Instructions
- Introduce the unit with a quick-write or discussion using the following questions: How do you define justice and injustice? What are unjust laws? How do you change an unjust law?
- Ask students to identify examples from the past and present of unjust laws in the United States. Discuss the process by which these laws have been changed or could be changed. Example: Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education,which ended school segregation, or the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees all American women the right to vote.
- Watch the short PBS movie (ca. 12 min) about Birmingham, Alabama. Provide students with "Birmingham in the 1960’s" handouts. After the students have read the handout, lead a discussion on the injustice that existed in Birmingham in 1963. You may also wish to have students list violations of democratic principles as stated in the Bill of Rights and/or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Discussion Questions:
- What was the social, political, and economic situation in Birmingham, Alabama before the spring of 1963?
- How do we, as a society, define an unjust law? Which strategies are most successful in changing that law? If we are able to abolish legal injustice will it also result in abolishing social injustice?
Materials
-
King Describes Birmingham in the 1960’s/ (PDF Copy)
- Bill of Rights
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Resources:
- King Encyclopedia
- PBS movie (ca. 12 min) about Birmingham.
Questions? Suggestions? Ideas?
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