Looking Back at Civil Rights—and Looking Ahead

Like the more than 22,000 students who visit the Civil Rights Memorial Center [2] each year, Brittney Johnson loved the fountain.

The 10-year-old Montgomery, Ala., native had never been to the memorial center, even though it’s just a few miles from her house. And like most visitors she was instantly drawn to the circular black granite fountain out in front. This unique piece of architecture, designed by Maya Lin, is engraved with the names of 40 civil rights martyrs. Next to it stands a wall of water that cascades transparently over Martin Luther King Jr.’s well-known paraphrase of Amos 5:24 -- We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Brittney’s trip to the memorial center was also special because she was joined by a camera crew and a producer. The Fitzpatrick Elementary school student made her debut as the on-air talent for a video “field trip” produced by textbook publisher Pearson Inc. The memorial center will appear as one of several video field trips scheduled as 3- to 4-minute companion pieces for the 2013 Alabama fourth-grade social studies textbook.

Fourth grade is the year that social studies students learn about their local communities, explained Toni Carpenter, a producer who works closely with a chapter editor of the new textbook. “This is really an opportunity to see social studies through 9-year-old eyes,” Carpenter said.  “Students respond to multimedia.”

The video field trips will be a wonderful resource for teachers and students who cannot make the trip in person because of resources or geography. Naturally, they’ll be helpful during Black History Month [3], when so many schools turn to the civil rights era. But as Brittney found, learning about this time period is a profound experience at any time.

Brittney already knew about King and Rosa Parks, but she looked eager to hear about Thurgood Marshall arguing Brown v. Board of Education, the Little Rock Nine, lunch counter sit-ins, non-violent protests and the Freedom Riders [4]. She could not, however, quite grasp the idea of separate facilities for African Americans and whites. Nor could she quite imagine laws to keep races separate in schools.

Those times are far removed for a 10-year-old. But learning about the civil rights and non-violent movements are crucial life lessons. Not only does it start the important conversation about race in America, but the knowledge also gives students extra tools for assessing future situations. And it reminds us that the work of reaching widespread equality and understanding is far from complete. The eyes of the country’s 10-year-olds may just have to vision to make it happen.

Williamson is associate editor of Teaching Tolerance.