According to Backstory:

In 1983, the Commission on Excellence in Education published A Nation at Risk, comparing low educational standards to a kind of warfare against youth. But hand-wringing over our school system is an American perennial, going all the way back to the Founding. In this episode, the History Guys explore the origins of public education, and ask whether we set ourselves up for disappointment by expecting so much from our schools. Guests include historian Jon Zimmerman and Alicia Lugo, who taught in segregated schools in Charlottesville, Virginia, and went on to run the city’s school board.

Dr. Michael Klarman of the University of Virginia School of Law analyzes and interprets the Brown case and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement. He annotates Justice Douglas's conference notes on Brown, tells stories about the justices, details how justices decide cases, explains why Brown was a hard case for many of the justices, and makes conclusions on why they were nonetheless eventually able to reach a unanimous outcome. He discusses the various ways in which Brown mattered and did not matter by linking Brown with the rise of southern massive resistance, violence, and ultimately the enactment of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s. Klarman includes lessons on how and why Court decisions matter, how historians tend perhaps to overemphasize the importance of the Court's contributions to racial change in the U.S., and important reminders about how violence was necessary to prompt most whites to care about the civil rights of southern blacks.

Dr. Lauranett Lee of the Virginia Historical Society explores ways to use oral history and historic preservation efforts to teach history. She is currently completing a commissioned project for the city of Hopewell in which she documents African American history. She discusses the mechanics of constructing a community history project and its applicability for teachers and students. The second half of the session focused on using the cultural landscape to teach history, including a walking tour of the historic Jefferson School.

To listen to this lecture, select "Podcast" under the September 4th session.

Cultural resources manager of the Anacostia Museum Portia James displays and discusses a tourist's map from post-World War I or -World War II which specified hotels, restaurants, and other businesses where African Americans could receive service free of discrimination and segregation.

To view this clip, select "Scholars," followed by "Portia James." Next, select one of the two Windows Media options.

For much of the 20th century, African Americans in the South were barred from the voting booth, sent to the back of the bus, and walled off from many of the rights they deserved as American citizens. Until well into the 1960s, segregation was legal. The system was called Jim Crow. In this radio documentary, Americans—black and white—remember life in the Jim Crow times. The documentary is divided into three downloadable sections.

To listen to this documentary, select "Part One," "Part Two," or "Part Three" under "Listen."

Professor Mark Tushnet discusses the life and accomplishments of Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), first African-American Supreme Court Justice and lawyer in the landmark desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education.

To listen to this lecture, scroll to the Thursday, August 5th, 7:30 pm-9:30 pm session; and select either the RealAudio image or link in the gray bar to the left of the main body of text.

Professor Lucas E. Morel reviews the life and views on race relations of Marcus Garvey, examining his political philosophy and its focus on establishing an African nation. Morel also looks at the Brown v. Board of Education case, the landmark Supreme Court Case in the struggle for desegregation.

To listen to this lecture, scroll to the Wednesday, August fourth, 9:00 am-10:30 am session; and select the corresponding RealAudio link to the left.

An older version of this lecture can be found here.

Professor Ken Masugi follows the establishment of the doctrine of "separate but equal" and its opposition and eventual downfall from a legal perspective. He examines particularly the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson and the 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education.

To listen to this lecture, scroll to session five, and select the RealAudio link to the left.