Rastrick High School

Year 8 History

E-Learning History Project:

The Civil Rights Movement

Work Booklet

Y8 History Extended Project: How successful was the US Civil Rights

Movement? Work Booklet

So far this year and during lockdown our lessons have focused on British History.

We’ve recently looked at slavery as a legacy of Britain’s past but because of the vast

nature of slavery it also had a huge impact on other countries too. In this project

we will look at the legacy of slavery in the United States of America and how the

Civil Rights movement grew and what it achieved.

Alongside this work booklet are two other booklets: one of them is an information

booklet that you will need to use to help you complete each of the tasks. The third

booklet is an answer and guidance booklet – In here are the answers to some of the

questions and guidance and WAGOLL for your parent/carer to check your answer.

The entire booklet should take roughly 4 to 5 hours to complete.

Booklet Structure

• Lesson One: A History of Civil Rights in America. What was life like for African-

American people in America in the 1900s?

This lesson should take approximately 1 hour – 1 hour and a half to complete and

focuses on the life of African Americans from the Civil War in 1961 up until the

1950s.

• Lesson Two: What methods were used by people to achieve Civil Rights.

This lesson focuses on the different methods of the Civil Rights Movement and

contrasts the outlook of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. This work should

take roughly two hours to complete.

• Lesson 3: How successful was the Civil Right Movement?

The final lesson gets students to consider the outcomes of the Civil Rights

Movement and draws links to more modern events of the Black Lives Matter

protests and asks the students – was the Civil Rights Movement a success? This

work takes approximately an hour – 1 ½ hours.

Lesson One: What was life like for African-American people in America in the 1900s?

TASKS

1. Define the following key terms:

• Racism

• Persecution

• Prejudice

2. Watch the following clip and make notes in the table below. We

will revisit these later.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zcpcwmn/revision/1

Problems facing black people Types of protests used

1. Slavery in America

1. Draw the journey of slave ships of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the map

below. *Remember, slave ships started their journey in Britain*

2. Use the map in your information booklet to list three northern states that had

outlawed slavery and three southern states that kept slavery.

- -

- -

- -

3. Complete the word fill using the information booklet.

America gained independence from Britain in . This meant that when

abolished slavery in 1833, America didn’t have to. Slavery was

used in the American states which relied on their labour to grow

crops such as and tobacco. Between 1861 – 1864, America had a

war over the issue of slavery. The North won and in _____

President Abraham Lincoln issued the

which meant that all slaves were to be freed.

2. Early Civil Rights

The United States constitution is a document that outlines how the government

works. When it was first written the founders (the people who wrote it) realised it

wasn’t perfect and created a way to change it – by adding an amendment. The first

10 amendments added to the constitution are known as the ‘Bill of Rights’. These

are 10 laws that give American citizens protections that cannot be taken away. After

the end of the Civil War three more amendments were added to reflect the abolition

of slavery. Briefly describe what each of these amendments to the US constitution

did:

13th Amendment:

14th Amendment:

15th Amendment:

Words to use:

Emancipation Proclamation 1776 Southern

Sugar Britain Civil

1863

Watch the video and answer these questions on famed civil rights activist Frederick

Douglass. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsFNYW6EJi4)

1. When was he born?

2. Who raised him?

3. How did he learn to read?

4. When did he escape his slavery?

5. Why did he change his name to Douglass?

6. What movement did he join?

7. What did he call his newspaper?

8. What was the name of his first of three books?

9. What other movements was he a supporter of?

10. How did he advice the President during the Civil War?

3. Life for African-Americans from 1850 – 1950

1. Define the term segregation:

2. List two ways in which African-Americans were still prejudiced against after 1850.

•

•

Source A: A segregated drinking fountain; ‘Jim Crow Laws’ demonstrate

the divided society at the time.

3. What do you noticed about the two fountains and what does it tell us about what

people believed at the time.

4. Using the information in the booklet, describe two problems faced by African-

Americans in the 1900s

a)

b)

5. Looking at source C, pick out one of the victims of and explain why they were attacked.

* Hint: Think about why the KKK targeted those people. *

Source C is an article from a magazine in America in 1929. It records several

acts of violence carried out by the KKK in Alabama (a state in America) during

the 1920s.

“A lad was whipped with branches until his back looked like ribbons; a black woman

was beaten and left to catch pneumonia and die; a white girl was beaten until she was

unconscious for marrying an immigrant; a black man was whipped until he sold his land

to a white woman for a small percentage of how much it was worth; a black boy was

lynched because he was accused of whistling at a white woman.”

6. Around the term of Black Renaissance, list examples of how the lives of African-

American people actually improved in the 1900s.

Black

Renaissance

Lesson Two: What methods were used by people to achieve Civil Rights.

1. Define the term following terms:

Civil Rights:

Direct action:

2. Complete the profiles on the two prominent Civil Rights Movement leaders.

Martin Luther King Jr

Born:

Died:

Malcolm X

Born:

Died:

Beliefs

Actions

3. Who were the Little Rock 9?

Source D shows Elizabeth

Eckford, one of the ‘Little Rock 9’,

entering Central High School in

Little Rock.

Every day she was abused and

shouted at by racists who

opposed the desegregation of all-

white schools.

4. How do you think Elizabeth Eckford felt going into the school?

A. Martin Luther King Jr and Peaceful Protests

Martin Luther King led and helped promote many non-violent methods of protest

that he believed would lead to a better chance of getting equal rights for African

Americans. These methods involved:

- The Montgomery Bus Boycott - Marches

- Freedom Rides - Sit-Ins

1. Use the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iQVMWGE3_s) to create a

storyboard about the events of the Montgomery Bus Boycott / OR / Write a speech

that explains why people should support the Protest.

