Exploring History Through Government Documents: The Civil Rights Movement

Abstract

Collection Statement: This collection is a starting point for deeper exploration into the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century using government documents and websites. These documents are just a sample of the many documents available to learn about the historical context, key events, and people important to the movement. The goal of this collection is to provide a series of documents that can work together to provide some history of the Civil Rights Movement. This reference collection spans from 1948-2015, with the bulk of the documents in the 1960s, which mirrors the heyday of the Civil Rights Movement and the notable leaders of the movement (Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.). It is broken up into three main categories: historical context, key events/documents, and notable people/organizations. These were selected due to the differences in the government sources and provides a range of information about voting, the civil rights commission, and the actions of the leaders of the movement. The key events/documents are arranged chronologically so researchers can see the evolution of some Civil Rights documents and legislation. The historical context and key figures/organizations are organized alphabetically by content (which is why “Honoring the NAACP” will go after Malcom X and Martin Luther King, since the content is about the NAACP). Some documents will have related items with it to add context or another angle of research.