“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In class we discussed the meaning of these words from the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence. We then brainstormed groups of individuals whose rights were not addressed by this statement. The older children were asked to bring to school articles, either historical or current, about people seeking and advocating for their equal rights. The children identified many groups of people who have struggled for equality: African Americans, Women, LGBT, Native Americans, the Disabled, Immigrants, Labor, Veterans and children.

To help provide context and an historical perspective, children were assigned books to read on some of these topics. Books included, The Watsons go to Birmingham, You Want them to Vote Lizzie Stanton, The Journal of Otto Peltonen, Thinking in Pictures and Trouble at the Mines.

We watched videos to help us gather more insight and information: Temple Grandin’s Ted Talk, excerpts from Eyes on the Prize, and short videos from History.com’s People Speak series. We listened to reenactions of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” speech, Susan B. Anthony’s impassioned defense at her trial for daring to vote and the journal entry of a woman who witnessed police shooting into the GM strikers in 1930.

In addition we are reaching out to the community to bring individuals working on these issues to our classroom. We also took a field trip to Seneca Falls to learn more about the women’s rights movement at the Women’s Hall of Fame