Examine the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement with hundreds of PBS LearningMedia resources. Use the four resources highlighted below to explore media literacy using historical documentaries and media coverage of social movements. Create a free PBS LearningMedia account to build digital storyboards and interactive quizzes for teaching and learning with public media.
‘Selma’ Director Aims to Capture Spirit of Civil Rights Movement
Show students director Ava Duvernay’s take on creating a feature film about the Civil Rights Movement with this video and educational resources from PBS NewsHour from January 8, 2014.
The Most Powerful Instrument
On March 7, 1965 peaceful protesters gathered to fight for African Americans’ right to vote. The group planned on marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. The protesters were confronted by police who ordered them to disperse. When the protesters asked for a moment to pray, the police advanced. What began as a peaceful protest turned into a violent one—the day is now known as “Bloody Sunday”. This video segment from the PBS series Finding Your Roots features Congressman John Lewis’s recollection of the March on Selma.
Selma, Alabama: The Role of News Media in the Civil Rights Movement
The peaceful marchers on the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama ended with assaults by the state police that were broadcast nationwide by television networks. This video from The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross examines the impact of media coverage on this 54-mile march.
African American Quotation Posters
This media gallery includes posters that can be displayed in the classroom and used to launch discussions around the themes in The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross. The collection of original posters created for The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross features quotations by notable African Americans, including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. DuBois, Zora Neale Hurston, Paul Robeson, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Audre Lorde, Bobby Seale, and President Barack Obama.