Programming Ideas for Adults

  • Create displays or related exhibits. Recreate a time period from the exhibit in complementary displays that show issues that were being discussed at the time of the Emancipation Proclamation/March on Washington, including documents, books, photos, oral histories, etc.
     
  • A Century of Change: Then and Now in Photos. Sites invite community members, media, and historical societies to share photos of the history of the community on themes related to the Changing America exhibit. Sites prepare a “photo wall” telling the story of their community during the Civil War and/or during the struggle for Civil Rights. A discussion program about the photos, led by a scholar, would address questions such as: How did the community participate in the events? What were opinions in the region about the events? How have attitudes and opinions about these issues changed?
     
  • Present readings from the writing of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. Invite community members, including local celebrities and journalists to read works, followed by a scholar-led discussion of the time periods.
     
  • Host a program focused on civil rights leaders involved in organizing the March on Washington, such as A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin. How did these leaders influence the movement? Why are they not household names?
     
  • How was the March on Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech covered by the media? What role did the media’s representation play in the public’s interpretation of the events? Invite a scholar to discuss how historical narratives are formed, and how these narratives can/should be challenged.
     
  • Use 1863 or 1963 as a focus for a series of programs on the era’s politics, literature, popular philosophies, art, dress, and music. 
     
  • Set-up an online discussion of Changing America through the host site’s website, moderated by a local scholar.
     
  • Invite local scholars and policy makers to lead a panel presentation focused on current civil rights issues: racial equality, marriage equality, access to health care, gender equality, economic equality.
     
  • Host a debate by two scholars who hold diverging views on a civil rights issue important to the community.
     
  • Create a program about Lincoln’s personal, political, and moral evolution. Trace Lincoln’s positions on slavery throughout his life.
     
  • Create a program on speechwriting and the power of language.
     
  • Make the themes of the exhibition particular to your area—e.g., equality, civil rights—How did your community view Lincoln during the Civil War? What was the reaction to the March on Washington? What were the primary political attitudes? How did local papers cover national politics? How was your community involved in the Civil War, Abolitionism, or the Civil Rights Movement?
     
  • Examine Civil War-era African-American perspectives on Lincoln’s emancipation policies. Was Lincoln the Great Emancipator or a flawed politician?
     
  • How were Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. viewed in the United States and abroad during their lifetimes?
     
  • Who were major figures in the Abolition movement? What did they want from Lincoln?
     
  • The Civil War was a national crisis which resulted in the abolition of slavery. What are other examples of national crises resulting in major political upheaval and change? Is it better for political change to happen quickly or slowly? Why?
     
  • Today the United States faces great domestic and international challenges. Examine the ways the events of1863 and 1963 and their legacies might impact 21st century policy decisions.
     
  • Host a scholarly program focused on the similarities and differences between Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.
     
  • Host a discussion series comparing and contrasting 1963 with the present day. Encourage participants to identify current social justice issues and ways to take action.
     
  • Offer a tour of local sites connected to exhibit-related events, such as a tour of local Underground Railroad sites or sites connected to civil rights themes.
     
  • Host a scholarly program that explores similarities and differences in social attitudes of the 19th and 20th centuries.
     
  • Host an African-American genealogy workshop. Invite participants to research their African-American lineage that was lost or destroyed due to slavery.
     
  • A program focused on the history of discrimination and segregation within the U.S. armed forces. How have African Americans, women, and gays and lesbians broken down barriers for the pursuit of liberty?
     
  • Host a scholarly lecture that connects Reconstruction with the Civil Rights’ Movement.
     
  • Host a panel discussion focused on how exhibit-related events affected your community. Explore African-American History of your community. How did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 affect your community? Did any community members participate in the March on Washington? What was the impact of exhibit-related events on local history and future legacies?
     
  • A program focused on Gandhi’s influence on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophies and strategies.
     
  • Host a program focused on women and their experiences in the Civil Rights Movement and at the March on Washington.
     
  • Host a program focused on music and the Civil War era or the Civil Rights Movement. In what ways did music play an integral role in the movement? Consider inviting local musicians to perform.
     
  • Host a community dialogue on how the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington still matter today.
     
  • An interactive presentation titled “Changing America 2063” to consider what factors (political, environmental, technological) might provoke a future social movement. Include a discussion of both small- and large-scale action strategies.
     
  • Consider what progress has been made nationally from the demands of the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington? What demands currently remain unfulfilled?
     
  • Host a panel discussion focused on how emancipation is defined post-slavery, how emancipation was experienced by former slaves, and whether or not true emancipation (economic, social, etc.) is being experienced by communities of color today.
     
  • Host a panel discussion focused on misconceptions about exhibit-related events. Consider addressing the concept of critical analysis of history and learning beyond what we were taught in the classroom.
  • Organize a curriculum workshop for area social science and history teachers in order to assist teachers in engaging students in exhibit-related content.
  • Exploration of the spectrum of attitudes towards slavery and civil rights. In your area, how did people feel about slavery in the nineteenth century and civil rights during the 1960s?