Birmingham Civil Rights Institute: Lesson Plans for K-12 students

Since its inception in November 1992, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) has focused on educating the public at-large about the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) in Birmingham and the rest of the country. The Education Department at BCRI is dedicated to reaching individuals, young and old, from all backgrounds and cultural groups, to convey the importance of this Movement then and now. BCRI has placed special emphasis on helping teachers to explain the Civil Rights Movement to their students. In 2013, BCRI updated its current curriculum guide, Making Connections, to expand the scope of Civil Rights Movement topics. For example, some lesson plans include the history about the Black Panther Party’s founding in Lowndes County, Alabama; the significance of Albert Einstein’s anti-racism work; and the influence the CRM had on Cesar Chavez and the farm worker’s movement. Dr. Samantha Elliott Briggs, Vice President of Education, has extensive background in Early Childhood Education, curriculum development and Gender Race and Class research. She led BCRI’s curriculum update process and authored many of the new lesson plans.