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Scholars are divided on the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in the civil rights movement. This blogger, a history teacher, explains why this debate is a valuable lesson.

Like the more than 22,000 students who visit the Civil Rights Memorial Center each year, Brittney Johnson loved the fountain. The 10-year-old Montgomery, Ala., native had never been to the memorial center, even though it’s just a few miles from her house. And like most visitors she was instantly drawn to the circular black granite fountain out in front. This unique piece of architecture, designed by Maya Lin, is engraved with the names of 40 civil rights martyrs. Next to it stands a wall of water that cascades transparently over Martin Luther King Jr.’s well-known paraphrase of Amos 5:24 -- We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

TT director Maureen Costello looks back on the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom—and forward.

Most students have heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. They also know of Rosa Parks’ refusal to move to the back of the bus. Unfortunately for many students, knowledge of the civil rights movement stops there.

How do you ensure students get the most out of black history and Black History Month? Here are some suggestions.

Rosa Marcellino didn’t like being labeled “mentally retarded,” so she decided to let important people know.

Through a grant from Teaching American History, I was part of a group of teachers who spent months reading, listening and watching films and videos about the civil rights movement before we took a trip to the South. But still it was history—far away, untouchable and remote. That was until the first day in Sumner, Miss.

Think you know all about the march? Think again!

Twenty-eight teachers in my master’s level class silently moved en masse to the right side of the room to signify that they would teach the civil rights movement to their elementary students. In fact, most considered it negligent to ignore this historic movement that brought about the end of segregation in our country.