Identity and Resistance: NYC Students Study Rosa Parks
New York City high school teacher Abby MacPhail shared this powerful story about her students' study of Rosa Parks.
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Rosa Parks
How Should Rosa Parks’s Legacy Be Memorialized?
This lesson by Cierra Kaler-Jones invites students to consider how Rosa Parks’ legacy is memorialized by critically examining her statue at the U.S. Capitol. Students learn the fuller story of Rosa Parks’ life and use that information to determine how they would memorialize her legacy.
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“Intolerable Conditions”: Teaching About Northern Racism Through Rosa Parks’s Detroit
Teaching Activity. By Say Burgin, Jeanne Theoharis, and Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
Students learn to “talk back” to official accounts of the Detroit Uprising of 1967 by focusing on its root causes. They also get a fuller sense of Rosa Parks’s life and politics, and the Black freedom struggle outside of the South.
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Students learn to “talk back” to official accounts of the Detroit Uprising of 1967 by focusing on its root causes. They also get a fuller sense of Rosa Parks’s life and politics, and the Black freedom struggle outside of the South.
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Film. Directed by Johanna Hamilton and Yoruba Richen. Produced by Soledad O’Brien. 2022. 101 minutes.
This documentary sheds light on Rosa Parks' extensive organizing, radical politics, and lifelong dedication to justice.
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This documentary sheds light on Rosa Parks' extensive organizing, radical politics, and lifelong dedication to justice.
Boycott
Film. By Clark Johnson. 2001. 120 minutes.
Dramatic account of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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Dramatic account of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The Politics of Children’s Literature: What’s Wrong with the Rosa Parks Myth
Article. By Herbert Kohl. Rethinking Schools.
A critical analysis that challenges the myths in children's books about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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A critical analysis that challenges the myths in children's books about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Book — Non-fiction. By Jeanne Theoharis. 2013. 320 pages.
A revealing window into Rosa Parks’ politics and years of activism.
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A revealing window into Rosa Parks’ politics and years of activism.
101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed US History
Book — Non-fiction. By Michele Bollinger and Dao Tran. 2012.
A collection of 101 brief and accessible profiles of rebels, radicals, and fighters for social justice.
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A collection of 101 brief and accessible profiles of rebels, radicals, and fighters for social justice.
Unsung Heroes: Encouraging Students to Appreciate Those Who Fought for Social Justice
Teaching Activity. Essay by Howard Zinn and lesson by Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 17 pages.
Students research and share stories about unsung heroes in U.S. history.
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Students research and share stories about unsung heroes in U.S. history.
Rosa
Picture book. By Nikki Giovanni. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. 2005. 40 pages.
A beautifully illustrated book for children about Rosa Parks in the context of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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A beautifully illustrated book for children about Rosa Parks in the context of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
She Would Not Be Moved: How We Tell the Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Book — Non-fiction. By Herbert Kohl. Intro by Marian Wright Edelman. 2007. 126 pages.
The myths and facts about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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The myths and facts about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters
Book — Non-fiction. By Andrea Davis Pinkney. 2013. 120 pages.
Mini-biographies for upper elementary and middle school of 10 African-American women.
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Mini-biographies for upper elementary and middle school of 10 African-American women.
At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance — A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power
Book — Non-fiction. By Danielle L. McGuire. 2010. 352 pages.
History of the violence against African-American women during the 20th century and the role played by Rosa Parks in the organized legal response to that abuse.
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History of the violence against African-American women during the 20th century and the role played by Rosa Parks in the organized legal response to that abuse.
Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Book — Non-fiction. By Russell Freedman. 2006. 114 pages.
Written for middle school, the grassroots history of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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Written for middle school, the grassroots history of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
Book — Non-fiction. By Phillip Hoose. 2010. 160 pages.
The story of Claudette Colvin, a teenager who refused to give up her seat in the year leading up to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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The story of Claudette Colvin, a teenager who refused to give up her seat in the year leading up to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader: Documents, Speeches, and Firsthand Accounts from the Black Freedom Struggle, 1954–1990
Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Clayborne Carson, David J. Garrow, Gerald Gill, Vincent Harding, and Darlene Clark Hine. 1991. 784 pages
Readings to accompany the film, Eyes on the Prize.
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Readings to accompany the film, Eyes on the Prize.
Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching
Teaching Guide and Website. Edited by Deborah Menkart, Alana D. Murray, and Jenice L. View. 2024. 390 pages.
This second edition provides lessons and articles for K–12 educators on how to go beyond a heroes approach to the Civil Rights Movement, with a focus on education, economics, labor, youth, women, and culture.
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This second edition provides lessons and articles for K–12 educators on how to go beyond a heroes approach to the Civil Rights Movement, with a focus on education, economics, labor, youth, women, and culture.
Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1985
Film. Produced by Henry Hampton. Blackside. 1987. 360 minutes.
Comprehensive documentary history of the Civil Rights Movement.
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Comprehensive documentary history of the Civil Rights Movement.
Teaching About the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Film. By Teaching for Change. 2006. 15 minutes.
First grade teacher Maggie Donovan (SNCC veteran) introduces her students to the fight to desegregate the buses, placing Rosa Parks in the context of the larger community efforts.
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First grade teacher Maggie Donovan (SNCC veteran) introduces her students to the fight to desegregate the buses, placing Rosa Parks in the context of the larger community efforts.
March 14, 1968: King Speaks About the “Other America” in the North
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the speech titled “The Other America” focusing on economic inequalities and white complicity in the North.
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Aug. 30, 1967: People’s Tribunal in Detroit
People’s Tribunal on killing of three young men at Algiers Motel in Detroit.
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Sept. 1, 1956: Clinton Desegregation Crisis
The White Citizens Council and Ku Klux Klan launched full-scale rioting in Clinton, Tennessee in response to school desegregation.
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Dec. 1, 1955: Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Seat
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
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Nov. 27, 1955: Rosa Parks Attends Meeting About Emmett Till
Rosa Parks attended a mass meeting about Emmett Till days before her refusal to give up her seat on the bus.
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