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Black History and Culture - Google Arts & Culture

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The past, present, and future of the Black experience in the United States

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12 Poems to Read for Black History Month

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Tyehimba Jess on "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks

"We Real Cool" is the poem so many of us know from grade school: the Seven (that sacred number of the seeker, the thinker, the mysterious) at the Golden Shovel (the shovel be golden but be ready to dig your grave). Them lounging streetcornerwise in our consciousness under some flickered neon of mannish-boy dream. A Chicago/Detroit/Harlem/St. Louis/L.A./Gary/... corner. Someplace where the rhyme is always as good as the reason, anyplace where the cost of gin is precious enough to thin but solemn enough to pour on the sidewalk for the departed, anyplace where the schools are overcrowded and underfunded and black and brown enough to not really miss the Seven, who were underperforming on the standardized tests and had been diagnosed as ADD or BDD status anyway. Anyplace where sin gets hymned out-straitlaced into storefront chapels on Sunday mornings-but sewn back into Saturday night doo-wopped breakbeats, finger-snapped shuffles of promise.

We know the Seven. Know them like our neighbor's boy gone bloodied to bullets. Like our cousins nodded off into prison terms or hyped into the ground. Like our brothers gone homeless. Like our fathers gone missing. Like ourselves when we look in the blurry mid-morning mirror. One for every day of the week, one for each of our deadly sins. One waiting around the bend of each American corner. We stand in the June of our lives and try to sing it all the way through each season, always ending each line on the word that brings us together as much as it pivots us into new revelations: We. We. We. We. We. We. We.

Safiya Sinclair on "won't you celebrate with me" by Lucille Clifton

What a balm and a blessing this poem has been to me. I have carried this sonnet-both an ode to the self and also an act of resistance-inside me like gospel, like armor. Against a world that has marked us invisible and unworthy, black joy is important. Self-love is imperative. And here Lucille Clifton shows us that both joy and self-love radiating from a black woman is also a kind of defiance.

When I was growing up there were so few examples of what a strong, successful black woman could look like, much less a black woman poet-how could we, the unseen and unconsidered, find a place of our own not just to exist, but to thrive?

For all of us, black women born in Babylon, with our meager inheritance of oppression and the diminishment of our selfhood and a world that turns its back to say, "You are not enough as you are"-for a black woman to stand in exaltation of herself is radical, is necessary. This poem gave me a voice and a crucial model to carve out my own world, to know it is possible to sing a self.

Here is Clifton stepping inside the American poetic tradition-a tradition that never considered her, however multitudinously it declared itself-and fashioning a new mold for her life, for black womanhood in all its broad fields and rivers of wonder. Here, "on this bridge between / starshine and clay," she not only beams out a nation that has tried to snuff her out, but knowing that the black woman must nurture and cherish her own self in the world, she divines this life as a rebellious necessity. To be black in America is to be endangered. To be a black woman in America is to be the unsung casualty. To be a black woman alive in America and writing poetry is miraculous. Here I am, she says-despite a fight against my selfhood and survival at every turn, here I am-in radiant joy, in full bloom, in celebration of myself, and despite you, I'm still alive and alive and alive.

Rickey Laurentiis on "Heartbeats" by Melvin Dixon

"If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off," said Dickinson, "I know that is poetry." But how does it feel to be exiled from your own heart-and not just artfully, but literally, from your real and fallible heart? This is the question I return to, a quality of thought and careful sensation I find in Melvin Dixon's "Heartbeats" and the steady patient-turned-at-moments-insistent spondees of its lines that, for always renegotiating this pace, manages to maintain what sadness we suspect is present alongside something like strength, audacity. So, of course, who else but a black, queer poet could offer us such uneasy music? Who else but him-present in a world that claimed he was, in at least two ways, wrong-could bring us so much closer, that intimate with our own breathing bodies, which will fail us? It is maybe like how history often looks back on such poets as Dixon, erasing his legacy, failing him, so that this poem, among many, becomes as a whole the last declaration. It does not whimper; it swells.

Rowan Ricardo Phillips on "American History" by Michael S. Harper

Michael S. Harper's "American History" is one of the great poems of our or any other language. The stunning ease with which the poem juxtaposes, in a highly compact form, grandeur and minutiae, consequence and cause, content and technique (in other words, big idea and meager action), and the sad, suffocating ease with which poems written by poets of color tend to read as mere reflex of a social gland have unfortunately conspired against it. But this is a poem that in its brevity and power stands tall with the epitaph of Simonides, the haiku of Bashō, Blake's " The Sick Rose," Keats's "The Living Hand," Pound's " In a Station of the Metro" and Brooks's " We Real Cool," to name but a few.

