Lesson Plan for Chapter 7: Profane Memorials: Burying the Martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement by Adrienne Chudzinski

To a society plagued by political divisiveness, racial tension, and seemingly endless eruptions of violence, the history of the civil rights movement offers meaningful, and often uplifting, examples of strength, sacrifice, and perseverance in the pursuit of liberty and equality. These narratives are meant to inspire, to teach Americans how to confront contemporary obstacles, just as civil rights activists challenged oppressive racial inequality and injustice. They are reminders that "we shall overcome." Yet, as is discussed in the chapter "Profane Memorials," much of this history--or, rather, mythology--amplifies heroic leaders and redemptive sacrifices as it tempers instances of trauma, brutality, and defeat. Revisiting the question posed at the conclusion of that chapter, about how and where civil rights activists and casualties should be remembered, proves to be a useful exercise for scholars and students alike.

The following activity asks students to consider public remembrance of the civil rights movement by identifying and analyzing grave sites of both celebrated civil rights activists and ordinary people who died as a result of movement-related violence. This lesson encourages students to practice their historical research skills by identifying and analyzing specific details related to each decedents' life, legacy, and grave site. The following list focuses on the modern civil rights era and is thus composed of individuals who lived and died during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Yet, educators could (and should) expand the limits of this list to fit the needs of their classrooms and to assess a broader chronology of the Black freedom struggle in the United States.

Instructions for Educators

Assign each student several names from the following list. Try to select at least one well-known person and one individual with whom students may be unfamiliar. Ask students to complete the worksheet and answer the following questions for each of their assigned names.

After students have completed the following activity, divide them into small groups to discuss the legacies and public memories of the individuals they researched. Have students consider the following questions:

1. Was it easier/more difficult to research any particular individual? Why might this be?

2. Did you uncover anything unexpected or surprising?

3. What types of variation do you notice in terms of burial site, memorials, and public remembrance for each person?

4. Are there any common themes or trends that emerge in terms of how the lives and legacies of these individuals are marked at their grave sites and/or memorials?

Next, ask each group to select two or three of the individuals they discussed to present to the class. (This may be done in a subsequent class period.) Following the presentations, initiate a class-wide conversation about public remembrance of both the modern civil rights movement and the activists/martyrs they assessed. Does it seem as if any of these people are "forgotten"? What about their remembrance suggests this? Are there any movies, books, television series, or songs that feature the individuals they researched? Is remembrance of these individuals uniform or even? What may account for discrepancies in public memory of the movement and its martyrs?

Name:

Birth Date:

Death Date:

Cause of Death:

Burial Place:

Additional Memorials/Monuments:

How was this individual related to the civil rights movement?

How is this person remembered at a grave site?

Is there a headstone/marker?

Does the marker bear an inscription? What does it say?

Are there other memorials in honor of this individual? Where are these memorials?

Beyond the life of the individual listed, what specific actions/events do these memorials acknowledge?

Was this individual cremated? How might that change public remembrance?

Suggested Resources for Educators and Students

Ancestry.com

Clio, https://www.theclio.com/web/

Cobb, Charles E., Jr. On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2008.

Dwyer, Owen J., and Derek H. Alderman. Civil Rights Memorials and the Geography of Memory. Chicago: Center for American Places at Columbia College Chicago, 2008.

Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/.

Gallard, Frye. Alabama's Civil Rights Trail: An Illustrated Guide to the Cradle of Freedom. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2010.

Romano, Renee C., and Leigh Raiford, eds. The Civil Rights Movement in American Memory. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2006.