Civil Rights and Segregation Comic Books

Learning history from comic books? You betcha! Here are two comic books that deal with the civil rights era of the 50s and 60s:



* Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story



* George Wallace for the Big Job



The George Wallace comic book is especially interesting. This was distributed in Alabama during his campaign for governor in 1962. It could be considered a primary source document.



The comic book offers testimonials of how as a state legislator he helped out war widows and orphans, increased pensions for the elderly and supported fledgling industries in the state. As a judge he was "fair, but firm in enforcing the law." He sounds like he was an outstanding public servant. Oh, and then there was the fact that he believed that "education in segregated schools is the foundation upon which our whole future must be built." And let us not forget candidate Wallace's promise:

These comic books can be found on Ethan Persoff's web site. Warning: some material on the site may not be appropriate for children.

I found the link to these comic books on the Boing Boing blog. Once again, Warning: some material on that blog is definately not appropriate for children.

Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks

Speaking of Civil Rights: how about having students learn about Rosa Parks? There is an excellent video issued by "Teaching Tolerance" called Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks. It shows the true history of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. For instance, it is often taught that Rosa Parks was tired one day coming home from work and decided on the spur of the moment to sit down in the white section of the bus. Because she was arrested for breaking the law, blacks spontaneously protested her unfair treatment by refusing to take the city buses. The true history is that this was not the first time that Mrs. Parks deliberately broke the law regarding bus segregation. Also, she was not some random person who decided to challenge the system. She was very active in the civil rights movement. For years civil rights leaders were looking for the ideal case to challenge segregation. Mrs. Parks was the perfect person for this cause - she was strong willed and idealistic. They knew she could handle herself when death threats came her way.

Best of all: the video is FREE to schools and teachers!

Teaching with Music: U2's "Pride"

"Early Morning, April 4..."

U2 lyricist and lead singer Bono might not be the most accurate historian, but he did write a good song about Martin Luther King. Dr. King was shot in the evening, not the morning, of April 4, 1968.

Here are the lyrics to Pride (In the Name of Love).

I am not sure if high school students still listen to U2, but it might be a good way to segue into a discussion about MLK and civil rights.

Video for MLK Day

On this MLK Day, MSNBC has posted video of newsreports, speeches and interviews about, by and with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Although Dr. King was not the only important civil rights leader in American history, he is certainly the most celebrated. Have students discover why we celebrate Dr. King's legacy with a national holiday.

Photo Credit: MSN Slate: Today's Pictures