Teaching Social Action
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Civil Rights Movement
Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Movement

Email
Breakout Group
History
When Taught

Fall 2026

Status
Approved
Semester Teaching
Fall '26
Phone
Call notes

Book Sent
04/05/2026
Talked w/
Doing it!
School
No access
Course Plan
New Course
Interest

As a historian of education and social movements with expertise in student activism, I have long been intrigued and inspired by the ability of students to bring about social change. In my courses, I encourage students to think about how the past can be used as an inspiration and blueprint for addressing contemporary injustices. I am very much interested in and welcome the opportunity to teach students how to tangibly apply the lessons of the past to a contemporary social justice issue.

Staff & Faculty
No access
Experience

As a public historian, much of my teaching includes social action. For example, in my capacity as Community Oral Historian and Project Coordinator of the Lowcountry Oral History Initiative, I manage the Community Oral History Training Program. In this program, I teach communities across the SC Lowcountry, primarily from historically marginalized backgrounds, how to design and implement oral history projects. The development and growth of the Charleston area pose a grave threat to the land, history, and character of many communities. Accordingly, they employ oral history (in addition to other public history projects such as submitting nominations to the National Register of Historic Places) to protect and preserve their communities. Additionally, in my undergraduate and graduate courses, my assignments are social action oriented. For example, in Civil Rights Movement and Education, students conduct an oral history interview with an activist in a historical or contemporary social justice movement to gain firsthand testimony on how individuals accomplish(ed) social change.

Engagement Description

As one of the goals of this course is for students to learn about strategies and tactics used by civil rights movement activists, it would follow that students may choose to address some of the same battles fought by them that have reemerged in the present. For example, current threats to voting rights, especially with midterm elections this year, may be of interest to students. Students may also choose to apply the lessons of the past to emergent social justice issues. For example, many students are currently living with the fallout of the anti-DEI campaigns targeting colleges and universities--such as the closure of multicultural centers--and may choose to focus their campaigns on pushing back against the attacks.

Community Engagement
Social Action
Profile URL
Syllabus?
Fiscal Year
How did you hear about opportunity

Invitation by Dr. Hollis France

Grant Category
Social Action
Publish?
Highlight
Title

Community Oral Historian and Project Coordinator, Lowcountry Oral History Initiative

Call date
Mtg Category
SA Institute
Mtg Location
Rochester
Mtg Semester
Fall
Mtg Year
2026
SA Day 1
SA Day 2
SA Day 3
Submitted By

AlexisJohnson

Submitted By Email
Mailing Address
Shared With
U
Untitled
U
Untitled
Minutes per Session
45 min
Sessions per Week
3x/week
Type of Community Engagement
Social Action
Weeks in Semester
15
Mode
In Person
Questions

N/A

AI key info

- Origins, development, and legacy of the Civil Rights Movement - Racial segregation, disenfranchisement, systemic discrimination - Key political actors (e.g., Martin Luther King Jr., Septima Clark) - Key organizations (e.g., Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) - Major events (e.g., Montgomery Bus Boycott, March on Washington) - Landmark legislation (e.g., Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965) - Strategies employed by activists (e.g., sit-ins, boycotts) - Continuing struggle for racial equality - Influence on contemporary social justice efforts

AI summary

The course focuses on the Civil Rights Movement's origins, development, and legacy, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s. It examines the struggle against racial segregation and discrimination, highlighting key figures, organizations, and events. Students will analyze strategies used by activists and explore contemporary social justice issues, encouraging them to apply historical lessons to current challenges, such as voting rights and anti-DEI campaigns.

Takeaways

- Course on Civil Rights Movement taught by Alexis Johnson. - Focus on 1950s-1960s, exploring racial segregation and social justice. - Key figures: Martin Luther King Jr., Septima Clark, Ella Baker. - Major events: Montgomery Bus Boycott, March on Washington. - Emphasis on student activism and applying historical lessons to contemporary issues. - Community engagement through oral history projects.

Discipline
Sociology / Social Sciences
MailingAddress

Region
South
State Name

South Carolina

Sub-Region
South Atlantic