The Civil Rights Movement!

A Summary:

My first project is based around the Civil Rights Movement. People say the Civil Rights Movement was ignited by the Murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy who was murdered by two white men because he allegedly flirted with a white women. After this event decades pass of people fighting for their rights. 

Social Studies:

Art:
Since my whole project is based around a historical event, I don't have a specific history portion. I took notes on events that happened during the movement. 

1955-

-Emmett Till
  • Murdered by two white men after allegedly flirting with a white women
  • Men were arrested then acquitted by all white male jury
  • Men admitted to committing the murder but were not punished


-Rosa Parks
  • Refuses to give up her seat for a white passenger
  • Got arrested
  • This created a bus boycott till all buses were desegregated on Dec. 21, 1956


1957-

-Martin Luther King (1957)
  • Establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
  • Bases principles on nonviolence and civil disobedience

-Martin Luther King (1963)
  • Arrested and jailed during protest
  • Wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
  • Gave “I Have a Dream” speech to 200,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial

-Martin Luther King (1968)
  • Shot on hotel balcony by James Earl Ray


1960-

-Sit-in
  • Four black students sat at lunch counter
  • Were refused service but were allowed to stay at counter
  • Triggered similar events in other restaurants
  • Four black students were later served at same lunch counter


1963-

-Church Bombing
  • Four young girls killed when bomb explodes at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church


1964-

-Poll tax
  • 24th Amendment abolishes the poll tax

​Click to see info in prezi
For my art piece I took pieces from different elements and mashed them together. There's this anonymous artist who painted a picture (shown below on left) using the American Flag as jail bars with African Americans trapped behind them and I thought that was a cool concept so I wanted to incorporate that into my painting. To make it my own, I decided to put quotes the whites would say to the blacks on the jail bars to represent that the words the whites said were holding the blacks back. On the wall theres a key and on it theres the quote 'I have a dream..." from Martin Luther King to represent them being "freed". The human cells throughout my painting represent life.

Sources:

​http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html

​http://www.biography.com/people/emmett-till-507515#trial

English:

For my english piece I decided to write a poem about a mother who has a son growing up during the Civil Rights Movement. 

My Dream
by Bea Llarena

A warmness grows inside me,
My own flesh, blood, and bone
I’ll see you soon lil’ one
I have a dream.

You are starting to walk now
Standing up for yourself
One lil brown bare foot in front of the other
I have a dream.

“Daddy says we should stay away from coloreds like you!”
You look down at your arms
The different skin tone
I have a dream.

Throwing punches in the hallway, their white faces now black
Wanting to be treated equally
Only to be a prisoner in detention
I have a dream.

"Momma look my letter came!"
Rushing in the kitchen, ripping the envelope open
"Momma I got accepted!" You shout
I have a dream.

Look at you now
Completing your Juris Doctor
Keeping the streets safe
I have a dream.

"Say 'see you later grandma'"
Little arms wrap around my waist, squeezing tight
The second generation
I still have a dream.