35 states were given an “F” grade for their lack of teaching about the civil rights movement by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
The SPLC’s study, “Teaching the Movement: The State of Civil Rights Education 2011,” covers curricula and requirements for the civil rights movement.
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The Grio Reports:
“Most states do not think civil rights history education is important” Maureen Costello, SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance director told theGrio. “I want people to take away from the report the idea that teaching history in general is really important and teaching about civil rights encourages you to be a better citizen.”
Teaching Tolerance, SPLC’s educational resource initiative, conducted the study by examining all the 50 states’ academic standards and curriculum requirements related to the teaching of civil rights history in schools. Those standards and requirements were compared to what civil rights historians and educators consider core information about civil rights history.
