Read and Compare

• Have your students read Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and the text of his "I Have a Dream Speech" alongside "The Autobiography of Malcolm X." Ask them to compare and contrast the personalities of these men and their very different approaches to obtaining civil rights for African Americans. Arrange for your students to take sides and debate whether King's non violent civil disobedience or Malcolm X's black militancy was the best path for black leaders to have followed.
  
  

Film Screening

• Have your students watch and discuss a film based on true events related to the struggle for African American civil rights. Examples include Spike Lee's "Malcolm X," Alan Parker's "Mississippi Burning," Denzel Washington's "The Great Debaters" and Joseph Sargent's "Something the Lord Made." After viewing one or more of these films, ask your students to research the actual events on which the film was based and write an essay in which they assess the historical accuracy of the film.
  
  

Archival Research

• Ask your students to visit a local or nearby library or historical society and research the history of race relations in their community. Tell them to look at newspapers, magazines, church bulletins and anything else present in the library's local collection. If you live in a community in which Jim Crow laws were once present, have them find out when the community finally took the laws off the books. Have them look to see if the Klu Klux Klan, the American Nazi Party or other hate groups have ever held meetings in your area. Ask them to present their findings in a formal historical report that utilizes Chicago Style citations and formatting.
  
  

Musical Analysis

• Have your students select a piece of music related related to the legacy of African Americans' struggle for civil rights. From the mournful sounds of sharecropping Delta blues musicians like Son House to the assured optimism of folk singer Pete Seeger, this musical tradition is rich and varied. Compile a list of recordings from your students to choose from and tell them to find the song they select online or from a local library's CD collection. Have them write an analysis of the song in which they assess both the social and the artistic value of the recording.