Civil Rights

5/12: We worked pairs today on the two speeches. One partner start by working on Lewis’ speech and the other should start with King’s speech. The goal here is to look at which rhetorical devices each speaker used and how that device helps to shape the tone and works in service of his message and his audience. See the "Rhetorical Devices King + Lewis" attached below.

5/11:B and C Blocks: Please start class by rereading the notes you took for homework last night. THINK about the murders and the country’s reaction, and about Rockwell’s two pieces. Here’s the artistic background of the two pieces and how they were used:

“Rockwell’s first son Jarvis (one of three), posed in the painting as the central figure of Michael Schwerner. The artist tacked press photos of Schwerner to his easel as reference material during the process of painting.

The canvas was completed after five weeks of intense work, and Rockwell titled it, Murder in Mississippi. The editors of Look magazine rejected the final painting (shown at top) for publication, arguing instead that Rockwell’s preparatory oil sketch for the canvas (shown at left) made for a more poignant illustration.

The study had taken the artist less than an hour to paint. Rockwell objected, but yielded to the editors on the matter.

The sketch was published in the June 29, 1965 edition of Look, and served as a single-page illustration for Southern Justice, a short article by famed civil-rights lawyer, Charles Morgan Jr. (1930-2009). The oil sketch became known by the title, Southern Justice” (Vallen).

Look back at your descriptions of the two pieces and at the above description of which piece Look actually used. Now is the time to compare the two pieces – in a page long reflection, using your notes and your descriptions of the two pieces, compare the two pieces in an effort to understand why Look chose the sketch over the painting and why you think they did that, and whether or not that was the right decision, given the seriousness of the murders, what you see in the art, the “story” the art tells, etc. (be specific and clear, using evidence from your homework, from the quote above, from your notes about the killings and from what you know/understand about Rockwell’s art). This is a process grade – attach the homework notes to the reflection and hand it in to the sub.

Vallen, Mark. "Murder In Mississippi." Art for a Change. N.p., 23 June 2014. Web. 10 May 2016.

Next, I want you to spend some time reading two speeches from the March on Washington in 1963 – one is King’s famous address and the other is the speech delivered by John Lewis, chairman of SNCC. The Kennedy administration, which had real misgivings about the march and really did not support it, objected to Lewis’ original speech as too inflammatory and too critical of the administration. We are reading these two pieces for a couple of reasons – to use primary source documents to better understand the growing tensions within the Movement and to work on rhetorical analysis as a means of understanding a speeches audience, argument and purpose. As you read each speech, mark it up as a way to help get at the main message. At the end of each speech, summarize the speech’s main ideas (you can bullet these), and use your understanding of its main ideas to determine its audience (if you don’t finish this in class, this is your homework).

5/10: You’ll be watching the end of “Rise!” today to give you context into the Civil Rights Movement as it moves into the 1960s (start at around 33:00 and watch until the end). As we saw in Second Wave Feminism, divisions take hold as the more established parts of the movement resists the impatience of the younger generation (we already saw glimpses of this with the way Ella Baker was treated by King and other male leaders in the movement). As you watch, take notes. Pay attention to the needs in the North and the plan, make sure you know who Barry Gordy is and his role, Malcolm X and his appeal (his audience and the divisions), The Civil Rights Act and LBJ, the role of television in the movement – it is key in all of the 1960s movements, Selma (John Lewis is the young man talking to the reporters on the edge of the bridge – right after that interview, he was beaten so badly he almost died), Grace Lee Boggs, James Meredith and Stokely Carmichel. After the film is over, write down on the index card, 3 things you did not know about the movement and why they matter and 3 new ideas you have about civil rights OR 3 specific connections you can make between this and the women’s movement.

Tonight, First, watch the video about the murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi (or if you cannot watch, read the attached “Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner”). Take notes so that you know who these men were, their fate, the powers involved, etc. Then, open the attachment called “Rockwell Murders in Mississippi.” On a piece of paper, describe what you see (as we have been doing all semester). Make sure to write down all you can about plot, characterization, use of light and dark, color, contrast, balance, etc. Then, write about your reaction to the piece, to how Rockwell is portraying the muders, to the feelings he evokes and how, etc. Then, repeat the process with the attachment called “Rockwell Southern Justice.” Try not to compare yet – I’ll ask you to do that in class tomorrow, using your notes from both the background information an the art pieces.