Lesson Resources
SS8H7 The student will evaluate key political, social, and economic changes that occurred in
Georgia between 1877 and 1918.
b. Analyze how rights were denied to African-Americans through Jim Crow laws, Plessy v.
Ferguson, disenfranchisement, and racial violence.
This pathfinder is meant for teachers to use if they need a variety of resources covering
SS8H7b that can be integrated into engaging lessons, inquiry projects, or just as supplemental
resources for students who need extension work. Keywords/terms that would help with
searching for SS8H7b are Jim Crow laws, Plessy v. Ferguson, disenfranchisement, racial
violence, and race riots. A few Dewey classifications to use to find resources would be the
305’s, 320’s, and 340’s. Some good web directories to search are the New Georgia
Encyclopedia, PBS, Georgia Archives, Gale: Biographies in Context, Gale: Opposing Views in
Context, and NPR. This pathfinder is organized with media content first, followed by online
content, and then print sources. All of the provided links are appropriate for 8th graders and
above.
Media Resources
Harris, N. (2006). When Blacks Succeed: The 1906 Atlanta Race Riot. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ-fgqnuATgHQgtS6YYLcTpPC8I28NI-H
The award winning documentary “When Blacks Succeed: The 1906 Atlanta Race Riot” has been
posted on YouTube for easy viewing. In this six part video series, the emotions are felt and
students are transported back over 100 years. Each video is under 5 minutes, so all six videos
could be shown at once or students could view them independently with individual
assignments to guide their learning. No matter how the videos are shown, the impact can be
lasting and videos are a great way to gain student engagement.
Kuhn, C. (2009). This Day in Atlanta History, 1906: Atlanta’s Race Riots. WABE Podcast. Podcast
retrieved from http://news.wabe.org/post/day-atlanta-history-1906-atlantas-race-riots
In this short podcast, Cliff Huhn (from Georgia State University) takes the audience back in time
to 1906. Huhn explains what it was like in the city right before the race riots and also goes into
detail about what lead to the riots. Being able to listen instead of just reading about history
helps to put the students back in time and really experience it.
Online Resources
Bos, C. (1999), Plessy vs Ferguson: Legal Segregation. Awesome Stories. Retrieved from
http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Plessy-vs-Ferguson-Legal-Segregation
Net Trekker is a search engine that searches a variety of multimedia resources that are directly
related to curriculum standards. From 60-second audio clips that quickly explains the topic to
interactive lesson plans with built in web links and primary documents, Net Trekker is a great
resource for any standard. While searching on Net Trekker, the search engines that resulted in
the best results were Jim Crow Laws and Plessy v. Ferguson. With these searches, multiple
resources were located including multiple online lessons built for student use with primary
documents, videos, guiding questions, as well as interactive timelines. Since Net Trekker is a
type of search engine, you can either save your search to the Net Trekker website or save the
actual website.
Homer Adolph Plessy. (1999). In Gale Biography in Context. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?failOverTy
pe=&query=&prodId=BIC1&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&displayquery=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Biographies&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlightin
g=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&action=e&catId=&activityT
ype=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CK1650000315&source=Bookmark&u=alph56250&jsid=e9
fd0003bcc8164d498587bebf772873
Gale: Biography in Context is a reference source that focuses on people. The information is
pulled from a variety of biographies, magazines, and video sources. The articles do not only
focus on the person but what was happening to shape the person. Homer Adolph Plessy was
searched and two different biographies were located plus a magazine article from the
Smithsonian. All three of these resources are valuable when teaching SS8H7b.
Hatfield, E. A. (2015) Segregation. New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/segregation
With the New Georgia Encyclopedia, there are lots of resources to enhance the Georgia history
standards. By searching “Jim Crow Laws” an article on segregation, which discusses the impact
the law had on Georgia in particular instead of most other articles that focus on the nation.
There are lots links embedded within the article and at the end of the article, which encourages
the students to further research the topic and explore their curiosity. By using the New Georgia
Encyclopedia, there are numerous resources besides just articles like images to use for a multimedia analysis project or video clips that relate to the standards.
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. (2002). PBS. Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/index.html
PBS produced four episodes on Jim Crow laws with a website to support the videos. The
website includes an interactive timeline, stories from a variety of perspectives, an interactive
map, plus teacher tools to help plan lessons and further explain the resources. The actual
videos are not online, but the website could be used as a standalone resource or there is
information on ordering a set of videos for the school media center. The Rise and Fall of Jim
Crow could be used in pieces to support the standards or built into a WebQuest for students to
explore on their own. Either way, the information provided is in-depth and invaluable in
creating a picture of history.
