The Civil Rights Movement


The following resources will help you in your search for information on the civil rights movement in America.

To begin, open the African American Timeline and follow the topics and links for your assigned group.

 Print Resources

  The Encyclopedia of American Civil Rights & Liberties (REF 342.7308 ENC)
 Detailed entries include key concepts, historical events and developments, major trials and appellate court decisions, landmark legislation, legal doctrines, important personalities, and key organizations and agencies. Entries have an objective tone, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions.
Eyes on the Prize (323.4 WIL)
Arguably the most tumultuous time in recent American history, the Civil Rights years inspired the most rational and irrational of human behaviors and set the stage for sweeping reform in the nation's race relations. Juan Williams's moving chronicle of the movement stands as the definitive history of the era.		  


     
The Civil Rights Movement (232.1 WEX)
Provides hundreds of firsthand accounts of the movement - from letters, speeches, newspaper editorials and press statements, which illustrate how historical events appeared to those who lived through them. Among the eyewitness testimonies included are those from Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Malcolm X, President Lyndon Johnson, Stokely Carmichael, Rosa Parks and Ralph Abernathy. In addition to the firsthand accounts, each chapter provides an introductory essay and a chronology of events.
   
The Civil Rights Movement (323.1 PAT)
This study traces the major events of the civil rights movement in the 20th century, from the early legal challenges by the NAACP to segregation and other forms of racial discrimination to the landmark Brown V. Board of Education Of Topeka decision in 1954, from the 1963 march on Washington to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

 Online Databases

AP Multimedia Archive
The Associated Press has won more Pulitzer Prizes than any other news agency, and is the most credible source for non-biased reporting. Now you can search the AP's  over one million photographs dating back to 1826 and as current as a few moments ago.


Biography Resource Center
Covering the core curriculum areas, including history, literature, science, social studies, and more, DC provides a selection of reference, primary sources, creative works, and multimedia, including hours of video and audio clips.

The Hartford Courant

 Proquest Hartford Current (1764-1922)
Search the earliest years of the Courant for articles and images that relate Connecticut and national history.

History Reference Center - Articles from magazines, journals, and reference books; biographies, documents and speeches; maps, photographs, film and video clips.

Student Research Center Contains thousands of online  primary documents, biographies, topical essays, 
background information, and critical analyses of popular literature.  Select Literature Search tab, then type in title of work.  Click link to left to access database.

 Internet Sites

Civil Rights Timeline

African American History - Civil Rights Movement Timeline: http://afroamhistory.about.com/cs/civilrights/a/timelinecivrght.htm

African American World - Civil Rights Era: www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/timeline/civil_01.html

Civil Rights Era - Timeline: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/timeline/civil_01.html

Civil Rights Movement - Timeline: http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1997/mlk/links.html

Greensboro Sit-Ins - Launch of a Civil Rights Movement - Timeline: http://www.sitins.com/timeline.shtml

National Visionary Leadership Project - Civil Rights Timeline (includes images, and video clips): http://www.visionaryproject.org/timeline
 
Events, Court Orders & Legislation, etc. Birmingham Segregation Laws: http://www.crmvet.org/info/seglaws.htm

Civil Rights Act of 1964: www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/milestones/m06_act.html

Desegregation of Interstate Travel (1960):
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/milestones/m03_travel.html

Eyes on the Prize - America's Civil Rights Movement 1954-1985 - Milestones: www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/milestones/index.html

Eyes on the Prize - America's Civil Rights Movement 1954-1985 - Newspaper Excerpts: www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/resources/res_news.html

Federal Court Order to Integrate Boston Schools: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/milestones/m14_boston.html

Greensboro Sit-Ins (primary source & multimedia): http://www.sitins.com/1

Integrating Ole Miss - A Civil Rights Milestone: http://www.jfklibrary.org/meredith/index.htm

The History of Jim Crow - Legislation Overview: http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/lessonplans/hs_es_jim_crow_laws.htm

US Dept. of Justice - The Effect of the Voting Rights Act: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/intro/intro_c.php

Supreme Court Declares Bus Segregation Unconstitutional (1956): www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/milestones/m01_bus.html

Supreme Court Orders Ole Miss to Integrate (1960): http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/milestones/m04_school.html

Voting Rights Act of 1965: www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/milestones/m09_voting.html
 
Famous African Americans American Masters - James Baldwin: www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/james-baldwin/about-the-author/59/

Barbara Jordan (1936-1996): http://www.rice.edu/armadillo/Texas/jordan.html

A Brief Biography of Shirley Chisholm 1924-2005): http://www.adl.org/education/chisholm_bio.pdf

Chisholm Forged a Place for Black Congresswomen: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96516491

Daisy Bates: Civil Rights Activist Advised Students in Little Rock Showdown: http://articles.latimes.com/1999/nov/05/news/mn-30188

Daisy Bates House: http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/civilrights/ak2.htm

Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14563865

Eyes on the Prize - America's Civil Rights Movement 1954-1985 - Profiles: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/profiles/index.html

James Baldwin: www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/james-baldwin/about-the-author/59/

James Baldwin, Eloquent in Behalf of Civil Rights, is Dead: http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/29/specials/baldwin-obit.html?_r=1

