Resource Material
As you view the video scenes from Emancipation: The Opera, you and your teacher and fellow students will have the opportunity to discuss the important issues raised in each video. On this page you will find supplementary materials that can help you make sense of what you see. The timeline lists events chronologically and has many clickable links that you can explore. The many articles available to you here discuss the history of Black human rights as it has unfolded in the decades before and since the end of the Civil War. Click on each topic below to open a document that talks about it.
table of contents
dear educators
Dear Educators
Introduction to the course
timeline
Timeline: History of the Struggle for Black Human Rights
Events listed chronologically, with many clickable links
The haitian revolution
The Haitian Revolution
The most successful slave rebellion in history, 1791
ABraham lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
America's 16th President
mary todd lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln
The wife of President Lincoln
elizabeth keckley
Elizabeth Keckley
Seamstress, designer and friend of Mary Todd Lincoln
walt whitman
Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman is the author of the poem “This Moment Yearning and Thoughtful,” the words of which are sung by Abe Lincoln during his soliloquy in Video Scene 9 from Emancipation
frederick douglass
Frederick Douglass
Former slave, abolitionist leader
fort sumter
Fort Sumter
Civil War begins as Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter
the telegraph
The Telegraph
How Lincoln used the telegraph to help win the Civil War
the negro spiritual
The Negro spiritual
A brief history of the Negro spiritual
nat turner's rebellion
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Rebellion of enslaved Black people led by Nat Turner in 1831
underground railroad
Underground Railroad
Network of safe places and transport that allowed slaves to escape to the northern free states
fugitive slave law convention
Fugitive Slave Law Convention
Meeting of northern abolitionists in 1850, chaired by Frederick Douglass
emancipation proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
Story of the document that proclaimed the end of slavery
emancipation proclamation text
Emancipation Proclamation Text
Full text of the Emancipation Proclamation
june 19, 1865: Juneteenth
June 19, 1865: Juneteenth
The day federal troops arrived in Galveston, TX to ensure enslaved people were freed
w.e.b. du bois
W.E.B. du Bois
Transformed the way Black lives were seen as American citizens
marcus garvey
Marcus Garvey
Noted civil rights activist
jackie robinson
Jackie Robinson
African American professional baseball player who broke the color barrier
brotherhood of sleeping car porters & maids
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters & Maids
First union among African American workers
john lewis
John Lewis
Civil rights leader and member of Congress
george jackson
George Jackson
Worked to eradicate racism in prisons
fred hampton
Fred Hampton
Black Panthers member, killed by Chicago police
rosa parks
Rosa Parks
Black woman who ignited bus boycott
greensboro lunch counter sit-in
Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-in
Civil rights protest at Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960
birmingham bombing
Birmingham Church Bombing
4 young girls killed at 16th St. Baptist Church
march on washington
The March on Washington
Occasion of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech
voting rights act
Voting Rights Act
President Lyndon Johnson gives Black Americans the right to vote
watts rebellion
Watts Rebellion
6 days of rioting sparked by an arrest in the Watts neighborhood of L.A. in 1965
angela davis acquitted
Angela Davis Acquitted
Black activist Angela Davis acquitted by an all-white Marin County jury
barack obama
President Barack Obama
The 44th President of the United States
civil war fashion
Civil War Fashion
Illustrations and descriptions of the clothing styles that were fashionable during the Civil War years.
Ashokan farewell
Ashokan Farewell
The theme music of the Ken Burns documentary, The Civil War
11 anthems of black pride and protest
11 Anthems of Black Pride and Protest
Eleven songs that have marked the fight for Black human rights
supplemental reading
Supplemental Reading
Suggestions for further reading