A great poem releases the language it uses from the tether of its normal terms-not to destroy language but to reveal the wounds therein and enliven them and, in turn, the entire language. That the explosive first line carries five stresses in its six syllables; that the poem posits a "me" and the possibility of multiple "yous" (an addressed second person and a rhetorical one); that the net is torqued into an embedded clause you have to see and swallow before moving on to the drowning; that we lose a sense of protagonist and antagonist, moral gravity; that the poem is in search of gravity among its tragic parts and dangling question-what to say but to read it, parse it, memorize it, and pay it forward? Why is it not in every canon? Can't find what you can't see, can you?

Marilyn Nelson on "Middle Passage" by Robert Hayden

"Middle Passage" is one of the major landmarks of modern American poetry, right up there with " Prufrock" and " Sunday Morning." Its grand ambition, its researched knowledge, the range of its literary allusion, its handling of many diverse voices, and its achievement of deep wisdom are, well, I can't think of words right now to describe my admiration of this beautiful masterpiece.

Mahogany L. Browne on "Brief History of Hostility" by Jamaal May

Jamaal May dissects the many limbs of the assault of an oppressive system and the resilient resistance of an oppressed people in the five-act poem "A Brief History of Hostility":
The war said let there be war
and there was war.
The war said let there be peace
and there was war.

Like a surgeon with a sturdy hand, May pens a succinctly textured psalm, birthing light and life against the landscape of a machine designed to punish and wound until extinction. The poetic craft of chant and righteous rage finds a delicate balance on the page as May threads together repetition and steel and nature as comforting as any lullaby. This is no easy feat: writing about life and fire and death and the desire for peace through air and flowers birth graveyards without the promise of losing interest, a privilege for some.

Camille T. Dungy on "On Being Brought from Africa to America" by Phillis Wheatley

In 1761, when she was about seven years old, the girl we have come to know as Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped from her home on the West Coast of Africa. She was transported to Boston because she was too frail to be of practical use in the physically demanding sugar plantations of the South. She learned English, Greek, and Latin. But she remained enslaved. Twelve years later, in 1773, this same girl would become the first black person to publish a book in English. From that collection comes "On Being Brought from Africa to America" one of the most amazing poems I have ever read.

The poem itself follows the neoclassical model-it's concerned with order, structure, reason. We see it in the rhyme, the meter, in its controlled organization, and also its logic. There is an orderly series of four heroic couplets. There are the requisite nods to Christian ideals. In the mode of her time, Wheatley's poem is clean, uncorrupted. Practically dismissible, it seems so perfect.

But this is not a poem to be easily dismissed. Scan it with me. In doing so, you'll see some of the ways Wheatley uses the apparent order of the poem to reveal an entirely different line of reasoning than what might be evident at first glance. There is practically a secret code inside this poem. The "save" in "Savior" is stressed, the "Christ" in "Christian," the word "black" in the penultimate line, and the word "join" at the poem's end. The word "die" at the end of a line about the "diabolic" skin tone of black people is stressed along with the "di-" in "diabolic," and both syllables are close enough in proximity to create a shocking internal rhyme. This all has something to do with English itself, with where stresses naturally fall in particular words, but the way that these words are put together in Wheatley's poem directs whether and how we attend to them. Wheatley knew this. She uses the logic of the structure of metrical verse as a means toward revelation and resistance.

We see this same thing throughout the poem in her use of punctuation, in her rare enjambment, in the ways she plays with allusions, and especially in the fun she has with the homonymic potential of the English language. Toward the latter two points, I will never cease to wonder at her play on the word "Cain" to indicate the potential for refinement (and, therefore, exalted status) of the darker of the two sons of Adam and Eve, as well as the expected refinement (and, therefore, salvation) of the sugar cane (and sugar cane workers) at the center of the slave trade. Wheatley revels in the ways that something can appear to have one conclusion and also another.

This neoclassical poem, written by an enslaved young woman, barely out of her teens, is rebellious even as it appears to follow all the rules. It is about the complicated blessing of being kidnapped from her home and sold into slavery in a land where she is able to learn about the order and structure of Western traditions (including Christianity), and it has at its heart words, phrases, and lines that can be read (completely logically) in a number of ways. At every turn, she undermines and complicates the logic to which she is bound. I love that! I love her.
browse more resources for black history month

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12 poems to read for black history month

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12 Poems to Read for Black History Month

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February is Black History Month, and to celebrate the contributions black poets have made, and continue to make, to the richness of American poetry, we asked eleven contemporary black poets from across the country at different stages in their writing lives, to choose one poem that should be read during Black History Month and to tell us a bit about why.

