Join us to learn about the second edition of Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching in an interactive event.

Presenters include the editors (Jenice L. View, Alana D. Murray, and Deborah Menkart), SNCC veterans (Courtland Cox, Judy Richardson, and Jennifer Lawson), and lesson authors. Educator Jessica Rucker is the emcee. Attendees will hear about the book and engage in some of the activities.

Free and open to the public. Order food and drinks throughout. Books available for purchase and signing. The first 20 classroom teachers in attendance will receive a free copy of the book.

The book — published by Teaching for Change on its 35th anniversary — offers lessons, essays, articles, primary documents, and poetry to move beyond a “heroes and holidays” approach to teaching about the Civil Rights Movement. The content addresses the themes of women, youth, organizing, culture, institutional racism, and the interconnectedness of social movements.

With the election just days away, it is important to remember how people have organized throughout U.S. history to defend the right to vote and to hold elected officials accountable.

The updated and revised Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching is a veritable tour de force. Capturing the challenges and struggles of the people who propelled the movement to success, it provides a bird’s eye view of best practices in teaching about one of the most important movements in world history.

From well-known figures like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., to lesser known personalities like Barbara Johns and Edna Griffin, it demonstrates conclusively that movement building required not only bravery and courage, but a deep commitment to developing the skills that would better the lives of all peoples, not just one or two races or ethnicities.

Its mythbusting quizzes, role play exercises, and well thought out writing assignments make it a must for those educators seeking to give their students the tools they need to become active citizens who work to expand the meaning of “liberty and justice for all.” This new version of an old standard will go far in serving not just the school districts, teachers, and students who utilize it, but the millions of Americans and other citizens of the world who value truth as a well-worn path to perfecting our precious democracy.

— Curtis Austin, associate professor, Arizona State University and author of Up Against the Wall: Violence in the Making and Unmaking of the Black Panther Party

Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching

By Teaching for Change

Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching

Beyond Heroes & Holidays Session co-hosted by Teaching for Change and Busboys and Poets