Stories from the Past

MLK: Birmingham Jail  

Modern America in a Global World

This week we completed our study of the Civil Rights Movement by reading about the leaders and groups that struggled for equal rights for all Americans.  You saw that at one end of the spectrum Dr. Martin Luther King and the Freedom Riders used peaceful protest, while at the other end of the spectrum Malcolm X was willing to threaten violent confrontation.  Your graphic organizer encouraged you to compare and contrast different leadership methods and styles. You also read an excerpt from “A Letter from Birmingham Jail,” a moving and carefully reasoned explanation of why African Americans were tired of waiting for their rights.  We looked at this primary source through the eyes of an historian.  You will read this letter again in English class to examine the structure, word choice and tone to better understand why this letter is such an eloquent statement of the human condition. Make sure to hand in your responses to the questions about this letter and the new voting restrictions that are currently being advocated. (Due to technical issues, the worksheets could not be loaded this week)

One of the most frightening events of the Civil Rights Movement was the integration of Central High School in Alabama.  We watched a clip from “Eyes on the Prize” where you saw how a huge mob threatened the young African-American students who wanted to attend this school.  It was chilling to hear the crowd talk about lynching one of the students. 

We also looked at the political response to the movement.  You compared JFK’s response with LBJ’s.  While President Johnson will always be linked with Vietnam, we should also remember him for the landmark Civil Rights legislation of 1964.  This legislation prohibits discrimination in a legal sense, but it is only when all individuals truly believe in equal rights that discrimination will end. 

Finally you have your editorial assignment which is due next class.  This will be part of your final assessment, along with the 10 multiple choice questions you will do in class.

Oral History Project

By now you should have handed in your preliminary oralhistory project sheet.  Your person and topic must be approved before you start your project.  While this final fourth quarter project gives you a great deal of choice on topic, person, and format, it must also be completed in a timely fashion.  You may hand in the project the week of May 6-10.  We will continue to talk about what makes for a good project next week.

International Officer Series

On Friday we heard from our last two officers, from Romania and Japan.  As Captain Yaw stated, we should all recognize that while our countries may look and act in different ways, we are all people who have a common need for peace, security and stability. I hope seeing these representatives from other countries will encourage you to take the opportunity to travel and see the world.

World History

This week we completed a graphic organizer on the Russian revolution.  We looked at Russia under the Czars and saw that most of the people were peasants with few rights and living in poverty.  The revolution led by Lenin promised the people “bread, peace, and land.”  You should note that there was much in common with the French Revolution. If you completed the organizer and took good notes when we reviewed the sections in class, you should have done well on your five question assessment.

We then started our discussion of Gandhi, a man of peace and nonviolent resistance.  While we only watched a small clip from the award winning movie “Gandhi,” I would encourage you to watch the entire movie on a rainy day this summer.  It is an excellent rendition of his life and the principles he lived by.  The movie shows the massacre in Amritsar, the salt march and the tragic end of his life.

We will complete our study of Gandhi next week and then start on the rise of dictators and the steps that led us to World War II.