Hello and welcome to today's lesson on the Peace Marches of 1963 and Freedom Summer of 1964.

This lesson is part of a broader inquiry where we'll be looking at why the Civil Rights Movement was more successful from 1960 to 1965.

In the course of this inquiry, we'll cover lots of different things, mainly the different events that led to the successes that were seen by 1965.

However, for today we're just going to be focusing on the Peace Marches of 1963 and Freedom Summer of 1964.

You're going to need a piece of paper and a pen for this lesson, but if you don't have one that's absolutely okay.

Just pause the video now, get everything you need and then come back, and press play when you're ready to go.

Great work! Now we're ready to get started, we can have a look at our lesson outcome that's on the slide here.

So, by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to say that you can describe the events of 1963-64 and explain how these events led to greater support for the civil rights movement.

And in order to do that, we're going to need some key words.

And for today, we've just got two.

Direct action and freedom schools.

So direct action is the use of demonstrations, or protests to achieve a goal rather than negotiation.

You might have seen this word before if you've looked at the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1960.

And also, freedom schools.

These are temporary schools set up in Mississippi to help overcome inequalities in schooling.

These words are going to come up in the context of the lesson, but now we've got them, we can get started on today's lesson.

And the first part of today's lesson will be looking at the letter from Birmingham Jail.

So, in April 1963, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the SCLC, and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, the ACMHR, launched the Birmingham Campaign, led by Martin Luther King Jr.

The campaign was to be a coordination of large-scale non-violent direct action to protest against the City of Birmingham's closure of parks, playgrounds and other public places instead of desegregating them.

Each protest ended with a call for more volunteers and soon protests filled the libraries, churches and towns.

It was not long before hundreds were arrested as city laws against public civil rights protests were introduced on the 10th April.

So, what started as a non-violent campaign on a huge scale to protest against the city's closure of public places instead of desegregating them very quickly escalated to the mass arrest of many civil rights protesters.

But remember, the purpose here was to be non-violent.

And remember, direct action, one of our key words, is about using forms of protest rather than negotiation to push for change.

Now before we go on to look at just who was arrested, we're going to pause and check our understanding so far.

So very quickly for me, I'd like you to jot down what the Birmingham campaign was.

If you're doing this lesson with someone else, you might choose to do this by telling the person next to you.

Or if you're doing it by yourself, feel free to write it down.

Either way, give yourself a couple of minutes and when you've got an answer for me, come back and press play.

Great work.

So, you might have said that it was a campaign organised by the SCLC, and the ACMHR.

It was planned to be a coordination of large-scale, non-violent direct action to challenge Birmingham's refusal to desegregate parks, playgrounds and other public places.

Really well done.

If you missed out any of those things because you managed to forget, no worries at all, just jot them down quickly now.

So, I said we'd go on to look at just who was arrested in the mass arrest that followed the Birmingham campaign.

And it was Martin Luther King who was arrested on the 12th of April, and we can see him being arrested in the photograph on the slide here.

It was in this time that he wrote the letter from Birmingham jail, and it would become one of the most famous letters of the 20th century.

In this letter, King explained the pain and the frustration of Black Americans, making it clear why they turned to non-violent direct action.

His words won over many Americans, both Black and White.

And with the support of Kennedy, he was released within eight days.

Now, before we go on to look at what happened after King was released from jail, we're just going to pause and check our understanding quickly.

Which two of the following statements about King's letter from Birmingham Jail are correct? A, it explained the pain and frustration of Black Americans.

B, it only won the support of Black Americans.

C, it was actually written before King went to jail.

Or D, it became one of the most famous letters of the 20th century.

Pause the video now, make a decision and come back and press play when you know which two of the following statements are correct.

Great work, we know that it is A and D.

The letter explained the pain and frustration of Black Americans and explained why they turned to non-violent direct action on such a large scale, and also became one of the most famous letters of the 20th century.

Really well done.

Now, although King was released, with the support of President Kennedy after eight days, events continued to spiral following his release.

As we can see here, Police Chief Bull Connor ordered his officers to use dogs and powerful fire hoses on the protesters in the Birmingham campaign, despite the fact that children were involved in the protest.

And here we can see in this photograph, a Birmingham police officer using dogs to attack protesters.

Nearly 2,000 adults and children were arrested and thousands more were injured.

Footage of this brutal police response in the face of peaceful protests spread around the world.

And as Birmingham descended into further chaos, Kennedy supported a settlement between King and the Birmingham city leaders.

And this agreement was that the city would desegregate within 90 days.

And here we can see a photograph of President Kennedy addressing the situation in Birmingham, Alabama.

