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iCivics Curriculum Unit

Pushing Towards Civil Rights

The push towards civil rights in the United States has been longstanding and is ever-evolving. While not encompassing, our civil rights unit covers the expansion and abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s, and the expansion of rights through court cases and laws. For more coverage, check out additional cases in our Landmark Library.

Topic at a Glance: Civil Rights Movement | Nashville Sit-Ins | Montgomery Bus Boycott | Martin Luther King, Jr. | Rosa Parks | Barbara Johns | NAACP | Legal Defense Fund | Constance Baker Motley | Autherine Lucy | Pollie Ann Myers | Little Rock | Executive Order 10730 | voting rights | voting rights history | slavery | Missouri Compromise | Civil War and Reconstruction | Jim Crow | Jim Crow laws | segregation | separate but equal | right to fair housing | Shelley v. Kraemer | integration | desegregation | women’s suffrage | women’s rights | civic engagement | civic action | changemakers

Choose Grade Level:

  • Video

    Students and the Struggle for School Integration

    In this video, students learn about the activism of teenager Barbara Johns. In 1951, she organized over 450 students to protest in support of better conditions at their segregated high school in Prince Edward County, Virginia. The students' actions would lead to a lawsuit that became one of the five cases represented in the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education.
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  • DBQuest

    Historical Monuments & Meaning

    Civil War-era monuments are in the news. Some people want to remove statues because they represent ideas many find disturbing. Others want to keep the statues because they show our nation’s history, even if it is difficult. This DBQuest looks at one such statue, the Freedmen’s Memorial in Washington, DC. These primary sources will explore the complicated nature of memorial statues by looking at who funded and designed the Freedmen's Memorial, as well as a critique of the monument by a leading voice of the time, Frederick Douglass. 
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  • Video

    Breaking Barriers: Constance Baker Motley

    In this video, students learn about the accomplishments of Judge Constance Baker Motley. As the first African American woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court, be elected to the New York state senate, and be appointed a federal judge, Motley broke racial and gender barriers throughout her career while fighting for the civil rights of all Americans.This video was made in conjunction with Makematic.
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  • DBQuest

    The Nashville Sit-Ins

    What makes a movement successful? The people? The actions? The outcome? Students find out that answering this question is more involved than it may seem. Each of the three primary sources reveal a new perspective on the Nashville Sit-In Movement of 1960, and lead to a deeper understanding of what it means to work for change.Students will hear from a local businessman, student activist, and view newspaper coverage of the event.For additional context, check out the documentary, Eyes on the Prize, Episode 3: Ain't Scared of Your Jails. 
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  • Lesson Plan

    Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Meet the superhero legislation of civil rights. Students are introduced to eleven categories of civil rights protections with a focus on Title VII, which bans discrimination in the workplace. Students gain an understanding of how the Civil Rights Act affects people’s lives and apply civil rights protections to real-life scenarios.How to use this lesson: Use this lesson by itself or pair it with more iCivics resources, like the Supreme Court case EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch (2015) or lessons from our Civil Rights unit. For more suggestions, see the downloadable teacher resources below.
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  • Lesson Plan

    Voting Rights Act of 1965

    Students examine the key voting rights protected by this landmark civil rights law. This mini-lesson also provides an overview of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the law in the case, Shelby County v. Holder (2013). Students analyze how the Act has affected voter behavior and provide a written reflection on the Shelby County v. Holder case.How to use this lesson: Use this lesson by itself or pair it with more iCivics resources, like The Road to Civil Rights, Voting Rights, or Voting: Will You Do It? For more suggestions, see the downloadable teacher resources below.
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  • Video

    Stepping Forward: The Fight for College Integration

    In this video, students learn about the courage of Autherine Lucy and Pollie Ann Myers. When they were denied admission to the University of Alabama because of the color of their skin, Lucy and Myers fought back. Their actions were important steps toward the racial integration of colleges in the United States.This video was made in conjunction with Makematic.
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  • Lesson Plan

    Civic Action and Change

    Students learn the basic steps of civic action and what it takes to make change, following the "I AM" model (Inform, Act, Maintain). Along the way, they explore the change-making examples of four key movements: women's rights, disability awareness, Native American rights, and migrant farm worker rights.
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  • Video

    The Shelleys & the Right to Fair Housing

    In this video, students learn about J.D. and Ethel Shelley and their fight against restrictive housing covenants. Unable to purchase the house of their choice because of an agreement among homeowners to not sell to people of color, the Shelleys took their case all the way to the Supreme Court. Their actions changed accessibility to housing for millions of Americans.
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  • Lesson Plan

    Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Meet the superhero legislation of civil rights. Students are introduced to eleven categories of civil rights protections with a focus on Title VII, which bans discrimination in the workplace. Students gain an understanding of how the Civil Rights Act affects people’s lives and apply civil rights protections to real-life scenarios.How to use this lesson: Use this lesson by itself or pair it with more iCivics resources, like the Supreme Court case EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch (2015) or lessons from our Civil Rights unit. For more suggestions, see the downloadable teacher resources below.
    View kami

See how it all fits together!

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