White, W. (1948). A Man Called White. Defending Home and Hearth: Walter White Recalls the
1906 Atlanta Race Riot. Retrieved from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/104/
From the History Matters website, there is a reprint of Walter White’s recounts of the 1906
race riots in Atlanta. Having students read a real life encounter will help bring the tension and
emotions to the surface instead of passively reading a history passage. Using primary sources is
important while teaching history. Having students read White’s recall of the riots will have an
impact on students fully understanding the racial violence that took place in the south during
this time period.
Jim Crow Law. (n.d.) West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. (2008). Retrieved
from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Jim+Crow+Law
The Free Dictionary has a legal dictionary component where all aspects of the word or phrase
are discussed from a range of angles. Since it is a dictionary website, students who come across
a new word or historical fact can easily look it up since everything is hyperlinked within the
website. This website also provides additional resources and a cross reference to different
entries. Jim Crow Law and Plessy v. Ferguson both have detailed entries.
Print Resources
Fremon, D. K. (2000). The Jim Crow laws and racism in American history. Berkeley Heights, NJ:
Enslow Publishers.
In this non-fiction book written for middle school students, the Jim Crow laws are explored in
depth and the impact the laws had on the United States are discussed.
Wormser, R. (1999). The rise & fall of Jim Crow: The African-American struggle against
discrimination, 1865-1954. New York: Franklin Watts.
The non-fiction book explores the laws that supported discrimination with a variety of
photographs and quotes that help explain what it was like to experience the aftermath of just a
few laws.
Cates, D., & Armstrong, M. (2013). Plessy v. Ferguson : segregation and the separate but equal
policy. Minneapolis, MN: ABDO Pub.
Explaining the Plessy v. Ferguson court case in terms, this non-fiction book ensures that
everyone who reads it understands the process and the ramifications of the infamous lawsuit.
Napoli, D. J. (2009). Alligator bayou. New York: Wendy Lamb Books. Retrieved from
http://proxygsusful.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nnh&tg
=UI&an=304442&site=novelistk8-live
Even those this historical fictitious novel focuses more on segregation of immigrants, it would
make a perfect comparison piece for students to relate the tensions of African Americans
compared to immigrants.
Wright, B. (2012). Crow. New York: Random House. Retrieved from http://proxygsusful.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nnh&tg
=UI&an=10063225&site=novelistk8-live
In this historical fiction novel based in the south, helps paint the picture of what it is like during
1898 and how different groups of people reacted to the rising tensions building between the
races.
References
Bos, C. (1999), Plessy vs Ferguson: Legal Segregation. Awesome Stories. Retrieved from
http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Plessy-vs-Ferguson-Legal-Segregation
Cates, D., & Armstrong, M. (2013). Plessy v. Ferguson : segregation and the separate but equal
policy. Minneapolis, MN: ABDO Pub.
Fremon, D. K. (2000). The Jim Crow laws and racism in American history. Berkeley Heights, NJ:
Enslow Publishers.
Harris, N. (2006). When Blacks Succeed: The 1906 Atlanta Race Riot. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ-fgqnuATgHQgtS6YYLcTpPC8I28NI-H
Hatfield, E. A. (2015) Segregation. New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/segregation
Homer Adolph Plessy. (1999). In Gale Biography in Context. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?fail
OverType=&query=&prodId=BIC1&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&displayquery=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Biographies&limiter=&currPage=&disableHig
hlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&action=e&c
atId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CK1650000315&source=Bookmark
&u=alph56250&jsid=e9fd0003bcc8164d498587bebf772873
Jim Crow Law. (n.d.) West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. (2008). Retrieved
from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Jim+Crow+Law
Kuhn, C. (2009). This Day in Atlanta History, 1906: Atlanta’s Race Riots. WABE Podcast. Podcast
retrieved from http://news.wabe.org/post/day-atlanta-history-1906-atlantas-race-riots
Napoli, D. J. (2009). Alligator bayou. New York: Wendy Lamb Books. Retrieved from
http://proxygsusful.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=
nnh&tg=UI&an=304442&site=novelistk8-live
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. (2002). PBS. Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/index.html
White, W. (1948). A Man Called White. Defending Home and Hearth: Walter White Recalls the
1906 Atlanta Race Riot. Retrieved from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/104/
Wormser, R. (1999). The rise & fall of Jim Crow: The African-American struggle against
discrimination, 1865-1954. New York: Franklin Watts.
Wright, B. (2012). Crow. New York: Random House. Retrieved from http://proxygsusful.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=
nnh&tg=UI&an=10063225&site=novelistk8-live