WE STOOD UP

We Stood Up: Reflections on the Civil Rights Movement

A Quick Introduction

 We Stood Up is an audio anthology of first-person oral histories featuring civil rights icons such as John Lewis, Andrew Young, and Julian Bond. This one-of-a-kind recording presented by Lincoln Financial Foundation also includes poetry by Sonia Sanchez and Maya Angelou, interviews conducted by children, and original songs by Grammy-winning artists. We Stood Up can be downloaded and distributed for free to help educate children about the civil rights movement. 

How to use We Stood Up 

This website and recording was designed to inspire educators with a special focus on reaching children in grades 3–8. You might simply want to play the recording in its entirety and let children take away their own ideas, or use it more intentionally to create projects related to the content. We Stood Up can stimulate discussions or lessons revolving around the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Black History Month, President’s Day, anti-bullying efforts, school climate initiatives, social/emotional learning programs, educational technology, the arts, and much more. 

A few ideas for your consideration: 

In classrooms and clubs 

We Stood Up can be shared with the whole class or explored and listened to individually on headphones to spur reflection and meaningful work. Listen to each track and align the stories or songs with writing assignments or relevant literature reviews, or let them spur discussions among your students. Consider how We Stood Up can help build skills like creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking and empathy. Apply the material in media literacy, music, visual arts, dance, guidance counseling, reading, social studies, diversity and language clubs, and independent work. 

In school-wide programs 

Assemblies and other collective gatherings are often meant to inspire students to dream big. Smaller groups can use material from the album to prepare a performance for a larger audience in the genre of their choice (e.g., spoken word, rap, dramatic reenactment, speeches), or use the information during morning announcements, in newsletters, or on bulletin boards. 

At home and outside school 

With the vast selection of songs and compelling stories, parents may want to not only play We Stood Up for enjoyment, but also as a conversation starter for discussions with their children especially during car rides. Religious classes across faiths can organize civil and human rights studies using this material, and can also use the songs for choir performances.