Emmett Till- The Murder that sparked the Civil Rights Movement
Emmitt Till Travel Exhibit on display in classroom.
Day 1- Students will watch The PBS documentary on the Murder of Emmett Till And students will keep a journal of key events, locations, and people related to this historical event.
Day 2-Guest Speaker Lent Rice- Current Director Bureau of Professional Standards of the Desoto Sheriff’s Department. Lived in Sumner Mississippi when the Emmett Till murder trial occurred and was on the FBI investigation team to reopen the Emmett Till Murder case in 2006.
Students will watch videos of Wheeler Parker and Simeon Wright ( from the Delta Center Archives ) share what happened in the store , the night Emmett Till was kidnapped, and the murder trial.
Students will have copies of The Court Reporter activities from the Delta Center and complete the student activities on the Emmett Till traveling exhibit.
Day 3- Primary Source – students will be provided with a copy of the lyrics to the Bob Dylan song, the murder of Emmett Till, and follow along as they listen to Bob Dylan perform the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVKTx9YlKls
DAY 3 – Students in small groups will be provided with articles from the Mississippi History Archives on Acts of Civil disobedience in Mississippi. and must write and perform their own Protest Song based on one of the historical events. (This lesson plan is available on the website the Mississippi Department of Archives and History)
Day 4- Student groups will perform protest songs in class. Awards will be granted to best performance and best song.
Homework – students must research other protest songs from the Civil Rights movement and share in class.
Mississippi the Birthplace of America’s Music
History of “The Blues”
1. Students will be divided into 5 groups. 2. Each group will research, create a poster, and organize a class presentation on their assigned topic. 3. Sources for research include the following:
The Blues Trail website Mississippi History Now website –articles on the Blues and various artists Biography Website Alan Lomax –The Land Where the Blues Began- YouTube video
Materials Needed:
Large Rolls of Paper Markers Rulers Scissors Glue Construction paper
Computers for Research
Day 1- Research, create poste , and start organizing presentation Day 2 -Group Presentations
Group 1- Where is the birthplace of “ The Blues”?
The history of the music from the Mississippi Delta Dockery Farms Jook /Juke Joints House Parties
Group 2 – The Founding Artists/Musicians of “ The Blues”
Charlie Patton Robert Johnson Howlin Wolf BB King
Group 3- What is “The Blues”? What makes this style of music unique? What influenced this style of music? What instruments did early musicians use?
Group 4- The So-What group- What impact did this music have in Mississippi? What events caused this style of music to (Movement) become popular outside of Mississippi? How did the style of Delta Blues change in cities such as Memphis, Chicago, and St Louis?
Group 5-The Mississippi Blues Trail
Research and provide history of the Mississippi Blues Trail. Why is the Mississippi Blues Trail important to the state of Mississippi and significant for history?
Enrichment
If I receive funding from the local foundation grant…. I will invite Bill Abel to come play the Blues and provide the history of the Blues from a Mississippi Delta musician.
Fannie Lou Hamer- The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
Materials Needed: Large Rolls of Paper Markers Several copies of the following books:
Asch, Chris Myers. 2008. The Senator and the Sharecropper: The Freedom Struggles of James O. Eastland and Fannie Lou Hamer. New Press.
Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2015. Voice of Freedom, Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement. Candlewick Press.
Day 1- In small group (5 students), students will read (popcorn style), Voice of Freedom,Fannie Lou Hamer. Each group will list interesting facts about Fannie Lou Hamer on large poster paper.
Students will then read assigned chapters from the “Senator and the Sharecropper”
Groups are assigned different chapters to read that cover Fannie Lou Hamer’s early life, her embracement of the Civil Rights Movement, Hamer’s involvement and leadership in the movement, and Hamer’s continued work after the movement.
Day 2-Small groups will discuss reading assignments and then each group will present to the entire class important facts, actions and accomplishments of Fannie Lou Hamer.
Primary Sources Students will have a copy of Fannie Lou’s Speech as we watch the you tube video of Mrs. Hamer as vice chairman of the Mississippi Freedom Party speak before the Credentials Committee to be seated at the convention.
We will also watch you tube video of the President Johnson’s press conference to preempt Mrs. Hamer’s interview.
Following the class discussion of the impact of Fannie Lou Hammer on the Civil Rights Movement , we will listen to her sing “This Little Light of Mine” (From the African American Legacy Recordings – Fannie Lou Hamer, Songs my mother taught me)
Students Take the Mississippi Literacy Test (obtained from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History) required from the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 ,which established Jim Crow laws in the state.
Class discussion will end by watching slideshow of Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden in Ruleville Mississippi. ( From Delta Center website)