African American Studies

Unit 5
Unit 5 Civil Rights Movement
Essential Standards Competency Goal 8: 8.01; 8.02; 8.03; 8.04; 8.05;
and 8.06
Competency Goal 9: 9.01; 9.02; 9.03; 9.04; 9.05; and
9.06
HISTORY

GEOGRAPHY &
ENVIRONMENTA
L LITERACY

CIVICS AND
GOVERNMENT

ECONOMICS &
FINANCIAL
LITERACY

CULTURE

Unit Overview
In this unit, students will examine the post-WWII civil rights era. During WWII, African
Americans contributed many times over in their ability to excel at various aspects of warfare
and outperform many majorities in the same situations. With a renewed spirit, African
Americans began to seek and work towards more progress on the issue of gaining full
citizenship rights during the post-WWII era. This desire led to the Civil Rights Movement that
started in the late 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and into the 1970s. The struggles of those early civil
rights pioneers help move a country towards equality for all.

Generalizations
1. African Americans today face many of the same struggles today as they did during the
civil rights struggle in the 1960s.
2. There is a need for a modern day civil rights movement.
3. The issues surrounding immigration impact African Americans economically, politically
and socially.
4. African Americans have a plethora of competent leaders and organizations today that
will initiate change on their behalf.

Essential Questions
1. How did the successes and failures of the Civil Rights movement lead to
issues continued in contemporary African American struggles for equality?
2. How did Brown vs. Board of Ed. Change education practices forever in
the United States?
3. Explain the extent that the Civil Rights Movement transformed American
politics and society?
4. What impact did Vietnam War have on the Civil Rights Movement?
5. How did the changing political environment impact Civil Rights?
6. How was the response of African Americans in contemporary America to
economic, political, and social challenges different from their
predecessors?

Unit 5

Civil Rights Movement

African American Studies

Unit 5
7. How are contemporary issues such as the achievement gap, the wealth
gap, poverty, AIDS, and crime effecting African American society today?
8. How has migration patterns of African Americans changed over the past
20-30 years?
9. How are African American achievements in society today, changing how
they are viewed in general around the world?

Unit Vocabulary
Civil Rights Challenges,
Militant groups,
Arts and culture,
African Americans and
politics,
African Americans and
South Africa,
Social and economic
changes,

Unit 5

Activists today,
Future of African
American leaders,
Civil Rights Act of 1964,
Voting Rights Act of 1965,
De facto discrimination,
De jure discrimination,
Operation,
Black Power,

Civil Rights Movement

Breadbasket,
Black Panther Party,
Nation of Islam,
Kenta,
Soul music,
Motown Records,
Congressional Black
Caucus,
National Black

African American Studies

Unit 5

Key People
Fannie Lou Hamer,
Ralph Abernathy,
Stokley Carmichael,
Malcolm X,
Louis Farrakhan,
Muhammad Ali,
Author Ashe,
Wilma Rudolph,

Unit 5

James Baldwin,
Amiri Baraka,
Shirley Chisholm,
Condoleezza Rice,
Nelson Mandela,
Desmond Tutu,
Maulana Karenga,
Toni Morrison,

Civil Rights Movement

Maya Angelou,
Coretta Scott King,
Jesse Jackson,
Rodney King,
General Colin Powell,
Barak Obama

Unit 1- Goals
What do students need to KNOW?

The significance of the 1954 court rulings and

how the impacted the Civil Rights Movement.
The impact of Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka Kansas and the reaction to it.
The various methods used by African
Americans to secure their civil rights.
The various organizations involved in the Civil
Rights Movement and their role.
How Vietnam impacted the Civil Rights
Movement.
How the Civil Rights Movement changed
American politics and society.
Current issues facing American Americans and
their continued struggle for equality.
How the changing political environment has
impacted civil rights in the U.S.
How African Americans responded to political
conservatism.
How to compare and contrast the responses of
African Americans to the economic, social, and
political challenges today.
Analyze issues facing African Americans today.
Evaluate the impact of immigration and
migration on the lives of African Americans.
Indentify the major contributions of
contemporary Americans in business,
education, the arts, politics, science,
technology, and society in general.

What do students need to be able to DO?

Explain how legal victories prior to 1954 gave

impetus to the Civil Rights Movement.

Describe the impact of Brown v. Board of

Education of Topeka, Kansas and evaluate the
resistance and reaction to it.

Define various methods used to obtain civil

rights.

Identify various organizations and their role in

the Civil Rights Movement.

