Year 11 Leads Assembly on the American Civil Rights Movement

Last Thursday, continuing the discussions of Black History month, Year 11 led an assembly based on their History studies of the American civil rights movement. Two members of the Year 11 class first read an overview of the problems facing African Americans during this time period – particularly in the southern states – including accounts of Emmett Till’s lynching and attacks on civil rights protesters. This was followed by a debate between two groups of pupils, each arguing the effectiveness of the different approaches used by the two most prominent civil rights leaders of the time.

Year 10 pupil Hugo Allum provided a review of the assembly.

During last Thursday’s Assembly there was a debate between members of Year 11 on the motion that ‘Martin Luther King’s methods to achieve civil rights for African Americans were more effective than those of Malcolm X’. The debate was really interesting with the opposition becoming very passionate as they argued that Martin Luther King’s methods did not work, as there are still not equal opportunities for African Americans in America today. Both sides argued their sides very well but in the end the motion was passed by 34:12 votes. Members of the Senior School expressed their enjoyment afterwards and are hoping that a similar debate will be happening in the future. In fact, a surprising number of pupils said afterwards that they found it really hard to vote as they were persuaded by the arguments on both sides!