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Home , Eyes on the Prize, Hubert Harrison, Vernon Johns

History of the in the United States

History 365WA Professor: A. J. Tillerson-Brown, Ph.D. Fall 2018 Office: Academic 414 Office Hours: T/TH 11:00-noon & by appointment E-mail: [email protected] – Best form of contact

Course Description: The Civil Rights Movement is arguably the most important social movement of the twentieth century. The history of struggle for African Americans to enjoy the rights of United States citizens that was waged in the face of systematic and domestic terrorism illustrates the interconnectedness of social, economic and political equity. Through lectures and class discussions, this course examines the long Civil Rights Movement placing emphasis on the national battles and results alongside close examination of local agitation by ordinary “grassroots” citizens and anti-colonial movements in . We will analyze various civil/human rights goals and strategies, challenge traditional understandings of “non-violence” and “self-defense”, discuss the centrality of religion, and introduce the movement. This course will use a variety of readings including historical primary source documents (speeches, letters, newspaper articles, reports, pamphlets and essays), artistic works (music, fiction, poetry, comics, film), and documentaries to study this very important protest movement. This is a reading intensive course. Prerequisite: HIST 112, or HIST 265, or HIST 266 or permission of instructor.

Learning Objectives: Through the study of The Civil Rights Movement in the United States, the student will: 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the methods and theoretical approaches of History. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the self in relationship to the broader community through recognition of the importance of race and ethnicity in the United States. 3. Analyze major events and arguments related to the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States by completing and discussing assigned reading. 4. Strengthen skills in the areas of research, writing, leadership, interpersonal influence, teambuilding, group problem solving, and oral presentation. 5. Use the Manual of Style to document historical sources using footnotes.

Required Texts: , Darlene Clark Hine, , Gerald Gill, David J. Garrow (eds.), The Civil Rights Reader: Documents, Speeches, and Firsthand Accounts from the Black Freedom Struggle (1991)

Michael J. Klarman. Unfinished Business: Racial Equality in American History (2007)

V.P. Franklin & Bettye Collier-Thomas (eds.) Sisters in the Struggle: African American Women in the Civil Rights- (2001)

Akinyele Omowale Umoja. We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Freedom Movement (2013)

Missed Assignment Policy: All assignments are due by the beginning of class on the due date. Without a legitimate , all late assignments will suffer a letter grade per day penalty. Assignments submitted more than four days after the due date will not earn a grade higher than 50/F.

Written Assignment Submission Policy: For this course, please submit all written to my campus email address: [email protected] and post on Blackboard. 1

Required Film/Documentary Viewings: This class will require that you study several films/documentaries. They are introduced to help make the readings and lectures come alive. Importantly, information presented in the videos will appear on your exams and you are expected to integrate information gleaned in your essays and other written assignments.

Academic Integrity Violations, Including Plagiarism: Plagiarism is using the words and ideas of others without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. The Mary Baldwin College Honor Code as outlined in the annual Student Handbook will be strictly enforced. Violations of this code will be referred to proper officials, you will automatically fail this class and it is possible that you may be expelled from Mary Baldwin College. Please do not resort to cheating. Plagiarism is cheating. Please consult The American Historical Association at http://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/classroom-content/resources/aha-teaching- division/plagiarism-curricular-materials-for-history-instructors/defining-plagiarism to learn more about plagiarism.

Grading Scale: 94-100 A 84-86 B 74-76 C 64-66 D 90-93 A- 80-83 B- 70-73 C- 60-63 D- 87-89 B+ 77-79 C+ 67-69 D+ 0-59 F

You must complete ALL assignments to pass this course.

Graded Assignments: Blackboard Discussions 40% We will have five Blackboard discussions this semester. I will post questions and you will respond to my post and the posts of two other classmates of your choice. It is important for you to post your first response (between 500-750 words) by the due date. Responses to at least two other classmates’ posts (between 150 and 250 words) are due by 11:59 p.m. the Saturday after the initial post is due. (For example, your first discussion post is due by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, September 9, 2018. Your responses to at least two classmates within this thread will be due by 11:59 p.m. on the following Sunday.) All responses must be grammatically sound, clear, well-organized and supported with evidence from the text or documentaries/films. The length requirement makes it obvious that simply responding, “I agree with my classmate’s response” or “I disagree with my classmate’s response” will not suffice. You must establish why you agree or disagree and in some cases challenge classmates to consider evidence presented in the assigned readings but not considered in the response. Constructive criticism in the discussions is allowed—blatant disrespect is not. In your responses, attempt to raise new questions and not simply summarize your initial response or the response of the classmate you decide to respond to. You are not able to create footnotes on Blackboard, so for these assignments, parenthetical documentation is allowed.