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scratch paper/rough draft

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Quick Video to Help you Beef It Up & Write It Out!

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Quick Video to Help you Beef It Up & Write It Out!

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Look for connections between information

Trigger forming an opinion about the information found

Use comparisons and looking for patterns

Require THOUGHTFUL answers

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Scientists, engineers, and inventors find the solutions to the world's problems. Learn about the work that these black scientists and inventors have accomplished that make our lives better.

George Washington Carver was an agricultural chemist who gained acclaim for his discovery of alternative farming methods. Carver is best known for his discovery of uses for the peanut. Among the products Carver developed from peanuts were soap, face powder, mayonnaise, shampoo, metal polish, and adhesives-but he did not invent peanut butter.

Known as a "human computer," Dorothy Johnson Vaughan was part of a team that did mathematical calculations to help launch satellites-and later humans-into space. The group used math to help engineers figure out how wind and gravity affects aircrafts.

When she was first hired to work on the space program, Vaughan's department was segregated, or separated, by race. She and the other African-American women in her unit used separate dining areas and bathrooms. Six years after she was hired, Vaughan became the manager of her division and its first black supervisor.

A decade later, the agency desegregated and she joined the Analysis and Computation division, where she learned computer programming and worked on the program that launched John Glenn and other astronauts into space for the first time. The accomplishments of Vaughan and other female African-American mathematicians was the focus of the book and movie Hidden Figures.

Mark E. Dean is one of the top engineering minds at the International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation. He made his first mark in the industry in the early 1980s, when he and a colleague developed a system that allowed computers to communicate with printers and other devices. Every time you print something, you can thank Dean.

In all, Dean holds 20 patents, and was honored as one of the "50 Most Important African Americans in Technology" by the California African-American Museum in 2000. Dean wants to help increase awareness of the contributions of black engineers to both the engineering industry and the African-American community.

Before her 30th birthday, Mae C. Jemison had received two undergraduate degrees and a medical degree, served two years as a Peace Corps medical officer in West Africa, and was selected to join the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's astronaut training program. Her eight-day space flight aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992 established Jemison as the United States' first female African-American space traveler.

Percy L. Julian is known as the "soybean chemist," for his extraordinary success in developing innovative drugs and industrial chemicals from natural soya products. The firefighting solution he devised, known as "bean soup," helped save the lives of thousands of sailors and naval airmen during World War II. His discoveries earned him more than 130 chemical patents and many professional awards.

His spirit lives on in dozens of lifesaving discoveries, as well as in the halls of Percy L. Julian Junior High School in Oak Park, Illinois. Julian was quoted as saying, "I have had one goal in my life, that of playing some role in making life a little easier for the persons who come after me."

Sarah Breedlove Walker was an inventor and businesswoman, and became one of the largest employers of African-American women of her time.

Often know as Madame C.J. Walker, she manufactured beauty products for other African-American women using formulas she developed after working for a pharmacist who taught her chemistry. Her popular hair-softening cream and shampoo helped heal dry skin and other itchy annoyances that were common in the early 1900s because indoor plumbing wasn't widely available.

Walker's company hired and trained thousands of black women to sell her hair-care products in shops, by mail, and door-to-door. This helped many become more independent during a time when job opportunities for women were limited.

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Making History: African-American Pioneers of Science

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Scientists, engineers, and inventors find the solutions to the world's problems. Learn about the work that these black scientists and inventors have accomplished that make our lives better. George Washington Carver was an agricultural chemist who gained acclaim for his discovery of alternative farming methods.

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They don’t all look the same – could better facial discrimination lead to less racial discrimination?

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It's been a big week. With a simple words, Barack Obama became the first black President of a country whose history has been so haunted by the spectre of racial prejudice. His election and inauguration are undoubtedly proud moments but they must not breed complacency. Things may be changing outwardly, but problems remain.

For a start, it goes without saying that many people, even the most liberal and left-wing among us, still harbour unconscious prejudices against members of other races. These "implicit biases" may be hidden, but their effects are often not. For example, a study published last year showed that unconscious biases can hold greater sway over a person's voting decisions than their conscious, rational preferences.

