Primary Source Spotlight: Flint Sit-Down Strike

Primary Source Spotlight: Flint Sit-Down Strike

Labor strategists confer with heads image Jan. 12, 1937 Head of U.A.W. (United Auto Workers) Women’s Auxiliary kitchen set up in a restaurant image Jan.-Feb., 1937 More Flint strike photos Flint factory video Flint sit down 1936-37 historical newspaper coverage Flint strike 1936-37 historical newspaper coverage The Flint, Michigan, Sit-Down Strike resource guide Flint Sit-Down Strike (1936-1937)…

Primary Source Learning: The U.S. Capitol and the Events of January 6, 2021

Primary Source Learning: The U.S. Capitol and the Events of January 6, 2021

Primary sources are the perfect avenue to help explore and investigate the events of January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol as well as those that preceded it and those that followed it. Below we have compiled numerous resources to assist in deepening understanding of our past and present in the hopes that we can…

Today in History: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Today in History: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Today in History–August 28–the Library of Congress features the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, held on this day in 1963. Around a quarter million people participated in this non-violent demonstration for civil rights seeking, among other things, equal access to public accommodations, decent housing, adequate and integrated education, the right to vote, and…

Timely Connections: Frederick Douglass & the Emancipation Memorial

Timely Connections: Frederick Douglass & the Emancipation Memorial

Amid calls for removal of the Emancipation Memorial, also called the Freedmen’s Monument, in Washington D.C. and a replica of it in Boston, Washington Post reporter DaNeen L. Brown considers the statue and takes a look back at a speech made by Frederick Douglass at the D.C. unveiling ceremony on April 14, 1876. In the speech, Douglass…

Primary Source Learning: Civil Rights

Primary Source Learning: Civil Rights

Citizen U multidisciplinary civics lessons Civil Rights and Civic Action Dolores Huerta Building Coalitions to Affect Change Collaborating to Affect Change Inspiring Civic Responsibility Selma & Voting Rights: Standing Up for Equality Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer More lessons Baseball, Race Relations and Jackie Robinson…

Primary Source Learning: U.S. National Anthem & American Flag

Primary Source Learning: U.S. National Anthem & American Flag

Help students learn about the history and contemporary contexts of the U.S. national anthem and the American flag. Teaching resources The Star Spangled Banner (K-2) The Star Spangled Banner (grades 3-5) Stars, Stripes and Symbols of America: Comparing Our Flag, Past and Present (grades 1-2) Pledge of Allegiance Image Sequencing (grades 3-5) Direct students do some background…

Learning from the Source: Cesar Chavez & Good Citizenship

Learning from the Source: Cesar Chavez & Good Citizenship

This activity is adapted from lessons in the Barat Education Foundation Our American Voice® program. This civics program for 4-8 graders features a spiral curriculum and emphasizes critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills as students learn the fundamentals of American democracy and work to create positive change in their communities. Overview Using Cesar Chavez as an…

Collections Spotlight: Civil Rights History Project

Collections Spotlight: Civil Rights History Project

The Civil Rights History Project collection is a direct result of the 2009 Civil Rights History Project Act. This law mandated the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) to conduct a survey of existing civil rights oral-history collections and enhance these collections by recording new interviews with…

Primary Source Learning: Women’s Road to the Vote

Primary Source Learning: Women’s Road to the Vote

Don’t miss these great woman suffrage teaching resources using Library of Congress primary sources! Woman suffrage source set & teaching guide Lesson plans Around America to Win the Vote The Fight for Women’s Rights Going Gaga Over Suffrage The Importance of Voting Learning from the Source: Tactics in the March to Suffrage Literature Links: Predicting…

Today in History: Picketing for Suffrage

Today in History: Picketing for Suffrage

Today in History–August 28–the Library of Congress features the arrest of 10 suffragists for picketing the White House on this day in 1917. The protestors hoped to pressure President Woodrow Wilson to support the proposed “Anthony amendment” to the Constitution that would guarantee women the right to vote. He finally did that in January of 1918 and the long…