One objective of these discussions is to practice articulating and supporting an argument. I hardly expect for the entire class to have the same opinion about the questions posted. Questions are designed to ignite debate.

Midterm Examination 20% The midterm exam will consist of short answer and essay questions.

Research Prospectus 20% Students are required to investigate an issue related to the civil rights movement and develop a research prospectus. Requirements for the prospectus will be distributed in-class. Due Friday, December 14th by 11:59 p.m.

Final Exam 20% The cumulative final exam will consist of identification and essay questions.

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COURSE SCHEDULE:

Module 1: More than Separate Water Fountains: Background to the Civil Rights Movement

Week 1 – A Look at Segregation through the Eyes of Black Domestics September 3-9: Lee Daniel’s , (Available on Netflix or for rent at amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/primesignup/?ref=dvm_us_dl_sl_go_brw|c_163710060191_m_TR74WZJX-dc_s . As a student, you can register for a 6-month free trial that will allow you to stream movies for no charge. If you want to discontinue this services, make sure to cancel after the trial ends so that you do not incur charges. The film is available for check out at MBU and Valley Libraries and is at several Redbox locations.)

The Help, written and directed by Tate Taylor. (Available for rent at amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/primesignup/?ref=dvm_us_dl_sl_go_brw|c_163710060191_m_TR74WZJX-dc_s . As a student, you can register for a 6-month free trial that will allow you to stream movies for no charge. If you want to discontinue this services, make sure to cancel after the trial ends so that you do not incur charges. The film is available for check out at MBU and Valley Libraries and is at several Redbox locations.)

ABWH Statement on The Help: (BB) http://www.abwh.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2%3Aopen-statement-the-help

Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story, directed by Raymond De Felitta and co-produced by Yvette Johnson (Available for rent at amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/primesignup/?ref=dvm_us_dl_sl_go_brw|c_163710060191_m_TR74WZJX-dc_s . As a student, you can register for a 6-month free trial that will allow you to stream movies for no charge. If you want to discontinue this services, make sure to cancel after the trial ends so that you do not incur charges. The film is available for check out at MBU and Valley Libraries and is at several Redbox locations.) Discussion Board Post 1, Due by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, September 9th

Week 2– Background to the Civil Rights Movement September 10-16: Michael J. Klarman, Unfinished Business: Racial Equality in American History, Introduction – Chapter 5. Comments for two classmates’ #1 Discussion Post Due by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, September 16th by 11:59 p.m.

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Module 2: How to Get Away With Murder: Domestic Terrorism and the Civil Rights Movement

Week 3— Negroes is as American as Apple Pie: Justifications, Contradictions and Reactions of “The ” September 17-23: Michael J. Klarman, Unfinished Business: Racial Equality in American History, Chapters 6-7.

Akinyele Omowale Umoja, We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement, Introduction & Chapter 1

Claude McKay, “If We Must Die” (1919): http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173960#poem (BB)

Otto Huiswoud & Claude McKay, “Report on the Negro Question,” International Press Correspondence 3, no. 2 (1923) (BB)

Marcus Garvey, "Explanation of the Objects of the Universal Negro Improvement Association": http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/sayitplain/mgarvey.html (BB)

Hubert Harrison, “Race Consciousness,” Boston Chronicle ( 15, 1924)—(BB)

rd Discussion Post #2 Due: Sunday, September 23 by 11:59 p.m.

Week 4—“New Deal” or More of the Same?: From FDR to September 24-30: Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, “The Long Civil Rights Movement and the Political Uses of the Past,” Journal of American History 91:4 (March 2005). (BB)

Michael Klarman, Unfinished Business: Racial Equality in American History, Chapter 8

W. E. B. Du Bois, “A Negro Nation within the Nation,” in W.E.B. Du Bois Speaks: Speeches and Addresses 1920- 1963 edited by Philip S. Foner (BB)

Langston Hughes, “Let America Be America Again” (1936) (BB)

Eyes on the Prize Reader, 35-43

The Untold Story of Emmett Till, by Keith Beauchamp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvijYSJtkQk (BB)

th Comments for two classmates’ #2 Discussion Post Due: Sunday, September 30 by 11:59 p.m.

Week 5 –October 1-7: Midterm Due Sunday, October 7th by 11:59 p.m.

