Images
Norman Rockwell, Freedom of Speech, The Saturday Evening Post 1943, 1943
James Karales, Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965, 1965
Objectives
Students will understand that photographs and paintings show the ideas of freedom of speech and the right of people to peaceably assemble.
Focusing Statement
Today we are thinking about and experiencing how citizens can participate in local government by looking at the Norman Rockwell painting “Freedom of Speech.” We will also look at the “Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights” photograph and think about how everyday citizens can peacefully express their right to assemble to make a statement about voting rights.
Examining Expressive Content
Both of these works of art are about Americans expressing their opinions with the goal of persuading other Americans to support their point of view.
- What do you see and what do you not see in the Rockwell painting “Freedom of Speech” and in the Karales photograph “Selma to Montgomery”?
- What does the Rockwell painting suggest about whom in America gets to express an opinion?
- What does the Karales photograph suggest about who in America gets to express an opinion?
- Where do you think each picture takes place?
- Do you think that you have been in one of the places or attended such a meeting/gathering?