Student Civil Rights Project

United States History

Create a Book or Magazine

You are an aspiring historian who is looking to help update the nations US History
textbook or scholarly magazines.
Student Objective: I will create a book or magazine by analyzing the following:

In the 1950s, the Supreme Court rules against segregation and put the weight of
constitutional law behind the demand for civil rights.
From the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, the fight for civil rights was led primarily by
leaders advocating non-violence and civil disobedience.
In the mid-1960s congress passed laws promoting civil rights and voting rights.
These laws strengthened the federal governments power to regulate state
governments denial of civil rights.
In the late 1960s the United States experienced many violent protests and race
riots.
In the late 1970s debates over civil rights centered around the issues of busing and
affirmative action.

Important Due Dates:

Final Project- (All Chapters Including -Free Response): Due March 12/13
Extra Credit Incentive: Any project completed fully before March 12/13 10 points will
be awarded.

Project Outline
Outline of your book or magazine
(Include Each)
Table of Contents: (5pts)
Preface: (5pts)
Chapters
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.

People to Watch for: (15pts)

Landmark Court Cases (10pts)
Movement on the Rise (20pts)
Changes in the Laws (15pts)
Fallen Heroes (10pts)
Movements of the World (20pts)

Preface (5pts)
1. Why was the Supreme Court case, Plessy Vs. Ferguson, important?
2. What was the impact of Plessy Vs. Ferguson on the lives of African Americans
and minority groups such as Hispanic, Japanese, and Chinese?
Chapter 1. People to Watch For: Choose 5 (10pts)
Describe each of the following people and their impact on civil rights in the 1960s: (No
more that 5 sentences each) Include Picture
a) Rosa Parks
b) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
c) Malcolm X
d) Lester Maddox
e) Orval Faubus
f) James Meredith
g) Stokely Carmichael
h) George Wallace
i) Thurgood Marshall
j) John F. Kennedy
k) Lyndon B. Johnson
l) Ella Baker
5. Paragraph summary: Who had the greatest impact on civil rights and why?
Example:

Rosa Parks was a seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama who refused to give up her
bus seat to a white passenger. She was arrested and fined for violating a city ordinance,
but her act of defiance began a movement which led to the formation of the Montgomery
Improvement Association. This movement lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called for a
382 boycott of the city owned bus company. The boycott gained so much worldwide
attention that the Supreme Court struck down the Montgomery ordinance on buses and
outlawed racial segregation on public transportation.
Chapter 2: Landmark Court Cases:
Answer the following question for each court case:
1. How did each play a role in protecting minority rights and explain the courts decision
in each. (No more than 5 sentences each)
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Brown Vs. Board of Education

Mendez Vs. Westminster
Hernandez Vs. Texas
Delgado Vs. Bastrop ISD
Edgewood ISD Vs. Kirby

Example:
Sweat Vs. Painter- 1946
In 1946, Heman Sweatt, a black man, applied for admission to the University of
Texas Law School. Texas law restricted access to the university to whites, and Sweatt's
application was rejected because of his race. When Sweatt asked the state courts to order
his admission, the university attempted to provide separate but equal facilities for black
law students. In a unanimous decision, the Court held that the Equal Protection Clause
required that Sweatt be admitted to the university. The Court found that the "law school
for Negroes," which was to have opened in 1947, would have been unequal to the
University of Texas Law School. The Court argued that the separate school would be
inferior in a number of areas, including faculty, course variety, library facilities, legal
writing opportunities, and overall prestige. In addition, this case lead to the creation of
Texas Southern University.

Chapter 3: Movement on the Rise: CHOOSE 6 (20pts)

1. Explain the contributions of each event or group toward gaining equality. (No
more that 5 sentences each) Include Picture (you can either draw it or print one
out.)
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)

Montgomery Bus Boycott

US Troops sent to Little Rock Arkansas
Greensboro Sit- Ins
Freedom Riders
NAACP- (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
SNCC- (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee)
Black Panthers
CORE- ( Congress of Racial Equality)
SCLC- ( Southern Christian Leadership Conference)
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
MLK- Letter From a Birmingham Jail/ I Have a Dream Speech

Example:
SCLC- (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) -1857

Established in 1957, to organize the action of local protest groups throughout the.
Under the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr., the organization drew on the power and
independence of black churches to support its activities. The SCLC wanted to see better
job prospects, better housing and better pay in an effort to ensure a better quality of life
for all.
Chapter 4: Changes in the Law (10pts)
1. Describe the governments role in reaching civil rights equality in each of the
following? (No more that 5 sentences each)
a)
b)
c)
d)

Civil Rights Act of 1957

Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Fair Housing Act of 1965

Example:
Fair Housing Act of 1965
Housing Act signed during the Johnson Administration which prohibited
discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race,
religion, national origin and sex.
Chapter 5: Fallen Heroes (10pts)
1. Describe the circumstances of the deaths of each and their legacy on civil rights.
(No more that 5 sentences each) Include Picture
a) Malcolm X
b) John F. Kennedy
c) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Example:
Robert Kennedy- 1968

After winning the California and South Dakota primary elections for
the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, Kennedy was shot as he
walked through the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los and died in the Good
Samaritan Hospital twenty-six hours later. Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-yearold Palestinian/Jordanian immigrant, was convicted of Kennedy's murder and is serving a
life sentence for the crime. He left behind a legacy of opposing wars and encouraging
avocation for poor and minority rights.
2. Whose approach towards advocating for civil rights was more effective Malcolm
X or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Explain in detail and cite specific examples to
verify your claim.

Chapter 6: Movements of the World (10pts)

1. Write a 2 paragraph comparison on One of the following movements below to
the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s & 1960s:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

South African Apartheid Movement

Canada's Quiet Revolution
German student movement
Chinese student movement
Arab Spring

You should use your notes to complete

this project. Everything is available in
your notes. If I notice that everything is
copied from the internet, you will
receive a grade of 0. NO DISCUSSION.