THE CONTINUAL STRUGGLE:
Guiding Questions for Educators, Docents and Families
The Continual Struggle exhibit is located in the Great Hall on the
fourth floor of the LBJ Presidential Library. Mr. Washington’s
complete collection can also be found online at
http://www.brianwashington.com/continual-struggle/overview.
Social Studies TEKS:
5th grade- 4E, 5A, 5C, 20A, 20B, 24A, 24B, 24E
8th grade-1A, 9C, 16B, 21B, 23D, 26B, 29A, 29B, 29D,
11th grade-3C, 9A, 9C, 9F, 9H, 19B, 23A, 25A, 26A, 29A, 29B
KEY TERMS:
Sharecropping
Jim Crow
Segregation
Civil Rights Movement
Non-Violent Protest
IDEAS FOR INTRODUCTION:
Narrative art tells a story with pictures, just like a book tells a story
with words. We are going to try and “read” some of the stories that are
happening in these charcoal paintings by artist Brian Washington.
Take a minute to briefly look at these paintings. Make a list in your
head of the first words or ideas that come to mind when you see these
images.

What ideas or words came to mind after your short survey of the
paintings?
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
What symbols, words or images did you find in the paintings that
helped you think of these ideas or words?
All of the stories being told in Mr. Washington’s paintings are based on
historical events.

What time period did these events take place? How do you know?

Who are the main “characters” of these stories?

Do you recognize any of the events taking place in these
paintings? What are these events? How are they related?
GENERAL QUESTIONS:

What is happening in this scene?
o Follow up by asking for specific examples from the work, for
example: What clues in the artwork tell you this? How do
you know this? What makes you think that?

Who are the people in this scene?
o What emotions are the people feeling? What clues in the
painting help you to know this? How does this impact the
story being told?

What symbols or symbolism do you see? What do they represent?
How do these symbols help us understand the story the artist is
telling?
o Skies
o Colors
o American flags
o Religious symbols

Imagine you are inside this work of art.
o Who would you be? How would you feel?

What do you think happened before the scene in this painting?

What do you think happened after the scene in this painting?
QUESTIONS FOR SPECIFIC THEMES:
Sharecropping Images:
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
What time period do you think these people are living in? What
clues in the painting tell you this?
o Many might say these images are of slaves from the preCivil War era, however these are sharecroppers from the post
Reconstruction time period.

What is a sharecropper?
From PBS.org: Sharecropping is a system where the landlord allows a tenant to use
the land in exchange for a share of the crop. In the South, after the Civil War,
many black families rented land from white owners and raised cash
crops such as cotton, tobacco, and rice. In many cases, the landlords or
nearby merchants would lease equipment to the renters, and offer seed,
fertilizer, food, and other items on credit until the harvest season.
High interest rates, unpredictable harvests, and unscrupulous
landlords and merchants often kept tenant farm families severely
indebted, requiring the debt to be carried over until the next year or
the next. Laws favoring landowners made it difficult or even illegal for sharecroppers to
sell their crops to others besides their landlord, or prevented sharecroppers from moving if
they were indebted to their landlord.

Does it look like the lives of African Americans are very different
after emancipation and the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments**?
Why or why not?
o Jim Crow laws; segregated South
o Sharecroppers usually still tied to the land by being
indebted to landowners
**13th, 14th, 15th Amendment are in 5th, 8th and 11th grade
TEKS-great opportunity to review:
o 13th Amendment-makes slavery illegal
o 14th Amendment-gives African Americans citizenship
o 15th Amendment-gives African Americans the right to vote
Possible sharecropping images to highlight
The Cultivators:
o What are these people doing?
o What time period do you think these people are living in?
What clues in the painting tell you this?
o What is a sharecropper?
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
With These Hands:
o What kind of work do you think these hands have done?
o Why would the artist choose hands to feature in this
drawing? (What do people normally do with their hands? If
people are working hard on a farm with their hands, how
would that change the appearance of their hands?)

A Joyful Sorrow or Sharing the Burden:
o Focus on facial expressions-What emotions are these people
feeling? What might they be thinking about?
o What kind of work are they doing? How do you think they
feel at the end of the day of work?
o A Joyful Sorrow- Note the shape of mother’s back—What
does this tell us about her work?
Religious Images:

Why do you think Mr. Washington chose to incorporate these
religious themes into his work?

What was the role of the church in the Civil Rights Movement?
o
Mr. Washington explains, “The black church provided the
Civil Rights Movement with hope and resolve. Hope gave the
courageous protesters the fortitude to persevere. They
believed that God would help them. Spiritual songs sung in
the churches throughout the South during the era of
segregation engendered in African Americans a sense of
optimism for the eventual vindication of their struggles.”
o Churches were not only places of worship, but also often
served as meeting places to discuss community issues, plan
boycotts, non-violent protests or marches. Many church
leaders, like Martin Luther King, Jr., became leaders in the
Civil Rights Movement.
Possible religious image to highlight-
Lift Every Voice:

What is happening? What clues in the painting tell you this?
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
Where does this scene take place? What clues in the painting tell
you this?

Who are the different groups of people?
o Why are they here?
o What are they doing?

How might this story relate to the stories being told in the other
paintings?
Protesting Images:

Who is taking action in this painting? Why? What do they want?
What clues do you see in the painting that tell you this?

What constitutional right is not being protected in some of these
images? (1st amendment right to assemble)
If there are signs/words in the drawing:

Look carefully at the signs/words in this painting: Why are
people marching/protesting? What do they want?

