Book Resources
Civil Rights
Allen, Zita. Black Women Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Franklin Watts, 1996. Print.
This well-written, yet easy to read book covers the forgotten history of the women who shaped the Civil Rights Movement. Going beyond notable figures such as Rosa Parks, Allen tells the stories (through first-person interviews and other sources) of women such as Jo Ann Robinson, Ella Baker, Elizabeth Eckford and others who were instrumental in the fight for civil rights. Arranged in chronological order and featuring well-chosen archival photographs to complement the text, the book encompasses the background of the Civil Rights movement as far back as 1900, and ends with the events of Freedom Summer in 1964. A comprehensive index and source notes add value to the text by making it easy to locate topics of interest. This book would be suitable for students conducting research or to complement material introduced in class.
Huntley, Horace and John W. McKerley, eds. Foot Soldiers for Democracy: The Men, Women, and Children of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement.
Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2009.
This collection brings together archival oral histories obtained from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The interviews are first-hand reminiscences of men, women and children who lived in Birmingham, Alabama during the civil rights protests of April and May 1963. The book's sharply narrow focus means that it would be best suited to a student doing research on a particular aspect of the Civil Rights Movement, but the resource is a fantastic one in terms of the breadth of experiences covered by the personal interviews. A short biographical note about each subject prefaces the oral histories, and provides context to the subject's background, and footnotes at the end of each entry add explanations where needed and suggest further sources. A detailed index allows students to cross-reference interviewees with events discussed in their oral histories, and a detailed timeline covering the events of April and May 1963 in Birmingham gives a thorough synopsis of what happened.
Kallen, Stuart A. Women of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Lucent Books, 2005. Print.
Though there is some overlap between this book and the work listed by Zita Allen, this resource has been included because it offers a narrative of events that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement and extends past Freedom Summer to discuss events and personalities associated with the radicalization and increasing militancy of the movement and the rise of the Black Panthers. The book is less detailed in its focus of individual women, preferring instead to mention their roles within the greater context of the movement, but it does do a good job of acknowledging complex factors behind decisions such as expelling the remaining whites from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the tensions of gender dynamics within the movement. Written in clear, easy-to-understand language, this would be a good resource for students who struggle with more complex texts, and would make a good resource for research.
Menkart, Deborah, Alana D. Murray and Jenice L. View, eds. Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching. Washington, D.C.: Teaching For Change, 2004. Print.
This is a resource for teachers to provide materials to be used in the teaching of civil rights. The book begins with an extremely detailed table of contents, divided first by general topic and then by the title of each resource, making it easy to choose relevant pieces without having to flip through the entire book. The types of resources included range from poems to personal reflections to more scholarly articles, but all are written at a level that will be easily understood by the majority of students. The resources are predominantly related to the Civil Rights Movement, but there are pieces that touch upon the role of women, the Mexican-American/farm workers movement, and even the origins of the Asian Rights Movement, which rarely receives any attention from mainstream literature. The accompanying website (www.civilrightsteaching.org) has further resources, including lesson plans, additional articles, and other useful materials. This would be a great resource to supplement the curriculum offered by Facing History, Facing Ourselves.
Gay Rights
Andryszewski, Tricia. Same-Sex Marriage: Moral Wrong or Civil Right? Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2008. Print.
This book offers a clear, well-balanced approach to both sides of the contentious gay marriage issue currently dominating American politics. The content is easily accessible, and Andryszewski manages to give the issue the depth it deserves without making her writing overly complex or convoluted. The issues are presented, and arguments for both sides are laid out in a non-biased fashion, encouraging students to form their own opinions. Colored photographs and informative sidebars within the text help convey additional information. The book also features a number of other useful resources, including a "who's who" section, a glossary, a timeline of significant events in the history of the gay marriage movement, source notes, further reading suggestions, resources to contact representing both sides of the issue, and a thorough index all add additional value to this text. This would be a good resource for research, debate, or writing an argumentative paper on the subject.
Hudson, David L. Point/Counterpoint: Gay Rights. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2005. Print.
