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Black Lives Matter (Dedham, Elementary Bookshelf)

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Black Lives Matter (Dedham, Elementary Bookshelf)

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November 2016 | Volume 74 | Number 3
Disrupting Inequity Pages 16-22

Rick Wormeli

We all build our own version of the human story and our role in it. We proceed daily, sure that our truth is the truth, then someone commits a horrific act of inhumanity that shreds our careful constructs. Then, it happens again, and again-and again, just as it did this past year with the multiple deaths of black men after interactions with police-and then the deaths of police officers.

The normal tools of interpretation and comfort seem to be gone. Who would think that in a caring, thoughtful democracy, we needed a large political movement to remind police officers-and all citizens-of the simple truth that black lives matter? Who would think that when a police officer was asked why he shot an autistic man's caretaker-who was lying with his hands in the air asking officers not to shoot-he'd answer, "I don't know" (Rabin, 2016)?

The violence among U.S. residents of different colors, cultures, religions, and political groups has heated to new levels. Social media may have exacerbated the divisive rhetoric and fanned the flames of hatred more than in past decades, but the intense distrust and contempt, and the inability to resolve these feelings in a civil manner, didn't start with social media. They are the new normal for many.

Rather than give in to the helplessness we feel to stop racism and our collective, civic hemorrhage, every institution must examine its own role in perpetuating (inadvertently and advertently) racist thinking and policies. We can't truly create equal opportunities for all until our institutions take specific actions to end that thinking and those policies. And ground zero for an equitable, nonracist society is the K-12 classroom.

Before we consider recent examples of racism and how it affects all Americans, let's be clear: No one is born racist. Racism is learned. Just as important, racism is not insurmountable.

What We're Up Against

In response to a recent Pew Research Center report that showed white and black Americans aren't on the same page about issues of poverty and racism, blogger Rob Wile (2016) noted, "While most black people think that higher levels of poverty and lower levels of economic mobility in their communities are the fault of America's legacy of systematic racism and under-investment, more white people are content to blame black people themselves."

Five years ago, I was giving a day-long presentation to a group of teachers in the United States. During a morning break, I overheard one woman say to another, "When we get that darkie out of the White House, we'll get this country back the way it should be." The other woman replied, "You got that right."

Refusal to respect other cultures isn't confined to interactions between blacks and whites. On commercial flights, passengers dressed in Muslim clothing who are texting on their phones have been asked to leave the plane because they are making other passengers uncomfortable. And some of my Hispanic students have told me their parents have been shadowed by security personnel as they shop at stores.

Imagine if, at a dinner celebrating local Cub Scouts and their achievements, the adult leader asked everyone to bow his or her head for a word of prayer before the meal. Then he prayed into the microphone, "Praise and glory be to You, O Allah. There is no God but You. Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful!" If this happened in most American Cub Scout packs, people of Christian, Jewish, and other faiths or no faiths would be offended that they were forced to bow their heads and listen to something foreign to their beliefs.

My family experienced something similar at a Cub Scout dinner. The pre-dinner prayer was full of Christian references like, "Through the one and only God, Jesus, our guiding savior, we are redeemed and made whole." This was in a diverse area near Washington, D.C., with a Scout pack full of Muslims, Jews, and people of other faiths as well as Christians. Imagine those non-Christian families' reactions to such a prayer.

I asked the leader if there might be a more inclusive prayer we could offer. She dismissed the concern. As I looked around the room at the faces of many parents and children, I saw the real lesson learned: You don't belong.

Not all disrespect and conflict is purely about race. Religious, cultural, and racial differences interweave. Stark differences result in fervent debate and divisiveness among Christians as well as among Muslims and Jews. Racism, however, is among the most insidious and deepest-running challenges of our time.

Moving Beyond Silence

Clearly, Americans must begin talking candidly together about race-starting now. We don't need to justify having focused conversations about racism in schools. I'm bothered by my own silence at times as I witness racism. After I overheard the comment about "that darkie [in] the White House," I didn't confront these women. It wasn't a proud moment; in my silence, there was tacit acceptance of racist thinking.

I'm upset at my silence about racist statements and behaviors by others that I've heard about but not witnessed personally. It might seem that because the incidents are second-hand, I'm absolved from speaking out against them. Yet, how do I reconcile that silence with my belief that each of us is free only if everyone is free? As Nelson Mandela (1995) wrote, "Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me. ... The oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed" (p. 624).

Besides the stunning cruelty of racism, letting it fester serves no one, not even the predominant group. We're in this together. It's ironic, then, that we focus on labeling differences among us, particularly whether those differences are negative or positive. For example, if a teacher looks at the students before her at the beginning of the school year, it's likely she will wonder who are going to be the easiest ones to teach. Isn't the one we assume to be easy to teach the student who most reflects our own culture, or the one who looks similar to a student from last year we enjoyed teaching? We're already sorting according to built-in biases. When we wonder who'll be the hardest to teach, we often guess the students who don't look like anyone we've taught before.

Humans have built-in "other"-isms in order to protect ourselves. We categorize people in terms of ourselves and, in many cases, interpret differences from us in a negative way. ( That music they play in their homes is annoying! Can't they eat less disgusting food?) We might even think, How sad. My neighbor who worships at a different church doesn't understand the higher truth. Or for easy identification, we might resort to caricatures, versions that emphasize one or two attributes we think a cultural group has. ( All Asians are gifted mathematicians. White people who live in trailers are alcoholics.)

Principles for Brave Conversations

I sometimes question whether white educators can accept that institutionalized racism exists and whether they can do so without succumbing to paralyzing guilt about their complicity in racism's growth or becoming so overwhelmed that they give up. I sometimes question whether black teachers and parents can embrace white teachers and parents who want to do right. Can they accept whites' sincere efforts to work together to end racist practices, even if they stumble or are unintentionally offensive?

But we have to try talking with one another, because biases and quick categorizations about people who are different from us are expressions of our limited experiences with them. Such categorizations are a slippery slope into classism and racism. With more experiences with others, we flesh people out in our minds and become comfortable with them. When we spend time with quadriplegics, for instance, we come to see them as individuals first, persons with paralyzed limbs a distant second. People with a hardened stance against LGBTQ rights soften when a member of their family reveals he is homosexual.

Yet talking about racism is uncomfortable. We avoid such conversations in schools because it could stir things up that we're unprepared to handle. We might lose friends or colleagues for a while-or longer. Or we're so afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing or appearing racist that we cripple constructive opportunities to talk about race and resolve conflicts. By approaching one another with good faith and caring, we can ease these fears. As Howard Stevenson (2014) writes,

Students, teachers, parents, and educators must expect, receive, and give affection (nurturing), protection (monitoring), and correction (accountability) while they take risks to become aware of and learn to resolve racial stress and conflict in daily social interactions. Without these ingredients, the risks of racial avoidance will be too great, and the improvement of race relations and racial climates within schools too arduous to complete.

Reviewing and agreeing on the principles below can help us have candid discussions about racism with our students-or among fellow educators.

▪ Assume that, at any given moment in the conversation, the other person is doing the best he or she can. Chances are, it's true.

▪ Forgive yourself and others for making mistakes, including inexact wording, muddled thinking, or unintended use of stereotypes.

▪ Suppress hidden agendas and the urge to preach or politicize.

▪ Remain nonaccusatory when you see things differently from another. Use phrases like, "It's been my experience that ___," "Tell me more about___," or "How did faculty at your last school respond to ___?"

▪ Seek first to understand, then to be understood (Covey, 2013).

▪ If you disagree with someone, paraphrase that person's point before responding. It helps him know that his comments were heard and considered.

▪ Avoid language that blames ("If it weren't for white people. ..." "They're always speaking Spanish together, so they must not want me around." "You're blind to white privilege.") Blaming thwarts honest conversation.

▪ Don't ask anyone to speak for a whole race if there's only one student or colleague in the group from a particular culture or race.

▪ Acknowledge that candid conversation makes us all vulnerable. Teachers' inner selves are on view daily by many constituencies-students, parents, administrators, and the general public. They are also subject to self-doubts and high expectations of professionalism. As a result, they may be hesitant to open those vulnerability gates too widely.

▪ Avoid associating the quality of a colleague's teaching with exploratory comments offered in conversation about racism. A peer can be a neophyte in such conversations, but effective in the classroom.

The questions in Figure 1 can help start robust conversations in school communities. As to how to launch these discussions, I don't recommend starting conversations on racism at a large faculty meeting. This often results in side conversations, cross-talking, and "knowing" glances passed among people, and personal buttons may be pushed. In large gatherings, many voices and perspectives don't get heard (in fact, a few teachers might hijack the conversation with their own agendas). A thoughtful exploration of issues involving racism in the school is better started in groups of no more than six. Build to a larger group experience after conversation skills have developed.

Figure 1. Questions to Start Faculty Discussions About Racism

Does racism exist in our schools? What does it sound or look like?

What would it take to create a truly race-neutral society? Do we want this?

Am I racist? Why, or why not? Am I open to others' critique when it comes to how I relate to other races?

Does the rise of certain groups' influence-Latino, Jewish, white, Muslim, or whatever-mean a decline in other groups' well-being? If people say yes, discuss whether this represent a "zero sum" mindset. Is this a mindset we want to communicate to students?

How can we counter negative stereotypes?

Are we responsible for teaching students and colleagues to recognize and confront racism?

What should we do when we inadvertently do or say something racist?

What do we communicate to the parents of our minority students about our expectations for their children?

How are we battling the student opinion that academic proficiency is inherently white?

Do we have a disproportionate number of administrative referrals for our minority students?

Choose faculty to lead these conversations who are good at making sure each voice is heard and valued. Give these leaders time to brainstorm constructive responses or strategies to diffuse any (intentionally and unintentionally) incendiary comments. If a point becomes particularly contentious, for instance, participants might record their thinking on index cards and pass them to the facilitator to read aloud. Dozens of books and websites on group facilitation provide helpful tips on small-group dynamics. For conversing on racism, I particularly recommend Ali Michael's Raising Race Questions: Whiteness and Inquiry in Education (Teachers College Press, 2014) and Howard Stevenson's Promoting Racial Literacy in Schools: Differences That Make a Difference (Teachers College Press, 2013).

Informing Our Conversations

To build a climate where such discussions bear fruit, we should immerse students and ourselves in learning experiences that will positively inform conversations about race. Lack of awareness about other races rarely helps a difficult conversation; it leads to misunderstandings, limited sharing, hurt feelings, and eventually, a discussion's demise. Experiences like these will help us sustain difficult interactions-and bring equal opportunity to students from nonmainstream cultures.

▪ Use fiction and nonfiction that will open students to different worlds, help them see situations from different perspectives, and build empathy.

▪ Try simulations and role-playing in which students can approximate the perspectives of others, but be sensitive to the fact that some of us can leave the role at the end of the learning experience. Anyone from a minority race or oppressed group can't slip out of the challenges at the end of the day: They live with them 24-7.

▪ Have your class regularly think about a contentious issue from one prevailing perspective, then give them 20 minutes to argue the same issue from the opposite perspective. Working with partners can help.

▪ Practice responses to scenarios involving racism. What should a teacher or student do if someone says something that might be perceived as racist? For instance, in a class discussion about the economy of the South during the Civil War, one student blurts out, "I wouldn't mind having slaves around to help me get a lot of work done!" (Stevenson, 2014). A thoughtful teacher might say something like, "Tobey, consider how someone coming from a culture severely traumatized by slave masters would hear your words just now. How would they feel about your comment about slavery? Would you like to rephrase your statement?" By rehearsing successful responses, we can create a picture of ourselves responding to an instance of racism, which increases the likelihood that we will respond.

▪ Hold students accountable immediately for racist statements and behaviors. You can do so in ways that let the student repair damage: "Terry, I know you're not naturally a racist thinker. Check your statement again: Is there anything there that could be construed as racist?" If a student consistently makes racially insensitive comments and needs a nonhumiliating boost in executive function skills-which is where much of the filtering of impulsive, inappropriate comments resides-you might videotape class discussions from time to time. In a private moment away from classmates, cue up the video to a place showing inappropriate comments from this student and ask him or her, "What did you say here? Look at the body language, faces, and responses from your classmates. Did you read the situation correctly? How could you have made a completely different comment that would demonstrate respect for people of color?"

▪ Talk to students about what you believe about race and equity. Successful teachers aren't afraid of teaching a community's values; they are not indifferent. It's important to model for students a vision of adults standing up for what they think is morally right. With racism, there is little ambiguity; intentional or unintentional discrimination against a person or group based on race or culture is against the law.

▪ Teach skills of debate and civil discourse, using materials from Teaching Tolerance, the National Speech and Debate Association, and the National Institute for Civil Discourse.

▪ Don't just skim information on the Civil Rights movement and its leaders, and don't limit its study to Black History Month. Give it full attention throughout the school year. Study more than just the struggles of black Americans. Civil Rights isn't just about equitable treatment for one group.

▪ Share news stories that surface racism in the local community and in national politics. Have students investigate school or community racism, if appropriate.

▪ Empower students to do something about racism in the media (and social media) when they see it, such as writing letters, making presentations, or analyzing a racist's arguments.

▪ Expose students to artworks and contributions by many different cultures and races and let them respond personally to those artifacts.

▪ Teach students and teachers to recognize and control micro-aggressions-the small, seemingly nonracist things people do, say, and think that are hurtful and may betray unconscious racism or bias. Examples include: avoiding eye contact with students outside our culture; telling a student her math work is excellent for a student who comes from such a poor background; demeaning service industry jobs or any job perceived as being done primarily by minorities ("If you don't study, you might wind up as a taxi driver"); and using language like saying black youths "rioted and turned violent," whereas white youths "protested unfair treatment."

