Southern Poverty Law Center: Education About Civil Rights Movement Dismal

Southern Poverty Law Center: Education About Civil Rights Movement Dismal:

Study: Education About Civil Rights Movement 'Dismal'

• By: Lynette Holloway | Posted: October 1, 2011

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NPR is reporting that nearly three-quarters of states fail at teaching the civil rights movement, according to a study released by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The study assigned 35 states a grade of "F". Only three states -- Alabama, New York and Florida -- received an "A".

Here's how the study's authors sum it up:

"Rather than recognizing the profound national significance of the civil rights movement, most states mistakenly see it as a regional matter, or a topic of interest mainly for black students. Nine of the 12 highest-scoring states are from the former Confederacy. They are joined by the states of Illinois, Maryland, and New York.

Generally speaking, the farther away from the South -- and the smaller the African-American population --