2. What are Sit-ins and Freedom Rides?

Source D: A sit-in a

Woolworth store in Alabama

on the 28th May 1963.

Protestors sat at that ‘whites

only’ counter have mustard

and ketchup smeared into

their clothes and hair and

were beaten and verbally

abused by onlookers.

3. In what way do you think images and events like this would help the Civil Rights

Movement?

*Hint: Think about what other white Americans would think about the violence

happening to those protestors and what African-Americans would think about it*.

Images like Source D would help the Civil Rights Movement because…

4. Read through the section of the I have a dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr.

Summarise what his ‘dream’ really was.

B. Malcolm X, the Black Power Movement, and the Black Panthers

1. What were the three main aims of the Black Panther movement?

a)

b)

c)

2. Why were there riots in some of America’s major cities between 1965 and 1968?

3. What problem did many people have with the Black Panther Movement?

4. How did Tommie Smith and John Carlos protest

the treatment of African-Americans at the 1968

Summer Olympics. *Hint: What did they do*

5. Looking at the two quotes from Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr, how would

you describe what is the main difference between the two leaders’ views?

Malcolm X’s quote of “by any means necessary” suggest that he…

However, Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” tells us that he believed that…

By any means

necessary!

‘I have a dream…’

Lesson Three: How successful was the Civil Rights Movement

1. Complete the timeline of the Civil Rights Movement using the events in your

information booklet.

1865 – 13th Amendment passed declaring

that all slaves are free.

1870 – 15th Amendment passed giving African-

Americans the right to vote.

1868 – 14th Amendment passed giving equal

protection in law for African-Americans.

2020 – Large scale protests and riots across

America in support of the Black Lives Matter

Movement.

2008 – Barack Obama becomes the first

black President of the United States.

1860s – the KKK established and Jim Crow

Laws introduced in southern states.

1963 -

1968 -

1965 -

1945 -

1954 - Brown vs Board of Education – Supreme

Court says segregation in schools must end.

1957 -

1955 -

1909 -

1957 -

1957 – Civil Rights Act ensures all African-

Americans could vote without being

discriminated against.

1965 -

1964 – Civil Rights Act outlaws racial

discrimination & prejudice in employment.

1960s -

1967 – Interracial (black and white) marriages

legalised,

1968 -

The Civil Rights Movement that grew during the 1950s and 1960s made great

strides towards equality for African-Americans. Now in all 50 states of America,

legally speaking, African-Americans share the same rights and protections as their

white peers. This movement culminated in the 2008 election of Barack Obama, the

first African-American President. He was also elected in 2012. For some people this

represented the fantastic success of the Civil Rights Movement and proved that

black Americans were just as equal as white Americans and had the same

opportunities too.

However, many activists point out that the Civil Rights Movement did not give

African-Americans prosperity and jobs or the same opportunities. Many of them

remain poor, angry, still face discrimination, police harassment and low standards of

living. As a result, new movements have started and spread such as Black Lives

Matter.

Source A: 2012

Barack Obama and his

family wave at the

crowd as he celebrates

his second election

victory as the first

African-American

President of the

United States of

America.

Source B: 2020

Thousands of

protestors take to the

street in support of

the Black Lives Matter

movement. A protest

that has spread across

many different

countries in the world.

As many of you have probably become aware of, the most recent protests were

started after the murder of George Floyd, an African-American man who was

arrested by police after the use of a fake $20 note. When arrested the police

officers, placed George Floyd on the floor, put him in handcuffs and knelt on the

back of his neck. He complained that he was unable to breath and was in pain. The

officer continued to do so for 8 minutes and 46 seconds which stopped him from

being able to breath, leading to his death. His death sparked hundreds of thousands

of protestors to march on to the streets calling for the police officers arrests and to

highlight other examples of police brutality against African-Americans.

2. Give examples of how the Civil Rights Movement can be considered a success

and failure – aim for at least three in each.

Success Failure

3. Considering everything you have learned today, Source A and B and the

information above, how successful was the Civil Rights Movement?

How do I structure my answer?

As historians we have to be able to give both sides of the argument AND then make

a conclusion saying which we agree with the most. This means three

paragraphs. In each paragraph we have to write in the PEE structure. This allows

us to form an argument with a clear structure which makes our answers easy to

follow.

Point: Your point is where you make a statement in response to the question: E.G

The Civil Rights Movement was a success because…

Evidence: Here is where you support your point with some examples – some

specific evidence. In this part we’d use examples of how the Civil Rights was a

success!

My evidence to support the fact that the Civil Rights Movement was a success is…

Explain: Here is the hardest part of our answer and one students can get wrong if

they don’t take the time to THINK about their answer. Explanation means to say

why something is the way it is. So, here we’re going to say why our examples show

the Civil Rights were a success.

This means the Civil Rights Movement was a success because it meant that African-

Americans were protected by the new laws that were created. This was different to

what their lives were like in the early 1900s.

Things to think about while you write:

• Think about the improvements of the 1950/60s.

• Did the new laws work (was segregation ended etc)

• In the modern day are African-Americans as successful/protected as their white

peers.

• Are there still problems facing the African-American community?

• Has the Civil Rights Movement fixed issues such as poverty and unemployment?

Paragraph One: The Civil Rights Movement (CRM) WAS a success:

Paragraph Two: The CRM was NOT a complete success:

Conclusion: What is your point of view?