Assess the extent to which the Civil Rights

Movement transformed American politics and
society.

Determine the impact of the Vietnam War on

the Civil Rights movement.

The learner will acquire an understanding of

the issues confronting contemporary African
Americans in the continuing struggle for
equality.

Identify and analyze how the changing

political environment has impacted civil rights.

Describe how African Americans have

responded to political conservatism.

Compare and contrast the responses of African

Americans to the economic, social, and
political challenges of contemporary America.

Identify and evaluate major contemporary

African American issues confronting society
including, but not limited to, affirmative action,
the educational achievement gap, the wealth
gap, poverty, AIDS, and crime.

Analyze the impact of immigration and

migration on the lives of African Americans in
contemporary America.

Identify the major contributions of

contemporary African Americans in business,

education, the arts, politics, sports, science,
technology, and society in general.

I Can Statements

I can trace the African American Struggle from the Civil Rights movement to modern day.
I can identify leaders of the civil rights movement and explain their impact within the

movement.
I can identify modern African American leaders and explain their impact as far as dealing

with the problems that African Americans are facing today.

I can analyze various problems facing African Americans today and offers solutions to those

problems.
I can explain why some African Americans feel that the Civil Rights Movement did not go far

enough.
I can analyze why some African Americans feel that there is a need for a modern day civil

rights movement.
I can explain how immigration and migration has impacted the lives of African American.
I can explain how and why African Americans still fall behind their white counterparts

politically, educationally, socially and economically.

I can identify key African American figures in politics, business, education, sports, science,

technology and society in general.

I can analyze the role and contributions that African Americans have made in Vietnam and
modern day military campaigns.

Unit 5- Common Core Standards

READING

WRITING

CMS CCSS Power Standards:

CMS CCSS Power Standards:

R.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support

analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to
such features as the date and origin of the information.

W. 9-10.1 Write arguments focused on disciplinespecific content.

R. 9-10.10 Read and comprehend history/social studies

texts in the grade 9-10 text complexity band
independently and proficiently.

W. 9-10.2 Write informative/explanatory texts,

including the narration of historical events,
scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical
processes.

Additional Reading Standards:

Additional Writing Standards:

R. 9-10.2. Determine the central ideas or information of

a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate
summary of how key events or ideas develop over the
course of the text.

W. 9-10.3 not applicable as a separate requirement

R. 9-10.3. Analyze in detail a series of events described

in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later
ones or simply preceded them.
R. 9-10.4. Determine the meaning of words and
phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary
describing political, social, or economic aspects of
history/social studies.
R. 9-10.5. Analyze how a text uses structure to
emphasize key points or advance an explanation or
analysis.
R. 9-10.6 Compare the point of view of two or more
authors for how they treat the same or similar topics,
including which details they include and emphasize in
their respective accounts.
R. 9-10.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis

W. 9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which

the development, organization, and style are appropriate
to task, purpose, and audience.
W. 9-10.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by
planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach, focusing on addressing what is most
significant for a specific purpose and audience.
W. 9-10.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to
produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing
products, taking advantage of technologys capacity to
link to other information and to display information
flexibly and dynamically.
W. 9-10.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained
research projects to answer a question (including a selfgenerated question) or solve a problem; narrow or
broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize
multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating
understanding of the subject under investigation.

(e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in

print or digital text.
R. 9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and
evidence in a text support the authors claims.
R. 9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same
topic in several primary and secondary sources.

W. 9-10.8 Gather relevant information from multiple

authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced
searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each
source in answering the research question; integrate
information into the text selectively to maintain the flow
of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard
format for citation.
W. 9-10.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to
support analysis, reflection, and research.
W. 9-10.10 Write routinely over extended time frames
(time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames
(a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of disciplinespecific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Unit 5- Assessment Options:

W1- Literacy Common Core Power Standard: Writing Arguments
After reading a variety of informational text, choose three issues facing
African Americans today. Write that argues the need for a modern day
civil rights movement. Cite examples from the text and utilize
competing view points.
W2- Literacy Common Core Power Standard: Writing Informative Texts
Create a movie about the history of African American music from
African Drums to Little Wayne. Show the progression of black music
over the centuries and how it has influenced American society and the
world. Please be sure to use appropriate music free of profanity and
suggestive content. You must also provide a story for your movie
explaining how each musical genre began and its influences on music
and society.

R1/R10- Literacy Common Core Power Standard: Reading Closely Over Time
with a Variety of Texts