History 1302

Instructions for the Final Exam (100 points):

INSTRUCTIONS

Part 1:

For Part 1 of the Final Exam, watch at least one of the first six episodes from the PBS documentary series Eyes on the Prize (1986), linked below. Then, using the video, your lecture notes, and the textbook write an essay answering all of the prompts below.

Part 1 Video Link:

NOTE: This documentary series is free to stream through Kanopy.com using your Dallas College ID.

Watch at least one of the first six episodes of Eyes on the Prize (1986): Produced in the 1990, this fourteen-episode documentary is considered by many to be the definitive story of the struggle for African-American civil rights during the 1940s-1970s. The documentary utilizes hours of archival footage and oral history interviews with many of the people involved. I recommend choosing one of the first six episodes, but any of the first fourteen will be fine to answer the prompts below.

Part 1 Prompts:

Remember to address ALL 4 PROMPTS in your answer.

1. Briefly describe how each of the significant Civil Rights events explored in your chosen episode. How did each event challenge systemic and/or individual discrimination within American society?
2. How did supporters of segregation and opponents of the civil rights movement react to these challenges?
3. How did the federal government (including the president, congress, and the judicial branch) react to those challenges?
4. Explain how grassroots civil rights groups (such as the SCLC) and groups focused on the court system (such as the NAACP) both shape the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s? (Use events from the documentary as examples)

Part 2:

For Part 2 of the Final Exam, read the two documents posted below. Then, using the documents, your lecture notes, and the textbook to write an essay answering all of the prompts below.

Part 2 Documents:

Document1-MLK.docx

Document2-LBJ.docx

Part 2 Prompts:

Remember to address ALL 4 PROMPTS in your answer.

1. Compare and contrast Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech (Document 1) with Lyndon B. Johnson's "Great Society" speech (Document 2)?
2. In what ways do both speeches reflect on a vision for a more equal and just future for American society?
3. What roles do American citizens and the American government have in achieving each of their visions?
4. Considering what you have learned in this class, how much progress do you think America has made toward these visions? Do you think there is more to be done?