Resources for Mr. Jeff's U.s. HIstory class
Exploring the Lives of Civil Rights
Leaders and Activists
What makes a person historically significant?
Who were the historically significant people in the civil rights movement?
You can find biographical information about many civil rights leaders and activists by using Gale's Biography database (at right or click here to open a new window). A list of individuals involved in the civil rights movement can be found here.
Listed below are links to books on Sora relating to Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, John Lewis, Diane Nash, Bayard Rustin, Thurgood Marshall, and Ella Baker. You will need your DOE email address and password to access Sora. For each text, the language and reading level (easier, medium, higher) are noted, as well as if there is an audio or read-along version of the text. Additional links to primary resources are included with each individual.
We have many print resources in the MLL Media Center about each of these individuals, as well as books about additional individuals who were involved in the civil rights movement. Stop by and take a look at the collection -- and feel free to ask Ms. Pam for help!
Rosa Parks
Books on Sora:
Rosa Parks (easier, English)
Rosa Parks (medium, English)
Rosa Parks (higher, English)
Rosa Parks: Mi historia (medium, Spanish)
Rosa Parks (medium, French)
Primary Sources:
Library of Congress: Rosa Parks Papers: Writings, Notes, and Statements, 1956-1998 (1)
Library of Congress: Rosa Parks Papers: Writings, Notes, and Statements, 1956-1998 (2)
Photograph being fingerprinted
Movies:
The Rebellious Life of Rosa Parks (2022) (currently streaming on Peacock)
Claudette Colvin
Books on Sora:
Claudette Colvin Refuses to Move (medium, Read Along, English)
She Persisted: Claudette Colvin (medium, English) and audio version
Because Claudette (medium, English)
Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin (medium, English, graphic novel)
Claudette Colvin (higher, English)
In the Media Center: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (with audio PlayAway).
Primary Sources:
Browder v. Gayle (lower court decision, 1956)
John Lewis
Books on Sora:
March, Book 1 (medium, English, graphic novel)
March, Book 2 (medium, English, graphic novel)
March, Book 3 (medium, English, graphic novel)
I am John Lewis (easier, English) and audio version
John Lewis (medium, English)
John Lewis in the Lead (medium, English, picture book)
TV Exposes Brutality on the Selma March (higher, English, photographs)
Primary Sources:
Testimony of John Lewis about the March 7, 1965 Selma March
Interview of John Lewis for Eyes on the Prize
Movies:
Selma (2014)
Diane Nash
Books on Sora:
Love is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement (medium, English)
Lighting the Fires of Freedom (higher, English)
Twelve Days in May (higher, English, photographs)
Primary Sources:
Bayard Rustin
Books on Sora:
Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington (easier, English, picture book)
Bayard Rustin (easier, English, picture book)
A Song for the Unsung: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington (medium, English, picture book)
Troublemaker for Justice (higher, English)
Primary Sources:
Library of Congress photographs
Movies:
Rustin (2023) (currently on Netflix)
Thurgood Marshall
Books on Sora:
Thurgood (medium, English, picture book)
The Highest Tribute (medium, English, picture book)
Black Trailblazers (medium, English)
Say It Plain (higher, English, text of argument before the Supreme Court in Cooper v. Aaron)
Primary Sources:
Text of oral argument in Brown v. Board of Education