Now, before we go on to look at other events from 1963 to 64 that were key to the successes of the Civil Rights Movement, we're just going to pause and check our understanding so far.

So, I'd like you to tell me which two of the following statements explains why events continue to spiral after King's release from jail.

Was it A.

King was immediately arrested again and held in prison for months.

B.

Many campaigns abandoned their commitment to non-violent direct action.

Or C.

Bull Connor ordered his men to use police dogs and fire hoses on protesters.

Or D.

Nearly 2,000 adults and children were arrested.

Pause the video now and make your decision about which two of the following statements explain why events continue to spiral.

Great work! We know that the answer is both C and D.

Because the Police Chief, Bull Connor, ordered his men to use police dogs and fire hoses on protesters, and nearly 2,000 adults and children were arrested.

Now we're going to put what we've learned into practise.

There are seven statements on the slide here and each and every one of them is incorrect.

So, I'd like you now to take five to ten minutes to correct each of these statements.

And when you're done, come back and press play.

Great work! Now let's have a look at what your correct answer should have looked like.

So, for the first statement, you should have corrected it to say In April 1963, the SCLC and the ACMHR launched the Birmingham Campaign.

For the second one, you should have said the Birmingham Campaign quickly gained a lot of support.

For the third one, you should have said on the 12th of April, King was arrested and wrote the letter from Birmingham Jail.

For the fourth, you should have corrected it to say, the letter from Birmingham Jail explained the frustration of Black Americans, but also said why they had turned to non-violent direct action.

For the fifth one, King was released from jail after eight days with the support of Kennedy.

For number six, Police Chief Bull Connor ordered his men to use fire hoses and dogs even though children were involved in the protests.

And finally for number seven, you should have said, Kennedy supported a settlement that agreed the city would desegregate in 90 days.

Really well done.

If you didn't get some of those corrections just pause the video now and make a note of them.

Really good work now we can move on to the next part of the lesson.

Now in the second part of our lesson we're going to be looking at the March on Washington.

So, after the success of the Birmingham campaign, civil rights organisations wanted to keep up the momentum.

So, the SCLC, CORE, SNCC and the NAACP came together to organise a March on Washington.

But the leaders were under extreme pressure to lead a peaceful march as many felt violent protests would soon break out if many Black Americans continued to feel ignored.

President Kennedy feared the march would turn to violence and asked for it to be called off.

Nevertheless, the march went ahead in August 1963 and became a landmark moment of the Civil Rights Movement involving 250,000 protesters, including 80,000 White Americans.

People travelled by train, plane, bus, car and foot to attend the march.

Initially called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, it quickly became a march for the entire Civil Rights Movement.

So, before we go on to look a little bit more at the March on Washington, we're just going to pause and check our understanding quickly.

So, I'd like you to tell me whether this statement is true or false.

The SCLC, CORE, SNCC and the NAACP all came together to organise a march on Washington.

Pause the video now and come back when you've made a decision.

Great, we know that this statement is true.

But telling me it's true just isn't quite enough.

You need to justify your answer.

Is it true because they wanted to keep up the momentum of the Birmingham campaign? Or is it true because they felt that the Birmingham campaign had not been successful? Again, pause the video and when you've justified why the statement is true, come back and press play.

Great work! We know that this statement is true because they wanted to keep up the momentum of the Birmingham campaign.

Really well done! Now I want you to tell me why the organisers of the march were under a lot of pressure.

So, if you're doing this lesson in a classroom with other people, or you're with someone else you can tell them, or if you're doing it by yourself not to worry you can you can just jot down a quick answer for me.

So again why were the organisers of the March under a lot of pressure? Give yourself a couple of minutes either way whether you're by yourself, or doing this with someone else and then press play when you've got an answer for me.

Great work! So, you might have said that there were growing fears that violent protests could soon break out, that Kennedy had asked for the march to be called off, or that organisers were responsible for making sure the march was peaceful.

Really well done! So, we've already learnt about how the March on Washington would come to take place, but it is really important to know that several civil rights leaders gave speeches, and there were several performances as the march reached the Lincoln Memorial.

And it was at the end of these speeches and several musical performance that King gave the final speech.

This was his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

And he ended his speech by using the Declaration of Independence to share his hope for a future in which the fight against racial injustice was won.

Now before we go on to look at the third and final part of our lesson where we'll be looking at the Freedom Summer of 1964, we're just going to pause, check our understanding and put what we've learned about the March on Washington into practise.

So first, I'd like you to quickly jot down why was the March on Washington considered a success? Pause the video now, give yourself a couple of minutes to get down some key ideas, and then come back and press play when you're done.

