Research Topics
English II
Treadwell 1
Literature and Identity
Harlem Renaissance. 1919-1929. A literary, artistic, and cultural movement in New York City.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellis. (1952) Oklahoma author’s shocking novel about how a person
loses his identity because of racism.
Maya Angelou, poet, essayist, novelist. Read her poems, “Still I Rise” and “Caged Bird.”
Langston Hughes, poet and playwright. Invented jazz poetry. Read his poem “Harlem.”
W. E. B. Du Bois. Wrote extensively about black identity. Founded the NAACP.
The Legal System, Crime and Law Enforcement
Scottsboro Boys Trial, 1931. Nine black boys were accused of raping two white girls.
“In the Heat of the Night,” 1967, a crime thriller that deals with racial politics.
“Selma,” 2015 film, deals with Dr. Martin Luther King’s struggle for voting rights.
Thurgood Marshall, 1st African American Supreme Court Justice, 1967.
Methods of Resistance
Malcom X, 1925-1965, African American Civil Rights Activist.
Non-violent resistance, Dr. Martin Luther King’s strategy to end segregation.
Jackie Robinson, 1940s-1950s, first African American to play Major League Baseball
Ethel Payne, a prominent African American journalist during the Civil Rights Movement.
James Brown, 1966, “March Against Fear” (Also, Godfather of Soul)
African Americans in the Military
Tuskeegee Airmen, the first African American fighter pilots in WWII.
Research Topics
English II
Treadwell 2
Intimidation and Violence
The Tulsa Race Riot, 1921, the single worst incident of racial violence in American history.
Billie Holiday, 1939, “Strange Fruit.” This song vividly described a lynching and became
associated with speaking out about the inhumanity of racism.
Emmett Till Murder, 1955. A 14 year old boy was lynched after whistling at a white woman.
Birmingham Church Bombing, 1963. A predominantlyAfrican American church was bombed.
Four young girls were killed. This attack drew national attention on race relations in the south.
“Mississippi Burning,” 1988 film, deals with the real-life murder of civil rights workers in 1964.
Sundown Towns. Towns that posted signs warning African Americans not to stay over night.
Religion and Race
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin. Semi-autobiographical novel about a teenager
growing up in the 1930s in Harlem. Positive and negative impacts of the church.
Freedom Singers, 1962, a touring group that performed hymns and spiritual songs
Jesse Jackson. Civil rights leader, Baptist minister, and politician.
Martin Luther King’s sermons and his role as a reverend.
Black churches as they contributed to the Civil Rights movement.
African Americans in Sports
Joe Lewis, 1937-1949, African American boxing champion
Earl Lloyd, 1950s, first African American to play in the NBA.
Althea Gibson, 1940s-1950s, first African American to win Wimbleton
Wilma Rudolph, 1950s-1960s, African American track athlete, multiple gold medalist
Muhammed Ali, 1960s, African American gold medalist in boxing
Bill Russell, 1966, first African American coach in professional sports
Research Topics
English II
Treadwell 3
Arthur Ashe, 1968, first African American to win the US Open
Interracial Relationships, Degree of Blackness and Racial Passing
Short story “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin. (1892) Deals with the ‘one drop of blood’ rule
“Imitation of Life,” first released in 1934, rereleased in 1959, deals with ‘passing’ as white.
Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. (1961) A white man passes for Black and travels
through the South for six weeks. Non-fiction.
Loving v. Virginia, 1967. This court case legalized interracial marriage.
“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” classic 1967 film, deals with interracial marriage.
Segregated Facilities
Plessy vs. Ferguson, 1896 (Separate but equal facilities for different races) *Note: this law was
still in effect until the 1950s-1960s.
Marion Anderson, 1939, African American singer whose concert was cancelled by the DAR.
Shelley v. Kraemer, 1948. Court case that banned racial segregation in housing.
“A Raisin in the Sun,” 1961, both a film and a Broadway play about an African American family
struggling through adversity, relates to housing segregation.
Freedom Riders, 1961, black and white college students challenged bus segregation.
Sam Cooke, 1961, R&B artist refusing to play at segregated concerts.
Desegregation of Schools and Colleges
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954 (Equal Access to Public Schools)
Autherine Lucy, 1956, first African American to attend the University of Alabama.
The Little Rock Nine, 1957, nine black high school students attended an all-white school.
Ruby Bridges, 1960, a 6-year-old girl becomes the first black student at an all-white school.