One hundred years of delay: the shifting role of the federal government in African American civil rights

One of the most tragic and moving stories in American history is the prolonged quest to recognize the civil rights of African Americans. This story, of both shame and hope, is captured in this project and presented as a one hundred year struggle of national politics, state repression, and individual courage from the end of the Civil War to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Students of history are familiar with the names of civil rights heroes like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa parks, but there remains a need to give a more comprehensive historical perspective to students of how and why the struggles in the 1950s and 1960s began and what role the federal government played in both the setbacks and successes of the movement. This project provides educators with a thorough history starting with amending the Constitution during the Reconstruction period, the denial of those new rights with the creation of Jim Crow laws, and after 100 hundred years of struggle the final recognition of those Constitutional rights in the 1960s with national legislation. Along with this historical perspective in the literature review is a detailed lesson plan with an emphasis on analyzing primary documents. Through this lesson plan students will understand the complex nature of federal and state relations, alongside the power of social movements, and the importance of constitutionally protected civil rights in a democracy. Students will develop the necessary critical thinking skills to examine primary documents and cultivate an educated opinion on the difficult issues of race and government.