So, you might have said that there were 250,000 protesters, including 80,000 White Americans.

You might have said that people travelled by train, plane, bus, car and foot.

You might have said that it became a march for the whole civil rights movement.

Or you might have said that King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Any of them would be great.

Now I'd like you to put what we've learnt into practise by writing an account of the March on Washington, making sure to include the following details in your response.

Direct action, which is one of our key words, Birmingham campaign, SCLC, SNCC, CORE and the NAACP, landmark moment, 250,000 and "I Have a Dream".

So, pause the video now, give yourself 5-10 minutes to complete this task and then come back when you're done.

Excellent work! Let's have a look at what your account might have included.

The SCLC, SNCC, CORE and the NAACP organised a march on Washington in August 1963.

This followed the successful Birmingham campaign which showed the potential of large-scale non-violent direct action.

Although the leaders of these organisations were eager to keep up the momentum from Birmingham, they faced a lot of pressure as many feared that violent protests would soon break out.

Kennedy even called for the march to be cancelled because of fears of violence.

Nevertheless, the march went ahead and was a huge success.

It became a landmark moment of the civil rights movement.

250,000 protesters attended the march and this included 80,000 White Americans.

It was also a significant moment as the march ended with King delivering his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

Really well done if you were able to get all those key details in, including one of our key words, direct action.

Now in the third and final part of our lesson, we're going to be looking at Freedom Summer.

Now important context for Freedom Summer in 1964 was that by the end of August 1963, the civil rights movement had gained support and momentum, largely due to the successful March on Washington.

But all of this changed in November 1963 with the assassination of President Kennedy.

As the nation mourned the death of their president, many felt that the civil rights movement slowed, especially as Kennedy's Civil Rights Act had not been passed by the new president Lyndon B.

Johnson.

And here on the slide, we can see a newspaper headline announcing the assassination of Kennedy.

This was a huge moment that shook the nation.

And for those who had been processing for civil rights movement, it looked to become a potential turning point in the movement.

Now, before we go on to look at how civil rights activists would respond to this moment, let's pause and check our understanding so far.

So, I'd like you to tell me why the civil rights movement lost momentum by the end of 1963.

Again, if you're doing this lesson with someone else or in a classroom, you can definitely tell them.

It's always great to be able to articulate your responses out loud.

But if you're doing this lesson by yourself, not to worry at all, you can either practise, or explaining it out loud or drop the answer down quickly.

Either is absolutely fine.

Either way, pause the video now and come back when you've got an answer for me.

Great, so hopefully you've said that President Kennedy was assassinated and as he'd openly supported many civil rights protests and begun another Civil Rights Act, many felt their hope for change had been lost.

If you've said something slightly different or a variation of this, so long as you've got the main point that the assassination of Kennedy led to many feeling that their hope was lost because of his support for the movement, that's absolutely brilliant.

Really well done.

So, after the assassination of Kennedy and Johnson becoming president, but many civil rights activists feeling like their momentum had slowed, to reignite the movement, CORE, SNCC and the NAACP came together to organise Freedom Summer in June 1964.

They aimed to increase voter registration amongst Black Americans in Mississippi and set up Freedom Schools across Mississippi to address the inequalities in the segregated school system.

By the end of the year, 70,000 students had been taught by volunteers at freedom schools.

However, many of these students and volunteers became the target of racist attacks.

However, it wasn't the large-scale success of Freedom Summer that gained national attention.

Freedom Summer gained national attention following the arrest of three volunteers on the 21st of June 1964.

James Chaney, and his White colleagues Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.

The policeman who arrested them was a member of the KKK.

He informed his clan of their release.

Their bodies were found 44 days later.

All three had been shot in the chest, but Chaney, the Black American volunteer for the Freedom Summer movement, had been severely beaten first.

The case quickly gained national attention.

At the peak of the crisis, President Johnson signed the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act.

But despite the passing of the Civil Rights Act, of the 18 men arrested, only seven were convicted of what became known as the Mississippi Murders.

Some Black Americans claim that the murders only gained national attention because two of the victims were White.

If we have a look at the slide here, we can see a photograph of Martin Luther King holding a photo of those killed in the Mississippi murders.

We can see James Chaney in the middle and Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner to his left and his right.

Despite the horrible events of the Mississippi murders, those involved in Freedom Summer still felt that their actions had been successful when the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, which directly addressed the measures against Black American voters.

Now in the final part of our lesson, we're going to be putting what we've learned into practise, but quickly we're going to check our understanding first.

