RIO RANCHO, N.M. — The first attempt of the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965, led to police violence against peaceful African American demonstrators. The beatings, known as “Bloody Sunday,” generated anger across the nation 55 years ago this month and prompted President Lyndon Johnson to push the Voting Rights Act through Congress.
It was one of the most significant moments in U.S. history but remains almost absent from public schools' social studies lessons.
A new online project by the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University and a coalition of foundations hopes to change that.
The
Harvard scholar and documentary filmmaker Henry Louis Gates Jr. helped create an interactive
“It's perfect timing, unfortunately, because of the crisis we are in,” Gates told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “Not only is the timing optimal for teachers who are developing online lesson plans but also for families.”
Gates said the
The idea for it followed the release of DuVernay's film. William Lewis Jr., co-chairman of investment banking at New York City-based Lazard, and other black business leaders raised money so 500,000 children in 33 cities could see the historical drama for free.
The film follows the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., played by David Oyelowo, as he and other civil rights leaders push for voting rights in Selma, Alabama. Marches are soon met with violence by police, which eventually leads to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
After the success of the fundraiser for kids to see the movie, former Time Warner CEO Richard “Dick” Parsons reached out to Gates about developing the
“It was such a novel idea, I said “OK,'” Gates said.
The Rockefeller Foundation soon awarded the project a grant.
In 2019, organizers tested the
The
Gates said he sees Selma Online? as a test run for similar projects around African American history, including slavery.
“You change the curriculum, you change civic
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Russell Contreras is a member of The Associated Press' race and ethnicity team. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras
Russell Contreras, The Associated Press