15.2B – Read the Text #2: Building Comprehension
Read the module text again as a class.
Students take turns reading a paragraph (or a few sentences).
After each paragraph, STOP to go over vocabulary and questions about the reading as a class.
READING TEXT
Module 15: Civil Rights and Beyond
PARAGRAPH 1
After the end of the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), there was a period of Reconstruction (1865-1877). During Reconstruction, several Constitutional amendments were passed. These amendments gave Black Americans more rights. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 14th Amendment gave citizenship to formerly enslaved people, and the 15th Amendment said that men of all races were allowed to vote.
- As you saw in the Civil War module, what did the word “abolish” mean?
- Who was the President during the Civil War? What were the two sides called?
- In which years did the Civil War and Reconstruction happen?
- What did the 13th Amendment do?
- What did the 14th and 15th Amendments do?
PARAGRAPH 2
However, as Black Americans gained more freedom and rights, they faced additional barriers. Some states passed laws that allowed segregation. Black people had to be in separate schools, hospitals, and neighborhoods. Black Americans were also separated from white Americans in public places like restaurants and transportation. Other laws made it hard for Black people to vote, such as asking Black Americans to pass a literacy test or to pay a tax to vote. These limiting laws were sometimes enforced violently. Many Black Americans were lynched by white mobs if they resisted the system.
- Learn the word A BARRIER: (noun) something that gets in the way of or stops someone from doing what they want to do
- What is the word in your home language?
- Examples:
- She climbed over the barrier that divided the sidewalk from the road.
- The only barrier to getting my degree is taking a writing class.
- Let’s review: what does segregation mean?
- Let’s review: what does public mean?
- Why did some states pass laws that allowed segregation?
- What were some of the barriers Black Americans faced?
- What do you think “enforce violently” means? What is an example of that?
- What do you think “mob” and “resist” mean?
A cafe in 1940 had two separate entrance doors, labeled “White” and “Colored”. [Credit]
PARAGRAPH 3
Black Americans continued to fight for justice and equality. In the 1950s and 1960s, the civil rights movements in the United States grew stronger. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and many community members took action against racial and economic segregation and inequality. For example, Rosa Parks, a community leader, was arrested by police for refusing to leave her seat at the front of a public bus for a white person. She was part of an organized boycott of buses led by Black people in Montgomery, Alabama. This boycott lasted over a year, and the bus companies lost a lot of money. As a result of pressure from these boycotts, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in buses was unconstitutional.
- Let’s review: what does justice mean?
- Let’s review: what does civil rights mean?
- Let’s review: what does movement mean?
- What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
- Who were some of the community leaders fighting against segregation and injustice?
- What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do? Do you know when the national holiday celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. is?
- Rosa Parks was part of which movement?
- What happened to Rosa Parks? What do you think “arrest” means?
- What did the Supreme Court say about buses?
- What do you think unconstitutional means? To review, which branch of government says whether a law is constitutional or unconstitutional?
Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech during this “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” in 1963. [Credit]
PARAGRAPH 4
Community members and civil rights leaders also demanded that schools should not be segregated by race. After years of protest, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools would be illegal. However, some states and white people in the community still made it very difficult for Black students to attend unsegregated schools. Finally, after years of community efforts, the Civil Rights Act became a law in 1964. This act legally prohibited segregation and discrimination based on race. In 1965, the federal government also passed the Voting Rights Act. This act legally reduced barriers to make sure that all Americans, no matter their skin color, could vote freely.
- Learn the word PROHIBIT: (verb) to not allow
- What is the word in your home language?
- Examples:
- The school prohibited smoking on campus.
- I prohibited my child from staying up past 9:00 p.m.
- Let’s review: what does reduce mean?
- What did the community leaders demand about schools?
- What did the Supreme Court say? Did they end inequalities?
PARAGRAPH 5
Throughout U.S history, other groups within the civil rights movements have been fighting for equality and against discrimination. For example, women and Native Americans have had a long struggle for equal rights, especially the right to vote. The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution only allowed men to vote. Women organized and protested. Although, some white women leaders did not include Black women in the voting rights movement. They thought that they would not get support from white men if Black women joined their movement. Women won the right to vote in 1920 after Congress passed the 19th Amendment. But Native Americans were still denied the right to vote until 1924. At that time, Native Americans won the right to full citizenship and could finally vote in U.S. elections. However, states still made it difficult for Native Americans, Black Americans, and other people of color to vote until the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
- What does “struggle” mean?
- Name some groups that fight for equality and civil rights.
- Why did white women not include Black women in their movement?
- When did the Native Americans get the right to vote?
- What did the Voting Rights Act do?
PARAGRAPH 6
Individuals and groups continue to organize to protect the rights for all humans, regardless of a person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or language. For example, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Today, people with and without physical limitations can use ramps and elevators to access buildings that once only had stairs. Disability rights groups and other movements show that changes in laws are possible when dedicated individuals organize and demand action.
- Let’s review: what does individual mean?
- What do individuals and groups continue to do?
- Learn the word DEDICATED: (adjective) somebody who works hard for a particular goal, cause, or activity
- What is the word in your home language?
- Examples:
- She is a very dedicated worker.
- I am dedicated to fighting for civil rights.
- What can dedicated people do?
- What do you think “action” means?
- What happened in 1990?
- What are some actions people take to demand (or fight for) justice?
This Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. in 1963 was one of the largest gatherings of dedicated people in U.S. history. [Credit]
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