DEMOCRACY IN ACTION A STUDY GUIDE TO ACCOMPANY THE FILM FREEDOM RIDERS DEMOCRACY IN ACTION A STUDY GUIDE TO ACCOMPANY THE FILM FREEDOM RIDERS Copyright © 2011 by WGBH Educational Foundation. All rights reserved. Cover art credits: Courtesy of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Back cover art credits: Bettmann/CORBIS. To download a PDF of this guide free of charge, please visit www.facinghistory.org/freedomriders or www.pbs.org/freedomriders. ISBN-13: 978-0-9819543-9-4 ISBN-10: 0-9819543-9-1 Facing History and Ourselves Headquarters 16 Hurd Road Brookline, MA 02445-6919 ABOUT FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES Facing History and Ourselves is a nonprofit and the steps leading to the Holocaust—the educational organization whose mission is to most documented case of twentieth-century engage students of diverse backgrounds in an indifference, de-humanization, hatred, racism, examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism antisemitism, and mass murder. It goes on to in order to promote a more humane and explore difficult questions of judgment, memory, informed citizenry. As the name Facing History and legacy, and the necessity for responsible and Ourselves implies, the organization helps participation to prevent injustice. Facing History teachers and their students make the essential and Ourselves then returns to the theme of civic connections between history and the moral participation to examine stories of individuals, choices they confront in their own lives, and offers groups, and nations who have worked to build a framework and a vocabulary for analyzing the just and inclusive communities and whose stories meaning and responsibility of citizenship and the illuminate the courage, compassion, and political tools to recognize bigotry and indifference in their will that are needed to protect democracy today own worlds. Through a rigorous examination of the and in generations to come. Other examples in failure of democracy in Germany during the 1920s which civic dilemmas test democracy, such as and ’30s and the steps leading to the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide and the US civil rights along with other examples of hatred, collective movement, expand and deepen the connection violence, and genocide in the past century, Facing between history and the choices we face today History and Ourselves provides educators with and in the future. tools for teaching history and ethics, and for Facing History and Ourselves has offices or helping their students learn to combat prejudice resource centers in the United States, Canada, with compassion, indifference with participation, and the United Kingdom as well as in-depth myth and misinformation with knowledge. partnerships in Rwanda, South Africa, and Believing that no classroom exists in isolation, Northern Ireland. Facing History and Ourselves’ Facing History and Ourselves offers programs and outreach is global, with educators trained in more materials to a broad audience of students, parents, than 80 countries and delivery of our resources teachers, civic leaders, and all of those who play through a website accessed worldwide with a role in the education of young people. Through online content delivery, a program for international significant higher education partnerships, Facing fellows, and a set of NGO partnerships. By History and Ourselves also reaches and impacts convening conferences of scholars, theologians, teachers before they enter their classrooms. educators, and journalists, Facing History and By studying the choices that led to critical Ourselves’ materials are kept timely, relevant, and episodes in history, students learn how issues of responsive to salient issues of global citizenship in identity and membership, ethics and judgment the twenty-first century. have meaning today and in the future. Facing For more than 30 years, Facing History and History and Ourselves’ resource books provide a Ourselves has challenged students and educators meticulously researched yet flexible structure for to connect the complexities of the past to the examining complex events and ideas. Educators moral and ethical issues of today. They explore can select appropriate readings and draw on democratic values and consider what it means additional resources available online or from our to exercise one’s rights and responsibilities in the comprehensive lending library. service of a more humane and compassionate Our foundational resource book, Facing world. They become aware that “little things are History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human big”—seemingly minor decisions can have a major Behavior, embodies a sequence of study that impact and change the course of history. begins with identity—first individual identity and then group and national identities, with their ON THE Learn more at definitions of membership. From there the program WEB www.facinghistory.org. examines the failure of democracy in Germany ABOUT AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Produced by WGBH/Boston, AMERIC A N EXPERIENCE controversial medical advances and economic is television’s most-watched and longest shifts. 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New Hampshire with WGBH 89.7, Boston’s NPR WEB www.wgbh.org. ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY LYNN BAY DAYTON, NORDBLUM FAMILY FOUNDATION, THE CORPORATIONStation FOR forPUBLIC News and BRO Culture;ADCA 99.5STIN AllG Classical; AND PUBLIC TELEVISION VIEWERS. AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IS PRODUCED FOR PBS BY WGBH BOSTON. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Primary writer: Adam Strom FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES Firelight Media and the production staff for Freedom Riders: Stanley Nelson, Laurens Grant, Facing History and Ourselves extends much Lewis Erskine, Aljernon Tunsil, Lewanne Jones, gratitude to the many individuals and groups Stacey Holman, Loira Limbal, Nicole Burrowes, whose thoughtful conversations, committed Robert Shepard, and Tom Phillips. partnerships, and generous support made this project possible. We thank WGBH for its generous Ray Arsenault, without whose research, writing, support for the development of these educational and amazing personal commitment to the story materials to accompany the film Freedom Riders. this film would never have been made. We would also like to recognize the Facing History and Ourselves staff for their time and editorial AMERIC A N EXPERIENCE owes a tremendous debt contributions. Their insights make these materials of gratitude to its funders, who not only made more engaging and valuable. Freedom Riders possible, but have made it possible for the series to explore the stories from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE history that define who we are today. Exclusive corporate funding for AMERIC A N EXPERIENCE is In its twenty-three years on the air, AMERIC A N provided by Liberty Mutual. Additional funding EXPERIENCE has never taken on a project