Valencia College 15 Important Moments in The Long Civil Rights Movement Discussion

In the past, I have had students watch the documentary, “I am not your Negro”, to examine the Civil Rights Movement. This documentary is no longer accessible through our library. I have attached its trailer to get you to start thinking about the conversation that was taking place around race in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Please watch. For your discussion, I want you to leave behind the notion that there was a civil rights movement in the middle of the 20th century that made gains and then things became largely equal between Blacks and Whites in America. Instead, please think about the centuries-long struggle for racial equality that began in 1619, when the first slave ship docked in British North America and is still with us in 2022. Historians call this the “long civil rights movement” or the “Black Freedom Struggle”. Rather than writing a discussion this week, I want you to select 15 important moments in the long civil rights movement, from 1776 (when we declared independence from England) and 2020. Please explain in a sentence or two why you believe your chosen moment in your timeline is important. The moment does not have to be a moment that shows progress toward equality, it can be a moment of pain that helped the nation to pay attention. For example, you can include the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott but you can also include the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcolm X.

Please title your timeline with a quote from a freedom fighter, whether it’s James Baldwin, Sojourner Truth, Ella Baker, or any other American who was a part of this struggle.

Your timeline is due on Saturday, and your two responses (75 words each) are due on Sunday.

For example:

“I leave you love. I leave you hope. I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. I leave you respect for the use of power. I leave you faith. I leave you racial dignity.” (Links to an external site.)

— Mary McLeod Bethune

1865-1870: The Civil War Amendments (13th, 14th, 15th) were passed which outlawed slavery, gave equal protection under the law regardless of race, and gave all men the right to vote). These amendments effectively granted freedom and citizenship to Black men and women.

1896: The Supreme Court Plessy v. Ferguson decision which upheld racial segregation and gave legal backing to Jim Crow in the South. It would not be until the 1950s that segregation was successfully challenged in schools and places of business.

I Am Not Your Negro (Links to an external site.)