Resource Library
Find compelling classroom resources, learn new teaching methods, meet standards, and make a difference in the lives of your students.
We are grateful to The Hammer Family Foundation for supporting the development of our on-demand learning and teaching resources.
Introducing Our US History Curriculum Collection
Draw from this flexible curriculum collection as you plan any middle or high school US history course. Featuring units, C3-style inquiries, and case studies, the collection will help you explore themes of democracy and freedom with your students throughout the year.
Mamie Till-Mobley Chooses to Hold an Open-Casket Funeral
Mamie Till-Mobley describes why she insisted on an open-casket funeral. She told the funeral director, “Let the world see what I’ve seen”.
Myrlie Evers-Williams Reflects on the Impact of Emmett Till’s Murder
Civil rights activist and leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) reflects on the impact of Emmett Till’s murder.
Excerpt from "Crusade for Justice"
This excerpt from Ida B. Wells’s autobiography gives us insight into Wells’s decision to take a stand and speak out against racial lynchings.
Excerpt from "Lynching and the Excuse for It"
In this editorial, Ida B. Wells responds to Jane Addams, a progressive who was known for her work serving immigrant communities in Chicago. Wells corrects Addams’s claims using lynching data she documented from 1882 to 1891.
John Lewis, “I Couldn’t Accept The Way Things Were”
In this excerpt from his memoir Walking with the Wind, Congressman John Lewis describes the impact of Emmett Till's murder.
Anne Moody, “Coming of Age in Mississippi”
Anne Moody, who was involved in the Civil Rights Movement through the NAACP, CORE, and SNCC, recalls her attempts to make sense of Emmett Till’s murder as a 14-year-old.
Joyce Ladner and Cleveland Sellers on Emmett Till
Joyce Ladner and Cleveland Sellers, civil rights activists and members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), reflect on the impact of Emmett Till's murder.
"I Knew I Had to Give Him the Talk"
Mamie Till-Mobley shares an account of "the talk" she had with her son Emmett Till shortly before he journeyed from Chicago to Mississippi in 1955.
Segregation and Precipitating Events
This excerpt from an FBI investigation of the murder of Emmett Till describes some of the Southern norms that were created to enforce white supremacy.
Mississippi Miscegenation Laws
This document lists in chronological order the evolution of Mississippi miscegenation laws between 1865 and 1942.
The Brown Decision
This document gives students the immediate historical context of the Till murder by summarizing the segregationist reaction to the Brown decision and the emergence of White Citizens’ Councils in Mississippi.