Procedures

• INTRODUCTION

  First, engage students in a discussion about which President they believe advanced and supported civil rights issues, programs, and laws. After sharing their initial thoughts, they will be divided into groups and assigned a specific President to research. Students will use what they know from the text and a series of video clips to identify specific actions that the President took and assign them a grade for their efforts. Finally, each group will agree on a final grade for the President, and each group will share those grades with the rest of the class.

• STEP 1.

  Ask students to identify the Presidents from FDR to Johnson they believe were most effective in advancing and supporting civil rights issues, programs, and laws in the United States. Give students a brief amount of time (1 to 2 minutes) to make a choice and write down a reason. Briefly discuss the students’ choices.

  Before completing this lesson, students should have some knowledge of the civil rights movement, and advances in civil rights from the 1930’s to the 1960’s

• STEP 2.

  Explain that historians disagree about who had the greatest impact on civil rights. All of the Presidents from FDR to Johnson (including FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, and LBJ) made some kind of positive contribution to civil rights. Then, briefly discuss how interest groups often "grade" politicians based on the actions that they take while in elected office. For example, the NRA grades Congressmen and Senators based on the votes they make on gun control legislation.

• STEP 3.

  Divide the students into five groups. Each group will take on the roll of the NAACP, and they will be tasked with grading one of the five listed Presidents for his contributions to Civil Rights.

  First, students should briefly brainstorm what they know about their President from the textbook and/or from class lectures

  Next, students should watch the provided video clips for their President and fill out the handout:

  Handout: Grading the Presidents on Civil Rights (Google Drive)

  i. There are approx. 20 to 40 minutes of video footage for each President, and it may be necessary to have students divide the footage to preserve time

  ii. While watching, students should take notes about specific actions (speeches, executive orders, policy initiatives, legislation, appointments, etc) taken by the President, and determine how effective they were in supporting civil rights

• VIDEOS

  President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

  i. FDR and Civil Rights (18:49)

  ii. Book Discussion on Black Culture and the New Deal (20:33)

  President Harry Truman

  i. Panel on Truman (6:34)

  ii. Truman’s SOTU Address (2:28)

  iii. Why Didn’t He Do More? (8:33)

  iv. Book Overview (6:06)

  v. Book Discussion (6:56)

  President Dwight Eisenhower

  i. Panel on Eisenhower (24:06)

  ii. Intro to Eisenhower and Civil Rights (17:13)

  President John F. Kennedy and Civil Rights

  i. News Report on Alabama (2:38)

  ii. JFK Panel, Part 1 (7:56)

  iii. JFK Panel, Part 2 (3:44)

  iv. JFK Panel, Part 3 (5:29)

  v. JFK Panel, Part 4 (7:14)

  President Lyndon B. Johnson

  i. John Lewis, Selma, and LBJ (10:30)

  ii. LBJ - Civil Rights President? (7:17)

  iii. Wilkins on Johnson (4:32)

  iv. Wilkins on Johnson, Part 2 (5:23)

• STEP 4.

  After watching the video clips, students should compare their notes with other group members and compile a short list of specific actions they’ve identified (3 to 5 actions)

  If time permits, students may want to take some time to briefly research the events discussed in the video clips, either in their textbooks or on the Internet

  Finally, each group should grade each of those specific actions on a scale of A to F, where an “A” is the most the NAACP could have hoped for, a “C” is a moderate action that might not go far enough, and an “F” is a negative action that held back progress on civil rights

  These grades should be recorded on the accompanying hand out.

• STEP 5.

  Each group should be given a few minutes to share their report cards with the rest of the class. Conclude with a whole class discussion, focusing on the following questions:

  • Did any of the Presidents score better than you would have thought?

  • Did any of the Presidents score worse than you would have thought?

  • Were there any actions that surprised you that you hadn’t previously learned about?

  • Explain who you think is the best president in terms of civil rights. Did your opinion change, was it reinforced, or was it not affected by this activity?

• Potential Follow-Up Assignments and/or Homework

  1. Have students use their report cards and notes to write a one page article about their President. The article should assess, from the perspective of the NAACP, how effective the President was on civil rights. Collect the five best articles (or combine their articles into one article per President), and publish them as a pamphlet.

  2. Tell the students they have been invited to speak before a NAACP luncheon, and the committee wants them to give a speech evaluating the President’s role in advancing civil rights. Optionally, arrange for some of the students to deliver their speeches in front of a committee (i.e. other teachers and administrators), or record them and publish them online.