Resource Library
Find compelling classroom resources, learn new teaching methods, meet standards, and make a difference in the lives of your students.
We are grateful to The Hammer Family Foundation for supporting the development of our on-demand learning and teaching resources.
Introducing Our US History Curriculum Collection
Draw from this flexible curriculum collection as you plan any middle or high school US history course. Featuring units, C3-style inquiries, and case studies, the collection will help you explore themes of democracy and freedom with your students throughout the year.
John Lewis, “I Couldn’t Accept The Way Things Were”
In this excerpt from his memoir Walking with the Wind, Congressman John Lewis describes the impact of Emmett Till's murder.
Anne Moody, “Coming of Age in Mississippi”
Anne Moody, who was involved in the Civil Rights Movement through the NAACP, CORE, and SNCC, recalls her attempts to make sense of Emmett Till’s murder as a 14-year-old.
Joyce Ladner and Cleveland Sellers on Emmett Till
Joyce Ladner and Cleveland Sellers, civil rights activists and members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), reflect on the impact of Emmett Till's murder.
"I Knew I Had to Give Him the Talk"
Mamie Till-Mobley shares an account of "the talk" she had with her son Emmett Till shortly before he journeyed from Chicago to Mississippi in 1955.
Segregation and Precipitating Events
This excerpt from an FBI investigation of the murder of Emmett Till describes some of the Southern norms that were created to enforce white supremacy.
Mississippi Miscegenation Laws
This document lists in chronological order the evolution of Mississippi miscegenation laws between 1865 and 1942.
The Brown Decision
This document gives students the immediate historical context of the Till murder by summarizing the segregationist reaction to the Brown decision and the emergence of White Citizens’ Councils in Mississippi.
Quotes from the Mississippi Constitutional Convention 1890
This source includes quotes from delegates at the 1890 Mississippi Constitutional Convention asserting the desire to create a government to uphold white supremacy.
Excerpts from “Board of Education: Chinese Mother Letter”, Daily Alta California, 1885
Mary Tape, a Chinese American who fought in court for her children to go to school with white children, wrote this letter to the San Francisco Board of Education in 1885.
Excerpts from “Andrew G. Imutan 1965-1974,” Essays by UFW Volunteers Collection
Andrew Imutan recounts the proceedings of a 1965 Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee meeting that led to the Delano grape workers strike.
The White Citizens Councils
Historian David Halberstam describes the White Citizens’ Councils and their efforts to actively oppose integration in the South in the 1950s.