Through quantitative and qualitative content analysis I looked at five different historical events that have to do with racial minorities. I looked at how these events were presented in twenty-five different high school history textbooks between the years 1950-2020, a seventy-year period. Textbook publishers dictate what events are included and in what way they are presented to students. Through the analysis of my data, I was able to answer my research question: What is the effect of Civil Rights Movements on the content presented in the high school history textbooks between the years 1950 to 2020? The themes I was able to come up with through my content analysis include The Shift in Minority Group Representation which shows the negative to positive transition in the way that minority groups are spoken about, Glorification to Inclusivity which shows how Christopher Columbus slowly faded out of US history textbooks and other events began to take his place, and Women Making their Mark which shows the minimal representation of minority women in history. 

The findings in my research align with that of much of the existing lecture. Many scholars stated that racial minorities had been omitted from United States history textbooks. Foster (1999) speaks about the importance of history textbooks in educating the next generation but notes that many lacking in positive portrayals of minority ethnic groups, which I also noticed in my research. Some historical events were more openly spoken about in comparison to others. According to Garcia (1993) there was a shift in portrayals following the Civil Rights Movement; minorities’ representation in textbooks began to increase. This directly connects to my research question as well as the data I found to support it. I also noticed a shift following the Civil Rights Movement, when descriptions of Christopher Columbus began to fade out and historical events such as the Trail of Tears and Japanese Internment began to be spoken about more openly. I noticed that in the early years’ slaves were depicted as happy and carefree, through this narrative eventually shifted to a more critical stance. This also occurred in textbook narratives about the Civil Rights Movement and Japanese Internment. 

Through my research, I was able to see that the Civil Rights Movement had a large impact on the ways in which racial minority groups are spoken about. This finding was supported by most of the literature that I examined, which stated that minority racial groups had not been well represented in US history textbooks. Between 1950 and 2020, the depiction of these groups has changed significantly. In the year 1950, the Civil Rights Movement was just beginning, which fought for equal rights for African Americans. It was only added to textbooks in the year 1973 which is about twenty-three years after the movement began; though some mark the origin of the movement with Brown vs. Board in 1954 this still represents almost a 20-year gap. 

My initial research question looked at the ways that the Civil Rights Movement changed how minority racial groups were spoken about in United States history textbooks over a seventy-year period, between 1950 and 2020. Many factors help to create this shift in portrayals of racial minorities. 

Future Research:

I have gained so much knowledge on my topic throughout my research and the content analysis of my data. After learning so much, it would be interesting to look at different events and under-represented minority groups. There are so many racial minority groups that are constantly misrepresented in the education system. This includes Asian-Americans, not specifically Japanese Americans, people who are Hispanic or LatinX, and Pacific Islanders. Another interesting topic that would be worth doing further research on would be looking at the publishers and authors of the textbooks. I would look at the ways in which they influenced or changed what was placed into the curriculum. Race-based stereotypes proliferate in society and it is important that we see the truth behind these stereotypes and misconceptions.