Literature, Literacy, and Legacy: Teaching about the Civil Rights Movement

On May 22, 2002, Bobby Frank Cherry, the last suspect in the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The church bombing, which killed Denise McNair, 11, and three 14-year-olds, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, on Sunday, September 15, had been left unresolved for nearly 40 years. Cherry's conviction brought some closure for the families of the victims, for Alabamians, and for many others who had been shocked by this dreadful crime. Just two years after his conviction, Cherry died of cancer in an Alabama prison. Author Christopher Paul Curtis explores the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in his book "The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963" (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 1995). A teaching team of educators both from The University of Alabama and from Holt High School, a secondary professional development school, decided to implement a unit on the civil rights movement using literature as the medium. One goal in selecting literature was to find a book or books that would help students see their realities reflected in the text(s). The teaching team implemented one of their units in Melinda Lake's world affairs class (grades 9-12). Ms. Lake, with the team's collaboration, decided to incorporate "The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963" into her class to illustrate racism and discrimination. The preservice teachers and their professor worked with Ms. Lake, observed lessons, viewed historical documentaries on the civil rights movement with the class, and facilitated activities related to the book. To introduce the book, the class viewed the documentary "4 Little Girls," about the Birmingham church bombing. The class discussed what they had known about the church bombing prior to viewing the film. Students were asked to start a narrative focusing on the settings and characters in the book, making sure to use at least two words from the word bank and to underline these words. The teaching team felt that the unit on "The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963" had been a success in that they were able to involve students in the history of the civil rights movement on a more personal level. The students were able to relate to the characters and events in the novel and, by extension, people affected by racist violence such as in the bombing of the Birmingham church. (Contains 8 notes.)