▪ Have students write personal reflections about racial tension. Discuss how much people filter their language in trying to say it just the right way.

Securing a Nonracist Future

Part of our job as educators is to secure a nonracist future, so our response to racism in our schools must be clear and compassionate. Settling for indifference exacerbates the problem. And we can't afford to leave anyone out of this conversation. For instance, I'm a white male, so some people might think, How could he possibly understand this enough to be helpful? Some might even dismiss my ideas because of my race alone. Think about that idea-that because of my race, I have nothing of value to add to the community discussion on racism-and you'll see it's misguided. Every one of us is touched by racism. We all have a stake in positive race relations.

A conversation needs only two people. Let's each identify, today, one person on our faculty with whom we're willing to initiate a conversation on racism, regardless of the make-up of our student body or faculty. Whole futures are at stake-ours. Together, we are powerful.

▪ Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Spiegel & Grau, 2015)

▪ Raising Race Questions: Whiteness and Inquiry in Education by Ali Michael (Teachers College Press, 2014)

▪ Scarcity: The New Science of Having Less and How It Defines Our Lives by Sendhil Mullainathan (Picador, 2014)

▪ Dream Makers, Dream Breakers: The World of Justice Thurgood Marshall by Carl T. Rowan (Back Bay Books, 1993)

▪ What's Race Got to Do with It? How Current School Reform Policy Maintains Racial and Economic Inequity edited by Edwin Mayorga and Bree Picower (Peter Lang Publishers, 2015)

▪ Reading for Their Life: (Re)Building the Textual Lineages of African American Adolescent Males by Alfred W. Tatum (Heinemann, 2009)

References

Covey, S. (2013). Seven habits of highly effective people. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Mandela, N. (1995). Long walk to freedom: The autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Boston: Back Bay Books.

Rabin, C. (2016, July 20). Cop shoots caretaker of autistic man playing in the street with toy truck. Miami Herald. Retrieved from www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article90905442.html

Stevenson, H. (2014). Promoting racial literacy in schools: Differences that make a difference. New York: Teachers College Press.

Wile, R. (2016, June 27). White people don't blame racism for black people's struggles. They blame black people. [blog post] Retrieved from Fusion at www.fusion.net/story/319381/black-white-gap-on-black-struggle/

Rick Wormeli ( www.rickwormeli.com) is a long-time teacher, consultant, and author of The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli: Crazy, Good Stuff I Learned about Teaching Along the Way (2013) and Summarization in Any Subject (ASCD, 2004). Follow him on Twitter.

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November 2016 | Volume 74 | Number 3 Disrupting Inequity Pages 16-22 Rick Wormeli We all build our own version of the human story and our role in it. We proceed daily, sure that our truth is the truth, then someone commits a horrific act of inhumanity that shreds our careful constructs.

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Gonzalez: Why White Students Need Social Justice Education

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Gonzalez: Why White Students Need Social Justice Education

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Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

Sponsored by PowerSchool and ViewSonic

These last few weeks have been especially difficult for me as the news continues to reflect that racism still exists in 2020. I've witnessed video footage of Ahmaud Arbery shot and killed while jogging, George Floyd murdered by the police, and Christian Cooper harassed while bird watching in Central Park. As we think about the next generation of adults we are influencing, particularly our White students, now more than ever, we need to teach more than kindness.

As an equity advocate, I have lots of conversations about culturally responsive teaching and multicultural education. Not too long ago while I was consulting with an elementary school principal she said, "Multicultural Education is nice, but we are well over 90% White at my school."

A common myth regarding multicultural education is that it is about helping students of color see themselves within the content. But multicultural education is about more than just race: It refers to any form of learning or teaching that incorporates the histories, texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives of people from different cultural backgrounds ( Glossary of Education Reform). And even if the majority of your students are White, it doesn't mean we shouldn't teach from a multicultural perspective.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not advocating for a bunch of Kumbaya moments in the classroom. This is not a post about how we need to teach students to embrace diversity and love each other. It's about the influence we can and should have on our students. Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings taught us that we teach what we value. Therefore, we are part of the problem if we refuse to teach about antiracism and speak out against police brutality. Our students look up to us as adults, and many of our students mimic our behavior. If we are silent around social justice matters, we send a loud message to our students about where we stand as these issues impact many of the communities we serve.

In fact, we need to go beyond multicultural education. In this 2017 interview, Zaretta Hammond differentiates between multicultural education and social justice education, which provides "a lens for the student, really being able to look at the world and seeing where things aren't fair or where injustice exists." To ensure the changes our society is hurting for, we need to give our White students both multicultural and social justice education. Additionally, Dr. James Banks, the father of multicultural education, advocates for educators to teach our students about social and civic action. Ensuring that students engage in multiple perspectives without coupling their learning with civic engagement does not complete the process of developing socially just citizens who are willing to take a stance against the mistreatment of others. We need to help our students find ways they can take action in response to what they have learned.

Going back to the principal I was speaking with about whether there was a need for multicultural education at her school, I was thinking, "This is why multicultural and social justice education is so important!" Even with her assumptions that because there wasn't a lot of racial representation at her school, does that mean the small percentage of students of color don't matter to her? If that's the case, what would her teachers say? Would they support her sentiments?

Why Multicultural Education is 100% Relevant in All-White Schools

"Whiteness" is Complex

When someone asks why multicultural education is needed at a predominately White school, an assumption is being made that White people are a homogenous group. But White people are as heterogeneous as other racial and ethnic groups: there's socioeconomic status, gender and sexual orientation, identity, religion, language, age, and disability, to name a few. All of those represent different cultures. Sometimes, when you're in a dominant culture and used to things being a certain way, you don't necessarily think about your ancestry or heritage and how things have changed over time. And because conditions have changed over time, it may appear that Whiteness is Whiteness, but there are so many different cultures embedded within that broad category.

I think it's essential that we help teach our White students about their ancestors and the origins of when their families first arrived in the United States. The languages, the cultures, the traditions, all those things don't necessarily have to be lost. They can be retrieved.

Let's go back to the 1790s, where the first census was started. With the first US Census, they classified race. The classifying of race allowed those in power to determine or allow a few rights: Who gets the right to get jobs? Who gets the right to marry? Who gets the right to own property? That's how the social construct of race started.

Above is a view of Europeans, or some of the first immigrants, who were coming from various countries. And if you look at the picture, they're White people, right? But they're coming from multiple countries. At this time, there were several languages represented. You had folks that came from Italy, Germany, Russia, England, and so on. There were all types of cultures coming into the United States.

There were also various forms of religions represented when the Europeans began to arrive in the US. In Russia, you had the Orthodox church. In England, you had the Anglican church. When they first came, they weren't willing to give up their culture and become this one White race. They held onto their traditions, values, and beliefs. But we see that over time, things have changed to where White supremacy and racial hierarchies began to form. Today, there are a lot of families who have European origins that may not necessarily speak the language from their original land of ancestry because those things might have been lost over generations.

Multicultural Literacy Is a Separate and Necessary Literacy

The concept of "literacy" is broad. Still, it can be divided into many different sub-categories. One of these is multicultural literacy, the ability to uncover biases relating to culture, and the skills to view the world through different cultural perspectives.

Dr. Robin DiAngelo says, "Historically reinforced ideologies such as individualism and color-blindness have left many White people racially illiterate but racially conscious when perceiving other racialized groups." So because they're in the dominant culture, they don't necessarily have to think about race, but they'll maybe notice racial issues that are not related to Whiteness.

In other words, maybe they might notice police brutality in a Black community. Perhaps they might see issues of race with Islamophobia and discrimination. But we want our students to do more than notice; responding to issues of racism, prejudice, and discrimination is essential.

Having literacy in this area is also key for equipping White students to participate more actively in conversations about racial justice. If they are not regularly exposed to these conversations, they are less likely to speak up on this topic. White friends and colleagues tell me all the time that they want to say something when racism and equity come up, but they often hold back because they don't know what to say or are afraid to say the wrong thing. With a higher level of multicultural literacy, our students will build more confidence.

What We've Been Doing Isn't Enough

Although multicultural education certainly isn't new, it's clear that what we've been doing up to this point hasn't been enough.

As recently as a few weeks ago, there have been instances of White people utilizing the police as a means to address their encounters with people of color. The underlying issue of racism is apparent in many of these instances. Discussing current events and helping White students understand why they should also be upset at discrimination and racism may prevent a continuous cycle of White people remaining silent and complicit when issues happen that do not directly impact them.

These conversations are essential to have. It's also critical to teach students about becoming allies and co-conspirators, especially at the middle and high school levels. It might be a little bit difficult with your first and second graders, and maybe your kindergartners, but I think there are some messages you could still portray to your students even at that age.

What Can Multicultural Education Teach Our White Students?

We've already established multicultural education goes beyond race. There's so much within the concept of "culture," and we must help our White students understand how race can impact them and how they can actively use whatever privilege they have to reduce issues of racism, discrimination, and bigotry.

1. Understanding Their Own Cultural and Ethnic Background

It's not uncommon for White people to say, Oh, I'm just White. I don't have a culture. We need to teach our White students about what their cultural background is and their ethnic backgrounds so they can understand and think about their language and religions going back to their ancestry. Lessons on their culture may help them start to understand how privilege and White supremacy began. So begin with going back and taking some time to help your students understand that. You can also work with students by exploring community history and cultural influence.

One of the things you can teach your students, your White students, is in history. Many White immigrants have been accused of marginalizing other White immigrants. For example, the Irish and Italians were mistreated, discriminated, and marginalized against by other White immigrants. If we can teach our White students how their ancestors might have perpetuated that oppression or perhaps were part of that oppression against each other, maybe that will help them understand a little bit how in 2020, oppression continues to exist to those who are not included in the dominant culture. They can kind of see how the "haves" and the "have nots" happened back then. One of the things we want to do is help students relate items from their background knowledge and be able to bring those to light.

2. Studying Implicit Bias in Everyday Language

Another thing we can do is discuss everyday language. How are words associated with white and black used? Words such as blackmail, blackballed, or blacklisted have different connotations than words like white labeled or whitelisted. We can have students examine how these words may spark negative perceptions based on their meanings and associations.

Consider how words such as "alien" or "immigrant" may trigger the thoughts of someone of Mexican descent. These types of stereotypes in our language may trigger our Latinx community. The same rule applies to phrases like "You should speak up more, you're so quiet" to an Asian student.

The language we use every day may not seem significant because of the implicit biases we have developed in our lives. The words we use daily are influenced by how we were raised, our social circle, and the media. We may not notice how some of the words we use may have adverse effects on particular groups of people (stereotypes, derogatory language, etc.). We can teach students about implicit bias and how to overcome bias in our language usage.

3. Examining Representation in Curriculum and Beyond

Let's take a look at our school curriculum. Have your students investigate how various cultural groups are represented in the school's curriculum. Lead these discussions with your students and have them understand it because a lot of times, that's not a thing we think about. When we are discussing representation in the school's curriculum, allow opportunities for a dialogue beyond heterosexual, cisgender, Christian-based educational norms. Instead, talk about subjects that aren't reflected, such as disabilities, and how they are depicted in the curriculum. How are people from the LGBTQ community portrayed or even acknowledged in the content? Chimamanda Adichie talks about the danger of a single story. We need to make sure that we can bring in various perspectives in our curriculum and instruction.

If students find minimal to no representation of certain groups in the curriculum, discuss ways to bring in a variety of multicultural perspectives. The website We Need Diverse Books is an excellent resource for building a more inclusive classroom library, and Milner published an article that discusses developing a multicultural curriculum for an all-White classroom.

From there, you can expand your communications by discussing popular culture and how various groups are represented in multiple media outlets such as the news, music, movies, and social media. Have them study or research certain groups and how the articles that come up and the titles of those articles. What do the reports say versus other articles about various groups?

4. Understanding and Recognizing Privilege

A combination of multicultural and social justice education can help students see the trouble with implicit racism and how even though they are not doing anything actively racist, they are still benefiting from a legacy of racism. Calling the cops to say that "an African American man is threatening me and my dog" is a result of White privilege. Knowing that Black people have historically been mistreated by law enforcement and using that knowledge to one's advantage is inhumane.

Teaching White students about power and privilege may be a touchy subject for some as White guilt and fragility may seep into the mindset of White teachers and students. However, we must learn to "disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed." Starting at a young age, we can help our students learn to understand that not everyone has access and the same opportunities as others. Students as young as six years old can learn about race and class. And this work doesn't have to be limited to social studies class. We can embed these principles in all subjects, including mathematics.

5. Dismantling Racism

It is not enough to teach White children to embrace racial and cultural diversity. We've got to go beyond cultural competency. "Children must also develop individual and group identities that will recognize and resist the false notions of superiority and racial entitlement" (Derman-Sparks, Ramsey, and Edwards, 2011). Because today we have to teach our students how to be antiracist and how to work to dismantle racism actively.

Invest in meaningful dialogue that brings awareness to issues impacting both local and global communities. Additionally, a social justice-minded educator teaches their students to develop their own socio-cultural consciousness and advocacy skills so they can advocate for themselves and others.

For elementary students, that action may include students committing to do more than not bully or laugh at each other. They may also commit to bystander intervention by stepping in and helping their peers who they see are being mistreated. We can help our students take a stance instead of just teaching them to be kind to each other and not engage in activities that include mistreating others.

