Course Description:

Though the United States has portrayed itself as a land of freedom and equality, there have been groups of people who have struggled to find that freedom and equality. For many of these individuals, they were forced into bonds, crushed under laws, and pushed to the margins of society. Though slavery was abolished, many continued to suffer. This course will examine one of the pillars that undergirded this system: racism. How did racism develop? How did it take hold in this country? What exactly is racism? And, perhaps most importantly for the future, what has been done about it and what remains to be done?

Topic Outline/Schedule:

Week 1, March 6: Race, Racism, and Reconstruction

Week 2, March 13: The 1920s to Brown v Board of Education

Week 3, March 20: The Little Rock Nine and Emmett Till

Week 4, March 27: Birmingham and the March on Washington