My Scrapbook

History WORKS: The Influence of the Modern Civil Rights Movement on US Foreign and Domestic Policy
Printable Version

The final and definitive wave of the "Great Migration" immediately followed the depths of the Great Depression, and coincided with the United States' entrance into World War II. Racial discrimination remained the organizing principal of American society as the country mobilized for a war that would fundamentally alter African Americans' struggle for freedom and equality.

The January 2005 History WORKS seminar will explore the evolution, character, and activities of the Modern Civil Rights Movement from the interwar period to the post Black Power era.

This scrapbook includes notes for using these resources in the classroom by Jennifer Plemel, a teacher in Columbus Public Schools. Angela O'Neal, Ohio Memory Project Manager, provides background on the resources.

Ohio NAACP Pamphlet Supporting Equal Rights Legislation

JENNY: This is a long document (8 pages) that may be more appropriate for an A.P. U.S. History course. It would be very good for analysis of the fight for civil rights in the early 20th century.

ANGELA: This pamphlet, printed soon after the end of World War I, foreshadows the coming Civil Rights movement by outlining the discrimination faced by African Americans. Founded only 10 years before this pamphlet the was printed, the NAACP went on to challenge discrimination throughout the rest of the nation.

Ohio's African American World War I Regiment Photographs

JENNY: This photograph would be a good warm-up either for a World War I unit or for an early civil rights unit.

ANGELA: African-Americans fought in segregated units in World War I. Upon returning home at the end of the war, veterans faced discrimination despite their sacrifices for their country. It was not until 1954, with the end of the Korean War, that army units were integrated.

Stewart's Drug Store Photographs

JENNY: I like these pictures because they show the success that Mrs. Stewart had achieved. If you also look "behind" the photos, the store can demonstrate material culture.

ANGELA:Ella Stewart, one of the first practicing African-American female pharmacists in the country, opened this drug store in Toledo in 1922. She served as president of both the Ohio and National Association of Colored Women. One of the first African Americans to join the Toledo League of Women Voters, Stewart represents a link between the Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements.

Oxford, Ohio Panthers Basketball Team Photograph

JENNY: This photograph can be coupled with the photo of "Freedom Summer" to demonstrate the strides (or lack of strides) that Oxford, Ohio, made in 40 years.

ANGELA: While African Americans in Ohio and other northern states did not attend separate schools, racial discrimination still existed in the public school system. In sports, many teams were segregated into the 1950s.

Herbert Hoover at Ohio Wesleyan University Inauguration Photographs

JENNY:

ANGELA: Ohio University President Dr. Arthur Sherwood Flemming served as the United States Commissioner of Civil Rights from 1971 to 1982. He was fired by President Reagan after the panel he chaired released a report critical of Reagan's desegration policy. Fleming accused the administration of rolling back Civil Rights legislation.

National Association of Colored Women Convention Photographs

JENNY:

ANGELA: Founded in 1896, the NACW raised funds for kindergartens, vocational schools, summer camps, and retirement homes. It opposed segregated transportation systems and was a strong and visible supporter of the antilynching movement.

Coleman A. Young Report to the National Negro Labor Council

JENNY:

ANGELA: The National Negro Labor Council was established in 1951 to combat racism in labor unions and to advocate for African American workers. The group encountered racial discrimination, and charges of communist sympathies from the House Un-American Activities' Committee (HUAC) before it was disbanded in 1956. However, the National Negro Labor Council provided a framework for civil rights leaders in the 1960s to follow.

Brotherhood Week Photograph

JENNY:

ANGELA: This powerful photograph of an African-American and a white student shaking hands was taken in 1956, a year after the murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African-American boy who whistled at a white woman in Mississippi. Till's murder and the subsequent acquital of two white men accused of killing him, shocked the nation.

Martin Luther King, Jr. at Ohio University Photograph

JENNY:

ANGELA: As president of the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC), Martin Luther King, Jr. traveled throughout the U.S. speaking on behalf of Civil Rights. This conference, held in Athens at Ohio University was a pivotal moment for civil rights in Ohio. Three years after his visit to Ohio University, King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C.

Martin Luther King, Jr. on Interracial Marriage Newspaper Article

JENNY:

ANGELA: Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the first mainstream African American leaders to proclaim his "dream" that in a fully integrated society interracial marriage would be legal. King received death threats for his views.

Freedom Summer Volunteers in Oxford, Ohio Photograph

JENNY:

ANGELA:Over 600 volunteers showed up in Oxford for training sessions in non-violence before heading to Mississippi to register African Americans to vote. The voter registration drives in Mississippi and elsewhere lead to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which banned literacy tests and gave the federal government the authority to oversee voter registration. As a result, African American registration in Mississippi increased from 7% in 1962 to nearly 60% in 1968.

Gegner's Barbershop Protest Photographs

JENNY:

ANGELA: Some whites refused to accept a desegrated society, even in the northern state. Lewis Gegner of Yellow Springs, Ohio refused to cut African Americans' hair in his shop for nearly 15 years. Following protests in 1964 he closed the doors permanently rather than give in to the protesters' demands.

Akronite News Magazine Featuring Article on Tolerance

JENNY:

ANGELA:At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Opie Evans of Akron, Ohio published a monthly news magazine to inform African Americans on Civil Rights issues and begin a dialogue with white residents of the city.

Branch Rickey Article

JENNY:

ANGELA: Branch Rickey is the manager credited with integrating professional baseball by signing Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey always attributed the move to a discrimination incident he observed a teammate endure while playing college ball at Ohio Wesleyan University.