This book offers a pro and con viewpoint for different issues surrounding gay rights, including gay marriage, employment discrimination, gay adoption, and the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. Clearly written and straightforward, the arguments offer the traditional viewpoints on each side of the debate by providing evidence to support their claims instead of merely preaching right and wrong. Excerpts from relevant legal cases add value to each side's debate by allowing readers to read the original texts themselves, which would be useful for writing a research paper or preparing for a debate. Additional materials in the book include bibliographic notes (complete with URLs to the original texts), a brief annotated bibliography of further resources, websites representing the pro and anti-gay rights sides of the issues, and a comprehensive index. All of these additions make this a sound resource for students working on projects or papers, and add a tremendous amount of use to the book. It would be nice to know for the sake of credibility whether all the articles have been written by David L. Hudson, a research attorney at the First Amendment Center in Nashville, TN, but this is a minor criticism, for it is clear that the content has been well-researched and compiled.
Smith, Jennifer, ed. The Gay Rights Movement. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Print.
This collection of essays related to the gay rights movement would be a great resource to learn more about the topics and history covered in the Engel article described above. The essay topics cover a wide range of issues, ranging from the history and origins of the gay rights movement to the conservative, counterculture movement within the gay rights movement, and even delves into the issue of bisexual exclusion. This resource does have some weak points. Some of the articles are quite advanced and complex, some date back as far as 1949, and some topics (such as the discussion of "fem" and "butch" in the context of lesbian self-identification) are going to be of minimal to no interest to most students. However, this book is still useful for its coverage of different topics of interest that go beyond the superficial. Furthermore, the fact that the essays have been drawn from a wide range of sources - activists, people who lived through historic moments, and more serve to make the essays credible and believable at the same time. A comprehensive table of contents, a detailed timeline going back to 1915, a list of further resources (books, films, periodicals and websites) and a fairly comprehensive index all make this a very user-friendly resource for students conducting research or who wish to learn more on the topic of gay rights.
Stein, Marc, ed. Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America. 3 vols. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. Electronic book.
Although this reference work is, as a whole, far too in-depth for students at the high school level, this resource has been included because its encyclopedic entries and breadth of coverage would provide good background information for students on various issues within the history of the LGBT community in America. Just about any topic conceivable is covered, from the Stonewall Riots to entries dealing with race and sexuality. The e-table of contents is relatively easily searched, though students would need to know beforehand what specific entry they were looking for to avoid navigating through the table of contents, but this is not a major issue. A detailed chronology of LGBT history in America dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries gives a fascinating overview, and the index is created so that users can simply click on the relevant link listed next to the entry they are seeking to be taken to the text of the article. This resource would be best for students looking to get background information on specific issues, events, or individuals associated with the LGBT community for research purposes, or by the teacher to use as readings to help give students a basic understanding of key events and concepts.
Women's Rights
Boden, Tanya, ed. 33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women's History: From Suffragettes to Skirt Lengths to the ERA. New York: Crown Publishers, 2002. Print.
This chronologically organized collection brings together a wide variety of sources (poems, essays, letters, photographs, diary entries, articles, and fiction) to educate young women about the progress and achievements of women throughout American history. The purpose of the book is to educate teenagers about the often neglected history and contributions of women in America, and includes resources such as timelines, period photographs, and biographies of the women being profiled. Although not a comprehensive resource, this book would make a good starting point for students wishing to get a sense of the history of the women's rights movement in America, from its earliest days to its modern incarnation and would provide a solid foundation to pursue further research.
Collins, Gail. When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2009. Print.
This resource, though very substantive for a high school student, is included both because of its comprehensive treatment of women's rights in America from the 1960s through the 2008 Presidential election and because the writing is not overly complex, but rather engaging and informative at the same time. Its currency is also a plus point in its favor. Students may be reluctant to consult this resource, but with some encouragement and effective use of the index (which is rather extensive), should be able to locate information pertinent to their specific area of interest. Collins also includes a comprehensive bibliography that could be of use to students who really wish to take their research to the next level. This would be a good resource for students conducting research or for students who find themselves interested in the women's rights movement and wish to read about it at a more advanced level.
