Reading and Writing Workshop
Workshop Title: Historical Fiction and the Freedom Riders
Resources:
Historical Thinking Guide
Era: Civil Rights Era
Resources:
Historical Thinking Guide
Era: Civil Rights Era
Reading and Writing Workshop: The Phoenix Travelers
Workshop Objective
By the end of this workshop, students will:
SESSION 1: Highways of Justice—The Interstate System’s Unintended Role1. Novel Excerpt Review
Read the Prologue of The Phoenix Travelers, exploring how the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act, meant for national defense, was repurposed as a civil rights pathway.
2. Primary Source Exploration
Eisenhower’s Message to Congress on the Interstate System (1955):
🔗 https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/special-message-the-congress-regarding-transportation
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “How did the interstate system reshape not only geography but also the social dynamics of America?”
Activity: Students build a two-column chart titled Interstate Highway System: Original Purpose vs. Civil Rights Impact. Compare Eisenhower’s Cold War rationale with how the Phoenix Travelers use the roads.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Prompt: “What does it mean to ride a road that wasn’t made for you—but that you claim anyway?”
SESSION 2: Segregated Spaces—Testing the Law1. Novel Excerpt Review
Read Acts I and II, focusing on diner and terminal incidents in Arizona and Texas.
2. Primary Source Exploration
Boynton v. Virginia (1960) Supreme Court decision—outlawing segregation in interstate bus terminals:
🔗 https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep364/usrep364454/usrep364454.pdf
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “How do laws change if no one enforces them? How did the Freedom Riders force the issue?”
Activity: Divide into small groups. Each group drafts a short scene set in a segregated bus station—one version before Boynton, one after. Compare.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Imagine you are one of the Phoenix Travelers entering a hostile terminal. Write a diary entry that captures the emotional tension and moral clarity of the moment.
SESSION 3: Overcrowded Jails and Overwhelmed Systems1. Novel Excerpt Review
Focus on the Beaumont, Texas jail scenes in Act II and how the Travelers’ arrests overwhelm the system.
2. Primary Source Exploration
CORE’s 1961 Freedom Ride documentation:
🔗 https://www.crmvet.org/docs/core61riders.htm
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “Why did Riders choose jail over bail? What message did that send?”
Activity: Create a jail solidarity poster. Use quotes from real Freedom Riders and fictional lines from the novel to design a protest sign that might have been taped to a jailhouse wall.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Write a persuasive paragraph defending the “jail, no bail” strategy. Use both fiction and historical evidence to support your claim.
SESSION 4: Mississippi Inferno—Firebombs and Mugshots1. Novel Excerpt Review
Read Act III, covering the firebomb attack near Jackson and the Riders’ detainment.
2. Primary Source Exploration
Jackson Freedom Riders’ arrest photos and documents:
🔗 https://mdah.ms.gov/arrec/digital_archives/series/freedom-riders
🔗 https://www.crmvet.org/images/imgfr.htm
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “How do photographs become part of protest?”
Activity: Mariah captures key moments in the novel. Compare her fictional photos with real mugshots of arrested Riders. Students create photo captions expressing dignity, courage, or fear.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Write a scene from the perspective of someone seeing their mugshot printed in a newspaper. How does it feel to have your resistance turned into a national image?
SESSION 5: Silent Resistance in Selma1. Novel Excerpt Review
Focus on Act IV’s department store action where the Phoenix Travelers escort a WWII veteran through segregated doors.
2. Primary Source Exploration
SNCC Statement of Purpose (1960):
🔗 https://www.crmvet.org/docs/sncc2.htm
John Lewis’ recounting of nonviolent training:
🔗 https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0022/
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “Why was quiet, nonviolent action often more powerful than shouting?”
Activity: Reenact a nonviolent protest scene. Use body language, silence, and stillness to demonstrate defiance.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Compose a poem or letter that the veteran in the story might have written after the protest—addressed to future generations.
SESSION 6: Coming Home Changed1. Novel Excerpt Review
Read Act V and the Epilogue. Discuss how each character grows and how the journey reshaped their communities.
2. Primary Source Exploration
CORE’s post-Freedom Ride campaign memo:
🔗 https://www.crmvet.org/info/core61fr.htm
Newspaper archives on returning Riders (via Chronicling America):
🔗 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “How did the actions of a few young people change the conscience of a country?”
Activity: Create a “Legacy Web” diagram showing how each Phoenix Traveler’s action (fictional) ties into historical outcomes (real).
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Final personal reflection: “What road will you choose? What legacy would you want to leave behind?”
Final Project Options
Public Domain Primary Sources Used
Would you like me to export this into a downloadable Word or PDF document next?
Workshop Objective
By the end of this workshop, students will:
- Analyze the historical context of the Freedom Rides and civil rights resistance during the early 1960s.
- Distinguish between historical fact and fictional narrative within the novella.
- Evaluate how race, identity, and place shape character development and narrative structure.
- Explore key historical events through public domain sources and apply them to the fictional journey of The Phoenix Travelers.
- Engage in critical writing, discussion, and creative reflection that deepens understanding of civil disobedience, solidarity, and social transformation.
SESSION 1: Highways of Justice—The Interstate System’s Unintended Role1. Novel Excerpt Review
Read the Prologue of The Phoenix Travelers, exploring how the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act, meant for national defense, was repurposed as a civil rights pathway.