So, which two of the following statements best describes the aims of Freedom Summer in 1964? Was it A, to increase voter registration, B, to organise another peace march, C, to set up freedom schools to address inequalities, or D, to organise sittings at segregated schools? Pause the video now and make a decision.

When you've got an answer for me, come back and press play.

Excellent.

We know that the answer is A and C, that they set up Freedom Summer in order to increase voter registration, and to set up freedom schools to address inequalities in schooling, specifically in Mississippi.

Now, I'd like you to tell me what act of violent opposition to Freedom Summer gained national attention in June 1964.

I'd like you to discuss this with a partner.

If you're doing this independently, you can practise explaining it out loud or writing it down for me.

But if you're doing it with someone else or in a classroom, you can do it with the person next to you.

Pause the video now to give enough time for both of you to explain clearly what acts of violent opposition gain Freedom Summon national attention, or enough time for you to articulate it clearly by yourself, and then come back when you've had a go at it.

Really well done.

Hopefully, you've covered the key points.

The three Freedom Summer volunteers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, were arrested.

A police officer who was a member of the KKK told his clan that they were going to be released and they were abducted.

When their bodies were found 44 days later, it soon became clear that they'd been brutally murdered in a racist attack.

Their case sparked national attention, and during the crisis over their disappearance, the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed.

So, for the last task for today, I'd like you to explain how progress in the civil rights movement was achieved between 1963 and 65.

And I'd like you to write at least three paragraphs in response to this question.

You could structure your answer like this.

In the first paragraph, explain how the Birmingham campaign led to progress.

In the second, explain how the March on Washington led to progress.

And in the third, explain how Freedom Summer led to progress.

So, pause the video now.

Give yourself about 15 minutes to complete this task and then come back when you're done.

Great work.

Now let's have a look at what your final response might have looked like.

So, your first paragraph might have said, one reason for progress in the civil rights movement in the years 1963-65 was the success of the Birmingham Campaign.

In April 1963, the SCLC and the ACMHR came together to organise large-scale non-violent direct action to challenge the city's refusal to desegregate.

This proved to be hugely successful as protests soon filled the city.

Following the arrest of King, the release of the letter from Birmingham Jail and the TV coverage of Bull Connor's brutal response, the campaign gained increasing support from both the public and the President.

As a result of the Birmingham campaign, Kennedy supported a settlement between King and the city leaders of Birmingham, agreeing that Birmingham would be desegregated in 90 days.

Another reason for success of the Civil Rights Movement in the years 1963-65 was because of the success of the March on Washington.

To maintain the momentum of the success in Birmingham, the SCLC, CORE, SNCC and the NAACP came together to organise the march.

The leaders faced huge amounts of pressure to ensure this peaceful protest did not end in violence.

Their efforts were a success as 250,000 protesters came to join the march, including 80,000 White Americans.

The march was peaceful and received international media attention.

The march showed progress in the wide support for the Civil Rights Movement from both White and Black Americans, as people travelled by train, plane, bus, car and foot to join the march.

And then finally, you might have said, finally, the work of the Civil Rights Volunteers in Freedom Summer explains why there was progress in the Civil Rights Movement in the years 1963-65.

After the assassination of Kennedy, many felt that the progress of the civil rights movement had slowed, and so, the NAACP, SNCC and CORE came together to organise Freedom Summer.

Freedom Summer was intended to increase voter registration among Black Americans in Mississippi, and open freedom schools to address inequalities in education.

By the end of 1964, this had proved largely successful, as 70,000 students had been taught in Freedom Schools.

In addition, the passing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 was evidence of the progress in the civil rights movement, as it directly addressed the voting restrictions Black Americans still faced, the focus of Freedom Summer.

Really well done.

There was a lot of work there in that final task, but I'm sure you did a brilliant job.

Now, we can move on to the final part of the lesson where we're just going to look at a quick summary of what we've learnt today.

So, you've done absolutely brilliantly today.

We have covered so much, so many key events in the civil rights movement.

We looked at King's arrest in the Birmingham campaign which led to the letter from Birmingham Jail, which became one of the most famous letters of the 20th century.

We looked at Kennedy's support in the Birmingham campaign which led to his decision to begin another Civil Rights Act.

To keep up the momentum of the Birmingham campaign, the March on Washington was planned from August 1963.

With 250,000 protesters it was one of the most famous moments of the Civil Rights Movement.

And finally, we learned about Freedom Summer and how it was organised after many thought the Civil Rights Movement had slowed down after the assassination of Kennedy.

Despite the violent attacks on volunteers, including the brutal Mississippi murders that we looked at in our lesson, 70,000 students were taught in Freedom Schools and the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965.

Really good work today, you've done incredibly well.

Really well done.