Teaching the Constitution Through Theater
StoryWorks in partnership with the U.S. Capitol Historical Society
Teaching the Constitution Through Theater develops inclusive and transformative educational theater experiences to foster a deeper understanding of the U.S. Constitution. We engage students in inquiry based and experiential learning and inspire them to ask complex questions about the historical underpinnings behind contemporary issues. The process creates pathways to civic engagement and the fundamental recognition that “We the people” includes us all.
Now’s The Time opens at the dawn of Reconstruction, the Civil War has just ended but the nation is plunged again into crisis with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Andrew Johnson ascends to the Presidency determined to restore white supremacy in the South. Congressional radicals led by Thaddeus Stevens are fighting for a different vision. They intend to create a new society of full racial equality, where Black Americans will have real economic and political power, including ownership of land confiscated from the rebels, education, suffrage and election to public office. This titanic political battle between President and Congress culminates in the first impeachment and trial of a U.S. president, and to more than 150 years of continuing violence and discrimination against Black Americans.
Beautiful Agitators tells the story of Vera Mae Pigee, a hair stylist and business owner in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights era. Using her beauty parlor as a hub for Delta-based organizing and resistance, Pigee operated her salon by day and then transformed it into a clandestine center for civil rights organization and education in the evenings. Known for her big hats and larger than life personality, Mrs. Pigee led the direct action that registered nearly 6,000 African Americans to vote in the region. Although Pigee was largely left out of the history books, along with many women of the movement, our play Beautiful Agitators revives her legacy, highlighting her methods and tactics.
StoryWorks would like to thank the
Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area
for their generous support of Beneath an Unknown Sky
Beneath an Unknown Sky
The Beneath An Unknown Sky curriculum consists of six lesson plans designed for eighth through twelfth grades. Each lesson plan is inspired by monologues from our play and utilizes primary source materials to add historical context to the events and characters depicted in the film. Special attention is paid to developing historical research skills by asking the students to identify, analyze, and evaluate primary sources, review secondary source material, transcribe primary source documents, design an oral history project, and complete short research projects. The topics covered in the lesson plans include but are not limited to the following: the experience of Freedmen in the Mississippi Delta, Reconstruction, the Freedmen’s Bureau, Mississippi “Black codes”, Women’s history, the Reconstruction Amendments, Voting Rights, the Mississippi Constitution of 1868, Black political office holders from Mississippi, and the Mississippi Plan. The curriculum is intended to be flexible in its approach to better meet the needs of educators. The curriculum and short films are available to educators as a free, open-source resource. Educators can use the curriculum in its entirety or can pick and choose between the lesson plans to fit the scope and time constraints of their individual classrooms
Lesson One: Establishing The Freedmen's Bureau
Lesson Two: The Freedmen's Bureau in Mississippi
Lesson Three: The Voices of Freedwomen
Lesson Four: The Mississippi Black Codes
Lesson Five: The Constitution of 1868 & Black Leadership in Mississippi