Period: 1961

People’s Movement: 1961 – 1974

The Young Lords: A Radical History

Book — Non-fiction. By Johanna Fernández. 2020. 480 pages.
Fernandez demonstrates how the Young Lords redefined the character of protest, the color of politics, and the cadence of popular urban culture in the age of great dreams.
Teaching Activity by Johanna Fernández
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La Operación (documentary)

Film. Directed by Ana María García. 1982. 40 minutes.
La Operación is a 1982 documentary that shows the widespread sterilization operation led by the U.S. during the 1950s and 60s in Puerto Rico.
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July 4, 1963: Clyde Kennard Died

Clyde Kennard (June 12, 1927–July 4, 1963) bravely and righteously tried to pursue higher education in Mississippi. He faced the fatal wrath of the state as a result of his efforts to challenge white supremacy.
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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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Harlan County USA

Film. Directed and produced by Barbara Kopple. 1976. 103 minutes.
This documentary tells the story of a Kentucky coal miners' strike and the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.
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Teaching A People’s History of the March on Washington

Teaching Activity. By Jessica Lovaas and Adam Sanchez. Rethinking Schools. 2021. Updated in 2023.
A lesson with case studies from Los Angeles; Birmingham, Alabama; Brooklyn; Detroit; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Albany, Georgia; and Cambridge, Maryland — to introduce students to the diverse struggles across the United States that were represented at the March on Washington.
Teaching Activity by Adam Sanchez
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Rosa Parks: Countering the Master Narrative

Teaching Activity. By Jesse Hagopian. 4 pages.
With a short video and readings with competing viewpoints, students will learn about master narratives and counter-narratives and how they apply to Rosa Parks’ life. This activity can be introduced before watching the film or reading the book, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.
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book cover showing sketch of woman's face with a sketch of a butterfly overlapping her.

In the Time of the Butterflies

Book — Fiction. By Julia Alvarez. 2010. 352 pages.
The story of Las Mariposas — “The Butterflies” — is about four sisters and their tragic deaths under Trujillo’s dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.
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Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power

Film. Directed by Sam Pollard and Geeta Gandbhir. 2022. 90 minutes.
The story of young SNCC organizers who fought for voting rights and Black power in Lowndes County, Alabama.
Teaching Activity by Directed by Sam Pollard & Geeta Gandbhir
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Rosa Parks and Ericka Huggins at a Black Panther Party free breakfast program.

Framing Black Power Through the Life of Rosa Parks

Teaching Activity. By Tiffany Mitchell Patterson and Jessica Rucker.
In this lesson, students explore the core ideas of Black Power through a gallery walk with images and quotes connected to the life of Rosa Parks, and then consider how to define Rosa Parks’s activism.
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March 8, 1971: Griggs v. Duke Power Co. Court Ruling

In 1966, 14 Black employees filed a complaint with the EEOC claiming that they were discriminated against in hiring and promotion at a power plant in North Carolina. Five years later, the Supreme Court delivered its landmark unanimous ruling prohibiting discriminatory practices by employers.
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A rally in New York for Earth Day, 1970.

April 22, 1970: First Earth Day

In April 1970, millions of people gathered around the country in one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history to celebrate the first Earth Day and demand action be taken on a variety of environmental issues.
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