constitution as a living
document by analyzing its evolution through amendments
and Supreme Court decisions including:
b. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).
b. Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
Social Studies Skills and Methods,
Benchmark A
Thinking and Organizing
2. Critique evidence used to support a thesis.
Objectives
-
Students will do research on racial discrimination
during class.
-
Students will prepare five (or some other appropriate
number) detailed examples of discrimination in their
periods.
-
Students will present what they learned to the rest
of the class.
Time Needed
This lesson will likely take three to five
days — one for student research, one or two to prepare
their presentations and one or two to give presentations
and do a class evaluation of the thesis statement.
Procedure
-
Divide students into five focus groups of three to
five students each. Each group should select a segment
of time as outlined below. The teacher may write focus
group time segments on an index card and then distribute
the cards to the groups.
-
Have the students conduct research about their topic.
They should find three to five (or some other appropriate
number) examples of racial discrimination and detail,
with at least five facts, relevant information about
each example.
-
Students should then draw a conclusion that puts into
perspective the relative importance of this example
to the overall condition of discrimination in America
at that time.
-
Students should then make a presentation, teaching
about their examples.
Focus Periods
-
Discrimination from 1896 to 1925: Be sure to include
the Plessy v. Ferguson decision as one of your examples,
and take a look at Jim Crow laws.
-
Discrimination from 1926 to 1953: Perhaps students
could examine Jim Crow laws and the economic roles of
blacks during the Great Depression and World War II.
-
The case of Brown v. Board in 1954: Be sure to address
the importance of Brown becoming the new legal standard
by which future racial discrimination cases would be
measured and how this decision was so controversial.
-
Discrimination from 1955 to 1964: Be sure to look
at new or different actions taken by black Americans
to combat discrimination in this period and how these
actions were controversial.
-
Civil rights movement from 1954
to 1964: Name at least five significant people and their
contributions to the civil rights movement.
Teacher Information
The PBS search engine is an excellent source
for all groups involved in this project. Go to http://www.pbs.org.
Discrimination from 1896 to 1925
-
The Plessy “separate but equal” doctrine
that set the legal standard for racial segregation
-
Jim Crow laws in southern states
-
Any evidence of discrimination in northern states
-
W.E.B. DuBois and the NAACP
-
The Great Migration and racial discrimination during
World War I
-
Rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the
1920s
Discrimination from 1926 to 1953
-
Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance as a reaction to
racial discrimination
-
Langston Hughes, W.C. Handy, Louis Armstrong, “The
Jazz Singer”
-
Marcus Garvey, black pride and early separatism
-
Blacks, the Great Depression and the New Deal (Mary
McLeod Bethune)
-
Discrimination of black soldiers in World War II (Tuskegee
Airmen)
-
Lynchings
-
Philip Randolph and the Fair Employment Practices
Commission
-
Jackie Robinson
-
President Truman’s desegregation of federal
civil service and order of “equality of treatment
and opportunity” in the armed forces (1948)
-
Sweatt v. Painter (1950)
The case of Brown v. Board of
Education in 1954
-
Linda Brown
-
The role of the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall
-
Earl Warren and the Warren Court
-
Overturning of Plessy v. Ferguson: separate is “inherently
unequal”
-
The significance of the unanimous decision in the Brown
case
-
Judicial activism
Discrimination
from 1955 to 1964
(http://pbskids.org/wayback/civilrights/features_school.html)
-
Martin Luther King and nonviolent resistance
-
Montgomery Bus Boycott
-
White “massive resistance” to school desegregation
order in Deep South
-
The crisis in Little Rock, The Little Rock Nine
-
Sit-ins
-
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
-
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
-
Freedom Riders (1960)
-
Campaign against Birmingham (1963)
-
March on Washington (1963) and King’s “I
Have A Dream” speech
-
Civil Rights Act of 1964
-
Passage of the 24th Amendment eliminating poll taxes
Civil rights
movement from 1954 to 1964
(http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/thurgood_marshall.html)
Links
Discrimination From 1896 to 1925
Discrimination
From 1926 to 1953
Brown v. Board
of Education
Discrimination From 1955 to 1964
Five Significant People — Examples
Materials
- Index cards
- Text reference
Evaluation
Presentation Rubric
| CATEGORY |
20-16 |
15-11 |
10-6 |
5-0 |
| Content |
Shows a full understanding of the topic. Has five
good examples with an explanation of each. |
Shows a good understanding of the topic. Has four
good examples with an explanation of each. |
Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic.
Has three good examples with an explanation of each.
|
Does not seem to understand the topic very well. Has
two good examples with an explanation of each. |
| Stays on Topic |
Stays on topic all 100 percent of the time. |
Stays on topic 99 percent to 90 percent of the time.
|
Stays on topic 89 percent to 75 percent of the time.
|
It was hard to tell what the topic was. |
| Preparedness |
The student is completely prepared
and has obviously rehearsed. |
The student seems prepared but might have needed a
few more rehearsals. |
The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear
that rehearsal was lacking. |
The student does not seem at all prepared to present.
|
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