Nonviolence as a Tool for Change
This unit is part of the Boston Public Schools Civil Rights Curriculum
Recent studies report that the demographic group in the United States with the lowest voter turnout is young adults. Why is this? Scholars point to inadequate civic education, a distrust of government institutions, and an overall attitude that voting just does not make a difference as a few of the reasons. The purpose of this unit is to help students develop an understanding of the power and importance of voting as a form of nonviolent political participation. By exploring the choices made by individuals and groups in Selma, Alabama, in 1965, students will learn why many Americans, both black and white, risked their lives to protest voter discrimination in the South. As students explore this important moment of the civil rights movement, they are confronted with questions such as: Why would black citizens risk their lives in order to vote? Why would whites risk their lives to protest discriminatory voting practices against blacks? What does it mean to protest nonviolently? Throughout this unit, we suggest activities and writing prompts that ask students to apply what they are learning about voting in the South in the 1960s to their own thoughts about what voting might mean to them and their communities today.
Not only does this unit help students learn about voting rights and nonviolent protest, but it also provides an ideal opportunity to review concepts related to the structure of the United States government. A deep understanding of voter discrimination requires an awareness of federalism. For example, to understand why many Southern whites were frustrated when federal officials intervened to protect the rights of black voters, students would need to know that many Americans thought that election policy should be left for state governments to decide. Likewise, for students to understand why protesters appealed to the federal government and why the Justice Department sent lawyers to the South, they would need to understand that, in accordance with the Fourteenth Amendment, the federal government is responsible for ensuring that states are not infringing on citizens' constitutional rights. Furthermore, this unit demonstrates the relationship among the three branches of government: the executive branch authorized civil rights lawyers to investigate voting conditions in the South; the judicial branch ruled on the legality of the ordinance banning the march from Selma to Montgomery; and the legislative branch eventually voted to pass the Voting Rights Act. Accordingly, as students are engaged in this unit, you may want to review the basic structure of the United States government and ask students to apply these ideas to the material they are studying.