For secondary students, action may include writing their school board about their concerns and calls for change. A strong student group organized with a mission and objectives goes a long way toward challenging institutional practices that are unjust toward certain groups. On local and national scales, have students engage in lessons that address mass incarceration, police brutality, civil rights, immigration, racism, healthcare disparities, unequal pay issues, trauma, suicide, drug abuse, and women's rights, and privilege.

Sometimes we teach our students how to be kind to others, embrace diversity, and respect differences. We can go beyond that by teaching our White students how to be antiracist actively and do their part to support advocacy towards social justice and reform. The foundation for teaching our students how to engage in these practices actively is by helping students understand their White racial identity and positionality in society. From there, students may have a better understanding of the need for a multicultural approach in education and what they can do to find their voice and role in creating a socially just society.

Additional Resources
Framing Brave Conversations About Race and Ethnicity 8 Ways Teachers Can Address White Supremacy in the Classroom Teaching About Racism, Antisemitism and White Supremacy How Does Race Affect a Student's Math Education? Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race and Racism White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activity for Project Based Learning Racism No Way: Anti-racism Activities, Years 3-12 How Should I Talk About Race in My Mostly White Classroom?
Learn more from Sheldon Eakins on his website, the Leading Equity Center, where he offers resources, courses, and his podcast, the Leading Equity Podcast.

Come back for more.
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Why White Students Need Multicultural and Social Justice Education

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Sponsored by PowerSchool and ViewSonic These last few weeks have been especially difficult for me as the news continues to reflect that racism still exists in 2020. I've witnessed video footage of Ahmaud Arbery shot and killed while jogging, George Floyd murdered by the police, and Christian Cooper harassed while bird watching in Central Park.

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Provides text sets of books dealing with issues around civil disobedience, racism, feminism, and much more

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Book shelves that deal with issues of equality, have POC as protagonists; if you click on each link you will find a recording of a text

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Multicultural Equality - (Walk in Another's Shoes)

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Race Talk: Engaging Young People in Conversation

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Race Talk: Engaging Young People in Conversation

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This article from the ADL contains questions that teachers can use for discussion

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Race Talk: Engaging Young People in Conversations about Race and Racism

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As a society, public conversations about race and racism have increased in volume and intensity. Here are some suggestions and strategies for having classroom conversations with young people about these issues.

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These resources were curated to support teachers and families with processing Geoge Floyd’s death

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From suggested social media language you can use to advocate for change, to educational guides to keep you up to speed on the latest, the resources below can help you start or continue your journey to take action against injustice.

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
The New Era of Public Safety initiative offers groundbreaking tools to create accountability and increase trust, fairness, justice, and mutual respect between police departments and the communities of color they serve. The report and toolkit offer policy solutions to equip communities and police departments with best practices and recommendations for adopting 21st century policing models, including tools for advocacy.

Center for Policing Equity
Center for Policing Equity (CPE) produces analyses identifying and reducing the causes of racial disparities in public safety and advocates for large-scale and meaningful change. Using evidence-based approaches to social justice, CPE uses data to create levers for social, cultural and policy change.

Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter provides a number of toolkits for individuals related to healing action, healing justice, conflict resolution, and more.

Everyday Democracy
Everyday Democracy provides a number of resources for individuals by issue, including around community policing.

National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
NICJR partners with cities and agencies across the country to support efforts focused on reimagining public safety; placing community at the center and transforming policing. Utilizing the organization's successful criminal justice reform model to Reduce-Improve-and Invest, NICJR is guiding newly formed police reform commission efforts in California, including the Oakland Reimagining Public Safety Task Force and the Fresno Commission on Police Reform to establish robust recommendations and implement a sustainable framework to reduce the footprint of law enforcement, significantly improve policing, and reinvest into communities and community based services and supports. They have a number of resources around this work.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice and National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives partnered together on the "Future of Public Safety" series, which resulted in this report. In the series, we brought together 38 individuals representing a diverse range of voices for "dialogue across differences." Through everyone's points of healthy disagreement, we identified nine core points of consensus that guided our work and are the framework for the roadmap we provide communities.

These third party external links are being provided as a convenience and for educational and informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the Obama Foundation, and the Obama Foundation bears no responsibility for the accuracy or legality of the content of the external site or subsequent links from an external site.

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We work to help leaders change their world-and the world needs changing. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the loss of far too many Black lives to list, have left our nation heartbroken and outraged. Find ways you can meet anguish with action.

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As you make your own list of professional texts to read over the summer, take a look at these

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Ibram X. Kendi on books to help America transcend its racist heritage.

Credit... Joan Wong

No one becomes "not racist," despite a tendency by Americans to identify themselves that way. We can only strive to be "antiracist" on a daily basis, to continually rededicate ourselves to the lifelong task of overcoming our country's racist heritage.

We learn early the racist notion that white people have more because they are more; that people of color have less because they are less. I had internalized this worldview by my high school graduation, seeing myself and my race as less than other people and blaming other blacks for racial inequities.

To build a nation of equal opportunity for everyone, we need to dismantle this spurious legacy of our common upbringing. One of the best ways to do this is by reading books. Not books that reinforce old ideas about who we think we are, what we think America is, what we think racism is. Instead, we need to read books that are difficult or unorthodox, that don't go down easily. Books that force us to confront our self-serving beliefs and make us aware that "I'm not racist" is a slogan of denial.

The reading list below is composed of just such books - a combination of classics, relatively obscure works and a few of recent vintage. Think of it as a stepladder to antiracism, each step addressing a different stage of the journey toward destroying racism's insidious hold on all of us.

Biology

No book destabilized my fraught notions of racial distinction and hierarchy - the belief that each race had different genes, diseases and natural abilities - more than this vigorous critique of the "biopolitics of race." Roberts, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, shows unequivocally that all people are indeed created equal, despite political and economic special interests that keep trying to persuade us otherwise.

New Press, 2011

Ethnicity

Some of the same forces have led Americans to believe that the recent success of black immigrants from the Caribbean proves either that racism does not exist or that the gap between African-Americans and other groups in income and wealth is their own fault. But Model's meticulous study, emphasizing the self-selecting nature of the West Indians who emigrate to the United States, argues otherwise, showing me, a native of racially diverse New York City, how such notions - the foundation of ethnic racism - are unsupported by the facts.

Russell Sage Foundation, 2008

Body

"Black" and "criminal" are as wedded in America as "star" and "spangled." Muhammad's book traces these ideas to the late 19th century, when racist policies led to the disproportionate arrest and incarceration of blacks, igniting urban whites' fears and bequeathing tenaciously racist stereotypes.

Harvard University, 2010

Culture

Of course, the black body exists within a wider black culture - one Hurston portrayed with grace and insight in this seminal novel. She defies racist Americans who would standardize the cultures of white people or sanitize, eroticize, erase or assimilate those of blacks.

1937

Behavior

"We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame," Hughes wrote nearly 100 years ago. "We know we are beautiful. And ugly too." We are all imperfectly human, and these imperfections are also markers of human equality.
The Nation, June 23, 1926

Color

Beautiful and hard-working black people come in all shades. If dark people have less it is not because they are less, a moral eloquently conveyed in these two classic novels, stirring explorations of colorism.

1970 | 1929

Whiteness

Malcolm X began by adoring whiteness, grew to hate white people and, ultimately, despised the false concept of white superiority - a killer of people of color. And not only them: low- and middle-income white people too, as Metzl's timely book shows, with its look at Trump-era policies that have unraveled the Affordable Care Act and contributed to rising gun suicide rates and lowered life expectancies.

1965 | Basic Books, 2019

Blackness

Just as Metzl explains how seemingly pro-white policies are killing whites, Forman explains how blacks themselves abetted the mass incarceration of other blacks, beginning in the 1970s. Amid rising crime rates, black mayors, judges, prosecutors and police chiefs embraced tough-on-crime policies that they promoted as pro-black with tragic consequences for black America.

Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2017 ( Read the review.)

Class

Black America has been economically devastated by what Robinson calls racial capitalism. He chastises white Marxists (and black capitalists) for failing to acknowledge capitalism's racial character, and for embracing as sufficient an interpretation of history founded on a European vision of class struggle.

Zed Press, 1983

Spaces

As racial capitalism deprives black communities of resources, assimilationists ignore or gentrify these same spaces in the name of "development" and "integration." To be antiracist is not only to promote equity among racial groups, but also among their spaces, something the black power movement of the 1960s and 1970s understood well, as Joseph's chronicle makes clear.

Holt, 2006

Gender

I began my career studying, and too often admiring, activists who demanded black (male) power over black communities, including over black women, whom they placed on pedestals and under their feet. Black feminist literature, including these anthologies, helps us recognize black women "as human, levelly human," as the Combahee River Collective demanded to be seen in 1977.

Haymarket, 2017 | Ballantine, 2018 ( Read our profile of Glory Edim.)

Sexuality

I grew up in a Christian household thinking there was something abnormal and immoral about queer blacks. My racialized transphobia made Mock's memoir an agonizing read - just as my racialized homophobia made Lorde's essays and speeches a challenge. But pain often precedes healing.

Atria, 2014 | Crossing Press, 1984

By not running from the books that pain us, we can allow them to transform us. I ran from antiracist books most of my life. But now I can't stop running after them - scrutinizing myself and my society, and in the process changing both.
Ibram X. Kendi, a professor and director of the Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University, is the National Book Award-winning author of "Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America" and the forthcoming "How to Be an Antiracist." Follow New York Times Books on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, sign up for our newsletter or our literary calendar. And listen to us on the Book Review podcast.

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Ibram X. Kendi on books to help America transcend its racist heritage. No one becomes "not racist," despite a tendency by Americans to identify themselves that way. We can only strive to be "antiracist" on a daily basis, to continually rededicate ourselves to the lifelong task of overcoming our country's racist heritage.

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An old professor of mine shared this with me; it is a very comprehensive list of resources. I have not had time to look through all of the links and resources just yet. However, these videos, texts, and links could be a tool to help inform your perspective and understanding of what is going on in our country

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The event was hosted by several beloved authors with whom many of our students are familiar such as Jacqueline Woodson, Kwame Alexander, and Jason Reynolds.

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From Julie Morrison and Alice Johnson (contains several links and videos)

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DMS & DHS Library Activities - Week of June 8

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"We who believe in freedom cannot rest."
-Ella Baker

Thank you so much to all who joined us for the KidLit Rally 4 Black Lives, created and coordinated by Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, and Jason Reynolds. Please share your reflections on social media with the hashtag #KidLit4BlackLives.
The Rally recording is currently available on our YouTube channel.
The Brown Bookshelf remains committed to the ongoing work of amplifying and celebrating Black voices, of rejecting white supremacy, and empowering young readers. It continues to be "our collective mission, therefore, to promote understanding and justice through our art; to bolster every child's visceral belief that his or her life shall always be infinitely valuable." Strive for equity and engage in the work of liberation. Use our site in your home, classroom, and library to find just a small fraction of the incredible number of stories by Black creators from all across the Diaspora. We feature picture book, middle grade, and young adult titles in all genres. Share the many different creator stories, titles, and multimedia resources in our 28 Days Later archives.

As Walter Dean Myers wrote, "There is work to be done." We are sharing the resources listed below, and invite you to do the work, every day, and move toward justice.

The time is now. It is a matter of life and death.
The Conscious Kid The Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners
The African American Children's Book Project (read our interview with the founder, Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati, here.)
We Need Diverse Books Here Wee Read Fare of the Free Child Podcast 1619 Podcast Race Forward/Colorlines Color of Change
Just Us Books (read our Q&A with founders Cheryl and Wade Hudson here, and watch Just Us' new YouTube series, "Just Us &".)
The National Visionary Leadership Project Black Youth Project 100 Zinn Education Project Teaching for Change Teaching Tolerance National Museum of African American History & Culture Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility Black Children's Books & Authors
Kweli Journal (read our conversation with founder Laura Pegram here.)
Helping Kids Rise Rethinking Schools Clear the Air Disrupt Texts Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations CrazyQuiltEdi Blog The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Black Visions Collective ACLU Of Minnesota Dignity and Power Now

We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be (Heinemann) by Cornelius Minor

Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension (Heinemann) by Sara K. Ahmed

Teaching for Black Lives (Rethinking Schools) ed. by Dyan Watson,
Jesse Hagopian and Wayne Au

Libraries, Literacy, and African American Youth (Libraries Unlimited) edited by Dr. Pauletta Brown Bracy, Sandra Hughes-Hassell and Casey H. Rawson

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KidLit Rally 4 Black Lives: Anti-Racist Resources for Children, Families, and Educators - The Brown Bookshelf

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"We who believe in freedom cannot rest." -Ella Baker Thank you so much to all who joined us for the KidLit Rally 4 Black Lives, created and coordinated by Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, and Jason Reynolds. Please share your reflections on social media with the hashtag #KidLit4BlackLives.

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Site contains several links to resources for educators.

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We stand in support of and solidarity with a community in pain. Heinemann is dedicated to teachers. Implicit in these words is our obligation to help dismantle the systemic racism and inequity that exist in our country. We understand how much work there is to be done, and we recognize our responsibility.

Three years ago, Heinemann undertook a large-scale initiative to examine issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As a result, our team and our authors, the teachers whose voices we amplify and who influence our work, are more representative of the world we live in, and we are learning. But progress has been slow, and we now recognize this is simply not enough.

The only way to end white supremacy is to address the systems that allow it to continue. With other educators, we will lean harder into anti-racism. As we educate ourselves and through our ongoing action, you will see our commitment demonstrated in the faces, the words, and the work of our authors and employees.