Their influence becomes apparent even when we simply look at people of other races. It's a well-known fact that people generally find it more difficult to distinguish between the faces of people from other ethnic groups than those of their own. This so-called " other-race effect" is the phenomenon behind claims that "they all look the same". But looks are in the eye of the beholder and the other-race effect can be negated through experience with members of different races. For example, African infants who are adopted by white families develop a bias in distinguishing between faces that matches those of white children.

Sophie Lebrecht from Brown University sensed a link between poorer facial discrimination and greater racial discrimination. Her idea is simple: if someone finds it hard to tell the difference between people of a certain race, they will be more likely to characterise that entire group with broad stereotypes. When the lines between individuals blur, generalities start seeping in and implicit biases have a stronger influence. But if that's the case, there may be a way around it - indeed, Lebrecht found that by training people to better discriminate between faces of other races, she could help to reduce their biased attitudes towards those races.

Lebrecht recruited 20 white volunteers and found that they showed typical other-race effects. She asked them to memorise 24 Chinese and Black faces and later, say which they recognised from a larger set of 48. Lebrecht also tested the volunteers for signs of implicit biases using a test called the "affective lexical priming score" or ALPS. Like similar tests, this one relies on the fact that relationships that certain mental tasks are more difficult if they challenge a person's hidden prejudices.

The volunteers saw a series of white, black or oriental faces, each paired with a word. The word could be positive (such as "love"), negative ("hate"), neutral ("tree") or nonsense ("malk") and the volunteer's job iwas to classify it accordingly. If the volunteers bore any hidden prejudices against, say, black people, their response times would be quicker if black faces were paired with negative words, and slower if they were paired with positive words.

After these initial tasks, the volunteers were split into two groups. One was asked to categorise various faces as either Chinese or Black; all they had to do was to consider the faces on a very general level. The other volunteers were faced with a more difficult training exercise, where they learned to press a different key for each of eight Black faces (and the same key for each of eight Chinese faces). They had to learn to recognise the headshots on an individual basis.

Finally, Lebrecht put all the volunteers through the recognition test and the ALPS a second time. As expected, Lebrecht found that those who were trained became better at telling the difference between faces of other races. Their scores in the recognition test improved, while the volunteers who just had to categorise the faces were no better the second time round.

Better yet, the trained group showed fewer implicit biases against black faces. Before the training, they took significantly longer to respond when Black faces were paired with positive words than when they were paired with negative ones. Afterwards, these delayed responses were, on average, nowhere to be seen. Lebrecht even found that volunteers who showed the greatest progress in discriminating between ethnically diverse faces also showed the greatest declines in their implicit biases. For comparison, the volunteers who merely categorised Black and Asian faces still bore the same hidden prejudices that they showed in the first test.

It's not just experience with other races that made a difference - after all, both groups of volunteers saw the same sets of faces and only one developed smaller implicit biases. To Lebrecht, it was the motivation to consider the faces as individuals rather than members of a group that did the trick. She isn't claiming that this training is a complete or foolproof solution to the problem of unconscious racial bias, merely that it could go some way towards reducing it. Perhaps it will find uses among immigration workers, teachers, policemen or other professions who regularly come across people from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

However, it's worth noting that the study had a very small sample size, a weakness that Lebrecht acknowledges. That doesn't invalidate the study, but it does leave its conclusions on shakier territory. Nonetheless, it's an interesting piece of work with fascinating social ramifications; it surely deserves to be replicated with bigger numbers.

Reference: Sophie Lebrecht, Lara J. Pierce, Michael J. Tarr, James W. Tanaka (2009). Perceptual Other-Race Training Reduces Implicit Racial Bias PLoS ONE, 4 (1) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004215

More on race and stereotypes:

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They don't all look the same - could better facial discrimination lead to less racial discrimination?

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It's been a big week. With a simple words, Barack Obama became the first black President of a country whose history has been so haunted by the spectre of racial prejudice. His election and inauguration are undoubtedly proud moments but they must not breed complacency. Things may be changing outwardly, but problems remain.

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Blackfacts.com is the oldest and longest-running data-driven online Black History resource, which has served millions and millions of Black Facts to users across the globe over its unbroken 21-year history.

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When Jessie Carney Smith arrived at Fisk University in Nashville in 1965, she says many people there did not know about black literature. Smith, the dean of the library, says, "Many scholars were told that blacks had no history." But African Americans within the library profession have certainly had a long history, with one of the first librarians of color, Edward C. Williams, joining the American Library Association (ALA) in 1896-20 years after the founding of the Association. And today, African Americans comprise roughly 14,250 of the estimated 190,000 librarians in the United States, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

American Libraries spoke with five leading African-American librarians about their careers, the changes they have witnessed over the decades, and the current issues in librarianship. While no two people have the same story, all five interviewees note inclusivity as an important theme. They discuss libraries as safe havens, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the history and future of the Association, as well as their legacies within the profession.

