City of Hope: Resurrection City and the Poor People's Campaign of 1968

Historical thinking skills allow historians to better practice and interpret history. This series teaches students how to develop these skills to become better historians themselves. This Learning Lab will guide students through the process of defining historical context and practicing employing strategies from an example dealing with the 1968 Poor People's Campaign.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for equality did not end with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In his last years, King’s focus shifted toward achieving economic equality and combating poverty in the United States, denouncing the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, and contending with the rise of The Black Power Movement. This Learning Lab highlights documents, images, objects, and media from the National Museum of African American History and Culture and other Smithsonian units that help to tell the story of Martin Luther King Jr.’s final years, his assassination, and his enduring legacy.

Using the How to Do an Oral History, record interviews with people in your community who were witness to or involved in the Poor People’s Campaign.

The Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide can be used to turn members of your own family and community into key sources of history, culture, and tradition.

Based on Collection Stories, have your students share their interpretation of the objects in your collection that they find most powerful.