◊ ◊ ◊

This week on our social media channels you'll find suggestions for anti-racist resources that we are reading and learning from . We hope you'll share your own recommendations and your thoughts as we work together to be anti-racist.
For Educators Call to Action Donate

Note: the Minnesota Freedom Fund and Brooklyn Community Bail fund are urging people to donate elsewhere, because they've each received so many donations at this point.

Bookshop: again part of the proceeds will be donated to Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, the Minnesota Freedom Fund, and the family of George Floyd

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Black Lives Matter: a Statement from Heinemann

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The only way to end white supremacy is to address the systems that allow it to continue. With other educators, we will lean harder into anti-racism. As we educate ourselves and through our ongoing action, you will see our commitment demonstrated in the faces, the words, and the work of our authors and employees.

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A Call to Educators Who Wish to Be Anti-Racist

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A Call to Educators Who Wish to Be Anti-Racist

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From PBS

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I am a white mother and educator. For decades in school I have taught "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Unfortunately, for many of my students, the suffering often seems abstract and they falsely believe these are stories from a distant past. But, racism didn't end with the Civil Rights Movement. It is an ever present, persistent evil that impacts us all in every aspect of our daily lives. Wishing and hoping that systemic racism will just go away--or believing that it doesn't exist in our own communities--is its own form of violence. And recently I have been asking myself if I've made this point clearly enough in my teaching practice

It should not have taken the recent brutal murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade, at the hands of police, to spark our consciousness. But it has, and this is now the time for me, and for other white parents and educators like me, to sit up, take notice, listen to Black communities, talk to our children and demonstrate anti-racist actions. This is not a time to be dismissive, but instead it's time for us to reach out, support in every way possible and take meaningful action. I am taking action to build a better future for my children and the children in my care. As a parent and educator I can help dismantle systemic racism. As I continue my own journey of learning about, and committing to, anti-racist action, here's what I believe we can do as educators to support meaningful change.

Our words must match our actions
Frankly, what we have done in the past has not worked. If our society had dismantled systemic racism, then we would not be seeing the necessary unrest that we see today. Our rhetoric needs to match our actions. As I think about what I do as an educator and as a parent, I am not 100 percent confident that my rhetoric and actions have always matched. But when I know better, I do better. I have friends, writers and public figures whose words I listen to, whose words I reflect on, and whose words I take to heart in order to support the change that needs to happen in our society. But it's not enough to read and reflect on those words, I must put those ideas into action.

We must broaden representation in classroom reading
When I reflect on my teaching practice and consider the words that I teach - the novels I use in my classroom, the authors whose works I use on a regular basis--it is clear that I have not had enough Black, Indigenous, or People of Color representation in my curriculum. On reflection, I have not ensured that every student who sits in a seat in my classroom has felt that their experiences were reflected in what we read. As a high school English teacher, I know that the white savior trope dominates our canon of American literature. I need to do a better job of including more writers who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. People like Maya Angelou and Zora Neale Hurston, people like Amy Tan and Ta-Nehisi Coates, people like Jason Reynolds and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, people like Sandra Cisneros and Junot Díaz, people like Celeste Ng and Ted Chiang, Langston Hughes and Cleo Wade, Sherman Alexie and Leslie Marmon Silko.

We must embrace tough conversations
First, we must be better listeners. It is time to de-center myself, my stories and my experience, especially when talking about race and racial justice. This is not about me; it's about my friends, colleagues, and community. We must be disciplined and listen to the stories and experiences of others. Listening means not interjecting my point of view or saying anything that might invalidate the experience of others. I listen to People of Color on the news, I read their words in books and on social media. I listen with the intention of hearing what they have to say so I can create a connection and an understanding. I listen to the conversations students have when they are in my classroom and I find teachable moments when the conversation needs to change. I do not pretend I don't hear it. Even if this may feel uncomfortable, we need to have these conversations. I listen to the questions my own children have about race and I answer truthfully and transparently. I acknowledge the mistakes I have made as well as the mistakes others make, and we talk about ways to actively change hearts and minds.

We must explore different ideas, and listen with intention to change
I talk openly about race issues, not just on social media but with people in real life. I initiate conversations (but only if they want to talk) with non-white friends, colleagues, and students, and I actively participate by asking questions to gain understanding. Not everyone in a cultural group feels the same way and by asking questions I can explore different ideas. Again, this requires being present in the conversation, and listening to learn. I talk to my students about racial stereotypes, about how so much of what we read in class overwhelmingly has white characters and about how literature supports learning empathy for others. As a parent, I talk to my children about current events, about historical events, about implicit bias and overt racism. I talk to them about the importance of speaking up, listening, and learning.

We must commit to constant self reflection and admit our own bias
I'm still learning. I am learning how much words matter. I love To Kill a Mockingbird but it is one of many books that uses the White Savior trope - as a society we have so much exposure to this idea that white people have to step in and save Black people. This reinforces that idea that Black people need to be saved by white people. Through my own reflection, I understand how this trope is harmful. True allies don't seek to "solve and save," instead we stand beside our Black friends and colleagues, build empathy, amplify their voices, and stand up alongside them. I now constantly check my thoughts, and question even those that are fleeting: are my ideas influenced by bias, white supremacy and racism? I recently read this from Greater Good Magazine, and it stayed with me: "Admitting that we are all subject to biases creates a safer space to examine them more carefully and take steps to fight them..."

We must use media to strengthen understanding
I'm still learning about cultural appropriation, implicit bias and the historical events that have gone largely ignored, but which have inevitably led our country to this moment. Education plays a role in change. My own learning has been shaped by I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Invisible Man, and more recently, titles like Stamped, Just Mercy, The Hate U Give, Monster, and Dear Martin. These are books I can pass along to my colleagues, my high school students and to my own sons. I watch movies with my family like Akilah and the Bee, Raising Dion, See You Yesterday, Hidden Figures and BlacKkKlansman. I'm learning from podcasts such as Code Switch and Seeing White and my children and I listen to them at home and in the car.

I'm learning why and how Black communities are disproportionately impacted by Covid-19. I'm learning how and why Black people, especially Black men, are disproportionately killed by police. I'm learning and sharing the names and circumstances of the deaths with my children. I'm learning that I need to support organizations like the NAACP that actively support change. I'm learning that I need to show up.

We must keep doing the work
There is no quick fix for systemic racism. It requires continued, ongoing effort to dismantle white supremacy. But I also have hope. With our combined voices and our combined intelligence, we fight for racial justice and usher change. My Black students, colleagues and friends are in pain. As a white person, as a mother of white sons, as a white educator, it is incumbent on me to be more aware, to learn more, to empathize, to listen and to support others as we work to dismantle white supremacy and forge a new way forward.
More Resources

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a call to action for white educators who seek to be anti-racist

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A Call to Action for White Educators Who Seek to Be Anti-Racist | PBS Education

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I am a white mother and educator. For decades in school I have taught "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Unfortunately, for many of my students, the suffering often seems abstract and they falsely believe these are stories from a distant past.

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The day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, third-grade teacher Jane Elliott gave her class an unforgettable lesson in discrimination.

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“We spend so much time listening to the things people are saying that we rarely pay attention to the things they don’t,” says poet and teacher Clint Smith. A short, powerful piece from the heart, about finding the courage to speak up against ignorance and injustice.

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Clint Smith: What Do We Risk if We Don't Speak Up

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Clint Smith: What Do We Risk if We Don't Speak Up

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subscribe to TED Radio Hour podcast

Clint Smith is a poet and doctoral candidate at Harvard. As a high school English teacher, he taught his students the dangers of staying quiet and the importance of finding their voice.
About Clint Smith
Clint Smith is a writer, teacher, poet and doctoral candidate at Harvard University. His research focuses on education, mass incarceration, the sociology of race and the history of U.S. inequality.

In 2013, Smith was named the Christine D. Sarbanes Teacher of the Year by the Maryland Humanities Council. He is the author of Counting Descent.

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Clint Smith: What Do We Risk If We Don't Speak Up?

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subscribe to TED Radio Hour podcast Clint Smith is a poet and doctoral candidate at Harvard. As a high school English teacher, he taught his students the dangers of staying quiet and the importance of finding their voice. About Clint Smith Clint Smith is a writer, teacher, poet and doctoral candidate at Harvard University.

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PBS LearningMedia Resources for Discourse.docx

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Home - Naomi O'Brien - Read Like a Rockstar

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The Spot for Engaging K-2 Ideas and Resources Find REsources Naomi O'Brien On The Blog REad All Posts Free REsource Library Join the email list to receive exclusive freebies and stay up to date! Sign up and the password will be sent to your inbox right now! I have the password!

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Resources to Teach the History of Policing in America

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Resources to Teach the History of Policing in America

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Protesters march in New York. (Ragan Clark/AP)

A new Washington Post-Schar School poll reports that a big majority of Americans support the protests that have been held across the country since the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody - and they say that police forces need to do more to treat blacks equally with whites.

Eight-one percent said police need to reform to ensure equal treatment for whites and blacks, the poll said. Other findings include: 87 percent of Democrats said they support the protests, as do 76 percent of independents and 53 percent of Republicans.

Big majorities support protests over Floyd killing and say police need to change, poll finds

One of the calls made by protesters is for reform in police departments, including calls to defund them, meaning to divert money from their budgets to social, health and educational programs. And some are calling for the dismantlement of departments, including in Minneapolis, where nine of the 13 city council members have called for finding other ways to keep residents safe.

With police reform front and center in the national debate, it's a good time to learn about the history of policing in the United States. Here are resources on the subject from the nonprofit Zinn Education Project, which offers free downloadable lessons and articles on history organized by theme, time period and grade level. The lessons are based on the approach to history highlighted in Howard Zinn's best-selling book, " A People's History of the United States," emphasizing the role of working people, women, people of color and organized social movements in shaping history.

You can check back here on the project's websites for additions that will be made to the list below.

As part of our People's Historians Online series, we hosted a special session with Keisha N. Blain on the "Roots of the 2020 Rebellion," focused on the history of policing. Many teacher participants reflected that what they learned about the origins and practices of policing is vital to make sense of current events, but is not in their U.S. history textbooks.

Therefore, we offer resources below to teach outside the textbook in middle and high school classrooms about police throughout U.S. history. There are many more books, articles and films on the topic - these are just a few student-friendly suggestions.

To get started, we recommend the " Throughline podcast on the history of policing in the United States " with Harvard professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad.

Throughline: American Police: The origins of policing in the United States, starting with slave patrols. Features Khalil Gibran Muhammad, author of " The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America."

Democracy Now: Badges Without Borders: How Global Counterinsurgency Transformed American Policing Interview with Stuart Schrader, author of a book by the same name.

Lessons and textbook critiques

A 7-year-old student's telling answers on a worksheet titled 'Police Protect Us' by Valerie Strauss ( The Washington Post, June 2, 2020)

Happening Yesterday, Happened Tomorrow: Teaching the ongoing murders of black men by Renée Watson (Rethinking Schools)

How Chicago's Public Schools Are Teaching the History of Police Torture by Thai Jones. An article about Chicago's citywide curriculum that requires the history of police torture be taught in all eighth- and 10th-grade public school social studies classes.

The Murder of Sean Bell: From Pain to Poetry by Renée Watson (Rethinking Schools)

Remembering Red Summer - Which Textbooks Seem Eager to Forget by Ursula Wolfe-Rocca (Zinn Education Project)

'What We Want, What We Believe': Teaching with the Black Panthers' Ten Point Program by Wayne Au (Rethinking Schools)

Books for high school students and adults

" Chokehold: Policing Black Men " by Paul Butler

"Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color" by Andrea J. Ritchie

"The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander

"Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in Virginia and the Carolinas" by Sally E. Hadden

"Teaching for Black Lives" edited by Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, Wayne Au

Young adult novels and graphic novels

" All American Boys " by Jason Reynolds

" I Am Alfonso Jones " by Tony Medina

" The Hate You Give " by Angie Thomas

" Say Her Name " by Zetta Elliott

Also see books for children and young adults on the Social Justice Books Incarceration list, including a young readers' edition of " Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson.

Student Athletes Kneel to Level the Playing Field by Jesse Hagopian (Rethinking Schools, 2017)

Violence in Minneapolis is rooted in the history of racist policing in America: Police violence against African Americans has persisted for centuries by Keisha N. Blain ( The Washington Post, May 30)

'We will overcome whatever [it] is the system has become today': Black Women's Organizing Against Police Violence in New York City in the 1980s by Keisha N. Blain, Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society, Vol. 20, Issue 1 (Fall 2018): 110-121.

Primary Documents

"#7. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of Black people, other people of color, and all oppressed people inside the United States." - from the Black Panther Party 1966 10-point platform.

Gordon Parks's 1960s Protest Photos Reflect the Long History of Police Brutality in the United States by Daria Harper in Artsy.

The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States by Ida B. Wells-Barnett 1895. (To compare to the current annual list of murders - or lynchings - by police.)

SNCC Digital Gateway Often missing from lessons on the civil rights movement are the demands to end police brutality and violence by other white supremacists. Many stories at the website of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) highlight the role of the police and organizing to defend communities.

This Day in History Series

Selected stories of police brutality and protests of the police, including a 1941 protest of police brutality in Washington, D.C. See This Day in History stories about the police.

Art: Mural of Oscar Grant. By Robert Trujillo, Trust Your Struggle Collective.

Campaign Materials

We Came to Learn: A Call to Action for Police-Free Schools A report from the Advancement Project offers the history of how school police became institutionalized in the public education system in the United States, documents the negative impact on students of color, and offers a guide for how to take action. Learn more and download.

Documenting National Organizing toward #POLICEFREESCHOOLS by Christopher Rogers. A growing list of campaigns and resources to inform ongoing organizing in schools in defense of black lives.

