Beyond Suffrage: Ogden, Utah and Civil Rights 1945

Social Studies                                                                                                                                    PRINT FULL LESSON PLAN 

Grade Level: All

Overview 

How did women of color in Ogden claim their rights as citizens of the United States, and how did they use their voices to rise above resistance to integration? Through viewing photographs, questionnaires, and flyers, students will learn about activists involved in the civil rights movement in Ogden City who fought for integration in public schools and quality education for Hispanic and African-American children in the 1950s-60s.

Common Core State Standards

Grade 3: 
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. 

Grades 6-8: 
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7
Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. 

Grades 11-12:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2
Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured, including how key sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole. 

Key Terms/Vocabulary: 

Segregation, Jim Crow, Discrimination, Boycott, Integration, Civil Rights

Key Figures

Bettye Gillespie, Lionila Saenz, Mae Parry

Key Organizations

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Utah State Committee against Discrimination in Housing, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), League of Women Voters 

Timeline of Events

  • 1963: JFK proposed Civil Rights Act 
  • 1964: Civil Rights Act: prohibits discrimination 
  • 1965: Voter Rights Act after Selma, AL 
  • 1968: Housing Act: Against Redlining. Ogden Rep. Laurence Burton voted against the act. 
  • 1970: Health, Education, and Welfare conducted a review of Ogden schools and notified the school district that it was operating “a racially identifiable school, namely Hopkins Elementary” 
  • 1970: Ogden School District implemented a Voluntary Plan to Reduce Minority Group Isolation and Its Effects 
  • 1971-1972: Ogden City School District modified high school curriculum to include cultural and historical materials about minority groups 
  • 1971-1972: Ogden City School District started offering training workshops for staff and administrators to change attitudes about cultural and racial differences 
  • 1973: Ogden City School District hired curriculum advisors to act as a liaison between the schools and the minority communities 
  • 1974: Ogden City School District implemented remedial math and reading classes