Stories of Resilience: Birmingham's Black Teachers in the 1950s and 1960s

TEACHERS, PLEASE READ ... A 45-minute classroom-ready video reel on: “Stories of Resilience: Birmingham’s Black Teachers in the 1950s and 1960s”    • Stories of Resilience: Birmingham's Black ...   Excerpts from oral histories enhanced with primary-source historic photos document African Americans’ reflections on their experiences with education and teachers during the Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras in Birmingham, Alabama. While the interviewees recount how poorly resourced their segregated schools were – with hand-me-down textbooks and sporting equipment, lack of lab equipment and musical instruments – they speak warmly and gratefully of their highly-qualified teachers, raising themes such as:  Their teachers were highly educated, hardworking, and smart, and were paid less than white teachers, who were frequently less educated  Despite textbooks that lacked information about African Americans, Black teachers supplemented those books with other academic work – “and messages and lessons about the truth”  In addition to academics, schools offered vibrant programs in music, the arts, and trades  Teachers served as positive role models, held high expectations for their students, and instilled a work ethic  Teachers helped students navigate and prepare for a world that was unfair, acknowledging the injustices and moving on, urging students to “get the knowledge”  Other institutions in their segregated neighborhoods, like churches and public libraries, reinforced the value that the community placed on education  Birmingham’s Black schools educated a number of prominent people The 10 speakers all grew up in Birmingham in the 1950s and 1960s, and were interviewed in 2023. To aid teachers in selecting clips to use in the classroom, this list provides time stamps for each individual speaker’s segment:  Mary Thomas (0:10-2:25)  Dale Long (2:25 - 4:32)  Deborah Miller Harris (4:32-8:34)  Walter Jackson (8:34-9:32)  Joann Brown (9:32 - 10:15)  Gloria Washington Randall (10:19 - 14:26)  Freeman Hrabowski (14:30-29:05)  Ann Beard Grundy (29:06-37:14)  Janice Houston Nixon (37:16 - 40:00)  Janice Wesley Kelsey (40:03 - 45:25) PHOTOS: Library of Congress; UAB Archives, University of Alabama System. ACCOMPANYING TEACHING GUIDE available at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15... PRODUCED BY: Bending the Arc Project in collaboration with Kids in Birmingham 1963 and Sandpiper Advisory Group This video is one of a series of classroom-ready, short videos, offering clips from oral histories together with primary sources, many from the Library of Congress. For a list of the civil rights themes these videos offer for teachers, see: https://bit.ly/video-shorts-AL-civil-... FUNDED BY a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Southern Region program, managed by the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University. Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS program does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress. 2026.