High Level Document Based Question- This DBQ adheres to New York State Learning
Standard 1- History of the United States and New York, Commencement Level, Key
Ideas #3 and #4. Also, New York State Learning Standard 5- Civics, Citizenship, and
Government, Key Ideas #1 - #4. Additionally, this lesson plan corresponds with the
National Social Studies Curriculum Standards thematic strands of power, authority, and
governance & individual development and identity.
This Document Based Question (DBQ) may be used in the classroom in various ways.
First, students may build their own DBQ scaffolding questions in pairs, as a group, or on
their own in class using images from the African Americans kit as resources. Second, the
teacher may decide to select specific images from the African Americans kit to include as
scaffolding questions. Finally, the images can be selected from the kit either by the
teacher or the students and included with the following primary sources to form a
comprehensive DBQ assignment. However, at least four of the images from the African
Americans kit must be used as scaffolding documents.
Directions:
This Document Based Question (DBQ) consists of two parts. Part A includes
scaffolding questions for each primary source. Answer each scaffolding question
in the space provided. Part B is the DBQ. Write an essay that fully answers the
DBQ.
Historical Context:
From the time of Reconstruction, African Americans were segregated in the
South. Although segregation was less pronounced in the North, African
Americans were restricted in their economic, political, and social mobility.
Document Based Question:
The Civil Rights movement of the 20th century resulted in legislation ensuring
equal treatment under United States law. How did this movement create the
climate that resulted in the passage of such legislation?
Task:
Answer each scaffolding question in the space provided based on the
corresponding primary source. Answer the DBQ using information from at least
five of the primary sources in Part A and your knowledge of United States
history.
Guidelines:
- Support your essay with specific facts and details
- Write in an organized and logical manner
- Include a clearly developed introduction and conclusion
- Include information from at least five of the documents in Part A
Part A:
Document 1
“Like a good omen for the future, the face of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the
first black face I saw on our new television screen. And, as in a fairy tale, my
soul was stirred by the meaning for me of his mission – at the time he was being
rather ignominiously dumped into a police van for having led a protest march in
Alabama – and I fell in love with the sober and determined face of the
Movement.”
Alice Walker
In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens
1970
Scaffolding Question:
Why does Alice Walker call Dr. King’s face a ‘good omen’?
Document 2
“It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim
of brutal attacks. It is legal and lawful to own a shotgun or rifle. We believe in
obeying the law. The time has come for the American Negro to fight back in selfdefense whenever and wherever his is being unjustly and unlawfully attacked.”
Malcolm X
Press Conference, New York City
1964
Scaffolding Question:
What does the speaker mean by ‘we believe in obeying the law’?
Document 3
“This is the twenty-seventh time I have been arrested – and I ain’t going to jail no
more! We been saying freedom for six years – and we ain’t got nothin’. What
we’re gonna start saying now is Black Power.”
Stokely Carmichael
Rally in Greenwood, Mississippi
1966
Scaffolding Question:
What is Black Power?
Document 4
“For those of you who are black – considering the evidence that there were white
people who were responsible – you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and
a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country…or we can
make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and comprehend, and to
replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with
an effort to understand with compassion and love.
Robert F. Kennedy
Eulogy for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
1968
Scaffolding Question:
What is the speaker recommending regarding the direction of the Civil Rights
movement?