Black Freedom Movement Course: Chronological

After thinking long and hard about the comments on last week's post and reading parts of Teaching the American Civil Rights Movement, I have developed a new Black Freedom Movement syllabus.

My primary concern is that this one has too much reading. If there are any suggestions for cutting material, I'd be glad to hear it. If you suggest adding something, please also suggest cutting something. I really appreciate your help!

Books

Davis, Angela. An Autobiography

Dudziak, Mary. Cold War Civil Rights

Hedgeman, Anna Arnold The Trumpet Sounds: A Memoir of Negro Leadership

Jones, Patrick. The Selma of the North: Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee,
Loury, Glenn. Race, Incarceration, and American Values

Malcolm X, Malcolm X Speaks

McGuire, Danielle L. At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance--A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power

Moody, Anne. Coming of Age in Mississippi

Week 1 –Introduction to the Topic and the Course

Wed August 29--Introduction

Fri August 30—Meanings of Freedom

*Anonymous, personal essays about experience of race due

Reading: Niagara Movement, Declaration of Principles

Week 2—1930s

Mon September 3—Labor Day NO CLASS

Wed Sept 5— The Great Depression

Reading: The Trumpet Sounds: A Memoir of Negro Leadership by Anna Arnold Hedgeman (first half)

Fri Sept 7— The Scottsboro Boys

Reading: The Trumpet Sounds: A Memoir of Negro Leadership by Anna Arnold Hedgeman (second half)

Week 3—1940s

Mon Sept 10—Double V campaign

Reading: Andrew E. Kersten, “African Americans and World War II” OAH Magazine of History, Vol. 16, No. 3, World War II Homefront (Spring, 2002), pp. 13-17 (JSTOR)

 Wed Sept 12—First March on Washington and A. Phillip Randolph

Reading: Anna Arnold Hedgeman, “The Role of the Negro Woman” Journal of Educational Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 8 (Apr., 1944), pp. 463-472 (JSTOR)

Fri Sept 14—The Road to Brown--film

Week 4—1950s, Sexualized violence and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Mon Sept 17: Emmett Till

Reading: Danielle L. McGuire, At the Dark End of the Street, Prologue, Chapters 1-2

Wed Sept 19: The Women of Montgomery and Rosa Parks’ Legacy

Reading: Danielle L. McGuire, At the Dark End of the Street, Prologue, Chapters 3-4

Fri Sept 21: A New Minister Steps Forward

Reading: Danielle L. McGuire, At the Dark End of the Street, Chapters 5-6

Week 5—1950s, Two leaders

Mon Sept 24: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the SCLC

                Students do research at the King archives (bring laptops to class)

Wed Sept 26: Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam

    Reading: Excerpts from Malcolm X Speaks

Fri Sept 28: Discussion

Week 6—1950s-60s, National Government’s Response and Cold War Civil Rights

Mon Oct 1: Eisenhower

                Reading:  Dudziak, Cold War Civil Rights, Chapter 4

Wed Oct 3: Kennedy

                Reading:  Dudziak, Cold War Civil Rights, Chapter 5

Fri Oct 5:Johnson

                Reading:  Dudziak, Cold War Civil Rights, Chapter 6

    Danielle L. McGuire, At the Dark End of the Street, Prologue, Chapter 7

Week 7--1960s, Student Activism

Mon Oct 8: Greensboro, NC

Reading: Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, Parts 1 and 2

Wed Oct 10: Ella Baker and the Development of SNCC

Reading: Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, Part 3

Fri Oct 12: Freedom Summer

Reading: Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, Part 4

Week 8— Media

Mon Oct 15— Role of Photography

Reading: Students research local newspapers, bring laptops to class

Wed Oct 17— Martin Luther King Jr. on Meet the Press

Fri Oct 19— Talk to Me movie

Week 9—1964 Democratic Convention Project

Reading: Student research

Mon Oct 22— in class debate

Wed Oct 24— in class debate

Fri Oct 26— in class debate

 **First draft of Papers Due on 1964 Democratic Convention Project

Week 10—The North

Mon Oct 29:  The Fight for Jobs

Reading: Patrick Jones, The Selma of the North: Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee, Introduction, Chapters 1-3

Wed Oct 31: Self-defense

Reading: Patrick Jones, The Selma of the North: Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee, Chapters 4-6

Fri Nov 2: Rioting in the aftermath of King’s assassination

Reading: Patrick Jones, The Selma of the North: Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee, Chapters 7-9 and conclusion

Week 11-- Black Panthers

Mon Nov 5: SNNC and Black Power

Reading: Angela Davis, Autobiography, Parts 1 and 2

Wed Nov 7: California Black Panthers

Reading: Angela Davis, Autobiography, Parts 3 and 4

Fri Nov 9: FBI repression; Killing of Fred Hampton in Chicago

Reading: Angela Davis, Autobiography, Parts 5 and 6

Week 12-- Black Student Protests and the beginning of Black Studies

Mon Nov 12: Black Student Protests at Columbia and elsewhere

Watching:  Stefan Bradley on Harlem vs. Columbia University: Black Student Power in the Late 1960s 

Wed Nov 14: archives

Fri Nov 16: discussion

Week 13—Civil Rights and Black Power in Memory

Mon Nov 19—Student research

**Second Draft of Research Papers due

           Reading: Online research into memorialization of the CRM; bring laptops to class

Wed Nov 21—Thanksgiving Break

Fri Nov 23—Thanksgiving Break

Week 14—Age of Mass Incarceration

Mon Nov 26: Discussion

Reading: Danielle L. McGuire, At the Dark End of the Street, Prologue, Chapter 7 and epilogue

Wed Nov 28: Discussion

                        Reading: Glenn Loury’s Race, Incarceration, and American Values Chapter I

Fri Nov 30: Discussion

                        Reading: Glenn Loury’s Race, Incarceration, and American Values Chapter II section by Loic Wacquant

Week 15—“Post-Racial America”

Mon Dec 3 Film: Precious Knowledge

Wed Dec 5 Film: Precious Knowledge

Fri Dec 7: Discussion

Reading: Barack Obama’s 2010 Speech on Race

Finals week—Take Home Final