The Civil Rights Movement
Selected Legislation of the Era
Lauren Patton
Jamesville-DeWitt Middle School
pattonlm@jd.cnyric.org
March on Washington
Identify Problems:
Step 1: Identify the problem.
What issues are being faced by African
Americans?
Complete the problems and solutions cut-
and-paste activity provided with your
partner.
Problem and Solution 1
Problem: Prior to 1956, 17 states required
all schools to be segregated by race. State
and local laws punished teachers in
integrated schools with fines and even jail
time!
Problem and Solution 1
Solution: In Brown v. Board of Education,
the Supreme Court ruled that the idea of
‘separate but equal’ was not constitutional.
Therefore, laws calling for racial
segregation of schools
were unconstitutional.
Problem and Solution 2
Problem: Many African Americans were
turned away from registering to vote and
from polling places. They had to pay poll
taxes and take impossible tests. They faced
threats of violence, false arrest, and
beatings by local police and groups like the
KKK.
Problem and Solution 2
Solution: In 1964, the 24th Amendment
outlawed poll taxes. A year later, the
Voting Rights Act banned discrimination
at voting booths nationwide.
Problem and Solution 3
Problem: African
Americans were
discriminated against
when they tried to buy
or rent a home. They
also had trouble
getting loans to
purchase big ticket
items like houses.
Problem and Solution 3
Solution: The Fair Housing Act was
passed as a part of the 1968 Civil Rights
Act. It prohibits discrimination in the sale,
rental, and financing (loans) of housing
based on race, color, national origin,
religion, gender, marriage status and
disability.
Gather Evidence
Choose one of the problems and solutions
from the previous activity.
Step 2: Now, you and your partner should
gather evidence that supports the existence
of this issue.
You will complete the ‘evidence’
worksheet with your partner.
Determine Causes
Once you have gathered evidence and
sources, let’s discuss the causes of your
problem.
Step 3: You and your partner should use
your information and research to determine
the causes. Complete this worksheet.
Evaluate
Step 4 is to evaluate the solution that was
created for your problem.
In the first activity, you discovered the
solution, using the evaluation worksheet,
determine if that was the best solution for
the issue.
Class Discussion
Each group that chose the same piece of
legislation will get together and compare
findings. Then, as a group, the information
gathered and evaluations made will be
shared with the rest of the class.
REMEMBER: You are now the experts on
your issue – teach us about it!