How do the words help us understand what is happening in this
story?
Possible protesting images to highlight-
A Parade of Sympathies:

What is happening in this scene?

Who is taking action? Why?

Look carefully at the signs: Why are people marching/protesting?
What do they want?
As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us:

What is happening in this scene? What clues in the painting tell
you this?

Where is this event taking place? (town square, in front of county
registrar’s office) Why is the location important?
o Although the 15th amendment gave African Americans the
right to vote, most African Americans were prevented from
voting through tactics such as poll taxes and literacy tests.

Who are the two groups of people in this painting? What does
each group want?
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
Discuss the significance of the position of the two groups in the
painting: police on horses vs. the stance of the African American
protesters

Point out the sign “In Pursuit of Human Dignity”-What does that
mean? In what ways are the people in this scene being denied
dignity?

What is the significance of the title As We Forgive Those Who
Trespass Against Us?
o The title is a phrase from The Lord’s Prayer. Protesters often
relied on their religious faith to sustain them during nonviolent protests like this one. Washington explains, “Activists
had to not only stand their ground, but remain vigilant in
their fight for equal rights, all while letting go of the
bitterness and resentment caused by local authorities”
A Seeming Contradiction:

Analyze the images, then compare and contrast the two images.
What is happening in the top image and how is it different than
the bottom image? How are these images related?

Look at the title “A Seeming Contradiction.” What does
contradiction mean? How are these two images a contradiction?
o Non-violent, peaceful protesters vs. the violence they met at
the hands of the authorities

Why would the artist choose to show these two scenes together?
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

What is the overall story being told by these drawings?

How are the first images related to the last images?

How do these images describe the different aspects of the African
American experience?

What historical events are referenced in these paintings?

Why do you think Mr. Washington chose the title The Continual
Struggle for this series of paintings? What is the continual
struggle the “characters” in these stories are experiencing?
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
Are there any images or topics that relate to things you saw in the
exhibits at the LBJ Library?
CONNECTIONS TO LBJ LIBRARY EXHIBITS:
From the Great Hall, continue to the LBJ’s Presidency exhibit by going
through the entrance near the red wall. You will find the content
about the Civil Rights Movement begins just past the “November 22,
1963” and “Let Us Continue” rooms.
After the “Let Us Continue” room, you will see the “Inequality in
America” panels to your left, which give examples of discrimination
faced by minorities in the 1960’s.
As you continue through the exhibit space, you will find the “We
Shall Overcome” theater to your right. This short video is an overview
of civil rights legislation passed during LBJ’s time in Congress and as
President, including the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The film also discusses
significant leaders and events of the Civil Rights Movement.
After you exit the theater, on your left you will find panels
summarizing the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, along
with photographs from our archives. As you move to your right, you
will see documents from our archives including the Civil Rights Act of
1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and a telegram from Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. to the White House regarding the Voting Rights Act.
To the right of the documents is an interactive that chronicles how the
Voting Rights Bill became law. To follow the journey of the Voting
Rights Bill, touch the screen and click on each time period to see
related documents, speeches and videos. If you are short on time we
recommend the following clips:
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o January 15-31: Telephone Conversation with MLK on
January 15, 1965
o March 4-13: Selma News Coverage, LBJ’s Address to Congress
From the Voting Rights Interactive, you will find the desk LBJ used to
sign the Voting Rights Act directly behind you.
In this room you will also discover artifacts related to LBJ’s Great
Society legislation, which not only included Civil Rights, but also
encompassed the War on Poverty, Medicare, education and public
broadcasting.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

Choose one of the images and create a dialogue based on the
events happening in the painting.

Imagine you are inside one of Brian Washington’s paintings.
Write an “I am” poem based on the things you might see, feel and
hear if you were a part of this scene. (See sample “I am” poem
worksheet after the resources page)

Where did Brian Washington get his inspiration? Research the
historical events and photographs that inspired these paintings.

Which images most embody The Continual Struggle? Choose three
images to create a story that describes the continual struggle for
equality.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND RELATED MATERIALS:
Brian Washington and The Continual Struggle online:
http://www.brianwashington.com/continual-struggle/overview
More about sharecropping:

Information and resources on sharecropping and tenant farmers
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newsouth/4698

Slavery by Another Name: Documentary and Resources
http://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/home/
More about the Civil Rights Movement:

LBJ and Civil Rights: Includes primary sources from the archives
of the LBJ Library
http://civilrights.lbjlibrary.org
http://www.lbjlibrary.org/mediakits/votingrightsact/
Videos and materials related to the 2014 Civil Rights Summit
http://www.civilrightssummit.org/media/
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE4ezrXJCEORlZVy1WR
GPs9NyHSDpfY0M

1963: The Struggle for Civil Rights, from the JFK Library
http://civilrights.jfklibrary.org
http://civilrights.jfklibrary.org/For-Educators.aspx

Overviews of the Civil Rights Movement: Include primary sources
http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Civil-Rights-
Movement.aspx
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/1945present/civil-rights-movement

The role of the church and church leaders in the Civil Rights
Movement
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/civil-rightsmovement/essays/african-american-religious-leadership-andcivil-rights-m
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“I AM” POEM
Imagine you are inside of one of Brian Washington’s paintings. How would
you feel? What might you see or hear? Use your imagination to help you
complete the phrases below.
I am
I wonder
I hear
I see
I am
I pretend
I feel
I touch
I worry
I cry
I am
I understand
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I say
I dream
I try
I hope
I am
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