2. Primary Source Exploration
Eisenhower’s Message to Congress on the Interstate System (1955):
🔗 https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/special-message-the-congress-regarding-transportation
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “How did the interstate system reshape not only geography but also the social dynamics of America?”
Activity: Students build a two-column chart titled Interstate Highway System: Original Purpose vs. Civil Rights Impact. Compare Eisenhower’s Cold War rationale with how the Phoenix Travelers use the roads.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Prompt: “What does it mean to ride a road that wasn’t made for you—but that you claim anyway?”
SESSION 2: Segregated Spaces—Testing the Law1. Novel Excerpt Review
Read Acts I and II, focusing on diner and terminal incidents in Arizona and Texas.
2. Primary Source Exploration
Boynton v. Virginia (1960) Supreme Court decision—outlawing segregation in interstate bus terminals:
🔗 https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep364/usrep364454/usrep364454.pdf
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “How do laws change if no one enforces them? How did the Freedom Riders force the issue?”
Activity: Divide into small groups. Each group drafts a short scene set in a segregated bus station—one version before Boynton, one after. Compare.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Imagine you are one of the Phoenix Travelers entering a hostile terminal. Write a diary entry that captures the emotional tension and moral clarity of the moment.
SESSION 3: Overcrowded Jails and Overwhelmed Systems1. Novel Excerpt Review
Focus on the Beaumont, Texas jail scenes in Act II and how the Travelers’ arrests overwhelm the system.
2. Primary Source Exploration
CORE’s 1961 Freedom Ride documentation:
🔗 https://www.crmvet.org/docs/core61riders.htm
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “Why did Riders choose jail over bail? What message did that send?”
Activity: Create a jail solidarity poster. Use quotes from real Freedom Riders and fictional lines from the novel to design a protest sign that might have been taped to a jailhouse wall.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Write a persuasive paragraph defending the “jail, no bail” strategy. Use both fiction and historical evidence to support your claim.
SESSION 4: Mississippi Inferno—Firebombs and Mugshots1. Novel Excerpt Review
Read Act III, covering the firebomb attack near Jackson and the Riders’ detainment.
2. Primary Source Exploration
Jackson Freedom Riders’ arrest photos and documents:
🔗 https://mdah.ms.gov/arrec/digital_archives/series/freedom-riders
🔗 https://www.crmvet.org/images/imgfr.htm
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “How do photographs become part of protest?”
Activity: Mariah captures key moments in the novel. Compare her fictional photos with real mugshots of arrested Riders. Students create photo captions expressing dignity, courage, or fear.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Write a scene from the perspective of someone seeing their mugshot printed in a newspaper. How does it feel to have your resistance turned into a national image?
SESSION 5: Silent Resistance in Selma1. Novel Excerpt Review
Focus on Act IV’s department store action where the Phoenix Travelers escort a WWII veteran through segregated doors.
2. Primary Source Exploration
SNCC Statement of Purpose (1960):
🔗 https://www.crmvet.org/docs/sncc2.htm
John Lewis’ recounting of nonviolent training:
🔗 https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0022/
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “Why was quiet, nonviolent action often more powerful than shouting?”
Activity: Reenact a nonviolent protest scene. Use body language, silence, and stillness to demonstrate defiance.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Compose a poem or letter that the veteran in the story might have written after the protest—addressed to future generations.
SESSION 6: Coming Home Changed1. Novel Excerpt Review
Read Act V and the Epilogue. Discuss how each character grows and how the journey reshaped their communities.
2. Primary Source Exploration
CORE’s post-Freedom Ride campaign memo:
🔗 https://www.crmvet.org/info/core61fr.htm
Newspaper archives on returning Riders (via Chronicling America):
🔗 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
3. Group Discussion & Activity
Prompt: “How did the actions of a few young people change the conscience of a country?”
Activity: Create a “Legacy Web” diagram showing how each Phoenix Traveler’s action (fictional) ties into historical outcomes (real).
4. Independent Writing & Reflection
Final personal reflection: “What road will you choose? What legacy would you want to leave behind?”
Final Project Options
- Phoenix Rider Profile Dossier – Create an in-depth character file with historical parallels, quotes, and a timeline of fictional and real civil rights milestones.
- Mini-Museum Exhibit – Set up a classroom exhibit with documents, poetry, photos, letters, and protest art inspired by The Phoenix Travelers.
- Podcast Oral History – Record 5-minute interviews of students playing Riders reflecting on their journey years later.
- Freedom Map – Build a map tracing the Phoenix Travelers’ route across the U.S., integrating real Freedom Ride events.
Public Domain Primary Sources Used
- Boynton v. Virginia Supreme Court Ruling (1960):
https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep364/usrep364454/usrep364454.pdf - Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway Act Message (1955):
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/special-message-the-congress-regarding-transportation - CORE 1961 Freedom Ride Records:
https://www.crmvet.org/docs/core61riders.htm - SNCC Statement of Purpose (1960):
https://www.crmvet.org/docs/sncc2.htm - Jackson Freedom Rider Archives (MDAH):
https://mdah.ms.gov/arrec/digital_archives/series/freedom-riders - Historical Newspapers (Chronicling America):
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
Would you like me to export this into a downloadable Word or PDF document next?