" Fruitvale Station " by Ryan Coogler about the murder of Oscar Grant.

" Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland " by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner on HBO.

" Slavery by Another Name " by Sam Pollard, Catherine Allan, Douglas Blackmon, and Sheila Curran Bernard about false arrests of African Americans to feed the convict leasing system.

" When They See Us" by Ava DuVernay about the false arrest and imprisonment of five teenagers known as the Central Park Five. (Also see 13th.)

Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee veteran, lawyer, and Teaching for Change board member Tim Jenkins gives a 90-second history lesson about who the police "protect and serve."

A lesson on voting rights and suppression that students won't learn in textbooks

'Teaching for Black Lives' - a handbook to fight America's ferocious racism in (virtual or face-to-face) classrooms

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Analysis | Resources to teach the history of policing in America that you won't find in textbooks

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A new Washington Post-Schar School poll reports that a big majority of Americans support the protests that have been held across the country since the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody - and they say that police forces need to do more to treat blacks equally with whites.

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Teaching Young Children about Bias, Diversity, and Social Justice

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Teaching Young Children about Bias, Diversity, and Social Justice

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators

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A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators

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Teachers shaken by recent events and wondering how to work for change in our society and schools can start with these lesson plans, videos, and other resources.

John Minchillo / Associated Press

Protesting the killing of George Floyd, a crowd gathers for a rally at Cadman Plaza Park in New York City on June 4, 2020.

"I'm a White educator, where do I start?"

"How can I help?"

"What if I get it wrong?"

Recent events have shaken me to my core, and the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd suggest that people across the country are similarly shaken. These are dark times, but if there's anything that seems like a glimmer of light to me at the moment, it's the fact that so many teachers are reflecting on how to fight racism:

For me, a Black educator and mother to a Black 16-year-old who has reached the appearance if not the legal age of manhood, these questions stir hope. Folks who don't look like me are embracing the idea that the fight for equity has to be everyone's fight. But fighting racism is a big job, and when the fires of outrage cool, we teachers will be confronted with the reality of planning deadlines, testing schedules, and another hundred things that are all in a day's work. The difficult work of equity may become just another item on a desk crowded with to-do lists.

What Can Teachers Do?

The answer, an old joke: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, of course-and achieving equity is no different. Take small bites that can have big impact and don't worry about getting it wrong sometimes, as you inevitably will. If you keep going, you can do something that brings about change.

Reading: Even if you only have 10 minutes, you can learn something to help you create a more equitable classroom. Websites like Teaching Tolerance, the NEA's EdJustice, and KQED's Mindshift feature resources for lesson planning as well as lessons for you as a teacher. Teaching Tolerance is the perfect place to start, whether you want to use bias-free language to teach tolerance through reading with young learners or plan a social action campaign with high school students.

In addition to a rich collection of K-12 classroom resources, the website features self-guided PD, on-demand webinars, and podcasts that may enable you to earn a certificate-check with your administration first. Those can easily be broken up into small chunks of time. And note that many of the site's feature articles list recommended actions at the bottom.

If your goal is to understand the Black community better, sites designed for Black audiences like The Root, The Undefeated, and Huffington Post's Black Voices are good places to start. These non-mainstream media outlets feature content by minority and minority-supporting journalists. You'll find content on topics not covered in mainstream media, like coverage of historically Black colleges and universities, news about Black brands and influencers, and stories like this one on MIT's first Black female student body president in its 159-year history. If you're teaching Black children who are generally inundated by media that does not reflect them, these are priceless ways you can enrich your current events and show-and-tell circles.

Watching: You can improve your cultural competence and learn about Black Lives Matter by watching " 4 Black Lives Matter Myths Debunked" on YouTube, which will answer quite a few questions on social justice issues, probably including some you didn't even know you had. And if you want help in having real discussions on complex issues with young children, the YouTube show LivingRoomProtest will lead you through conversations on being Black, politics, pride, and even death and the afterlife-try the episode " Education Is a Human Right " for starters.

If you want entertainment with a cultural component, Netflix has a host of shows that cater to a Black audience, as well as original content that regularly features diverse character lineups. Hulu has not only a small curated selection of Black Stories but also six seasons of the binge-worthy, socially conscious Black-ish and its spin-off prequel Mixed-ish. While Black-ish might be a little campy, it tackles real issues surrounding racism, bias, and social justice issues that arise within the Black community.

Taking action: For the civic-minded, the Kellogg Foundation has put together a website that lets you create your own personal plan to support, donate, or volunteer in the way you find most relevant. This site can help you focus your attention on one or two civic tasks with broader impact.

Social action is also a great way to involve students, which multiplies your impact. You can teach students how to write emails or letters by asking them to write to your local government in favor of policy changes banning the eight most deadly policing strategies listed at 8 Can't Wait, which has ideas on how to call or email your government yourself-there's a script you can use or adapt.

Looking within: Finally, and perhaps most importantly, take inventory of your feelings. It's normal to be most comfortable around people who are like you. It's just not good when that makes you and those like you an "us" and those who aren't like you a "them." Use a journal to sort through your personal feelings on racism or read books that provide perspective on systemic inequities and bias. These long-haul strategies will produce change in you while you take more immediate action in other ways.

The devastating events of the last days have left me shaken. I have felt anger, fear, grief-so many emotions. But I have also felt buoyed by the great outpouring of support from my less melanated colleagues who want to listen, learn, and find out how to do better. So many of them are already doing amazing things with diverse students. This piece is dedicated to them. They give me hope that this time, we will fight racism together and bring about lasting change.

Don't stop now. How do you eat an elephant? One small bite at a time.

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A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators

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Teachers shaken by recent events and wondering how to work for change in our society and schools can start with these lesson plans, videos, and other resources. John Minchillo / Associated Press Protesting the killing of George Floyd, a crowd gathers for a rally at Cadman Plaza Park in New York City on June 4, 2020.

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Promoting Equity and Justice Through Social Studies

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Promoting Equity and Justice Through Social Studies

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Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

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Clint Smith: How to raise a Black son in America

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As kids, we all get advice from parents and teachers that seems strange, even confusing. This was crystallized one night for a young Clint Smith, who was playing with water guns in a dark parking lot with his white friends. In a heartfelt piece, the poet paints the scene of his father's furious and fearful response.

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Some quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. are remembered widely, often evoking the tenets of love, peace and unity in the quest for justice.

But amid nationwide protests spurred by the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, a 1967 speech by King at Stanford University has become increasingly resonant.

The "Other America"' speech was recently shared on Twitter by the King Center, the organization set up by Coretta Scott King to honor her late husband.

In the speech, King emphasized his support for nonviolent tactics in the "struggle for freedom and justice" and expressed his disapproval for riots, referring to them as "socially destructive."

King, however, argues that worsening economic and social conditions that black Americans experience must be condemned as equally as riots. It is here he invokes the line: "A riot is the language of the unheard."

Here's part of the speech:

Certain conditions continue to exist in our society, which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation's summers of riots are caused by our nation's winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention

Follow Joshua Bote on Twitter: @joshua_bote Martin Luther King Jr.:'They executed my brother':In Kentucky: Breonna Taylor protest in Louisville draws hundreds; at least 7 shot George Floyd's brother calls for arrests, peaceful demonstrations 10 most popular quotes from the civil rights leader

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'A riot is the language of the unheard': MLK's powerful quote resonates amid George Floyd protests

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In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. said the worsening economic and social conditions that black Americans face must be condemned as equally as riots.

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A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory

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Jason Reynolds Talks About Race & Protests

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Jason Reynolds Talks About Race & Protests

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In Washington, D.C. and other American cities, people are protesting police violence against people of color. The protesters, and many others too, are upset that black people in particular continue to die in encounters with police.

Best-selling YA author Jason Reynolds has grappled with racism personally and in his writing. The National Ambassador for Young People's Literature also recently co-authored a book for young people on fighting racism: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You.

We've asked Jason Reynolds to join Kojo For Kids to help us understand what has led to the tensions we've seen over the last week, and to talk about why racism persists and what we can do to build a less racist society.
This show is part of the "Kojo For Kids" series, a Kojo Nnamdi Show segment featuring guests of special interest to young listeners. Though Kojo has been on WAMU 88.5 for 20 years, this is the first time he has had the opportunity to reach out to an audience of kids, most of whom until recently had been in school during our live broadcast. We're excited to hear from our youngest listeners! Join us! Produced by Lauren Markoe

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Kojo For Kids: Jason Reynolds Talks About Racism And The Protests - The Kojo Nnamdi Show

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Let's talk about why people are angry and what can we do about racism.

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Protesters have taken to the streets across the country and around the world. They are expressing their anger about the treatment of black people by law enforcement. On May 25, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a man named George Floyd was killed by a police officer during an arrest. A bystander recorded the event and shared the video on social media. People were outraged by what they saw.

Floyd's death is part of a history of black people being killed during encounters with police officers. "I'm so sick and tired of it," says Mahira Louis, 15. She was at a protest in Boston, Massachusetts, on Sunday.

JASON ARMOND-LOS ANGELES TIMES/GETTY IMAGES

Demonstrations are taking place in dozens of cities. Many have been peaceful. People march, chant, carry signs, and call on leaders to make positive change. In some cities, however, demonstrations have seen violence. People have smashed store windows and stolen merchandise. Protesters have thrown rocks at police officers. Police have fired pepper spray and rubber bullets at protesters. Many people have been hurt. Governors in nearly half the states have requested soldiers from the National Guard to try to maintain order.

Melvin Carter is the mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota. He says the violence makes the protests less productive. "Those who are expressing that anger in a . . . destructive way are taking the focus away from what it should be," he said on the TV news show Face the Nation on Sunday. "It must stop."

James Talton, a protester in New York City, told TIME that some people become destructive because they feel it's the only way to get people to listen to their concerns. "It seems like nobody's paying attention," he said.

SETH HARRISON-THE JOURNAL NEWS/USA TODAY NETWORK/SIPA USA

A Growing Movement

The United States has a long history of protests against injustice. During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, protests were common as activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. led the fight against segregation. Protests also helped guarantee that black people could exercise their right to vote. But the civil rights movement did not make all things equal for black Americans. Racism is still a big problem in the U.S.

In 2012, a 17-year-old named Trayvon Martin was killed by a man in his neighborhood in Sanford, Florida. A year later, a jury found that man to be not guilty of a crime. After the trial, activists started using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media to express their outrage. It caught on, and what started as a hashtag grew into a movement.

Social media has helped bring widespread attention to instances of civilian and police violence against black people. Many people use the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag to call for justice and demand change. During the current protests, people have been carrying signs and wear shirts that say "Black Lives Matter."

What Happens Next?

Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was arrested on May 29 and charged with Floyd's murder. If found guilty, Chauvin faces up to 35 years in prison. Three other police officers were there when Floyd was killed. They were fired from the police force and are being investigated by state and federal law enforcement agencies. As of June 1, they have not yet been charged with a crime.

Meanwhile, the protests continue. Officials are working to control any violence that may occur. Many cities have put curfews in place to limit the number of people who are out at night, which is when tensions seem to rise.

"I don't want the protests to be just for show," Floyd's cousin Tera Brown said. She spoke to CBS News. "We want to see [the officers] convicted for what they did. He did not deserve what happened to him."

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Protesters have taken to the streets across the country and around the world. They are expressing their anger about the treatment of black people by law enforcement. On May 25, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a man named George Floyd was killed...

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Founders of Black Lives Matter Interview

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Founders of Black Lives Matter Interview

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Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi

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Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi: An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter

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Born out of a social media post, the Black Lives Matter movement has sparked discussion about race and inequality across the world. In this spirited conversation with Mia Birdsong, the movement's three founders share what they've learned about leadership and what provides them with hope and inspiration in the face of painful realities.

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What is Race - What is Race Video - What is Race and Ethnicity - Flocabulary

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Five Flocabulary artists share the experiences that they had with race as elementary school students in this hip-hop video and lesson resource.

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NY Times for Kids

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Eyes on the Prize offers important lessons about the power of ordinary citizens to shape democracy. This study guide provides teachers with an invaluable resource that brings this landmark television documentary into the classroom and ensures its legacy in the education of our students. The guide provides a framework for using the series in classrooms, important primary sources, and guiding questions to help teachers bring the history of the civil rights movement alive.

Using the guide, students will engage with the stories of everyday Americans who challenged their government and communities to live up to their promises of equality and justice. By examining such issues as the power of civic participation in a democratic society, the role of non-violence in social movements, the importance of voting rights, the tensions between state and local control, and the role of the courts in addressing injustice, students will explore the fundamental tenets of our democracy and think about their power to make a difference today.

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Eyes on the Prize offers important lessons about the power of ordinary citizens to shape democracy. This study guide provides teachers with an invaluable resource that brings this landmark television documentary into the classroom and ensures its legacy in the education of our students.

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Preliminary Information

On the next page you'll be asked to select an Implicit Association Test (IAT) from a list of possible topics . We will also ask you (optionally) to report your attitudes or beliefs about these topics and provide some information about yourself.

We ask these questions because the IAT can be more valuable if you also describe your own self-understanding of the attitude or stereotype that the IAT measures. We would also like to compare differences between people and groups.

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Note: This site is designed for adults, aged 18 or older.

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Important disclaimer: In reporting to you results of any IAT test that you take, we will mention possible interpretations that have a basis in research done (at the University of Washington, University of Virginia, Harvard University, and Yale University) with these tests. However, these Universities, as well as the individual researchers who have contributed to this site, make no claim for the validity of these suggested interpretations. If you are unprepared to encounter interpretations that you might find objectionable, please do not proceed further. You may prefer to examine general information about the IAT before deciding whether or not to proceed.

