Birmingham, 1963 guide

Birmingham, 1963

A fictional ten-year-old narrator witnesses a seminal event in the Civil Rights Movement. Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, Jefferson Cup, Jane Addams Children’s Literature Honor

Themes: segregation, civil rights movement, hate violence

Primary sources: Birmingham Public Library

1. Sing or write protest songs.
2. Create a Civil Rights Wall of Fame.
3. Write acrostics with “freedom.”
4. Order a free DVD: The Children’s March or Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks from teachingtolerance.org.
5. Do a WebQuest: www.thekingcenter.org; www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow.
6. Write autobiographical poems after “In Memoriam.”
7. Send home bookmark/discussion guide for families.
8. Invite elders to share memories of the segregation or civil rights eras.
9. Present a choral reading of the poem, incorporating the hymns and spirituals mentioned in the text.
10. Read Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s eulogy for the victims of the church bombing.