Schools To Get Free Access To Civil Rights Documentaries
By Dr. Marciene Mattleman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - "The Butler," featuring a long time White House staffer and "42" about Jackie Robinson's rise in national baseball are two recent films based on true stories dealing with discrimination, that have drawn wide audiences.
According to Alyssa Morones in the 'News In Brief' section of Education Week, a new initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities is providing schools and communities free access to documentaries tracing the civil rights movement that will help us learn more.
Among the selections are "Freedom Riders," highlighting more than 400 black and white Americans who risked their lives riding on public transportation defying Jim Crow laws and "The Abolitionists" giving details of brave early efforts to outlaw slavery.
Films cover material starting with the "seeds of change" in 1820 to the 1967 Supreme Court decision overturning the ban on interracial marriage.
A website has been launched in the wake of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.