Letter from Daisy Bates to Roy Wilkins On the Treatment of the Little Rock Nine: http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mssmisc/ody/ody0918a/0918a001v.jpg

Little Rock Nine: http://www.centralhigh57.org/The_Little_Rock_Nine.html

Martin Luther King Jr. Online Encyclopedia - http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/kingpapers/article/king_online_encyclopedia1/ people and events

Medgar Evers: www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/evers_medgar/

Integrating Ole Miss - A Civil Rights Milestone (James Meredith): http://www.jfklibrary.org/meredith/index.htm

The Life of Martin Luther King Jr. www.stanford.edu/group/King/about_king/interactiveFrame.htm historical documents, photos, audio and video

Mississippi Writers & Musicians - Anne Moody: www.mswritersandmusicians.com/writers/anne-moody.html

Mississippi Writers Page - Anne Moody: www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/moody_anne/

Ole Miss, 40 Years Later (James Meredith): http://www.npr.org/news/specials/olemiss/

Robert Moses (audio clip): http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/moses.html

Robert Moses - Civil Rights: http://www.learntoquestion.com/seevak/groups/2001/sites/moses/cr/crawl-page4.htm

A Shooting and the Civil Rights Movement Changes Course (James Meredith): www.americanheritage.com/articles/web/20060606-james-meredith-education-ole-miss-columbia-segregation-martin-luther-king-black-power-march.shtml

Thurgood Marshall - Mr. Civil Rights: www.america.gov/st/diversity-english/2008/December/20090105180026jmnamdeirf0.794903.html&distid=ucs

Time - Thurgood Marshal; the Brain of the Civil Rights Movement: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991253-2,00.html

Understanding the Nine - Inside Central High 1957: http://littlerock.about.com/cs/centralhigh/a/littlerock9.htm

Women's History - Barbara Jordan: www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/whm/bio/jordan_b.htm
 
 

General Information

 

 Civil Rights Digital Library: http://crdl.usg.edu/voci/go/crdl/home/

Free At Last - The Civil Rights Movement: www.america.gov/publications/books-content/free-at-last.html

Library of Congress: The Civil Rights Era: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart9.html

Martin Luther King Jr. Online Encyclopedia - http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/kingpapers/article/king_online_encyclopedia1/ people and events

PBS - African American World: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/timeline.html see how people of African descent have been involved in over 500 years of American history.

PBS - Eyes on the Prize - America's Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1985: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/ videos, primary source documents, people, milestones, reflections and more.

PBS - This Far By Faith - 1946-1966, From Civil Rights to Black Power : http://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/timeline/p_4.html explores the years 1946-1966 and the journey from civil rights to black power.

PBS - The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/segregation.html tracing a century of segregation from the Emancipation Proclamation to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.

US History - Civil Rights Movement: http://www.besthistorysites.net/USHistory_CivilRights.shtml
Primary Source Documents, Photos & Speeches Civil Rights Documentation Project: http://www.usm.edu/crdp/index.html

Civil Rights Movement - Photo Album: http://www.crmvet.org/images/imghome.htm

Documents of the Civil Rights Movement: http://www.crmvet.org/docs/dochome.htm

Eyes on the Prize - America's Civil Rights Movement 1954-1985 - Primary Sources: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/sources/index.html

Using Primary Sources on the Web: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/
usingprimarysources/index.cfm
 
Video & Audio Clips & Images Civil Rights Era - Timeline (Audio Clips): http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/timeline/civil_01.html

Civil Rights Movement - (Video Clips): http://www.visionaryproject.org/student/video.html

Eyes on the Prize - America's Civil Rights Movement 1954-1985 - Video and More: www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/resources/index.html

Photographs of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/085_disc.html

The speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. (Audio Clips) .: http://www.hpol.org/master.php?t=browse&s=speaker&id=12

Voices of the Civil Rights: http://www.voicesofcivilrights.org/
 


If you don't find what you're looking for in any of the sites above, try your 
own keyword search using the following tips...

 Internet Search Tips

  1. Type the URL (web site address) of a search directory/engine in the address box: ex: www.yahoo.com, or www.google.com, etc.
     
  2. (Be sure to type the address exactly the way you see it, including any uppercase letters and punctuation).
     
  3. Type in keyword(s). (If your keyword has two parts such as: "civil rights movement", be sure to put quotes around it so that the search engine only finds the Internet sites about the civil rights as opposed to all of the sites containing the word civil plus all of the sites containing the word rights.
     
  4. If you would like to search for something specific about a the civil rights movement, try a combined keyword search by adding a comma, followed by a space and you other search term.  For instance; if I wanted to find out speeches from the civil rights movement, I would enter the following:
     

     speeches, "civil rights movement"
     

  5. Hit Enter on your keyboard, or click on Search, then scan the description of the "hits" (entries) and click on the links that sound best.
     
  6. Be sure to critically evaluate Internet sources.  Evaluating the Quality of Information Found on the Internet is a good source to help you critique web content in the following areas:
  7. Remember: if you choose to use any information (text or graphics) found on the Internet, online databases, or print material, you must cite every resource you used.  Use the Works Cited Guide to access MLA format.
  8.  

Created by Liza Zandonella, Library Media Specialist.

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