As the struggle for civil rights continues throughout the U.S., teachers and citizens who are looking to learn more about the African American freedom struggle during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s have a new resource, thanks to work led by Jack Selzer in the College of the Liberal Arts.
Selzer, the Paterno Family Liberal Arts Professor Emeritus, coordinated the Rhetoric of the Civil Rights Movement project, which is now available publicly at sites.psu.edu/civilrightsrrhetoric/. The site contains a host of speeches, writings, films, poems, songs and other artifacts that have emerged from the civil rights movement, particularly the time between 1954 and 1972.
The project, which grew out of Selzer’s teaching and research and was supported by the work of many Penn State colleagues, was made available to the public this summer as he saw a need for greater understanding about the civil rights movement and the key arguments that have animated it.
“The civil rights movement most fundamentally involves and affects African American citizens. But because it has affected every community in the experience of every generation, it is really the American story more generally,” Selzer said. “It is a rather unique and continuing struggle to create a national community, a national identity even, by people of disparate ethnicities, religions, and cultural backgrounds. And that struggle has been conducted through rhetorical means.”
In addition to key artifacts, the site also includes a timeline of major rhetorical events dating back to the start of Reconstruction; background information on especially important events, such as the March on Washington, the Selma-to-Montgomery March, and the murder of Emmett Till; and guidance on how students and citizens can conduct their own original research.
While the site concentrates on the years between 1954 and 1972, it is updated regularly and includes information about more contemporary occurrences, such as the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests that followed.
Particularly at the present moment, when interest in the civil right movement is high, Selzer hopes that the site will serve college and high school teachers who wish to incorporate civil rights discourses into their classes. He also encourages Penn Staters and others to “spread the word” and to offer suggestions for additions and improvements.
“This work in progress, like the civil rights movement itself, can only reach its potential with help from many others,” Selzer said.
The Rhetoric of the Civil Rights Movement is supported by the Center for Democratic Deliberation, a research center within the McCourtney Institute for Democracy in the College of the Liberal Arts.
