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THE CHOICES PROGRAM BROWN UNIVERSITY
VIDEO COLLECTION

Freedom Now: The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi

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Introduction: The Struggle for Freedom

Freedom Now: The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi
What was the civil rights movement?
How does social history deepen our understanding of the past?

Part I: The Meaning of Freedom

What are some common misconceptions about racial slavery?
What are the legacies of racial slavery?
What was it like growing up in Alabama under Jim Crow?
In what ways was Black life under Jim Crow similar to life under slavery?
Why did the federal government eventually abandon Reconstruction?
How did Reconstruction transform Black life in the South?
How did white people in the South resist Reconstruction?
Why did the federal government “reconstruct” the South?
What were the limitations of the Thirteenth Amendment?
What was the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution?
Was the American Civil War a war over slavery?
What role did enslaved Black people play in the American Civil War?
What was life like for Black people in the South under Jim Crow?
How did Black Southerners resist Jim Crow?

Part II: The Freedom Movement

What were the freedom schools?
What was your daily work like in small communities in the South?
Why did SNCC debate whether to bring white college students down for Freedom Summer?
What did you discover about local communities in the Mississippi Delta?
How did the use of violence by Southern whites change in the 1960s?
Why was SNCC an effective organization?
How did Black people in Mississippi live with the threat of violence?
Why did Black activism begin to be more successful in the 1950s?
What kind of hostility did you encounter in Mississippi?
Who was Emmett Till?
Why did SNCC decide to focus on voter registration in Mississippi? (Lesson version)
Why was the murder of Emmett Till important?
How did SNCC workers go about organizing small communities in Mississippi?
What were the Brown vs. the Board of Education cases?
What was “white flight” in post-WWII America?
What were the consequences of “white flight” in post-WWII America?
How did SNCC differ from older Black political organizations?
How did the movement that arose in the 1960s differ from earlier Black activism?
How and why did you first become involved in the civil rights movement?
How did white Southerners resist Black activism?
What was the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project?
Why did you criticize the proposed civil rights legislation at the March on Washington?
What was it like to participate in the Freedom Rides?
What role did nonviolence play in the movement?
What was the MFDP challenge at the 1964 Democratic National Convention?
Who was Ella Baker?
How and why was the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party formed?
What role did women play in SNCC?
What role did nonviolence play in the movement?
Were you ever afraid for your safety?

Epilogue: The Struggle Continues

How did the civil rights movement change in the late 1960s?
What was Black Power?
What were the major accomplishments of the civil rights movement and what challenges remain?
How did the MFDP challenge change American politics?
Why didn’t the MFDP accept the Democratic Party’s compromise?
What did the civil rights movement accomplish?
What caused SNCC to fall apart in your opinion?
Who was Stokely Carmichael?
How integrated is American society today?
How successful was the civil rights movement?
What does the struggle for Black freedom look like today?

Lesson: Data Analysis: Separate, but Equal? Measuring Plessy v. Ferguson in Mississippi

What was life like for Black people in the South under Jim Crow?

Lesson: Women's Experiences in SNCC

Who was Ella Baker?
What role did women play in SNCC?
Did you ever experience violence in Mississippi?
Were you ever afraid for your safety?
What was your daily work like in small communities in the South?

Lesson: Singing for Freedom

Were you ever afraid for your safety?

Lesson: Oral Histories: Students in the Civil Rights Movement (Online)

What kind of hostility did you encounter in Mississippi?
How and why did you first become involved in the civil rights movement?
What was the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project?
How and why did you first get involved in the civil rights movement?
What was your daily work like in small communities in the South?
How and why did you first become involved in the civil rights movement?
What are the benefits and limitations of oral histories?

Lesson: A Nonviolent Movement?

What role did nonviolence play in the movement?
What role did nonviolence play in the movement?
Who was Stokely Carmichael?
What was Black Power?

Lesson: Civil Rights and U.S. Public Schools Today

What did the civil rights movement accomplish?
How integrated is American society today?
How successful was the civil rights movement?
What were the Brown vs. the Board of Education cases?
What were the major accomplishments of the civil rights movement and what challenges remain?
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