To Form a More Perfect Union: Milestones of the Civil Rights Movement

Each day I see students from a wide variety of ethnicities mingling in hallways and classrooms, and the fact that there is nothing particularly notable about this reminds us of the extraordinary accomplishments of the Civil Rights movement during the late 1950s and ‘60s: in the course of a single generation, huge strides were made, but the heroism and sacrifices of that period should not be forgotten. To Form a More Perfect Union is a compelling compilation of segments combining archival footage, photographs, and documents from the times, immersing viewers in “what it was like to have been there.” Ten major milestones, each commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp (this is a USPS-licensed DVD), are explored in masterfully edited 3-5 minute segments. Some of the milestones are familiar: the March on Washington, Brown v. Board of Education, or the Montgomery bus boycott. Others might be less known to some viewers: the multiethnic Freedom Riders who took bus trips across the Jim Crow South to deliberately use the “wrong” facilities; or the lunch counter sit-ins, a nationwide nonviolent movement that began when a few Greensboro, NC black college students ordered lunch at a “whites-only” Woolworths' counter. Since there is no “modern” context presented, the segments have a time capsule “you are there” feel that effectively evokes the era. DVD extras include “The Art of the Stamp,” offering information on the artists who created the original artworks that inspired the stamps. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (E. Gieschen)