Jonathan Welch

While teaching AP U.S. History I strive to make sure my students understand that so many of the events in “history” were not that long ago, and so much of what has happened in our nation continues to shape what happens today.

By talking about and sharing the stories of activists like Claudette Colvin, Fred Shuttlesworth, and some of the other lesser known (but equally important) leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, I try to make their stories come to life. I also make extensive use of the Zinn Education Project’s Reconstruction curriculum in conjunction with the book How the Word Is Passed to show how the federal government has failed in so many instances to address the problems of racism, discrimination, and public perception from the end of the Civil War to the current day.

More than passing the AP exam and earning college credit, I want my students to leave my classroom better citizens of this country and I think this book, along with many other great resources, helps to accomplish that.