Need a good civil rights documentary for my young homeschooled kids (Vanity)

Jan. 18, 2015 | moi

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Our kids are in second grade (homeschooled with me and my husband) and while they probably know more about the Civil War than most seven-year-olds, we haven't gotten into civil rights issues from the 1950's and 60's yet. However, our kids are old enough now to pick up on things from the radio and newspaper, so I think it's time to start to cover that. I'm looking for a relatively short documentary (or recordings of particular speeches, etc.) that presents Jim Crow, civil rights, MLK, etc. fairly factually and without a heapin' helping of white self-hate added in. (I also don't really want to get into MLK's womanizing, etc. Just looking for a factual outline of civil rights in the 50's and/or 60's.)

Got something that fits the bill? Thanks so much!

[ClearCase_guy]

It’s been a long time since I saw it, but I recall this being a good series:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyes_on_the_Prize

Yes, it’s from PBS. But it’s from 1987, and I think political correctness had not really kicked in at that point. You’d want to make sure it’s not overly anti-White, but as far as I know it’s pretty balanced.

Also, from a Reference link at the end of the wikipedia article, it appears that the entire series may be viewable on Youtube.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I know nothing about these. Just practicing my googling.

https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Atopdocumentaryfilms.com+civil+rights&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=Palemoon:en-US&client=palemoon#rls=Palemoon:en-US&q=site:topdocumentaryfilms.com+civil+rights

[ClearCase_guy]

Note: the youtube link I mentioned above appears to be “invitation only” (which I’ve never seen before) so that is not helpful. The series is available from Amazon for not too much money, although the series is apparently incomplete. I don’t know what’s missing, but some reviewers seem unhappy that the full set of episodes is not offered.

[Vermont Lt]

Have them listen to the I have a dream speech. And then talk about what he is talking about. It’s gonna take some research, but primary resources are the best.

[DirtyPigpen]

Django, Unchained.

[Vermont Lt]

And I would add that 80% of current day civil rights people have not listen to, nor do they understand the speech.

I would also be willing to wager that 90% of college grads, black or white have listen to the last few paragraphs...but don’t have a clue.

[11th_VA]

Just play them Barry Mcguire’s ‘Eve of Destruction’ - not much has changed, just different people groups ...

[Fiji Hill]

Schlessinger Media put out a DVD entitled "The History of the Civil Rights Movement" in 2007. There is also a lengthy PBS documentary entitled "Eyes on the Prize."

You will find a number of resources by using the "advanced search" feature of theWorldcat library database to do a subject search on "African Americans Civil Rights History 20th Century" or "Civil Rights Movements United States History 20th Century" and limit the format to "DVD Video."

[libertarian27]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n945ffvrixY
Eyes on the Prize - 01- Awakenings, 1954-1956
More on page
( don’t know if they are sans-white-guilt either :>)

[Cry if I Wanna]

My grandpa, now a very old man says he remembers reading about lynchings in the newspaper. He said that he was about 10 living in California and the newspaper articles were just a few paragraphs. He said he understood that someone was hanged, but he just didn’t understand how or why it happened. He said that he thought the South was a foreign country and bad things happened to some people there.

[ClearCase_guy]

Thanks!

[OldNavyVet]

A bright young man that looks to be a budding grandson-in-law recently brought the book "Yearning to Breathe Free" to my attention, so I am into reading it and guess what?

My eyes are being opened in learning what it was like to be a slave.

Nothing works better to open one's mind than reading history, and this book is a history about being a slave in America.

The book's author is Andrew Billingsley, and it's publisher is the University of South Caroiina.

[Fiji Hill]

Just play them Barry Mcguire’s ‘Eve of Destruction’ - not much has changed, just different people groups ...

Don't forget to tell the other side of the story:

• What's Come Over This World?--Billy Carr

• Eve of Tomorrow--Tony Mammarella

• The Dawn of Correction--The Spokesmen

• Day of Decision--Johnny Sea

• Dawn of Instruction--The Jayhawkers

[PGR88]

Nothing before 1990 certainly.

Anything recent will just be the updated leftist narrative

[Mercat]

Start with To Kill a Mockingbird.

[ClearCase_guy]

Yeah, I look back to the 80s and before, and this country was totally different. Blacks and whites were trying -- not always successfully -- to get along. Everyone (Everyone!) knew that the civil rights struggle had been the right thing to do. The country had made mistakes, we had learned a lesson, we wanted to do better and to treat everyone equally.

Today? We've slipped totally backwards. I know people who are really to form lynch mobs. But, of course, you cannot talk about anything like that, and you have to be careful about your jokes. I think of jokes made on TV in the 1970s (Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor, for one) and you just could NOT do that stuff today. Too inflammatory.

It's really sad. Everything changed after about 1990. I feel like we're now back where the country was in the 1940s in some ways.

[donna]

I don’t think there’s a documentary for the side that objected to giving the federal government the power to tell the local shop owner who he must serve . . . because small government people knew that one day they’d be required to bake a gay wedding cake or go to jail and lose their business.

Everyone is racist today and they were racist then according to the big government civil rights backers.

Also, no one had to identify their race on all official documents like now days - we were all one color: American.

Nope, no documentary for that.

[alexander_busek]

My grandpa, now a very old man says he remembers reading about lynchings in the newspaper. He said that he was about 10 living in California and the newspaper articles were just a few paragraphs. He said he understood that someone was hanged, but he just didn’t understand how or why it happened. He said that he thought the South was a foreign country and bad things happened to some people there.

Lynchings don't necessarily have anything to do with race.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Everest

Regards,

[upchuck]

Ping to home school list manager.