50 years after the Civil Rights Movement

Representative John Lewis How and why did you first get involved in the civil rights movement? [Representative John Lewis – 3:42] Judy Richardson How and why did you first become involved in the civil rights movement? [Judy Richardson - 2:20] What was your daily work like in small communities in the South? [Judy Richardson - 3:03] Charles E. Cobb, Jr. How and why did you first become involved in the civil rights movement? [Charles E. Cobb, Jr. - 2:13] What kind of hostility did you encounter in Mississippi? [Charles E. Cobb, Jr. - 4:27]

Sharing Responses Share your reactions to the videos. Did you notice patterns between the experiences of the activists? How did each end up working with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee? What sorts of experiences do they describe? Were they exposed to violence? What did they learn from their time an organizers? What emotions did they feel? Make connections between the videos and what you know about the civil rights movement. Do you recognize any of the names or events in the videos? Did you learn any interesting information from the videos that you had not known before? How was the work of these activists different from national leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Why was their work important?

Making Connections The activists in the video were not much older than high school students when they joined SNCC. Did you relate to the SNCC veterans’ stories about joining the movement? Can you imagine yourself participating in the civil rights movement if you had been alive? Why or why not? Do you consider yourself an activist now? What current civil rights issues or other political issues inspire you? Is there a cause that you can imagine yourself dedicating your life to? What lessons can you learn from these civil rights activists?

What was the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project? [Representative John Lewis – 3:13] Extra Challenge: Letter Writing Read the letters, and then write a fictional letter to your friends or family explaining your involvement with a social movement or a political cause, past or present. The letter could be about their work Mississippi for Freedom Summer in 1964, or about working on a contemporary issue. If you wish to write the letter as if you are on your way to join the movement for the first time. What are your motivations for becoming involved? What challenges do you expect to face? You may want to write the letter as if you have been an activist for some time. What is the day to day like? How ha