February 23-29, 2012, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and former First Lady Laura Bush attended a recent groundbreaking ceremony for a national museum that will focus on African American history and culture. The museum’s staff has been planning exhibits for nine years, scouring the nation for historical artifacts. Their goal is to provide the visitor with a sweeping history that confronts racial oppression while highlighting the achievements of the black community in America.
Objective:
Barack Obama’s election to the presidency in 2008 was a historic milestone. His election stood as an example of the progress made by African Americans since the abolition of slavery in African Americans’ struggle for freedom and equality. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles will give an overview of several significant events in African American history leading up to his election.
People & Places:
- African American
- Barack Obama
- Harriet Tubman
- Laura Bush
- Michelle Obama
- National Mall
- Smithsonian Institution
- Tuskegee Airmen
- Washington, D.C.
Vocabulary Terms:
- abolitionist
- civil rights
- discriminate
- exhibit
- museum
- racial oppression
- segregation
- slavery
Discussion Topics:
1. The civil rights movement in the United States consisted of organized efforts aimed at overturning laws that discriminated against African Americans because of their race. Ask your students to name some of these laws that were in affect effect before the civil rights movement began (some examples include public school and bus segregation and laws preventing interfering with blacks’ from the right to vote), and discuss how life was different for African Americans in the 1940′s and 1950′s.
2. The historical trove assembled by the staff of the new museum includes a slave cabin, shackles worn by slaves brought from Africa, and personal items that belonged to abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Another treasure is an airplane used during World War II (1939-1945) to train the famed African American fighter pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Other holdings include shards of stained glass from a Birmingham, Alabama, church that was bombed in 1963, killing four girls. Discuss the significance of these items with your students as they relate to African American history.
3. A turning point in the civil rights movement was when Congress passed the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. What was purpose of this act and how did it change United States law?
4. Use World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of the civil rights movement. Ask your students to include the events that seem most significant to them.
5. The National Museum of African American History and Culture, scheduled for completion in 2015, will be part of the famed Smithsonian Institution, which includes a number of museums on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Ask your students what they know about a recently unveiled memorial on the National Mall honoring a famous civil rights leader. (The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial opened to the public in August, 2011.)