In September 28, 2011, the New York Times published an article titled “Students’ Knowledge of Civil Rights History Has Deteriorated, Study Finds,” which discussed the Southern Poverty Law Center findings that almost sixty years since the beginning of the civil rights movement, African Americans today, know very little about this historical movement that inspired social legislation to eradicate discrimination and racism. I think this is sad, but are we blaming the students again? Or do we actually place blame on the teachers and the majority all white school officials creating the curriculum? Without knowledge, we are essentially powerless.

I am ashamed to admit, that it wasn’t until late last year that I began to read about the civil rights movement and the events leading to it. In the late 1980s, PBS aired this incredible 14 part documentary which “tells the definitive story of the civil rights era from the point of view of the ordinary men and women whose extraordinary actions launched a movement that changed the fabric of American life, and embodied a struggle whose reverberations continue to be felt today.” I encourage every [African] American to watch this to see what we’ve been through and why the fight isn’t over. Each video is approximately an hour long, but it’s well worth your time. Reading is one thing, but nothing was more powerful than actually seeing their hatred and resentment towards us as we peacefully protested for equal rights. Check out the first episode titled “Awakening,” which revisits the stories of Emmett Till, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/education/28civil.html?_r=2&ref=education.