Hist of Civil Rights

Catalog description

This course examines chronologically the efforts by African Americans to obtain full civil rights from the pivotal period of 1940-1955 to the present. The class focuses on first-hand recollections of the Movement by African and non-African Americans, documentary and popular film representations of the Movement, and federal and state government responses to the Movement. The class discussions will seek to dispel the myths about the Movement while exposing the stereotypes, distortions, and romanticism that surround the Movement. An integral part of that discussion will be evaluating the strategies utilized by those advocating and those opposing the movement for civil rights. The course concludes with an extensive discussion of black conservatism and efforts to "turn back the clock" on civil rights gains.