Coming Together: Oral Histories from the Civil Rights Era

[Frank W. Baker]

While studying the civil rights era in 20th century US history, high school students can read 40 short oral histories posted free on Plugger Publishing’s Coming Together website. By clicking on the names in the contents listing, students will find the memories of men and women who, as young people, faced resistance (including fire hoses and jail) as they strove to secure voting rights and other basic rights in numerous states. Garret Mathews, who created this resource, is a retired columnist for the Courier and Press of Evansville, Indiana. His moving introduction to the collection includes links to two 30-minute YouTube videos (also available as DVDs) in which he interviews African Americans in Greenwood, Mississippi, and Evansville, Indiana, about what it was like to live under segregation.