If you have questions about the study, please contact Project Implicit at questions@projectimplicit.net. To obtain more information about the study, ask questions about the research procedures, express concerns about your participation, or report illness, injury or other problems, please contact:

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On the next page you'll be asked to select an Implicit Association Test (IAT) from a list of possible topics . We will also ask you (optionally) to report your attitudes or beliefs about these topics and provide some information about yourself.

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Your day indicates that you might have advantages in:

We all have unearned advantages and disadvantages - because of our race, our gender, our sexual orientation, our class, and many other attributes - and those advantages and disadvantages mean that we see and experience the world differently. While we may not ask for these advantages, they can mean that we don't always experience or even recognize the struggles that our friends might encounter every single day.

The first step in using your privilege to help others is to recognize how people without your privileges might be experiencing the world. For more ways to use your privilege for good, click here.

Special thanks to Peggy McIntosh and the National SEED Project.

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Your day indicates that you might have advantages in: We all have unearned advantages and disadvantages - because of our race, our gender, our sexual orientation, our class, and many other attributes - and those advantages and disadvantages mean that we see and experience the world differently.

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Flipgrid Community Panel Discussion on Race, Equity and Justice

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ILA: How to raise and teach anti-racist kids

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ILA: How to raise and teach anti-racist kids

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From International Literacy Association and Kid Lit

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Thanks to everyone who participated in tonight's town hall on How to Raise & Teach Anti-Racist Children, hosted by Kwame Alexander and hosted by the International Literacy Association.

A few links related to some things Dr. Thomas López mentioned on the panel tonight:

The idea of books as windows and mirrors was framework first suggested by literary historian Rudine Sims Bishop. See that being taught to second graders at Gordon.

More Gordon's race-based affinity groups:
Parents of Students of Color
Common Ground for students of color
Antiracism Working Group for White Parents

Bryan Stevenson talked about the value of proximity in this TED talk

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum popularized the idea of the ubiquitous "smog of racism". More on her here and here.

And it didn't come up tonight, but anyone who graduated from Gordon in the past nineteen years would be happy to tell you about the eighth grade Civil Rights Trip to Georgia and Alabama

Dr. Noni Thomas López, head of the Gordon School, will be part of Thursday's How to Raise and Teach Anti-Racist Kids event, hosted by author and activist Kwame Alexander. The June 18th online event is the follow-up to the overwhelmingly successful KidLit Rally for Black Lives held earlier this month.

The free event is presented by the International Literacy Association, in partnership with Alexander, as a Facebook Live event, 7:00 p.m. ET this Thursday, June 18 at https://www.facebook.com/InternationalLiteracyAssociation/

As organizer Kwame Alexander explained, "The objective of this conversation is to prepare our teachers to go into the classroom this fall and create an anti-racist classroom where black children are valued and empowered; and to prepare our parents to do the same in their homes, now."

The panel also includes Cornelius Minor, author of "We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be;" Tiffany M. Jewell, author of "This Book is Anti-Racist;" Pam Allyn, global literacy expert and coauthor (with Dr. Ernest Morrell) of "Every Child a Super Reader;" and Karyn Parsons, author and founder of Sweet Blackberry, a nonprofit with a mission "to bring little known stories of African American achievement to children everywhere."

Dr. Noni Thomas López first met Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander when he came to campus in 2018 as Gordon's twelfth annual Karla Harry Visiting Author.

The Gordon School is a nursery to eighth grade school with a longstanding commitment to multicultural education and teaching for social justice.

The school has earned a national reputation for equity and inclusion in its approach to tuition, curriculum development, board recruitment, and race-based affinity groups for students and adults. Faculty are routinely called on to serve as expert sources in venues that range from the SXSW festival to the Boston Globe, and education professionals come to campus from across the country for workshops and seminars led by Gordon's school leadership.

Gordon's literacy curriculum includes a diverse array of authors and stories at every age level, using novels and picture books to launch extended lessons on race and identity that include the second grade's yearlong process selecting the Gordon School Multicultural Picture Book Award. Over the past fifteen years, internationally acclaimed authors of color have participated in this curriculum, working directly with students in Gordon classrooms, including Jacqueline Woodson, Julia Alvarez, Grace Lin, Jerry Craft, Monica Brown, Oge Mora, Supriya Kelkar, Nikki Grimes, and Andrea Davis Pinkney, as well as Kwame Alexander.

The conversations about race, identity and equity extend far beyond the literacy curriculum, as well, and are reflected in Gordon's approach to math and science, health and wellness, theater and athletics, and beyond. By tackling these topics in a variety of contexts, year after year, students build the skills and vocabulary, and the empathy, they need in order to participate in-and lead-challenging conversations like the one their Head of School will be engaged in on Thursday.

WHAT: How to Raise and Teach Anti-Racist Kids, hosted by Kwame Alexander
WHEN: Thursday, June 18, 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. ET
WHERE: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalLiteracyAssociation/

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Thanks to everyone who participated in tonight's town hall on How to Raise & Teach Anti-Racist Children, hosted by Kwame Alexander and hosted by the International Literacy Association. A few links related to some things Dr. Thomas López mentioned on the panel tonight: The idea of books as windows and mirrors was framework first suggested by literary historian Rudine Sims Bishop.

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Raising Anti-racist Kids with Ibram X. Kendi

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Raising Anti-racist Kids with Ibram X. Kendi

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HaymarketBooks.org

Raising Antiracist Kids: Ibram X. Kendi with Derecka Purnell

A discussion about raising antiracist kids with author of the new book, AntiRacist Baby How do families raise actively anti-racist children? , Ibram X.Kendi in conversation with Derecka Purnell. Pre-order AntiRacist Baby or order Kendi's other books from Labyrinth at 10% off and free shipping, email [email protected] and include a callback number.
A new uprising across the country demanding racial justice is a powerful reminder that families of all backgrounds need to be pro-active in raising children to understand racism and discrimination, and helping our kids to be a force for anti-racist change in the world.

AntiRacist Baby written by Ibram X. Kendi; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky (Kokila Books; on sale June 16, 2020; ages 0-3)

Early review of AntiRacist Baby from Publishers Weekly:

"Boldly outlined, inclusive illustrations by Lukashevsky complement the text by showing a world populated by people of various skin tones, sizes, identities and orientations, religions, and abilities....[A] mindful companion for families striving together toward a more equitable future."

Ibram X. Kendi is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and the Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University. He is an Ideas Columnist at The Atlantic, and a correspondent with CBS News. He is the author of four books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won National Book Award for Nonfiction, and the New York Times bestsellers How to Be an Antiracist and STAMPED: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds. His next book, AntiRacist Baby, will be published in June.

Derecka Purnell is is a human rights lawyer, writer, and organizer. Since graduating from Harvard Law School, she has worked to end police and prison violence nationwide by providing legal assistance, research, and trainings to community based organizations through an abolitionist framework. Derecka is currently a columnist at The Guardian and Deputy Director of Spirit of Justice Center.

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Raising Antiracist Kids: Ibram X. Kendi with Derecka Purnell

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A discussion about raising antiracist kids with author of the new book, AntiRacist Baby, Ibram X.Kendi in conversation with Derecka Purnell. A new uprising across the country demanding racial justice is a powerful reminder that families of all backgrounds need to be pro-active in raising children to understand racism and discrimination, and helping our kids to be a force for anti-racist change in the world.

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Facing History: Bearing Witness Resources (George Floyd)

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Facing History: Bearing Witness Resources (George Floyd)

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On May 25, 2020, a black Minnesota man, George Floyd, was killed after a white police officer suffocated him while a group of officers looked on. Floyd, like so many black people who have come before him, was stopped by the police while driving and would not make it home that night. Given the innate limitations of virtual instruction, we are currently examining what it would mean to create space for brave and supportive processing of events like this one in virtual classrooms. But even as we thoughtfully expand the tools we offer to meet this moment, we believe that⁠ learning, reflection, and action must begin immediately in our personal lives. Pausing to apprehend the gravity of Floyd's death, the historical and contemporary political contexts in which it occurred, and the tools for self-care and resistance that are available to us is paramount.

We invite you to explore the resources below as you process this tragedy and the broader histories of violence in which it is embedded:

Courtney E. Martin, author of The New Better Off: Reinventing the American Dream, offers concrete suggestions to parents about how to raise white children with an awareness of racism, and cultivate their sense of responsibility for challenging it within themselves and the world around them.

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Bearing Witness: The Death of George Floyd

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On May 25, 2020, a black Minnesota man, George Floyd, was killed after a white police officer suffocated him while a group of officers looked on. Floyd, like so many black people who have come before him, was stopped by the police while driving and would not make it home that night.

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Civil Rights: Children's & Young Adult Novels

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Civil Rights: Children's & Young Adult Novels

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Civil Rights Teaching: Books for the Classroom

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Early Elem. | Upper Elem. Fiction | Upper Elem. Nonfiction Here are some of the titles we recommend for teaching about the Civil Rights Movement. More books and resources on related social movements and the long history of struggles for civil rights in the U.S.

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Civil Rights Teaching: March on Washington

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Civil Rights Teaching: March on Washington

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Civil Rights Teaching: March on Washington

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In addition to the titles below on the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, find more resources for teaching about the Civil Rights Movement on these lists: Zinn Education Project, Civil Rights Teaching.org, Freedom Schools, and SNCC. I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin's Life in LettersBy Michael G.

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Teaching for Change carefully selects the best multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators.

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Teaching for Change carefully selects the best multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators.

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It is essential to elevate the voices, experiences and history of the Black community. The Black Lives Matter movement should empower students and educators to recognize and call out racial prejudice and have tough conversations. Students should read strong Black voices and feel like their own can be amplified. Every student should feel represented in their classroom.

To start conversations about race in your classroom, we have curated a list of 50 titles for all grade levels that reflect the ideals of the Black Lives Matter movement. Scroll to find picks from popular authors like Jason Reynolds, Nic Stone, Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, Angie Thomas and more.

Interest level: P-1
It's up to Daddy to give his daughter an extra-special hair style in this ode to self-confidence and the love between fathers and daughters, from former NFL wide receiver Matthew A. Cherry and New York Times bestselling illustrator Vashti Harrison. Zuri's hair has a mind of its own. It kinks, coils, and curls every which way. Zuri knows it's beautiful. When Daddy steps in to style it for an extra special occasion, he has a lot to learn. But he LOVES his Zuri, and he'll do anything to make her-and her hair-happy. Tender and empowering, Hair Love is an ode to loving your natural hair and a celebration of daddies and daughters everywhere.

Interest level: P-2
This joyous and loving celebration of family is the first-ever picture book to highlight Black nighttime hair traditions-and is perfect for every little girl who knows what it's like to lose her bonnet just before bedtime. In my family, when the sun goes down, our hair goes up! My brother slips a durag over his locs. Sis swirls her hair in a wrap around her head. Daddy covers his black waves with a cap. Mama gathers her corkscrew curls in a scarf. I always wear a bonnet over my braids, but tonight I can't find it anywhere! Bedtime Bonnet gives readers a heartwarming peek into quintessential Black nighttime hair traditions and celebrates the love between all the members of this close-knit, multi-generational family. Perfect for readers of Hair Love and Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut!

3. Respect: Aretha Franklin, The Queen Of Soul
by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison

Interest level: P-3
From a creative team with multiple Caldecott Honors comes this vibrant portrait of Aretha Franklin that pays her the R-E-S-P-E-C-T this Queen of Soul deserves. Aretha Franklin was born to sing. The daughter of a pastor and a gospel singer, her musical talent was clear from her earliest days in her father's Detroit church where her soaring voice spanned more than three octaves. Her string of hit songs earned her the title "the Queen of Soul," multiple Grammy Awards, and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But Aretha didn't just raise her voice in song, she also spoke out against injustice and fought for civil rights. This authoritative, rhythmic picture book biography will captivate young readers with Aretha's inspiring story.

Interest level: P-3
A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this moving and powerful anthem about a people, a culture, a history and a legacy that lives on. From the wheels of a bicycle to the robe on Thurgood Marshall's back, Black surrounds our lives. It is a color to simply describe some of our favorite things, but it also evokes a deeper sentiment about the incredible people who helped change the world and a community that continues to grow and thrive. Stunningly illustrated by Caldecott Honoree and Coretta Scott King Award winner Ekua Holmes, Black Is a Rainbow Color is a sweeping celebration told through debut author Angela Joy's rhythmically captivating and unforgettable words.

Interest level: P-3
An entertaining picture book that teaches the importance of asking for permission first as a young girl attempts to escape the curious hands that want to touch her hair. It seems that wherever Aria goes, someone wants to touch her hair. In the street, strangers reach for her fluffy curls; and even under the sea, in the jungle, and in space, she's chased by a mermaid, monkeys, and poked by aliens, until, finally, Aria has had enough! Author-illustrator, Sharee Miller takes the tradition of appreciation of black hair to a new, fresh level as she doesn't seek to convince or remind young readers that their curls are beautiful-she simply acknowledges Black beauty while telling a fun, imaginative story.

Interest level: P-3
This book presents the popular poem by one of the central figures in the Harlem Renaissance, highlighting the courage and dignity of the African American Pullman porters in the early twentieth century.

Interest level: P-4
Originally performed for ESPN's The Undefeated, this poem is a love letter to Black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes. Robust background at the end provides valuable historical context and additional detail for those wishing to learn more.

