Lesson 77: The Civil Rights Movement
Brief introduction
It took over 400 years from the first slaves to be taken by the Portuguese to the
banning of slavery in the US in 1863. Even then, it took a long time for many white
Americans to see black people as equals. For many years, black people still had fewer
rights than most white people. Tell the class about ‘Jim Crow’ laws and segregation in
the South; how black people were not allowed to go to ‘whites only’ hotels,
restaurants, nor sit on ‘whites only’ seats on buses or trains. Black children were not
allowed to go to ‘whites only’ schools, colleges or universities. Across America,
similar things were happening. Even in the 1950s, black Americans did not enjoy the
same civil rights as white Americans. They also suffered discrimination including
segregated facilities.
http://education.hodge.continuumbooks.com © Susie Hodge (2010)
Resources for Teaching History 11–14. London: Continuum.