302Z Winter 2026 Four Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement

After the Civil War ended slavery, a series of “Jim Crow” laws in the South created a rigid system of segregation. It made Whites rich and powerful, Blacks poor and powerless. In the 20th century, the Civil Rights Movement organized to end segregation. This class will look at four heroes of that movement. The first week will trace the career of Martin Luther King, Jr. Embracing the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, he led his demonstrations with non-violent tactics. The next week will be about John Lewis. Born to dirt poor farmers, as a child he preached sermons to chickens. As an adult, 4 He spoke to Congress as a representative from Georgia. The third week will be about Rosa Parks, perhaps the most famous woman of the Civil Rights Movement. Her refusal to move to the back of the bus precipitated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The final week will be devoted to Mary McLeod Bethune, the amazing woman who began a school for five little black girls and built it into Bethune Cookman College. 

Elva Card graduated from George Washington University with a BA in History, and from George Mason University with MAs in English and in History. She taught social studies in Fairfax County Public Schools for 31 years.