Greetings

We are happy to share our second newsletter for educators on Mississippi Civil Rights Movement and labor history.

Included are stories about the Local History Awards at National History Day in Mississippi, news from a teacher fellow, classroom resources on the Civil Rights Movement including a new interactive online history map of Mississippi, and a Freedom Summer conference.

National History Day in Mississippi

Local National History Day
in Mississippi Awards

National History Day is a great way for students to research and share untold history. Teaching for Change, with the support of the Kellogg Foundation, is offering six local history awards for Mississippi History Day projects. This is an ideal time to begin preparation for the March competition. Learn more.

Stories from the Classrooms of Teacher Fellows

Tupelo Students Step Into the
Shoes of Medgar Evers

Middle school teacher Anthony Golding wanted his students to recognize more than Medgar Evers' name, digging deeper into his life and legacy. Through the teacher fellowship, Golding was introduced to a role play on Evers and the southern freedom movement. One of the students noted:

I learned more by doing the activity because before I thought he was just a man that was murdered...now I see that he really helped people and was a great influence. - Makhia

Read more here.

Classroom Resources


So the Heffners Left McComb Journalist Hodding Carter Jr.'s book So the Heffners Left McComb is an exposé of how whites were "kept in line" during the Civil Rights Movement, based on the true story of one family in McComb, Mississippi. Thanks to the generous permission of Carter's son, we are able to provide this student friendly book as a downloadable PDF for classroom use.	John Doar (12/3/1921 - 11/11/2014) The late John Doar played a significant role in Mississippi as assistant attorney general for civil rights from 1960 to 1967. In recognition of his recent passing, we share this lesson about the murder of Mississippi voting rights activist Herbert Lee and subsequent murder of witness Louis Allen. Doar is a featured character in the lesson.

Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek and Lesson This powerful film follows the journey of a teacher who moves home to coastal Mississippi when the graves of his ancestors are bulldozed to make way for the sprawling city of Gulfport. Read the classroom lesson developed by a Gulfport teacher about the film and find the link for the free film streaming (starting Dec. 17 for four weeks) here.	The Hill Country Project Learn about the oral history of Benton County and find an invaluable collection of Freedom Summer newsletters. The Hill Country Project website offers a great example of how to conduct oral history interviews and document local history. Executive director Roy DeBerry is a native of Holly Springs and a partner on the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement and labor history initiative.

Just Launched: Online Mississippi History Map

Exciting News!

We have just launched, in partnership with Historypin, a Mississippi page for students, teachers, and the wider community to post historical landmarks in their town on an online map to be seen all over the world. We encourage classrooms and organizations to create a Historypin profile and begin sharing untold history. Learn more here.

History Conference

Freedom Summer

Teaching for Change curriculum specialist Julian Hipkins III and Freedom Summer veteran Mark Levy traveled to Starkville to participate in the Remembering Freedom Summer: Building a Better Future conference at Mississippi State University. During the conference, Hipkins and Levy, conducted workshops with future educators, taught at a local high school, and participated in panel discussions.

Contact

For More Information

To learn more or share comments, write to project director Julian Hipkins III.

We welcome teaching Civil Rights Movement stories and photos from Mississippi teachers to feature in this monthly e-newsletter. Below are East Oktibbeha County High School students in Crawford, Mississippi engaged in a lesson called Unsung Heroes, including Medgar Evers, Jeannette Rankin, and Ella Baker.

This monthly e-newsletter is produced by Teaching for Change
with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.