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Lesson Plan

“Now is the Time!”: Three Men, Three Speeches, and the Promise of Equality

John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site

Grade Level:

High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade

Subject:

Social Studies

Lesson Duration:

60 Minutes

Common Core Standards:

9-10.L.2.c, 9-10.RH.1, 9-10.RH.2, 9-10.RH.3, 9-10.RH.4, 9-10.RH.5, 9-10.RH.7, 9-10.RH.8

State Standards:

Massachusetts Social Studies Curriculum Frameworks

USI.T6 Rebuilding the US: Industry and Immigration

USHII.T2 Modernity in the US: Ideologies and Economics

USHII.T4 Defending Democracy: The Cold War and Civil Rights at Home

Additional Standards:

NCSSS
Culture
Time, Continuity, and Change
People, Places, and Environments
Individual Development and Identity
Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Power, Authority, and Governance
Production, Distribution, Consumption
Science, Technology, Society

Essential Question

How can the past shape our conversations about the present and the future?

Objective

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to answer the following questions:

How did Vice President Lyndon Johnson, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. make use of the past to shape a conversation about the present?

What are some connections that you can make between the ideas in these speeches and conversations that are happening today about civil rights?

Background

In the spring of 1963, the national conversation on civil rights was becoming more urgent as people across the country were calling out for change.  Politicians and religious leaders struggled to find the right language to confront these complex issues.  In this lesson, students will have the opportunity to engage with the context of this moment by examining three speeches by Vice President Lyndon Johnson, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.   

This lesson will allow students to examine the context for each of the speeches and gain an understanding of the speeches themselves.  Students will engage in a conversation about the similarities and differences between each of these speeches and discuss the major themes presented.  Lastly, students will have the opportunity to make connections between the themes presented in the speeches and current conversations regarding civil rights. 

Preparation

After completing the opener and discussing it, students will be divided into groups. Each group will be assigned a different reading/video/primary source to examine and answer questions. They will then present their findings to the class. Each student will record their findings during the presentations. They will discuss the similarities and differences between the speeches.  As a class, they will watch the video titled  “Ranger Reflections: Civil Rights.”  They should record some connections between the statements made by the Ranger in the video and the themes of speeches from 1963. The class will then hold a general discussion about the connections they can make between the themes presented in the speeches and current conversations regarding civil rights. 

Materials

Procedure

Opener: 

Students should access the NPS site bulletin titled “The Kennedys and the Civil Rights Movement." 

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-kennedys-and-civil-rights.htm 

They should read the sections ‘The Birmingham Campaign’ and ‘The Baldwin Meeting’ and answer the following questions: 

1.  What was the Birmingham Campaign? 

2. How did Bull Connor respond to the Birmingham Campaign? 

3. What was the Baldwin Meeting?  How did the meeting go? 

A class discussion will be held based on the above questions. Then the students will be asked to describe the environment around the discussion of civil rights in the spring of 1963. 

 

Source 1- Vice President Lyndon Johnson Remarks on Memorial Day at  Gettysburg, May 30 1963 

Remarks on Memorial Day at Gettysburg, 5/30/63. 

Watch the video from the start until 7:53 

Here is a link to the text of the speech: 

https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/may-30-1963-remarks-gettysburg-civil-rights 

1.  What happened at Gettysburg 100 years prior to Vice President Johnson's speech?  Who spoke “eloquent words” that Johnson mentions? 

2.  Why is Vice President Johnson suggesting that "Blacks have run out of patience"? 

3. “Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men's skins, emancipation will be a proclamation but not a fact. To the extent that the proclamation of emancipation is not fulfilled in fact, to that extent we shall have fallen short of assuring freedom to the free.” 
   
   What is Johnson saying in the last paragraph of the speech?  What types of changes is he calling for? 

Source 2: John F. Kennedy’s Televised Address to the Nation on Civil Rights, June 11, 1963 

Here is a link to a video of the speech: 

John F. Kennedy's 1963 Televised Address to the Nation on Civil Rights 

Here is a link to the transcript of the speech: 

https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/televised-address-to-the-nation-on-civil-rights 

1.  What is happening in Alabama at this time in 1963?  How does this connect with the history of the United States? 

2. What happened 100 years prior to President Kennedy's speech? What does Kennedy mean when he says “their heirs; their grandsons, are not fully free?” 

3.  Go to 8:59 in the video.  What does President Kennedy want Congress to do?  Why?  Why is this important? 

Source 3: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I Have a Dream” Speech 

Here is a link to a video with the audio and text of the speech with images: 

https://freedomsring.stanford.edu/?view=Speech 

Here is a link to the transcript of the speech: 

https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety 

Watch the video up to 7:02 and answer the following questions: 

1.  Whose “symbolic shadow” is Dr. King standing in?  What happened 100 years ago and why does he say “the Negro is still not free?” 

2.  Which three documents does he reference?  What does he mean when he says “America has given the Negro people a bad check?”   

3. What does Dr. King mean when he says “now is the time?”  What is he afraid will happen? 

Conclusion 

President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. President Johnson believed that the best way to honor President Kennedy’s memory was to push for the passage of the Civil Rights Act which sought to eliminate segregation and discriminatory practices in public facilities. After a great deal of hard work and struggle, this legislation was passed in July 1964.  One year later, President Johnson called for the passage of legislation to ensure that all Americans would have access to the vote.  The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was one of the great achievements of both the Civil Rights Movement and the Johnson Administration.  Neither of these pieces of legislation would have been possible without the tireless efforts and sacrifices of everyday Americans.   

https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm%3Fid%3D5D0B1835-8D3B-4A39-BAB0-EE51AB5B8BC3 

This video features the remembrances of Park Ranger Gil Lyons.  He discusses his service in the United States military, his experiences with discrimination, and offers some thoughts about the Civil Rights Movement and the present day. 
 

1. As you watch the video, write down some connections between the statements made by  Ranger Gil and the themes of the speeches from 1963.  Be ready to share your connections with the class. 

2.  What are some of the connections you can make between the themes presented in the speeches and current conversations regarding civil rights? 

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