Also American

Curriculum unit

Black Women Who Led

From Sojourner Truth to Shirley Chisholm, the Black women who organized, agitated, and led the freedom struggle — often without credit.

Unit objectives

Students assess the central, frequently uncredited leadership of Black women across the long freedom struggle.

  1. Lesson 1 · 1 class period

    Freedom fighters

    Objectives

    Examine Black women who fought slavery and lynching.

    Materials

    Timeline entries below; Harriet Tubman; Sojourner Truth; Ida B. Wells.

    Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Ida B. Wells as leaders of abolition, self-emancipation, and the anti-lynching crusade.

    Teach from these moments
    1. December 1850
      Harriet Tubman escapes and returns

      After escaping slavery, Tubman makes repeated trips back via the Underground Railroad, freeing dozens.

    2. May 29, 1851· debated
      Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?"

      The formerly enslaved abolitionist delivers her famous address on race and gender in Akron, Ohio.

    3. October 1892
      Ida B. Wells' anti-lynching crusade

      Wells documents and exposes lynching with "Southern Horrors," launching a global campaign.

    Discussion questions

    Why are these women central to the story? How were they doubly marginalized?

  2. Lesson 2 · 1–2 class periods

    The backbone of the movement

    Objectives

    Analyze the organizing leadership of Black women in the Civil Rights Movement.

    Materials

    Timeline entries below; Ella Baker; Fannie Lou Hamer; Rosa Parks.

    Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Rosa Parks as the organizing core of the freedom struggle.

    Teach from these moments
    1. December 5, 1955
      The Montgomery Bus Boycott

      Sparked by Rosa Parks, a 381-day boycott launches Dr. King and mass nonviolent protest.

    2. June 21, 1964
      Freedom Summer

      Volunteers register Black voters in Mississippi; three are murdered by the Klan.

    Discussion questions

    Why did men often get the credit? What did "group-centered leadership" mean?

  3. Lesson 3 · 1 class period

    Power and office

    Objectives

    Trace Black women into political power.

    Materials

    Timeline entries below; Shirley Chisholm.

    From Shirley Chisholm's 1968 election and 1972 presidential run to the Black women who followed.

    Teach from these moments
    1. November 5, 1968
      Shirley Chisholm elected to Congress

      Chisholm becomes the first Black woman elected to the US House.

    2. January 25, 1972
      Shirley Chisholm runs for president

      Chisholm becomes the first Black candidate to seek a major party's nomination.

    Discussion questions

    How did Black women move from organizing to office? What barriers remained?