As we watch Congress work through controversial and historically consequential  legislation, now might be the time to take students on a virtual Field trip around a historic piece of legislation that took hold of the country in 1964.  Understanding  the story of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as it worked its way from public pressure to a final bill will help students analyze and compare  the paths of current pieces of legislation.

Outlining this process as a field trip will add engagement and student participation.  In addition, the example provided in this Album also can be applied to other historic event field trips as well as to challenge students to create their own virtual field trip of an event.

Background and resources:

During the 2014 Civil Rights Educators Summer Institute at the Library of Congress in Washington DC, I participated in a walking tour organized by Educational Outreach Lee Ann Potter  &   Meg Steele , which followed the path of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  As we walked the path the legislation took and read passages from newspapers and historic documentation, at the time, I took images and videos to personally document the journey.

This virtual field guide is based on that tour serving as an example for teachers and students who might set up field trip guides to make "out of the class" excursions even more impactful. During the Pandemic and/or with limited field study time on campus, teachers might encourage students to visit places on their own and create field guides related to the content under study.

In addition, field guides give students the ability to virtually visit a location or provide background information, historic documentation and images during a lesson.

Note: Much of the text and information in this Album comes from the website of the Senate Historian’s office online presentation entitled Civil Rights Act at 50 and the Library of Congress online exhibit The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom.

These additional resources can be accessed online.

• Book "The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act" Clay Risen
• C-SPAN - Civil Rights Act of 1964 Senate Historian Donald Ritchie talked about the debate and passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with former CBS congressional correspondent Roger Mudd and former New York Herald Tribune Congressional correspondent Andy Glass.

  Civil Rights Act 1964    Congress    Legislation    Field Guides