Civil rights units often focus primarily on Black Americans and male leaders, which can unintentionally disconnect the Black Civil Rights Movement from similar movements it inspired or that developed alongside it. Movements such as disability rights and women’s rights were influenced by similar historical developments, including World War II and the GI Bill. A hyperfocus on figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks can also narrow students’ understanding of the Black Civil Rights Movement by limiting the perspectives they are encouraged to consider. Additionally, students sometimes struggle to see how the civil rights movement continues to influence their own lives.

Placing civil rights in the context of sports gives students a familiar backdrop to engage with. It also provides teachers with an opportunity to incorporate movement into the classroom, perhaps through a short game of basketball or baseball at the conclusion of the lesson. Teachers can structure the discussion by modeling the historical research process.

To begin this sports-based civil rights inquiry, the class could work together to develop a historical question related to one of the following subjects:

• Jackie Robinson
• Bill Russell
• Women’s Basketball
• Wheelchair Basketball

Jackie Robinson and Bill Russell were influential figures in their respective sports who challenged and spoke out against racial segregation in different ways. Russell confronted racial attitudes in Boston and sometimes expressed views that differed from Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach. Comparing Russell to Robinson—whose story is often more familiar to students and more aligned with the standard narrative of the Black community’s approach to civil rights—exposes students to regional differences and diverse perspectives within the movement.

Additionally, Jackie Robinson, like Tim Nugent—the founder of wheelchair basketball—was a veteran who received GI benefits for his service. Nugent worked at a VA hospital at the University of Illinois with disabled veterans and developed wheelchair basketball to foster confidence and independence among students. His team, known as the Gizz Kids, competed in the National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, which was formed in 1949. Wheelchair basketball was also one of the sports played at the first Paralympics in Rome in 1960.

The history of women’s basketball can also be connected to women’s suffrage and the broader struggle for equality. A useful point of comparison is the GI Bill and Title IX—examining what each provided for Americans and which groups were able to benefit from those policies.

Building on these connections, students should research each figure, sport, or league through guided inquiry rather than simply receiving information. Walk them through advanced searches using resources such as JSTOR, the Internet Archive, and Google Scholar.

An example might look like this:

Teacher: “How does Jackie Robinson connect to the Black Civil Rights Movement?”
Students: “He broke the race barrier in baseball.”
Teacher: “What were his personal views on the movement? How did his status as a veteran shape his civil rights story?”

At this point, turn to JSTOR or Google Scholar and demonstrate how to use advanced search tools to locate relevant scholarship. After selecting an article, show students what to look for in a credible source. Model how to skim for key arguments, conduct targeted keyword searches within the text, and take concise notes. These notes can also help gauge participation, especially from quieter students.

Repeat this process for the other figures, sports, and movements, asking students to reflect on the commonalities and differences they observe.

Some content can be delivered through brief mini-lectures when necessary to manage time effectively. For example, Jackie Robinson and Bill Russell could be incorporated into guided research activities, while wheelchair basketball and the different waves of feminism might be addressed through concise mini-lectures. Below are some potential sources and databases that teachers can either guide the class through or present during the class discussion as needed. 

Sources: 

1. Chinese-American Women in Basketball
2. Sports and Society 
3. Disabilities and Sport
4. Black Civil Rights and Sport Activism
5. Black Power Movement
6. 1968 Mexico City Olympics Reflections
7. White Power, Black Power and the 1968 Olympics Protests
8. Timeline of Women’s Legally Protected Rights
9. Special Education and Disability Services
10. The Philadelphia Tribune Girls

Accessible databases and archives: 

1. Jstor
2. Internet Archive
3. Google Scholar
4. Library of Congress

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games begin on July 27 and continue through August 12. London hosts them this time, but in the past, the U.S. has hosted the Olympics eight times (four times in the summer and four in the winter), the most of any country! The U.S. also holds the greatest number of Olympic medals of any nation—more than 2,500.

What place have the Olympics had in U.S. history? The games can be many things: a focus for cultural exchange, a showcase for new technology and development, an economic boon (or bust), and a platform for international political tensions. Explore the history of the Olympics with these ideas:

• Read oral histories of Olympic participants from 1932 to 1968 and official Olympic reports from 1896 to 2010 at the Amateur Athletic Foundation Digital Archive. What were the experiences of American women who competed in the early Olympics like? How did being Korean American influence the experiences of diver Sammy Lee, who competed shortly after World War II? How do the Olympic reports from Los Angeles in 1932 and Salt Lake City in 2002 compare? Do the reports from Berlin, 1936, show any signs of the tension between the U.S. (and other nations) and Nazi Germany?
• Learn more about the 1936 Olympics and the significance of African American track-and-field star Jesse Owens's wins (and the wins of other African American athletes) in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's exhibit The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936. Here you can also learn about Jewish American athletes who competed in these Olympics.
• Watch PBS's documentary American Experience: Jesse Owens online, and follow the supporting links for more about Owens and the Olympics.
• Pick up quick facts on each of the past Olympic Games (and count down to future Olympics) at Olympic.org. What technological developments have changed how the Olympic Games are played, watched, and celebrated? You can also search for athletes, sports, and countries.
• Compare and contrast the Olympics with other international sporting events, like the Paralympics or the FIFA World Cup. Where have these taken place? How do different countries, including the U.S., relate to these events? When did they begin?

Whether you use the Olympics to explore cultural and technological change, international politics, local history (if you're lucky enough to live in one of the U.S. cities that hosted the Olympics!), or any of the many other rich angles possible, take advantage of this opportunity! Though school may not be in session for you right now, investigating Olympics history can lead to primary sources and historical connections you can weave into your curriculum.