We Shall Overcome: Anxiety and Optimism for the March on Washington

On August 28, 1963, a quarter million people came to the nation’s capital to petition their duly elected government in a demonstration known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Frustrated by the inaction of a gridlocked Congress, the marchers called for Congress to pass the Civil Rights bill. The size of the … Continue reading We Shall Overcome: Anxiety and Optimism for the March on Washington

1963: The Struggle for Civil Rights, a New Website

A new interactive website created by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the Kennedy Library Foundation, presents seven key "chapters" in one of the most tumultuous years in civil rights history. Each chapter on 1963: The Struggle for Civil Rights features primary sources that help students dig into the real stuff of history - film footage, documents, … Continue reading 1963: The Struggle for Civil Rights, a New Website

Letter from the Assistant Attorney General Regarding Lynching

Today we share a document just recently digitized by a teacher in our Primarily Teaching 2013 Summer Workshop in Washington, DC. Jen Johnson, a teacher at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago for the last 10 years, found it in the holdings of the National Archives last week, and scanned it so that we could add it … Continue reading Letter from the Assistant Attorney General Regarding Lynching