7 replies to this topic

[nickcook]

Hi all,

I'm currently planning an A2 coursework unit for AQA Spec on Civil Rights for Black Americans from 1863-1968. This will be the first time I have taught this topic and so I'm unfamiliar with what reading will be useful for them. We are planning to get a core text book for them to use, but for their coursework purposes they will need additional sources of information. Please if anyone can suggest some additional reading that will be useful I would be very gratefull.

Many Thanks

Nick

[chriswalker]

Adam Fairclough- "Better Day Coming" is a good start point

[Tony Fox]

almost essential :- Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965 goes with the documentary Eyes on the Prize PBS documentary

[Russel Tarr]

I don't teach the topic beyond Year 9, but I really enjoyed the DVDs "Let Freedom Sing" and "The Night James Brown Saved Boston".

"The Autobiography of Martin Luther King. Jr" was also a great read.

[Hilary Stark]

As well as PBS' Eyes on the Prize for the latter part of the time frame, there is another outstanding series from them that deals with Reconstruction http://www.pbs.org/w...reconstruction/

[rharris]

I teach this for my courserwork and there is a wealth of information out there. My timeframe is 1865-1970; I skip the Emancipation proclamation because the students have real difficulty staying within the word count as it is!

Key texts I use are...

Sanders, Race Relations 1863-1981 (Access to History)
Sanders. Civil Rights in the USA 1945-68 (Access to History, basically this is the second half of the book above)

For the more challenging texts and resources...

Cook, Sweet Land of Liberty
Verney, Black Civil Rights in America
Veney, The Debate on Black Civil Rights in America (bit of a cheat's text but it's a very good historiographical review)
Kirk (ed) Martin Luther King Jr and the Civil rights Movement: Controversies and debates (very good artciles by August Meier and Clayborn Carson, amongst others)
White, Black Leadership in the USA (covers Washington, Du Bois, Garvey, MLK and Malcolm X)
Newman, The Civil Right Movement
Eskew, But for Birmingham
Du Bois' 'Souls of Black Folk' is available online
Verney (ed) Long is the Way and Hard (deals with the NAACP and is very current)
Cone, Malcolm and martin in America: A dream or Nightmare?
BAAS also have this excellent pamphlet http://www.baas.ac.u...id=18&Itemid=11
There is also this excellent interactive timeline http://www.teachersd...4_int_timeline/

As for TV programmes....
Look for me In the Whirlwind (2 part documentary on Garvey on Google video)
Malcolm X: Make it Plain (on PBS/Google video)
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow (again a PBS programme, with an excellent website)
Freedom Riders http://www.pbs.org/w...domriders/watch again with an excellent website
Racism: A History is also very useful
The 'Eyes on the Prize' website is very useful and there is an excellent teacher's guide with lots of primary sources in it
The Gilder Lerhman Institute has these excellent articels http://www.gilderleh...rights-movement

Podcasts:
The History Faculty have a very good range of podcasts in small 10-15 minute snippets and again the Gilder Lehrman Institute has an excellent series of podcasts http://www.gilderleh...by=chrono#13062

I have a wealth of journal articels too on word and pdf, PM me if you'd like them sent over to post on your VLE

Good luck and have fun teaching this unit...I do!

[LukeR]

Hi everyone,

I don't suppose anybody has a copy of 'Eyes on the Prize' that they'd be willing to send over if I supplied the CDs?

I've been looking everywhere and I can't seem to find anything better than a very poor quality bootleg download.

Thanks,

Luke

[nickcook]

Thanks for all the brilliant replies. This will help no end.

Cheers

Nick