Motivated by historian Jacqueline Dowd Hall’s 2005 call for a new understanding of the Civil Rights Movement, the “Long Civil Rights Movement” course sought to broaden and deepen the traditional understanding of the civil rights movement beyond a 1960s-era phenomenon.  By taking a longer view, the course examined the origins, various approaches, individuals and organizations, effectiveness, and influences on later human rights struggles within and outside of the United States.

As part of their final course projects, students engaged digital humanities projects in order to provide a better understanding of the struggle for civil and political rights in the United States to a general audience. Students were required to interview any individual who participated in the Civil Rights Movement or create a 5-minute documentary on the role of ECSU during the Civil Rights Movement.

About the Instructor: Hilary N. Green is an assistant professor of history at Elizabeth City State University. She received her B.A. in History with minors in Africana Studies and Pre-Healing Arts from Franklin and Marshall College, M.A. in History from Tufts University, and Ph.D. in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She has published several essays and book reviews. She has a forthcoming essay in The Urban South During the Civil War Era, edited by Andrew L. Slap and Frank Towers (University of Chicago, 2015). She is currently revising a book manuscript on the development of African American public schools in Richmond, Virginia and Mobile, AL. Her second book project, still in its early stages, will focus on African American memory and the Civil War in Chambersburg, PA and Hertford, NC.

About the Students:

Earlene Clanton is junior at Elizabeth City State University majoring in History.

Abriel Harris is a graduating senior at Elizabeth City State University majoring in Criminal Justice.

Leslie Norman is a graduating senior at Elizabeth City State University majoring in History.

Kathleen Padilla is a senior at Elizabeth City State University majoring in History.

Andy Reid is a graduating senior at Elizabeth City State University majoring in History.

Alexa Speller is a senior at Elizabeth City State University majoring in History.

Denita Whitfield is a senior at Elizabeth City State University majoring in History.

Breana Wynn is a graduating senior at Elizabeth City State University majoring in Sociology.

Enjoy!

 

Photo: Courtesy of University Archives, Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC