CROC - Freedoms Activities

A commitment to change:

A city seeks to heal its history of racial violence

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s thrust Birmingham, Alabama, into the national spotlight as a scene of bitter racial conflict. Photographs of Dr. King behind bars, of the bombed-out Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, and of firehoses and police dogs set upon peaceful marchers remain icons of the period, indelibly linking Birmingham with hate.

The image -- and the reality -- of racist violence on their city streets confronted Birmingham residents with a complicated crisis. For Black citizens, the dream of participating in democracy was on the line. In the view of many Whites, including most city officials, an old and cherished concentration of power was in jeopardy. Some Whites actively supported the African American community’s appeal for justice. But for one group -- downtown merchants -- the moral and political tensions presented an economic emergency, as well: Shoppers’ fears had left the city’s commercial district a ghost town.

Early efforts at renewing downtown Birmingham played primarily on this economic angle, but a few business leaders recognized the need to heal old wounds that recent events had opened. After years of working behind the scenes, and with the strong urging of Black leaders, the group "went public" in 1969 to establish the biracial Community Affairs Committee (CAC), under the sponsorship of an older organization called Operation New Birmingham. Now in its 30th year, the CAC -- comprising business, civic and religious leaders -- meets every Monday morning at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute to discuss community concerns and to develop concrete ways of bringing the races together. The group’s latest project is the Birmingham Pledge.

Since its introduction at the city’s annual Martin Luther King Unity Breakfast in January 1998, the Pledge has gathered thousands of signatures in Birmingham, as well as across the U.S. and around the world. President and Mrs. Clinton and numerous other dignitaries are among the signers. The participation of young people is especially critical in the effort to stamp out racial prejudice and discord, and the Pledge sponsors have been impressed with the commitment exhibited by students who choose to add their name.

Source:
Southern Poverty Law Center

Freedoms: activities

Freedoms are precious and always need to be protected. The key to ensuring people protect their freedoms, is to get them to own their freedoms. To get people to own them we need to devise strategies that promote tolerance and ensure individuals take responsibility for their actions.

Activity

The focus of this activity is finding examples of tolerance and intolerance of freedoms. These examples can be racism and anti-racism, religious fighting or religious tolerance, peace networks, civil liberties, censorship, street marches, use of mass media and cultural diversity.

Divide the class into two groups. Group one will do the interviews and group two will locate and select information from the Internet and library.Once both groups have finished their work, they all work on step three.

Interviews:

Interviews are an important skill. They allow students to find out information first-hand about events, thoughts and feelings. Here are some ideas to help conduct successful interviews:

1. Types of questions: Here are some examples of areas you may wish to frame questions about, personal experiences of intolerance, personal experiences about tolerance or acts of kindness, feelings and thoughts about the issues, historical accounts of what happened and change in attitudes and values.

2. Specific questions to be asked: Make a list of questions based on the types of questions. Do this in small groups then a large group to make sure all the information you want is covered by the questions.

3. Who are you going to interview?: People of different ages, family or friends, strangers, people at your school.

4. Method of interviewing: Are you going in pairs, one to ask questions and one to record the answers?, If you going to take a tape recorder, do a pre-interview check to ensure all equipment is working. Are you prearranging times to do it or just hoping the people are available?

5. Conducting the interview: if you have prearranged a time be punctual. Be sensitive to the person who is being interviewed. If need be give the person time to read the questions you have prepared. Be flexible and tolerant. Ensure the person has given you permission to use the information in your class project. Say thank you at the end.

6. After the interview: Once you have written up the responses give your work to the person so she or he can verify that what you have done is correct. It also allows the person to add or subtract information. Discuss your finding with the class.

Locating and selecting information:

Locate and select information on the Internet or in the library or in personal collections about freedoms.

Before you start, decide on the period you want to find out about. Do you want only contemporary examples, or different times such as the 1960s or 1980s or 1920s?

Once you have decided on the time period then search the Internet, the library or ask family and friends. Try to get writing, photographs and cartoons. Make sure you reference the material.

Owning freedoms:

Using the information the class has gathered from the interviews and searches, outline the importance of freedoms.

Suggest ways people can own these freedoms as an important right.

Based on the activities design a home page called Tolerance and responsibility lead to freedoms for all.

Completed material should be posted on your school's web site.

Please supply the project officer with:

URL
school name
country
e-mail address
contact person
1-2 sentences about the work.

If you have any problems in doing this, please contact the project officer.

Project officer E-mail: One.World @det.nsw.edu.au

Back to freedoms page

Click here to register for the Convention on the Rights of the Child unit.

Other One World projects:

Other Human Rights Sites:

One world,
many democracies:
Human Rights

Explore your human rights
through Internet activities

International Human Rights Day
on ABC Online

Universal Rights Network

This unit of work is a joint venture between UNICEF Australia and the Curriculum Support Directorate, NSW Department of Education and Training.