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Leadership and the Civil Rights Movement: A Case Study in Social Activism

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• Would you like to be a social activist, and learn from the experience of veteran leaders?
• Do you wonder how young people can influence complex social issues, like racial equality and individual freedom?
• Are you curious about the role music can play in creating social change?
• Would you like to learn community organizing and leadership skills?

The Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s put young people in a uniquely powerful position to become activists for political and social change. Through effective leadership and community organizing, individuals involved with the movement greatly expanded what it meant to be free and equal in the United States  However, the civil rights movement had no expiration date. Racial relations remain at the forefront of political debate, and current policy fronts like Equal Education, the Patriot Act, Defense of Marriage, and immigration continue to test our definitions of equality and freedom.

Through primary source materials, first-hand conversations with veteran Civil Rights activists, and music from the movement, this course will encourage students to explore how lessons and strategies from the movement apply to contemporary social issues: How is the movement relevant today? What leadership skills and organizing strategies were most effective in creating change? How can music and art be used as organizing tools? How were young people able to make meaningful contributions to social change? 

By connecting civil rights history to present day movements, students will leave this course with the background knowledge, leadership and community organizing skills to continue the progress toward freedom and equality.

Who are Leadership and Civil Rights Students?

Students applying to this course may be interested in social activism, community organizing, ethnic studies, political science, music history or American history. We look for students with a diversity of experiences, emotional maturity and a track record of interest in collaborative activities.

Curriculum

In this course, students will:

• Discover the important role of young people in enacting social change
• Study primary sources and speak with veterans of the Civil Rights movement
Sing Freedom Songs from the movement at each lesson, and discover how these songs inspired and united movement volunteers
• Learn community organizing strategies that were most effective in gaining equality for African Americans
• Learn to recognize different leadership styles that emerged during the movement, along with their strengths and limitations
• Examine issues and challenges from multiple perspectives
• Develop communication and group problem solving skills
• Challenge these skills and build confidence on a low ropes course
• Learn the importance of community organizing, leadership skills, music and art in creating social change
• Connect historical events to current issues
• Understand how young people can apply lessons from the Civil Rights movement to contemporary issues of social justice

Dates

Course Code - SO910-EL

Branice McKenzie performs live at the Brown Leadership Institute
On July 2, 2007 she and her accompanist, Richard Cummings, gave this concert to Brown Leadership Institute students. (see video below)