8. I Am Every Good Thing
by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James

Interest level: P-5
The confident Black narrator of this book is proud of everything that makes him who he is. He's got big plans, and no doubt he'll see them through, as he's creative, adventurous, smart, funny and a good friend. Sometimes he falls, but he always gets back up. And other times he's afraid, because he's so often misunderstood and called what he is not. So slow down and really look and listen, when somebody tells you-and shows you-who they are. There are superheroes in our midst!

Interest level: K-2
After a day of being taunted by classmates about her unruly hair, Mackenzie can't take any more and seeks guidance from her wise and comforting neighbor, Miss Tillie. Using the beautiful garden in the backyard as a metaphor, Miss Tillie shows Mackenzie that maintaining healthy hair is not a chore nor is it something to fear. Most importantly, Mackenzie learns that natural Black hair is beautiful.

Interest level: K-3
From Academy Award winning actress Lupita Nyong'o comes a powerful, moving picture book about colorism, self-esteem and learning that true beauty comes from within. Sulwe has skin the color of midnight. She is darker than everyone in her family. She is darker than anyone in her school. Sulwe just wants to be beautiful and bright, like her mother and sister. Then a magical journey in the night sky opens her eyes and changes everything. In this stunning debut picture book, Nyong'o creates a whimsical and heartwarming story to inspire children to see their own unique beauty.

Interest level: K-3
The barbershop is where the magic happens. Boys go in as lumps of clay and, with princely robes draped around their shoulders, a dab of cool shaving cream on their foreheads, and a slow, steady cut, they become royalty. That crisp yet subtle line makes boys sharper, more visible, more aware of every great thing that could happen to them when they look good: lesser grades turn into As; girls take notice; even a mother's hug gets a little tighter. Everyone notices. A fresh cut makes boys fly. This rhythmic, read-aloud title is an unbridled celebration of the self-esteem, confidence and swagger boys feel when they leave the barber's chair, a tradition that places on their heads a figurative crown, beaming with jewels, that confirms their brilliance and worth and helps them not only love and accept themselves but also take a giant step toward caring how they present themselves to the world. The fresh cuts. That's where it all begins.

Interest level: K-3
On reunion morning, we rise before the sun. Daddy hums as he packs our car with suitcases and a cooler full of snacks. He says there's nothing like going down home. Down home is Granny's house. Down home is where Lil' Alan and his parents and sister will join great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Down home is where Lil' Alan will hear stories of the ancestors and visit the land that has meant so much to all of them. And down home is where all of the children will find their special way to pay tribute to family history. All the kids have to decide on what tribute to share, but what will Lil' Alan do? In this rich and moving celebration of history, culture and ritual, Kelly Starling Lyons' eloquent text explores the power of family traditions. Stunning illustrations by Coretta Scott King Honor-winner Daniel Minter reveal the motion and connections in a large, multigenerational family.

Interest level: K-3
This stirring book celebrates the Black National Anthem and how it inspired five generations of a family. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us. Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us. In 1900, in Jacksonville, Florida, two brothers, one of them the principal of a segregated, all-black school, wrote the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing," so his students could sing it for a tribute to Abraham Lincoln's birthday. From that moment on, the song has provided inspiration and solace for generations of Black families. Mothers and fathers passed it on to their children, who sang it to their children and grandchildren. It has been sung during major moments of the civil rights movement and at family gatherings and college graduations. Inspired by this song's enduring significance, Kelly Starling Lyons and Keith Mallett tell a story about the generations of families who gained hope and strength from its inspiring words.

Interest level: 1-4
Renowned author Lesa Cline-Ransome and celebrated illustrator John Parra unite to tell the inspiring story of Ethel Payne, a groundbreaking African American journalist known as the "First Lady of the Black Press." Ethel Payne always had an ear for stories. Seeking truth, justice and equality, Ethel followed stories from her school newspaper in Chicago to Japan during World War II. It even led her to the White House briefing room, where she broke barriers as the only Black female journalist. Ethel wasn't afraid to ask tough questions of presidents, elected officials or anyone else in charge. Fearless and determined, Ethel Payne shined a light on the darkest moments in history, and her ear for stories sought answers to the questions that mattered most in the fight for civil rights.

Interest level: 1-4
A little known civil rights hero and college football MVP finally gets a voice in this fictional account detailing Chester Pierce's game-changing play as he became the first Black college football player to compete south of the Mason-Dixon Line. In 1947, no African American player can play at a southern school; in return, the opposing team benches a player of "equal talent." This historical fiction picture book frames a turbulent time in the civil rights era with the clever use of a football play to show race relations and teamwork. Inspired by a true story, capturing a historic defense against the Jim Crow laws of the South.

Interest level: 2-5
A picture book look at many of the men and women who revolutionized life for African Americans throughout history. Each day features a different influential figure in African-American history, from Crispus Attucks, the first man shot in the Boston Massacre, sparking the Revolutionary War, to Madame C. J. Walker, who after years of adversity became the wealthiest Black woman in the country, to Barack Obama, the country's first African-American president. With powerful illustrations by Shane Evans, this is a completely unique look at the importance and influence of African Americans on the history of this country.

Interest level: 2-5
Magnificent Homespun Brown is an exploration of the natural world and family bonds through the eyes of a young, mixed-race narrator-a living, breathing, dazzlingly multi-faceted, exuberant masterpiece, firmly grounded in her sense of self-worth and belonging. This is a story-a poem, a song, a celebration-about feeling at home in your own beloved skin.

Interest level: 3-6
This book spotlights vibrant, inspiring Black women whose accomplishments have changed the world for the better-a celebration of strong, resilient, innovative, and inspiring women of color. With a vibrant mixture of photography, illustration, biography and storytelling, author Malaika Adero spotlights well-known historical figures and women who are pushing boundaries today including Ida B. Wells, Madam C. J. Walker, Shirley Chisholm, Serena Williams, Mae Jamison, Stacey Abrams, Jesmyn Ward, Ava DuVernay and Amy Sherald. Readers will recognize some names in the book, but will also be introduced to many important Black women who have changed history or who are reshaping the cultural landscape. They'll learn how Barbara Harris became the first female bishop of the Episcopal Church; Misty Copeland became the first Black principal dancer of the American Ballet Theater; the work and inventions of Dr. Patricia Bath have saved or restored the eyesight of people around the world; Shirley Chisolm changed the face of politics in America; Glory Edim has turned her passion for reading into a thriving online community that showcases Black women in literature; Cathy Hughes founded Radio One (now Urban One) and became the first African-American woman to head a publicly traded company. Entries on each woman or group will highlight their accomplishments, their world-changing words and the ways in which their lives and actions have made the world a better place. The book will also include a robust resource list of books, audio and visual recordings and links, inviting readers to learn even more about the amazing Black women featured in the book.

Interest level: 3-6
First written by a schoolteacher and activist in 1900 and then declared the official African American National Anthem by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1919, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" has been a cornerstone hymn chronicling the Black experience for more than one hundred years. Lyrics to this moving history are paired with the linocuts of Elizabeth Catlett, a Harlem Renaissance artist best known for her unique representations of the struggles and triumphs of Black men, women and children.

Interest level: 3-7
Twelve-year-old Shayla is allergic to trouble. All she wants to do is to follow the rules. (Oh, and she'd also like to make it through seventh grade with her best friendships intact, learn to run track, and have a cute boy see past her giant forehead.) But in junior high, it's like all the rules have changed. Now she's suddenly questioning who her best friends are and some people at school are saying she's not Black enough. Shay's sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but Shay doesn't think that's for her. After experiencing a powerful protest, though, Shay decides some rules are worth breaking. She starts wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives movement. Soon everyone is taking sides. And she is given an ultimatum. Shay is scared to do the wrong thing (and even more scared to do the right thing), but if she doesn't face her fear, she'll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. Now that's trouble, for real.

Interest level: 3-7
This beautifully illustrated book introduces readers of all ages to 40 women who changed the world. Little Leaders educates and inspires as it relates true stories of breaking boundaries and achieving beyond expectations. Illuminating text paired with irresistible illustrations bring to life both iconic and lesser-known female figures of Black history such as abolitionist Sojourner Truth, pilot Bessie Coleman, chemist Alice Ball, politician Shirley Chisholm, mathematician Katherine Johnson, poet Maya Angelou and filmmaker Julie Dash. Among these biographies, readers will find heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things-bold women whose actions and beliefs contributed to making the world better for generations of girls and women to come. Whether they were putting pen to paper, soaring through the air or speaking up for the rights of others, the women profiled in these pages were all taking a stand against a world that didn't always accept them. The leaders in this book may be little, but they all did something big and amazing, inspiring generations to come.

Interest level: 3-7
Fifty of the foremost diverse children's authors and illustrators including Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson and Kwame Alexander share answers to the question, "In this divisive world, what shall we tell our children?" With 96 lavishly designed pages of original art and prose, fifty diverse creators lend voice to young activists. Featuring poems, letters, personal essays, art and other works from such industry leaders as Jacqueline Woodson ( Brown Girl Dreaming), Jason Reynolds ( All American Boys), Kwame Alexander ( The Crossover), Andrea Pippins ( I Love My Hair), Sharon Draper ( Out of My Mind), Rita Williams-Garcia ( One Crazy Summer), Ellen Oh (cofounder of We Need Diverse Books), plus artists Ekua Holmes, Rafael Lopez, James Ransome, Javaka Steptoe and more, this anthology empowers the nation's youth to listen, learn and build a better tomorrow.

Interest level: 3-7
Seventh grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. Tristan is dreading the month he's going to spend on his grandparents' farm in Alabama, where he's being sent to heal from the tragedy. But on his first night there, a sticky creature shows up in his bedroom and steals Eddie's notebook. Tristan chases after it-is that a doll?-and a tug-of-war ensues between them underneath a Bottle Tree. In a last attempt to wrestle the journal out of the creature's hands, Tristan punches the tree, accidentally ripping open a chasm into the MidPass, a volatile place with a burning sea, haunted bone ships and iron monsters that are hunting the inhabitants of this world. Tristan finds himself in the middle of a battle that has left Black American folk heroes John Henry and Brer Rabbit exhausted. In order to get back home, Tristan and these new allies will need to entice the god Anansi, the Weaver, to come out of hiding and seal the hole in the sky. But bartering with the trickster Anansi always comes at a price. Can Tristan save this world before he loses more of the things he loves?

Interest level: 3-7
Donte wishes he were invisible. As one of the few Black boys at Middlefield Prep, he feels as if he is constantly swimming in whiteness. Most of the students don't look like him. They don't like him either. Dubbed the "Black Brother," Donte's teachers and classmates make it clear they wish he were more like his lighter-skinned brother, Trey. Quiet, obedient. When an incident with "King" Alan leads to Donte's arrest and suspension, he knows the only way to get even is to beat the king of the school at his own game: fencing. With the help of a former Olympic fencer, Donte embarks on a journey to carve out a spot on Middlefield Prep's fencing team and maybe learn something about himself along the way.

Interest level: 3-7
From debut author Janae Marks comes a captivating mystery full of heart, as one courageous girl questions assumptions, searches for the truth, and does what she believes is right-even in the face of great opposition. Zoe Washington isn't sure what to write. What does a girl say to the father she's never met, hadn't heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthday and who's been in prison for a terrible crime? A crime he says he never committed. Could Marcus really be innocent? Zoe is determined to uncover the truth. Even if it means hiding his letters and her investigation from the rest of her family. Everyone else thinks Zoe's worrying about doing a good job at her bakery internship and proving to her parents that she's worthy of auditioning for Food Network's Kids Bake Challenge. But with bakery confections on one part of her mind, and Marcus's conviction weighing heavily on the other, this is one recipe Zoe doesn't know how to balance. The only thing she knows to be true: Everyone lies.

Interest level: 3-7
It's 1946. Langston's mother has just died, and now they're leaving the rest of his family and friends. He misses everything-Grandma's Sunday suppers, the red dirt roads and the magnolia trees his mother loved. In the city, they live in a small apartment surrounded by noise and chaos. It doesn't feel like a new start or a better life. At home, he's lonely, his father always busy at work; at school he's bullied for being a country boy. But Langston's new home has one fantastic thing. Unlike the whites-only library in Alabama, the Chicago Public Library welcomes everyone. There, hiding out after school, Langston discovers another Langston-a poet whom he learns inspired his mother enough to name her only son after him. Lesa Cline-Ransome, author of the Coretta Scott King Honor picture book Before She Was Harriet, has crafted a lyrical debut novel about one boy's experiences during the Great Migration. Includes an author's note about the historical context and her research.

Interest level: 3-7
New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real, from award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft. Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds and not really fitting into either one.

Interest level: 3-8
Historically poets have been on the forefront of social movements. Woke is a collection of poems by women that reflects the joy and passion in the fight for social justice, tackling topics from discrimination to empathy, and acceptance to speaking out. With Theodore Taylor's bright, emotional art, and writing from Mahogany L. Browne, Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatwood, kids will be inspired to create their own art and poems to express how they see justice and injustice. Includes a foreword by best-selling author Jason Reynolds.

Interest level: 4-6
Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, Ashley Bryan offers a moving and powerful picture book that contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away. Imagine being looked up and down and being valued as less than a chair. Less than an ox. Less than a dress. Maybe about the same as a lantern. You, an object. An object to sell. In his gentle yet deeply powerful way, Ashley Bryan goes to the heart of how a slave is given a monetary value by the slave owner, tempering this with the one thing that CAN'T be bought or sold-dreams. Inspired by the actual will of a plantation owner that lists the worth of each and every one of his slaves, Bryan has created collages around that document, and others like it. Through fierce paintings and expansive poetry he imagines and interprets each person's life on the plantation, as well as the life their owner knew nothing about-their dreams and pride in knowing that they were worth far more than an Overseer or Madam ever would guess. Visually epic, and never before done, this stunning picture book is unlike anything you've seen.

