History U | Race and Rights in America

Race and Rights in America

This History U course will explore the diverse political philosophies of influential Black Americans as they sought to secure their dignity as human beings and rights as citizens.

 

Course Instructor: Professor Lucas Morel, Washington and Lee University
Eligibility: High school students

 

Image Source: Warren K. Leffler, "Civil rights march on Washington, D.C.," August 28, 1963 (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division 2003688164) 

Photograph of civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., surrounded by crowds carrying signs.
  • History U

  • Free for high school students

Course Description

This History U course will explore the diverse political philosophies of influential Black Americans as they sought to secure their dignity as human beings and rights as citizens. Students will learn about the perpetual struggles Black Americans face to secure justice for themselves on the basis of principles White Americans professed to hold near and dear. Quite simply, Black Americans asked that America be true to herself. As Frederick Douglass put it: “Not a Negro problem, not a race problem, but a national problem; whether the American people will ultimately administer equal justice to all the varieties of the human race in this Republic.”

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The views expressed in this course are those of Dr. Lucas Morel.

Content

  • Twenty-seven video sessions led by Professor Lucas Morel
  • Links to optional resources
  • Short quizzes to review your knowledge
  • A certificate of completion for 12 hours of course time

How to Access

  1. Click Log In and either log into your account or click the Sign Up link on the login screen to create an account.
  2. Click the Register Now button and complete the order form.
  3. After registering, you may access your course by signing in and visiting your My Courses link under My Account.

Course Introduction

Justin Emrich explains what you will learn in this course.

About the Scholar

Lucas Morel, John K. Boardman, Jr. Professor of Politics, Washington and Lee University

Lucas Morel is the John K. Boardman, Jr. Professor of Politics at Washington and Lee University. His teaching and research interests are American government, political theory, Abraham Lincoln, and Black American politics. His books include Lincoln and the American Founding (2020) and Lincoln’s Sacred Effort: Defining Religion’s Role in American Self-Government (2000). Morel is a board member of the Abraham Lincoln Institute and the Abraham Lincoln Association and a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, and Richmond Times-Dispatch.

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