Lesson Plan: White Allies Killed During the Civil Rights Movement

Brief Historical Statement

Several white Americans were killed during the civil rights movement because they chose to stand publicly with Black communities in the struggle for justice. Rev. James Reeb, a white Unitarian minister from Boston, traveled to Selma after “Bloody Sunday” and was beaten by white segregationists; he died two days later. Viola Liuzzo, a white mother from Detroit, was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan while driving marchers between Selma and Montgomery. Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, two young white activists from New York, were murdered alongside James Chaney, a Black activist, during Freedom Summer in Mississippi.

Their deaths exposed the depth of racial hatred and showed that the fight for civil rights demanded courage across racial lines.

Learning Objectives

Objective 1:

Students will identify key white allies who were killed during the civil rights movement and describe their roles.

• Example: A student explains why Rev. James Reeb went to Selma and how his death drew national attention.
• Example: A student describes Viola Liuzzo’s work transporting marchers and why she was targeted.

Objective 2:

Students will analyze why white allies were targeted and what their deaths revealed about resistance to civil rights.

• Example: A student explains how the murders of Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney exposed violent opposition to Black voting rights.
• Example: A student connects these killings to pressure for federal civil rights legislation.

Learning Outcomes

Outcome 1:

Students will summarize the contributions of white allies in the civil rights movement.

• Example: A student writes that Reeb’s death helped build momentum for the Voting Rights Act.

Outcome 2:

Students will evaluate the moral significance of interracial solidarity.

• Example: A student explains how these deaths showed that civil rights was a human struggle, not only a Black struggle.

Formative Assessment: Research Idea

Research Task (1 short paragraph): Students choose one person—Rev. James Reeb, Viola Liuzzo, Andrew Goodman, or Michael Schwerner—and answer:

1. Who were they (background)?
2. Why were they involved in the movement?
3. What happened to them?
4. How did their death influence public opinion or civil rights laws?

Mr. Lucky-Social Studies Teacher

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