Allen, Zita. Black Women Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Franklin Watts, 1996. Print.
This well-written, yet easy to read book covers the forgotten history of the women who shaped the Civil Rights Movement. Going beyond notable figures such as Rosa Parks, Allen tells the stories (through first-person interviews and other sources) of women such as Jo Ann Robinson, Ella Baker, Elizabeth Eckford and others who were instrumental in the fight for civil rights. Arranged in chronological order and featuring well-chosen archival photographs to complement the text, the book encompasses the background of the Civil Rights movement as far back as 1900, and ends with the events of Freedom Summer in 1964. A comprehensive index and source notes add value to the text by making it easy to locate topics of interest. This book would be suitable for students conducting research or to complement material introduced in class.
Huntley, Horace and John W. McKerley, eds. Foot Soldiers for Democracy: The Men, Women, and Children of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement.
Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2009.
This collection brings together archival oral histories obtained from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The interviews are first-hand reminiscences of men, women and children who lived in Birmingham, Alabama during the civil rights protests of April and May 1963. The book's sharply narrow focus means that it would be best suited to a student doing research on a particular aspect of the Civil Rights Movement, but the resource is a fantastic one in terms of the breadth of experiences covered by the personal interviews. A short biographical note about each subject prefaces the oral histories, and provides context to the subject's background, and footnotes at the end of each entry add explanations where needed and suggest further sources. A detailed index allows students to cross-reference interviewees with events discussed in their oral histories, and a detailed timeline covering the events of April and May 1963 in Birmingham gives a thorough synopsis of what happened.
Kallen, Stuart A. Women of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Lucent Books, 2005. Print.
Though there is some overlap between this book and the work listed by Zita Allen, this resource has been included because it offers a narrative of events that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement and extends past Freedom Summer to discuss events and personalities associated with the radicalization and increasing militancy of the movement and the rise of the Black Panthers. The book is less detailed in its focus of individual women, preferring instead to mention their roles within the greater context of the movement, but it does do a good job of acknowledging complex factors behind decisions such as expelling the remaining whites from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the tensions of gender dynamics within the movement. Written in clear, easy-to-understand language, this would be a good resource for students who struggle with more complex texts, and would make a good resource for research.
Menkart, Deborah, Alana D. Murray and Jenice L. View, eds. Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching. Washington, D.C.: Teaching For Change, 2004. Print.
This is a resource for teachers to provide materials to be used in the teaching of civil rights. The book begins with an extremely detailed table of contents, divided first by general topic and then by the title of each resource, making it easy to choose relevant pieces without having to flip through the entire book. The types of resources included range from poems to personal reflections to more scholarly articles, but all are written at a level that will be easily understood by the majority of students. The resources are predominantly related to the Civil Rights Movement, but there are pieces that touch upon the role of women, the Mexican-American/farm workers movement, and even the origins of the Asian Rights Movement, which rarely receives any attention from mainstream literature. The accompanying website (www.civilrightsteaching.org) has further resources, including lesson plans, additional articles, and other useful materials. This would be a great resource to supplement the curriculum offered by Facing History, Facing Ourselves.
Gay Rights
Andryszewski, Tricia. Same-Sex Marriage: Moral Wrong or Civil Right? Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2008. Print.
This book offers a clear, well-balanced approach to both sides of the contentious gay marriage issue currently dominating American politics. The content is easily accessible, and Andryszewski manages to give the issue the depth it deserves without making her writing overly complex or convoluted. The issues are presented, and arguments for both sides are laid out in a non-biased fashion, encouraging students to form their own opinions. Colored photographs and informative sidebars within the text help convey additional information. The book also features a number of other useful resources, including a "who's who" section, a glossary, a timeline of significant events in the history of the gay marriage movement, source notes, further reading suggestions, resources to contact representing both sides of the issue, and a thorough index all add additional value to this text. This would be a good resource for research, debate, or writing an argumentative paper on the subject.
Hudson, David L. Point/Counterpoint: Gay Rights. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2005. Print.
