These Teacher Workshops delve into two different approaches to teaching history, with a common purpose…to meaningfully engage educators in learning and empower them with tools they can use in their classrooms. We will share resources and innovative approaches to teaching Civil Rights history inclusively. Workshops will offer methods and resources for helping students see the relevance of history, as it relates to the current moment and realize how they can be catalysts for positive social change in their own ways.
We will host sessions on reframing the Civil Rights Movement and Black History through different and more inclusive lenses. We will host guest scholars presenting ways to teach the movement through oral histories and broader perspectives.
Teachers should take methods, resources, and ideas from our workshops to enhance their own classroom pedagogy. With all NCRM-led Teacher Workshops, we explore effective resources and innovative ways to help students understand the relevance of Civil Rights history and to inspire students to become catalysts for positive social change.
Participating teachers from Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS) who attend the full workshop(s) will receive professional development hours in PLZ for completed workshops.
Registration is required and on a first-come basis. Workshops are eligible for hours toward professional development for the 2022-2023 academic year! Questions? Contact education@civilrightsmuseum.org.
upcoming WORKSHOPS:
Honoring the 1963 March on Washington and Revisiting this Iconic Protest 60 Years Later
March 4, 2023 • 9:00AM-11:00AM • Virtual via Zoom • FREE
WITH Activist of the 1963 March, Edith Lee-Payne, and Author & Professor, Dr. Charles Hughes
We will rethink this monumental civil rights moment when 250,000 marchers of all ages and races, came together to protest for jobs and freedom. We will explore some of the lesser-known activists, and consider new approaches to teaching the iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.
PAST WORKSHOPS:
The Movement Made Us
February 4, 2023 • 9:00AM-11:00AM • Virtual • FREE
WITH Authors and Activists Dave Dennis, Sr. and Jr.
Due to inclement weather in our area, this in-person event is now hosted virtually via Zoom.
Oral history interviews are some of the most powerful and effective primary sources to incorporate when teaching hard history. In this session, the dynamic father and son duo, Dave Dennis Sr. and Jr., will discuss their new book and share stories from grassroots organizing in Mississippi. Educators who complete this workshop will receive a free copy of The Movement Made Us, along with recommendations of additional resources for learners of all ages.
Teaching & Exploring the Civil Rights Movement through Broad Lenses
December 3, 2022 • 9:00AM-12:00pM • virtual • FREE
WITH Dr. Charles McKinney and Dory Lerner
Part 1: Moving Beyond the Master Narrative with Dr. Charles McKinney, historian, professor at Rhodes College, and author of Greater Freedom: The Evolution of the Civil Rights Struggle in Wilson, North Carolina, and An Unseen Light: Black Struggles for Freedom in Memphis. Through broadening the narrative, he will show evidence that the Movement’s efforts and successes were bolstered by thousands of brave activists including young people, women, and ordinary folks, who took extraordinary actions and stood up for freedom.
Part 2: Discovering Resources & Approaches for Teaching Civil Rights Inclusively with Dory Lerner, MA K-12 museum educator at National Civil Rights Museum. She will share specific resources, Museum exhibits, and activities we use to help students see connections between past and present. We will explore the Museum’s teaching collections (objects that bring history to life) and introduce methods for making the Civil Rights movement more relevant and accessible to students.
Understanding School Desegregation & Honoring the 60th Anniversary of James Meredith’s Integration of Ole Miss
November 5, 2022 • 9:00-11:00 AM • FREE
WITH Dr. Aram Goudsouzian and Dory Lerner
Dr. Aram Goudsouzian will guide us through the history of school desegregation as we learn about his newly released graphic novel Man on a Mission: James Meredith and the Battle of Ole Miss. This exciting book release aligns with the 60th anniversary of James Meredith’s monumental integration of Ole Miss in 1962, so we will focus on this moment and activist as a case study on school integration.
We will have a unique opportunity to see the exhibit “A Better Life for their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington and the 4,978 Schools That Changed America.” Then we will delve deeply into the NCRM permanent exhibit “Separate Is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education, 1954” to discuss the doll test, the efficacy or inefficacy of school-based court rulings, and many of the youngest pioneers of the Civil Rights Movement.
RESET: Emotional and Social Wellbeing for Educators- Tips from The Courageous Classroom (replay)
with Dr. Janet Taylor, psychiatrist, life coach, and author of Amazon bestseller, The Courageous Classroom: Creating a Culture of Safety for Students to Learn and Thrive.
Dr. Taylor will actually join us for a live Q&A regarding self-care for teachers!
Dr. Janet Taylor is a psychiatrist, life coach, and author of Amazon bestseller, The Courageous Classroom: Creating a Culture of Safety for Students to Learn and Thrive. She is a community psychiatrist in Sarasota, FL working with individuals who are criminal justice-involved and have a mental illness. Her medical experience is also international and she is frequently invited to speak on the subjects of minority health, self-care, stress management, parenting, and work-life balance.
In this session, the focus is understanding the elements of positive mental health and when to ask for help. As we learn to recognize and deal with our trauma and gain a more in-depth understanding of teachers’ roles as encouragers, we see that being supportive to students begins with practicing self-care. We will highlight the relationship between emotional intelligence and self-care. We will explore the neuroscience of the brain and how to RESET.
Outside the Lorraine Motel: Inspiring Creativity, Conversation and Community Today and Tomorrow (Replay)
with Gay Feldman, museum/school educator and Outside the Lorraine exhibit curator
People from around the world gather outside the Lorraine Motel to pay tribute and learn more about the Civil Rights Movement. Our special exhibition serves as the entry point for a practical exploration of museum education practices, starting with a guided tour of Outside The Lorraine Motel: A Photographic Journey To A Sacred Place led by curator + educator Gay Feldman. Visual Thinking Strategies combined with art history open up a world of possibilities for students and teachers alike. From understanding how to read a photograph to discussing the power of images as primary source documents, to art + social studies-based lesson ideas, our workshop will culminate with a fun, hands-on art-making lesson inspired by leading contemporary voices celebrating identity and culture.
The Life and Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer (Replay)
with Dr. Keisha N. Blain, historian, and author of Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) was a Black, working-poor, and disabled activist and intellectual of the civil rights movement whose work and wisdom are still relevant today. In this workshop, award-winning historian Dr. Keisha N. Blain discusses Hamer's extraordinary life and legacy and offers valuable tools and strategies for teachers to effectively incorporate Hamer's story in the classroom.
The Power of Black Music as an Evolving Instrument of Change (replay)
For 400 years, African American musicians have made powerful statements, inspired people to stand up as changemakers, and demanded equality and freedom through their brilliant work. Come explore this artistic and cultural continuum from spirituals, gospel, blues, jazz, R & B and hip-hop. We will share resources and ideas that highlight the power of Black music to push communities forward and create the cannon of the American sound. We will also discover exhibits and pieces from museum’s teaching collections that illustrate these ideas for students.
Part 1: Music of the Movement with Dr. Charles L. Hughes, professor at Rhodes College, music historian, and author of Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South and Why Bushwick Bill Matters
Part 2: The Influence and Impact of Hip-Hop with Dr. Regina N. Bradley, professor at Kennesaw State University, music historian, host of the podcast Bottom of the Map, and author of Chronicling Stankonia: The Rise of the Hip-Hop South and An OutKast Reader: Essays on Race, Gender and the Postmodern South
Understanding and Teaching the Civil Rights Movement
with Dr. Hasan Jeffries, History Professor at The Ohio State University
Spring 2020
