Smithsonian Launches Civil-Rights Teaching Site

Taking the unique approach of teaching through art, the Smithsonian is launching a new Web site that focuses on American civil rights.

Oh Freedom! offers teachers a view of the civil rights movement through the unique lens of the Smithsonian's art collections. Drawing connections between art and history, Oh Freedom! gives educators tools to help students interpret the long struggle for civil rights. The site broadens the definition of the civil rights movement beyond the 1950s and 1960s, presenting it as a longer and more complex quest for freedom, justice and equality throughout the course of the 20th century and into the present.

Oh Freedom! was developed jointly by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“The momentous events of the civil rights era were the culmination of a long struggle for justice that is still inspiring us today," said Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. "We are proud to use our rich collections to present this essential history in a new way in classrooms nationwide.”

Oh Freedom! brings together more than three dozen featured artworks from the collections of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, from early 20th-century photographs by James VanDerZee and Cornelius M. Battey to Shepard Fairey's iconic "HOPE.” An interactive timeline, "Explore History in Art," frames these artworks with artist biographies and secondary sources from the wider collections of the Smithsonian, such as historical artifacts, additional artworks, musical and vocal recordings, photographs and more. The Archives of American Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the National Museum of American History and the National Portrait Gallery also contributed to the site. These sources, along with a glossary and other materials, help students and teachers contextualize the stories revealed by each artwork.

“As a middle school social studies teacher, the Oh Freedom! Web site is easy to use with its lesson plans and abundant teacher resources about civil rights,” said Penny Prado, a seventh- and eighth-grade social studies teacher at Riverdale Middle School in Jefferson, LA. “It is important for a teacher to spark student interest in a topic, and the Oh Freedom! Web site definitely sparked the interest of my students.”

The site offers downloadable lesson plans that were prepared by a national committee of teachers. Interactive features allow teachers to share new lesson plans using a prepared template, provide activities and reactions to the site, and discuss how artworks suit their particular classroom needs. Additional resources, such as teacher and student bibliographies, also are available online. The site is designed primarily for teachers of middle and high school students, especially those who teach social studies.

Article by Jason Tomaszewski, EducationWorld Associate Editor
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