Interest level: 4-7
Presents the stories of ten African-American men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to the modern day. Profiled: Benjamin Banneker, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, A. Philip Randolph, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama.

Interest level: 4-8
This winner of numerous awards, including the 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award and Illustrator Honor, features eight pages of discussion and curriculum material. The story of America and African Americans is a story of hope and inspiration and unwavering courage. This is the story of the men, women and children who toiled in the hot sun picking cotton for their masters; it's about the America ripped in two by Jim Crow laws; it's about the brothers and sisters of all colors who rallied against those who would dare bar a child from an education. It's a story of discrimination and broken promises, determination and triumphs. Told through the unique point of view and intimate voice of a one-hundred-year-old Black female narrator, this inspiring book demonstrates that in gaining their freedom and equal rights, African Americans helped our country achieve its promise of liberty and justice-the true heart and soul of our nation.

Interest level: 5-7
Before Josh and Jordan Bell were streaking up and down the court, their father was learning his own moves. In this prequel to Newbery Medal winner The Crossover, Chuck Bell takes center stage, as readers get a glimpse of his childhood and how he became the jazz-music-worshiping, basketball star his sons look up to.

Interest level: 5-9
A powerful middle-grade novel about the childhood activism of Malcolm X's wife, written by their daughter, describes how young Betty finds confidence and purpose by volunteering for the Housewives League in 1945 Detroit, learning skills and developing awareness that inspires her future as a civil rights icon.

Interest level: 5-10
Gain a deeper understanding of your anti-racist self as you progress through 20 chapters that spark introspection, reveal the origins of racism that we are still experiencing and give you the courage and power to undo it. Each chapter builds on the previous one as you learn more about yourself and racial oppression. Prompts get you thinking and help you grow with the knowledge. Author Tiffany Jewell, an anti-bias, anti-racist educator and activist, builds solidarity beginning with the language she chooses-using gender neutral words to honor everyone who reads the book. Illustrator Aurelia Durand brings the stories and characters to life with kaleidoscopic vibrancy. After examining the concepts of social identity, race, ethnicity and racism, learn about some of the ways people of different races have been oppressed, from indigenous Americans and Australians being sent to boarding school to be "civilized" to a generation of Caribbean immigrants once welcomed to the UK being threatened with deportation by strict immigration laws. Find hope in stories of strength, love, joy and revolution that are part of our history, too, with such figures as the former slave Toussaint Louverture, who led a rebellion against white planters that eventually led to Haiti's independence, and Yuri Kochiyama, who, after spending time in an internment camp for Japanese Americans during WWII, dedicated her life to supporting political prisoners and advocating reparations for those wrongfully interned. This book is written for EVERYONE who lives in this racialized society-including the young person who doesn't know how to speak up to the racist adults in their life, the kid who has lost themself at times trying to fit into the dominant culture, the children who have been harmed (physically and emotionally) because no one stood up for them or they couldn't stand up for themselves, and also for their families, teachers and administrators. With this book, be empowered to actively defy racism to create a community (large and small) that truly honors everyone.

Interest level: 5-10
Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged; each line is a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson's eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.

Interest level: 5-12
From celebrated author and illustrator Ashley Bryan comes a deeply moving picture book memoir about serving in the segregated army during World War II, and how love and the pursuit of art sustained him. In May of 1942, at the age of eighteen, Ashley Bryan was drafted to fight in World War II. For the next three years, he would face the horrors of war as a Black soldier in a segregated army. He endured the terrible lies white officers told about the Black soldiers to isolate them from anyone who showed kindness-including each other. He received worse treatment than even Nazi POWs. He was assigned the grimmest, most horrific tasks, like burying fallen soldiers ... but was told to remove the Black soldiers first because the media didn't want them in their newsreels. And he waited and wanted so desperately to go home, watching every white soldier get safe passage back to the United States before Black soldiers were even a thought. For the next forty years, Ashley would keep his time in the war a secret. But now, he tells his story. The story of the kind people who supported him. The story of the bright moments that guided him through the dark. And the story of his passion for art that would save him time and time again. Filled with never-before-seen artwork and handwritten letters and diary entries, this illuminating and moving memoir by Newbery Honor-winning illustrator Ashley Bryan is both a lesson in history and a testament to hope.

Interest level: 7-12
Inspired by the #SayHerName campaign launched by the African American Policy Forum, these poems pay tribute to victims of police brutality as well as the activists insisting that Black Lives Matter. Elliott engages poets from the past two centuries to create a chorus of voices celebrating the creativity, resilience, and courage of Black women and girls. This collection features forty-nine powerful poems, four of which are tribute poems inspired by the works of Lucille Clifton, Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni and Phillis Wheatley. This provocative collection will move every reader to reflect, respond and act.

Interest level: 7-12
By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family-not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the "downfall of the Black man." But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for "anti-white discrimination." Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?

Interest level: 7-12
Alfonso can't wait to play the role of Hamlet in his school's hip-hop rendition of the classic play. But as he is buying his first suit, an off-duty police officer misatkes a clothes hanger for a gun and shoots Alfonso. When Alfonso wakes up in the afterlife, he's on a ghost train guided by well-known victims of police shootings, who teach him what he needs to know about this subterranean spiritual world. Meanwhile, Alfonso's family and friends struggle with their grief and seek justice for Alfonso in the streets.

Interest level: 7-12
A young adult anthology featuring fictional stories of everyday resistance. You might be the kind of person who stands up to online trolls. Or who marches to protest injustice. Perhaps you are #DisabledAndCute and dancing around your living room, alive and proud. Or perhaps you are the trans mentor that you wish you had when you were younger. Maybe you call out false allies, or stand up to loved ones. Maybe you speak your truth and drop the mic, or maybe you take it with you when you leave. This anthology features fictional stories-in poems, prose, and art-that reflect a slice of the varied and limitless ways that readers like you resist every day. Take the Mic 's powerful collection of stories features work by literary luminaries and emerging talent alike, including Newbery-winner Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestseller Samira Ahmed, anthologist and contributor Bethany C. Morrow, Darcie Little Badger, Jem Yoshioka, Keah Brown, Laura Silverman, L.D. Lewis, Sofia Quintero, Ray Stoeve, Yamile Mendez and Connie Sun, with cover and interior art by Richie Pope.

Interest level: 7-12
Acclaimed author Renee Watson offers a powerful story about a girl striving for success in a world that too often seems like it's trying to break her. Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she's ever going to succeed. Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. And Jade has: every day she rides the bus away from her friends and to the private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities she doesn't really welcome, like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for "at-risk" girls. Just because her mentor is Black and graduated from the same high school doesn't mean she understands where Jade is coming from. She's tired of being singled out as someone who needs help, someone people want to fix. Jade wants to speak, to create, to express her joys and sorrows, her pain and her hope. Maybe there are some things she could show other women about understanding the world and finding ways to be real, to make a difference.

Interest level: 7-12
His brother Shawn was just murdered and Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That's where Will's now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother's gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he's after. Or does he? Told in short, fierce staccato narrative verse, Long Way Down is a fast and furious, dazzlingly brilliant look at teenage gun violence, as could only be told by Jason Reynolds.

Interest level: 7-12
On a hot day in July 1919, five black youths went swimming in Lake Michigan, unintentionally floating close to the "white" beach. An angry white man began throwing stones at the boys, striking and killing one. Racial conflict on the beach erupted into days of urban violence that shook the city of Chicago to its foundations. This mesmerizing narrative draws on contemporary accounts as it traces the roots of the explosion that had been building for decades in race relations, politics, business and clashes of culture.

Interest level: 7-12
Congressman John Lewis (Georgia) is an American icon, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African American president. March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. Book One spans John Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.

Interest level: 8-12
Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi and featuring some of the most acclaimed, bestselling black authors writing for teens today, Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it's like to be young and Black in America. Black is ... sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Rene Watson. Black is ... three friends walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything, in a story by Jason Reynolds. Black is ... Nic Stone's bougie debutante dating a boy her momma would never approve of. Black is ...two girls kissing in Justina Ireland's story set in Maryland. Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more-because there are countless ways to be Black enough.

Interest level: 9-12
Justyce McAllister is top of his class, captain of the debate team, and set for the Ivy League next year-but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. He is eventually released without charges (or an apology), but the incident has Justyce spooked. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood, he can't seem to escape the scorn of his former peers or the attitude of his prep school classmates. The only exception: Sarah Jane, Justyce's gorgeous-and white-debate partner he wishes he didn't have a thing for. Struggling to cope with it all, Justyce starts a journal to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But do Dr. King's teachings hold up in the modern world? Justyce isn't so sure. Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up. Way up. Much to the fury of the white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. And Justyce and Manny get caught in the crosshairs. In that media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack.

Interest level: 9-12
This is NOT a history book. This is a book about the here and now. A book to help us better understand why we are where we are. A book about race. The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's National Book Award-winning Stamped From The Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited. Through a gripping, fast-paced and energizing narrative written by beloved award-winner Jason Reynolds, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas-and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.

48. Punching the Air
by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

Interest level: 9-12
Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. "Boys just being boys" turns out to be true only when those boys are white. Suddenly, at just 16 years old, Amal's bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it? With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both.

Interest level: 9-12
Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Most important of all, it has spawned a whole generation of criminal justice reform activists and organizations motivated by Michelle Alexander's unforgettable argument that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." As the Birmingham News proclaimed, it is "undoubtedly the most important book published in this century about the U.S." Now, ten years after it was first published, The New Press is proud to issue a tenth-anniversary edition with a new preface by Michelle Alexander that discusses the impact the book has had and the state of the criminal justice reform movement today.

Interest level: 9-12
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor Black neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, Khalil's death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Starr's best friend at school suggests he may have had it coming. When it becomes clear the police have little interest in investigating the incident, protesters take to the streets and Starr's neighborhood becomes a war zone. What everyone wants to know is: What really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does-or does not-say could destroy her community. It could also endanger her life. Thomas's searing debut about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances addresses issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart and unflinching honesty.

Click above for a printable version of this booklist containing 50 amazing titles!
How are you planning to talk to your students about the Black Lives Matter movement? Do you have any favorite titles from our list above? Tell us in the comments section below!

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50 Books to Help Guide Anti-Racist Conversations in the Classroom

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It is essential to elevate the voices, experiences and history of the Black community. The Black Lives Matter movement should empower students and educators to recognize and call out racial prejudice and have tough conversations. Students should read strong Black voices and feel like their own

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Booksource: Black Lives Matter Collection

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Booksource: Black Lives Matter Collection

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Notes for Teachers from WGBH Session on Racism & Implicit Bias

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Notes for Teachers from WGBH Session on Racism & Implicit Bias

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Educator Peer Exchange: Racism and Implicit Bias June 25 Synthesized Notes

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Scenes of black parents openly share truths about bias their children will experience

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Unconscious bias a Black man is forced to encounter on a daily basis

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subscribe to Up First podcast

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In this bonus episode, NPR's Code Switch team looks at white activism in the wake of George Floyd's killing. The video of his death is horrific, and the brutality is stark. But that was the case in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014 and Minnesota in 2016. This time, though, white people are out in the streets in big numbers, and books such as "So You Want to Talk About Race" and "How to Be an Antiracist" top the bestseller lists. So we asked some white people: What's different this time?

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BONUS: WHY NOW, WHITE PEOPLE? : Up First

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In this bonus episode, NPR's Code Switch team looks at white activism in the wake of George Floyd's killing. The video of his death is horrific, and the brutality is stark. But that was the case in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014 and Minnesota in 2016.

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Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man

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Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man

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The Inaugural Episode - Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man

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George Floyd, Minneapolis Protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper | The Daily Social Distancing Show

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Elizabeth's Bookshop & Writing Centre is an innovative literary centre designed to amplify and celebrate marginalized voices. Our catalog highlights promotes, amplifies, celebrates, and honors the work of writers who are often excluded from traditional cultural, social, and academic canons. Through curated collections of own voices' narratives,Elizabeth's seeks to educate and re-shape the lens of readers-how they see themselves and how they view the world.

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http://rachel-cargle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rachel.mp4 Public Academic, Writer & Lecturer Public Academic, Writer & Lecturer Rachel Cargle is an Akron, Ohio born public academic, writer, and lecturer. Her activist and academic work are rooted in providing intellectual discourse, tools, and resources that explore the intersection of race and womanhood.

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Please note: We are in the process of revising our professional development program, so we are not currently offering any open enrollment workshops. However, when we are able to announce new dates, they will be posted on this page. Thank you for your patience.

Learning for Justice offers professional development workshops for current K-12 classroom teachers, administrators and counselors, and for anyone who coaches classroom teachers and administrators. You can access workshops with our expert trainers in two ways: through open enrollment or by requesting a training. Review our frequently asked questions for more details.

Virtual Open-Enrollment Workshops

Each 90 minute workshop session costs $15 per participant and is delivered via Zoom. All tickets must be purchased online. (We are not able to accept cash, purchase orders or checks.) Explore the schedule below, and register today-space is limited! We continue to add new dates, so check back often.

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Please note: We are in the process of revising our professional development program, so we are not currently offering any open enrollment workshops. However, when we are able to announce new dates, they will be posted on this page. Thank you for your patience.

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Why "I'm Not Racist" is Only Half the Story

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Why "I'm Not Racist" is Only Half the Story

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story | TED

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Students Perform Better When Taking Courses That Explore Race

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Students Perform Better When Taking Courses That Explore Race

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PBS LearningMedia Resources for Discourse.docx