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Module 3: Black Preachers and Churchwomen: Religion and the Civil Rights Movement

Week 6—“If You See a Good Fight… Get In It!” & Martin King: “Race Men” and their Legacies October 8-14: Luker, Ralph. “Murder and Biblical Memory: The Legend of Vernon Johns,” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, CXII (Spring 2005): 372-418. (BB)

Film: Road to Freedom: The Vernon Johns Story (1994), written by Leslie Lee and Kevin Arkadie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRuZF7LMXcc (BB)

Cone, James. “Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Third World.” The Journal of American History. Vol. 74, No. 2 (Sep., 1987), 455-467. (BB)

Burns, Steward. “From the Mountaintop: The Changing Political Vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.” The History Teacher, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Nov., 1993), 7-18. (BB)

Week 7—Women and the Politics of Respectability & Roots of Non-Violent Protest Philosophy October 15-21: Collier-Thomas and Franklin: Ransby on , 42-57

Gault, on Integration of University of GA, 75-82

Height, on March on Washington, 83-94

Rouse, on Septima Clark, 95-120

Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader, 110-112; 112-114; 130-132

Dr. King: Non Violence is the Most Powerful Weapon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74XJJ3Tq5ew (BB)

st Discussion Post #3 Due: Sunday, October 21 by 11:59 p.m.

Week 8—Islam and Black Nationalists October 22-28: Lewis V. Baldwin, “ and Martin Luther King, Jr.: What They Thought About Each Other,” Islamic Studies, 4 (Winter 1986): 395-416. (BB)

Carson, Clayborne. “The Unfinished Dialogue of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X” OAH Magazine of History, Vol. 19, No. 1 January, 2005 22-26 (BB)

Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader, 248-261; Malcolm X, “Message to the Grassroots”

Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader, 261-262; Sonia Sanchez, “Malcolm”

I Am Not Your Negro

Collier-Thomas & Franklin: Griffin on Malcolm X & Black women: 214-229

Comments for two classmates’ #3 Discussion Post Due: Sunday, October 28th by 11:59 p.m. 5

Module 4: Decisive Events in Classical Civil Rights History Week 9—The Brown Decisions: Reactions and Meanings October 29-November 4: Michael J. Klarman, Unfinished Business: Racial Equality in American History, Chapter 9.

Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader, 61-81; 95-97

Dissenting Opinion of Judge Waites Waring in Harry Briggs, Jr., et al v. R. W. Elliott, Chairman, et. al. (BB)

Letter from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to E. E. “Sewde” Hazlett, October 23, 1954 (BB)

Dailey, Jane. “Sex, Segregation and the Sacred after Brown.” The Journal of American History. Vol. 91, No. 1 (Jun., 2004), 119-144. (BB)

Documentary Clips, (BB)

th Research Prospectus Topic Due: Sunday, November 4 by 11:59 p.m. (I will accept proposed topics earlier than November 4th) Email me and post on BB your proposed research prospectus topic. I must approve your topic before you start on your prospectus.

Week 10— The Youth Movement and Mississippi: Sit ins, Freedom Rides & November 5-11: Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader, 119-130; 133-203

Michael J. Klarman, Unfinished Business: Racial Equality in American History, Chapter 10.

Akinyele Omowale Umoja: We Will Shoot Back (Chapter 4)

Documentary clips, Eyes on the Prize (BB)

Discussion Post #4 Due by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, November 11, 2018

Week 12 – The Federal Government and Civil Rights: Montgomery Bus , Little Rock , March on Washington, CRA, VRA November 12-18: Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader, 44-60; 97-106; 204-227; 239-245, 270-289.

Brother Outsider: The Life of directed by Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer, documentary (BB)

Documentary clips, (BB) Comments for two classmates’ #4 Discussion Post Due: Sunday, November 18th by 11:59 p.m.

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Module 5: “Guns Kept People Alive”: Self-Defense, Black Power & ‘Non-Violence’ Reconsidered Week 13--“We Will Shoot Back”: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement November 19-25: Akinyelle Omowale Umoja, We Will Shoot Back (Chapters 2-3 & 5-6)

Tyson, Timothy. Robert F. Williams, "Black Power," and the Roots of the African American Freedom Struggle.” The Journal of American History, Vol. 85, No. 2 (Sep., 1998), 540-570. (BB)

Negroes with Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power, documentary (BB)

th Discussion Post #5 Due: Sunday, November 25 by 11:59 p.m.

Week 14—From Black Power to the Politics of Hip Hop: The New Jim Crow November 26-December 3: Akinyelle Omowale Umoja, We Will Shoot Back (Chapter 7) Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (Chapters 5-6) (BB)

Comments for two classmates’ #5 Discussion Post Due: Sunday, December 3rd by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, December 12th: Final Exam Due by 11:59 p.m. Friday, December 14th: Research Prospectus Due

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