Civil Rights Movement Research Paper

BACKGROUND

Since the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the government has instituted measures to attempt to eradicate discrimination in the United States. School segregation, voting rights, equal employment, and other issues have been debated in the legislature with varying degrees of success. Important leaders in the civil rights movement include Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson, among many others.

BROWSE FOR BOOKS ON THE SHELF USING THESE CALL NUMBERS

973.92

973.0496

323.4–323.4092

323.119–323.1196

LOOK UNDER THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS IN THE CATALOG (CARD OR COMPUTER)

Afro-Americans–Civil rights

Civil rights movements—United States—History–20th century

Civil rights—United States

Civil rights workers

United States—Race relations

REFERENCE MATERIALS THAT MAY HELP (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

Magill, Frank H. Great Events from History II: Human Rights Series, 1992.

Ploski, Harry A., and James Williams, ed. The Negro Almanac: A Reference Work on the African American, 1989.

Smythe, Mabel M., ed. The Black American Reference Book, 1976.

Williams, Michael W., ed. The African American Encyclopedia, 1993.

Wexler, Sanford. The Civil Rights Movement, 1993.

General encyclopedias

PERIODICAL INDEXES TO SEARCH (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

EBSCO Magazine Article Summaries

InfoTrac

NewsBank and other newspaper indexes

Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature

SIRS (Social Issues Resources Series)

WILSONDISC

ONLINE DATABASES TO SEARCH

Dialog

Internet
KEY WORDS AND DESCRIPTORS FOR PERIODICAL INDEX AND ONLINE SEARCHES

Civil rights

Civil rights movements

Civil rights workers

Black history

Afro-American history

VIDEOTAPES ON THIS TOPIC

Martin Luther King Commemorative. MPI Home Video, 1988.

We Shall Overcome: A History of the Civil Rights Movement. PBS Home Video, 1990.

FICTION BOOKS RELATING TO TOPIC

Davis, Ossie. Just like Martin, 1992.

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man, 1952.

Forman, James. Freedom’s Blood, 1979.

Moore, Yvette. Freedom Songs, 1991.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), 4805 Mt. Hope Dr., Baltimore, MD 21215.

ACLU (Americans for Civil Liberty Union), 132 W. 43rd St., New York, NY 10036.

SUGGESTIONS FOR NARROWING THIS TOPIC

Choose a particular civil rights leader to report on; e.g., Jesse Jackson, Roy Wilkins, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Research a historic civil rights incident; e.g., 1963 March on Washington, Greensboro sit-in, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Discuss the Southern Christian Leadership Conference or the NAACP.

SUGGESTIONS FOR RELATED TOPICS

Anti-apartheid movement

Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Black power movement

Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution

Ku Klux Klan

Racism

This RESEARCH TOPIC GUIDE is intended to help the library user find information and materials on a particular topic in many sources throughout the library. Resources on this topic are not limited to those described and availability will depend upon the individual library. Feel free to ask a librarian for assistance.