Subtopic: The Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1980

Audrey Hendricks
In this oral history from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Audrey Hendricks recalls her arrest and jailing at the age of nine for participation in the Children's Crusade of 1963.

Bayard Rustin: A Freedom Budget, Part 1
This audio excerpt captures the beginning of Bayard Rustin's 1967 "Freedom Budget" speech, describing the social and economic impact of racism over time.

Boston Desegregation
This excerpt from WGBH's Evening Compass news program summarizes events of the first year of the 1974 Boston school desegregation plan.

Bus to the Burbs
This video excerpt from La Plaza: "Bus to the Burbs" looks at METCO, a voluntary busing program in Boston.

The Civil Rights Movement in America, 1945-1975
This interactive timeline provides a chronological and geographic view of the events of the Civil Rights era and its aftermath.

A Class Divided 2: Day Two
This segment from FRONTLINE: "A Class Divided" profiles the second day of an experiment in discrimination based on eye color that took place in a third-grade class in 1970.

Colonel Stone Johnson
In this oral history from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Colonel Stone Johnson describes how civil rights activists were physically attacked for their work.

Decision in the Streets
This video segment, adapted from Decision in the Streets by civil rights filmmaker Harvey Richards, portrays the interracial protests that took place in San Francisco in 1963-64.

Desegregation Mandate: Jefferson County, AL
A 1967 federal court order resulted in this document, which mandated school desegregation in Birmingham.

Documenting Brown 7: Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped enforce the Brown ruling, a decade later.

Eleventh Commandment Flyer
This flyer from the 1962 Birmingham selective buying campaign encourages African Americans to boycott discriminatory businesses; from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

Excerpts from the March on Washington, Part 2
This audio compilation, recorded live at the 1963 March on Washington, pays tribute to the women -- both leaders and widows of slain leaders -- of the Civil Rights movement.

Fannie Lou Hamer
This video segment profiles the life and leadership of Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activist best known for her stirring testimony at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

Ike and Little Rock
This video segment, adapted from American Experience: "Ike", profiles the president's controversial response to the Little Rock school desegregation crisis in 1957.

Jim Zwerg
In this interview transcript from People's Century, northern civil rights activist and Freedom Rider Jim Zwerg describes his experiences.

Ku Klux Klan Flyers
This flyer advertises a 1963 white supremacist Ku Klux Klan meeting; from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

Little Rock Nine
This collection of photos shows scenes from the controversial desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.

Malcolm X: Black Nationalism
In this archival news footage, civil rights leader Malcolm X describes the political, economic, and social aspects of black nationalism.

March on Washington Flyers
These 1963 flyers announce the speakers and issues for the March on Washington; from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

Miriam McClendon
In this oral history from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Miriam McClendon recalls her arrest and jailing for participation in the Children's Crusade of 1963.

Rev. C. T. Vivian
In this transcript of an interview for Eyes on the Prize, the Reverend C. T. Vivian remembers his leadership role in the Civil Rights Movement and the risks civil rights activists took in challenging segregation.

Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth
This oral history transcript from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute documents the tumultuous life and leadership of the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, who survived a bomb attack that destroyed his home.

Rosa Parks
In this interview, recorded for Eyes on the Prize, legendary civil rights activist Rosa Parks recalls her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Segregation Ordinances: Birmingham, AL
This document from 1951 spells out Birmingham's segregation ordinances, the laws requiring the separation of the races.

Sheyann Webb
Sheyann Webb was eight years old in 1965 when she marched for voting rights. In this interview, recorded for Eyes on the Prize, she recalls the events of the Selma march.

Sonia Sanchez: Meeting Malcolm X
In this video segment, recorded for Eyes on the Prize, poet Sonia Sanchez recalls the pivotal moment when she first heard civil rights leader Malcolm X speak.

Understanding White Supremacy
This lesson plan explores how white southerners tried to protect their economic, political, and social privilege in the face of the Civil Rights movement.

Voter Registration Training Tool
Students at Miles College in Birmingham developed this "crib sheet" and questionnaire to help black citizens become registered voters and to document racial discrimination in the voting process in the 1950s.

Washington Booker, III
In this oral history from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Washington Booker recalls being arrested and jailed for participating in the Children's Crusade of 1963.

William Julius Wilson
In this 1998 FRONTLINE interview, Harvard sociologist Dr. William Julius Wilson explains why, despite an overall increase in the standard of living among African Americans, a segment of the population is falling farther and farther behind.