As library professor Alma Dawson says, "Even in this day and age, we still have to tell our own stories."

Satia Orange

When Satia Orange, 75, was growing up in the 1950s, she saw what she described as "the grinding work" of her parents, both librarians.

Her father was A. P. Marshall, an ALA Councilor and director of libraries at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, and Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. Orange saw him come "home for dinner and then return to the library until 9 or 10 p.m., doing budgets."

Orange herself later went on to become director of ALA's Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, retiring from ALA in 2009. "I was pulled into the profession kicking and screaming," she jokes.

She began her career in education, teaching in Milwaukee in the mid-1960s, when she received a call one day from Virginia Lacy Jones, dean of Atlanta University's School of Library Sciences and the first-and at that time only-black library school. Jones offered her a fellowship, promising Orange that she would be able to work with young children, something she enjoyed as part of her prior experience working in the library in the Atlanta school system.

It wasn't until she started attending conferences that Orange began to view librarianship as her profession. As she participated in midwinter meetings and annual conferences, she recalled what her father had told her years ago: "This was a profession that has a national and international impact."

Robert Wedgeworth

Robert Wedgeworth, 80, knows well about the profession's impact. Wedgeworth became ALA executive director in 1972, at a time of significant financial challenges, with one library publication suggesting that bankruptcy was imminent. But Wedgeworth said he received "some very good advice from friends in the banking industry"; after analyzing the Association's finances, "they advised me that ALA didn't have financial problems-it had control problems."

Wedgeworth balanced ALA's budget within two years.

During his 12-year tenure, ALA membership increased by more than 25%, and its annual budget more than doubled. The Association also resolved an ongoing building development issue with the construction of Huron Plaza, which has since brought more than $18 million into ALA endowments, and took over operation of National Library Week from the National Book Committee.

Wedgeworth's forward-thinking approach is also evident in how he applied what he learned from the 1962 Century 21 Exposition in Seattle. He was one of 75 librarians that ALA chose to work at the futuristic Library 21 exhibit, and he was, as he says, "in the first group of librarians to apply computers to library problems" when he became assistant chief acquisitions librarian at Brown University in 1966.

His career in libraries has spanned decades: working as a 14-year-old in libraries over the summer and continuing throughout his four years in college, where a librarian "influenced me to consider librarianship as a career."

Since leaving ALA, Wedgeworth has served as dean of the School of Library Service at Columbia University in New York and university librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he is currently president of ProLiteracy Worldwide, a nonprofit that promotes adult literacy.

Alma Dawson

As Russell Long professor and professor emeritus in library and information science at Louisiana State University (LSU), Alma Dawson, 74, was one of the primary forces in the long-term rebuilding of libraries after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. She led Project Recovery, an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant-funded project to educate librarians in south Louisiana to compensate for staff losses after the hurricanes. "It was important to me to make sure that we were connecting what the students were doing in the classroom to everyday experience," Dawson says. Students recruited for Project Recovery met LSU graduate school requirements and were then admitted into the library program, and all of them went on to professional library positions.

Dawson has also worked to document the history of African Americans in librarianship. "Even in this day and age, we still have to tell our own stories," she says. "We can stress the importance of figuring out where people are, the kind of positions they have, and the research they're doing."

Dawson was, if not recruited to librarianship early, at least welcomed to the library in her youth. "I worked with a librarian in high school who let me help with the library and helped me get scholarships," she says. "I was the first person in the family to go to college, and it was all on scholarships."

She didn't initially work at the library as a student at Grambling (La.) State University, but she was friendly with the librarians there. She also worked in a segregated public school during the Jim Crow era, in the 1960s. "We didn't really have the resources for students, so we had to raise all the money to buy materials for the library. It was always my goal to find a way to have the resources that the students needed," she says.

Gladys Smiley Bell

It was Dorothy Porter, curator of Howard University's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and the major force behind building it into a premiere collection for the study of African-American history, who encouraged Gladys Smiley Bell, 68, to go to library school. "When I was a student, I didn't know about ALA and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), so I try to encourage people to join now," she says.

She's also worked to help librarians forge connections through professional activities. Bell cochaired the first Joint Council of Librarians of Color (JCLC) in 2006, the first-ever shared conference among ALA's five ethnic affiliate associations: BCALA, the American Indian Library Association, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, the Chinese American Librarians Association, and Reforma.