This book offers a pro and con viewpoint for different issues surrounding gay rights, including gay marriage, employment discrimination, gay adoption, and the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. Clearly written and straightforward, the arguments offer the traditional viewpoints on each side of the debate by providing evidence to support their claims instead of merely preaching right and wrong. Excerpts from relevant legal cases add value to each side's debate by allowing readers to read the original texts themselves, which would be useful for writing a research paper or preparing for a debate. Additional materials in the book include bibliographic notes (complete with URLs to the original texts), a brief annotated bibliography of further resources, websites representing the pro and anti-gay rights sides of the issues, and a comprehensive index. All of these additions make this a sound resource for students working on projects or papers, and add a tremendous amount of use to the book. It would be nice to know for the sake of credibility whether all the articles have been written by David L. Hudson, a research attorney at the First Amendment Center in Nashville, TN, but this is a minor criticism, for it is clear that the content has been well-researched and compiled.
Smith, Jennifer, ed. The Gay Rights Movement. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Print.
This collection of essays related to the gay rights movement would be a great resource to learn more about the topics and history covered in the Engel article described above. The essay topics cover a wide range of issues, ranging from the history and origins of the gay rights movement to the conservative, counterculture movement within the gay rights movement, and even delves into the issue of bisexual exclusion. This resource does have some weak points. Some of the articles are quite advanced and complex, some date back as far as 1949, and some topics (such as the discussion of "fem" and "butch" in the context of lesbian self-identification) are going to be of minimal to no interest to most students. However, this book is still useful for its coverage of different topics of interest that go beyond the superficial. Furthermore, the fact that the essays have been drawn from a wide range of sources - activists, people who lived through historic moments, and more serve to make the essays credible and believable at the same time. A comprehensive table of contents, a detailed timeline going back to 1915, a list of further resources (books, films, periodicals and websites) and a fairly comprehensive index all make this a very user-friendly resource for students conducting research or who wish to learn more on the topic of gay rights.
Stein, Marc, ed. Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America. 3 vols. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. Electronic book.
Although this reference work is, as a whole, far too in-depth for students at the high school level, this resource has been included because its encyclopedic entries and breadth of coverage would provide good background information for students on various issues within the history of the LGBT community in America. Just about any topic conceivable is covered, from the Stonewall Riots to entries dealing with race and sexuality. The e-table of contents is relatively easily searched, though students would need to know beforehand what specific entry they were looking for to avoid navigating through the table of contents, but this is not a major issue. A detailed chronology of LGBT history in America dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries gives a fascinating overview, and the index is created so that users can simply click on the relevant link listed next to the entry they are seeking to be taken to the text of the article. This resource would be best for students looking to get background information on specific issues, events, or individuals associated with the LGBT community for research purposes, or by the teacher to use as readings to help give students a basic understanding of key events and concepts.
Women's Rights
Boden, Tanya, ed. 33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women's History: From Suffragettes to Skirt Lengths to the ERA. New York: Crown Publishers, 2002. Print.
This chronologically organized collection brings together a wide variety of sources (poems, essays, letters, photographs, diary entries, articles, and fiction) to educate young women about the progress and achievements of women throughout American history. The purpose of the book is to educate teenagers about the often neglected history and contributions of women in America, and includes resources such as timelines, period photographs, and biographies of the women being profiled. Although not a comprehensive resource, this book would make a good starting point for students wishing to get a sense of the history of the women's rights movement in America, from its earliest days to its modern incarnation and would provide a solid foundation to pursue further research.
Collins, Gail. When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2009. Print.
This resource, though very substantive for a high school student, is included both because of its comprehensive treatment of women's rights in America from the 1960s through the 2008 Presidential election and because the writing is not overly complex, but rather engaging and informative at the same time. Its currency is also a plus point in its favor. Students may be reluctant to consult this resource, but with some encouragement and effective use of the index (which is rather extensive), should be able to locate information pertinent to their specific area of interest. Collins also includes a comprehensive bibliography that could be of use to students who really wish to take their research to the next level. This would be a good resource for students conducting research or for students who find themselves interested in the women's rights movement and wish to read about it at a more advanced level.
