Would You Be Willing to March for Something You Believe In?

Day One:
Have the Essential Question displayed.

Engage: (10 minutes)

• Show the video (YouTube) “Scarred Justice:  The Orangeburg Massacre 1968” (4:31 minutes)
• (The video can be downloaded with a video download software such as You Tube Downloader or ClipGrab)
• There should be no dialogue about the video.
• Share a brief history of the Orangeburg Massacre (see background information above.)

Magnetic Quotes (20 minutes)
This strategy asks participants to read a series of quotes related to the topic of study.  The quotes are posted in different areas of the room.  After reading all quotes, each participant moves to the quote that most “draws” them – like a magnet attracting metal.  

• Corner 1: “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lives of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.” ~Robert F. Kennedy
• Corner 2: “You cannot be afraid to speak up and speak out for what you believe. You have to have courage, raw courage.”  ~John Lewis
• Corner 3: “People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in”  ~Rosa Parks
• Corner 4:  “Freedom is never really won, you earn it, and win it in every generation.”  ~Coretta Scott King

Each group makes a list of the top 3 reasons to support their choice to share with the whole class.  Build in time for subsets of each group to dialogue first, then work together to draft a list for the entire group.

Photo Analysis: (20 minutes)
Choose several of the photographs included with this lesson to project. Utilizing the Library of Congress Analysis of Photos, have students Observe, Reflect, and Question each photo. Have students summarize the story told by the photos. With a partner, have students share their observations.  
Include time for whole group share out of observations, reflections, or questions.

Photo Essay Project: (20 minutes) 
Explain to students they will use a collection of photographs much like the ones they just viewed in order to create a pictorial essay (no more than 10 photos) depicting one march or protest of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, using the Theme “Would you be willing to march for something you believe in?”

Describe a pictorial essay. Examples can be found at:

• 16 Inspiring quotes of the Civil Rights Movement: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/16-inspiring-quotes-from-the-civil-righ...
• TIIME. Photo Essay http://time.com/tag/photo-essay/

Students should map out their “essay” once they have found photos they want to use. They may use quotes, excerpts, etc. but the essay should be narrated with a voice recording.
Share rubric and web resources. They may want to begin research at home if Internet is available. They may also want to begin talking to relatives, if available, about the 60’s. 

Days Two-Three:

• Student research. (Suggested sites are above and can be shared digitally.)
• Students should cite their work. (Sample Citation worksheet included in lesson)
• Creation of photo essay using appropriate apps or software.

Day Four: 
Student presentations.
 

Background Information: "The Orangeburg Massacre" 

On February 8, 1968, two days after police and students clashed in a race riot at segregated All Star Bowling Lanes, violence broke out again, this time on the campus of South Carolina State. Students set grassfires and tried to burn down a vacant house. A highway patrolman was hit in the face by a bannister from the house, and a number of patrolmen suddenly fired into a crowd of students, killing three and injuring 27. Statues of the students who died--Samuel Hammond, Henry Smith, and Delano Middleton--were later erected on campus. In the first federal trial of police officers for using excessive force at a campus protest, all nine defendants were acquitted.

From:  We Shall Overcome, National Park Service:  
https://www.nps.gov/search/?affiliate=nps&query=we+shall+overcome

Note: The All Star Bowling Lanes, the only bowling facility in the town of Orangeburg, remained segregated despite the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

Possible topics from which students may choose and research:
Landmark court cases/legislation:

• Elmore v Rice
• Briggs v Elliot
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Civil rights leaders:
• Septima Poinsette Clark
• Modjeska Montieth Simkins
• Matthew J. Perry
• Demonstrations:
• The Friendship Nine
• Selma marches

Photo essays, unlike traditional essays which focus on portraying thoughts, ideas and emotions through writing, shift the focus away from print onto a series of highly-detailed images. The roles are reversed: The writing in the essay supports the pictures, while the pictures tell the story. The written portion of the essay should portray details that cannot be easily depicted through the pictures alone.  However, the pictures are the primary method of story-telling in a pictorial essay. (Adapted from eHow http://www.ehow.com/how_7727398_write-photo-essay.html) 

*Note about resources:  Be aware that materials from the Zinn Project are considered controversial by some people.
 

Evaluation/Assessment:
Photo Essay Rubric

• There are two possible rubrics available under Resources.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DUmoVSXr10bkJPvgL6Qwar0gx8YMquoaF5zP...

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SjuJe18I_48FIE0xyiGlULYu2LyRdT8UxkEb...

How will students share their work?

• Presentations
• Invite local officials, grandparents, others that experienced the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina to the presentations. A panel of invitees (on site or virtual) could be asked questions by students or invitees may share their memories. (Be aware that the Civil Rights movement in South Carolina is often a sensitive topic, especially since the Charleston shootings of 2015.)