Teaching Brown : A list of resources

Below are some of the Web sites, books, videos and other teaching resources for Brown v. Board of Education  and related topics. Several of the videos listed are available for free check-out in many public libraries.

AFT RESOURCES ON BROWN  AND CIVIL RIGHTS

The AFT has prepared a special online resource section, “Bringing Brown v. Board of Education into the Classroom,” which is available at www.aft.org/edissues/BrownvBoard/index.htm.  The site includes history of segregated education in the United States before Brown, a discussion of the decision and information on the civil rights movement, and where we are today and what remains to be done to promote educational equality. The section features recommended reading that includes grade-appropriate literature on segregation and the civil rights movement.

BEFORE BROWN : RECONSTRUCTION AND THE JIM CROW SOUTH

JimCrowHistory.org. The History of Jim Crow
This site explores the segregation of African-Americans from the 1870s through the 1950s. Includes teachers’ guides for the award-winning PBS series, “The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow,” plus lesson plans for middle and high school students. www.jimcrowhistory.org/home.htm  Also see the PBS site, www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow. 

American Nightmare: The History of Jim Crow  by Jerrold M. Packard (St. Martin’s Press, 2002) A history of legalized segregation in the American South. Relates how American apartheid came into being, its far-reaching effects on Southern life, and the scars it left.

ON BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

National Public Radio. Looking Back: Brown v. Board of Education
Includes audio and summaries of a six-part NPR series exploring the Brown decision.  Features interviews with teachers who both attended and taught in segregated schools. www.npr.org/news/specials/brown50

Landmark Cases. Brown v. Board of Education
Provides a diagram of how the case moved through the court system and a range of teaching activities for students in grades 5-9. www.landmarkcases.org/brown/home.html

Howard Law School. Brown@50: Fulfilling the Promise
Contains case texts and biographical sketches of many of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund lawyers. The home page features a link to an excellent article on the role of Howard Law School and its dean, Charles Hamilton Houston, in the legal battle to overturn segregation. www.brownat50.org/index.html

American Bar Association Division for Public Education. Dialogue on Brown v. Board of Education.
A discussion guide for high school students and adults, with hypothetical situations to help students understand the realities of segregation. www.abanet.org/publiced

From the NAACP. Brown v. Board of Education : 50 years
Contains a detailed chronology, links to other Brown resources, and a history of the NAACP. www.brownmatters.org

A&E Biography. Thurgood Marshall: And Justice for All
Uses archival footage, period accounts, and interviews with family members and colleagues to chronicle Marshall’s life.

Brown v. Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and Its Troubled Legacy, by James T. Patterson (Oxford University Press, 2001); Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America’s Struggle for Equality, by Richard Kluger (Vintage, 1975). Two first-rate and comprehensive histories of the Brown decision, including the social and historical factors that influenced the case.

Thurgood Marshall: Warrior at the Bar, Rebel on the Bench, by Michael D. Davis and Hunter R. Clark (Birch Lane Press, 1992);Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary, by Juan Williams (Crown, 1998) Engaging biographies of Brown’s lead counsel and America’s first black Supreme Court justice.

THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Center for Technology and Teacher Education, University of Virginia. Conflict at Little Rock. This middle-school lesson plan focuses on the school integration conflict in Little Rock, Ark.. www.landmarkcases.org/brown/landmarkframe_little.html

American Experience: WayBack: U.S. History for Kids—Stand Up for Your Rights. This issue of the online magazine for middle schoolers focuses on civil rights and includes interactive games and quizzes. www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kids/civilrights

PBS: Eyes on the Prize. This groundbreaking 1989 documentary focuses on the civil rights movement’s key players and events. The Web site contains lesson plans based on the series. http://pbsvideodb.pbs.org/resources/eyes

PBS/Newshour. The March on Washington and Its Impact.
Produced by “Newshour with Jim Lehrer,” in conjunction with PBS, this informative lesson plan focuses on the march and its effects. Includes an audio clip and text of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, “I Have a Dream.” www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/history/dream_8-20.html

A&E Biography. Martin Luther King Jr.: The Man and the Dream.
With rare footage and photographs, this video explores King’s ideas, thoughts and causes over the course of the civil rights movement.

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Brown : The fight for equity in America's schools

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