The Face of Hate—Why We Need to Teach Black History

One of the things I find fascinating—and disturbing—about photos from the Civil Rights era are the faces in the crowd. Consider this picture of a mob beating Freedom Riders in Birmingham in 1961. Here are the faces of regular Americans—our neighbors, friends, sons, and grandpas—all caught on the wrong side of history, leaving a legacy of ugliness.

Sadly, an incident this past week in Washington D.C. shows things haven’t changed much. History’s lens caught private school students from Kentucky apparently harassing Native American Nathan Phillips. “The looks in these young men’s faces,” said Phillips, “I mean, if you go back and look at the lynchings that was done (in America)…and you’d see the faces on the people…the glee and the hatred in their faces. That’s what these faces looked like.”

Two pictures of the same thing, sixty years apart: faces in the crowd caught, perhaps, on the wrong side of history. It shows we have a lot more work to do.

Character, kindness, justice, and tolerance should be taught year-round—not just during Black History Month—but here are a number of great reader’s theater scripts and classroom plays to make February especially meaningful. When combined with your excellent teaching, perhaps more of our students will be caught on the right side of history, leaving behind a legacy of courage and kindness.

The Ruby Bridges Story—the integration of New Orleans Public School
The Girl Who Got Arrested—Claudette Colvin and the Montgomery Campaign
Freedom for the First Time—the Day of Jubilee—the end of the Civil War
How Jackie Changed the World—Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in the Major Leagues
The Library Card—author Richard Wright’s efforts to become literate
Gonna Let it Shine—Sheyann Webb’s participation in the Selma to Montgomery March
We Shall Overcome—the Birmingham Children’s Crusade
Martin’s Big Dream—how an incident from MLK’s childhood inspired him
MLK’s Freedom March—the March on Washington in which MLK delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech
In the Jailhouse with Dr. King—a unique perspective on the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Sitting Down for Dr. King—the 1963 lunch counter sit-ins
Box Brown’s Freedom Crate—Henry Brown’s escape from slavery

All these plays are available on my TeachersPayTeachers storefront. They typically come with comprehension activities developed around the CCSs, and they include reproduction and performance rights. Not sure where to begin? Try downloading my free MLK Preview Pack.

Happy directing!

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