With that conference, she says she "was very excited for how we could change the profession in terms of diversity and how we could come together to serve the people," Bell says. A second JCLC was held in 2012, and a third will take place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in September.

Bell is now the Peabody Librarian of the William R. and Norma B. Harvey Library at Hampton (Va.) University.

Jessie Carney Smith

Jessie Carney Smith, 87, is not a historian even though some people call her that. "I'm a librarian who has done some historical work," she says. As dean of the library at Fisk University in Nashville, she has published extensively on African-American history, including three books of biographies of black women and two books of biographies of black men. "I looked for areas that had not been talked about," Smith says.

After college, she moved to Nashville but couldn't find a teaching job because of the limited openings in segregated schools. She found a job as a clerk-typist at Fisk University under librarian and writer Arna Bontemps. "I was impressed by his work and the contact he had with other writers and publishers," Smith says.

She earned a master's and eventually a PhD in library science, returning to Fisk when Bontemps retired. "When I became familiar with what was then called 'Negro collections,' I thought, 'Why not do some work that would use those materials and promote them to others?'"

And that history is important to having a complete picture. "You may have an interest in one particular topic, and that's fine," she says. "But you need to know about the whole of America, not just white but black and Hispanic and other ethnic groups as well."
Many recent events have been extremely disruptive to communities, ranging from natural disasters to unrest following police shootings or white nationalist rallies. What should a library's role be in responding to events like these?
Satia Orange: Our Librarian of Congress [Carla Hayden] provided an example of how to respond [as director of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore]. After the police confrontation, she opened up the library the next day. They were busy because people needed to do what they needed to do but also to understand what was happening in their neighborhood.

In Ferguson, Missouri, the director [of Ferguson Municipal Public Library, Scott Bonner] was brand new, but his training and intuition let him go in and keep the library open and make it the center of the community for information, safety, and resources.

Robert Wedgeworth: Libraries have to be responsive to their constituents, and they need to present themselves as a place where people can find information that helps to explain and understand the current issues affecting their lives. That has been a very important role for libraries over the years, and it will continue to be one. It's not the social issue itself but that the library can be an active place in helping people to respond to issues as they present themselves.

In the 1960s, librarians were asking what extent they should be active participants in protests and combating certain topics. That continues to be a question raised in the ranks of professionals, and it will always be controversial. Different people will feel different levels of responsibility in dealing with various circumstances, but there will always be a professional role to helping people understand what's going on in their lives and in their world.

Alma Dawson: First of all, people need information. If they're just running on emotion, they don't have the correct info. If we're talking about Black Lives Matter and other issues of the day, the library has background information that is not just emotional. They have the history right there. When the hurricanes came, people went to the library because that's where they could connect with family and the community. Librarians can be the right group of people to help.

Gladys Smiley Bell: In my opinion, those protests are political. It's just appalling to know that things like that are happening today. But libraries can open their doors during times of crisis to provide resources and displays. Schools tend to shut down, but libraries seem to gear up. There is someone out there archiving those events for the future, maybe with the collection of what happens over the years, so that things can be better in the future. Libraries play a role in that because their doors are open to everybody to come and find out for themselves why, who, and what to do about these issues.

Jessie Carney Smith: We have a difficult job to do to help people cope with natural disasters and increasing violence. One has a right to protest, but keep violence out of it. Libraries can help by becoming involved in local dialogue, as we are doing in Nashville. But what works in one community might not work in another. You have to find ways to soften the ugly, tense moments that we have to face. Having grown up in the South, I have seen a lot of ugly and tense moments. We must find a way to deal with the bad as well as the good and let people know that we are dealing with community problems.
Is the profession more welcoming to African-American librarians now than at the start of your career?
Smith: Indeed it is. I grew up in the segregated South, so except for one or two positions in colleges, and maybe in a public library, there weren't many places where black people could work.

Orange: [In the early 1990s] I think ALA and the profession were looking at African Americans and other ethnic groups from the standpoint of "Let's let them do something" rather than being truly inclusive. There were people on Council, but not the commitment to being sure that services were provided to those communities. It was only later that the Association and the profession made the commitment to making the profession more inclusive as an intentional action.

In the late 1990s, with the start of the Spectrum scholarship program and Sandra Ríos Balderrama as diversity officer, you could see there was a shift. We had leaders on Council like Barbara Ford, Sarah Ann Long, and E. J. Josey, who made inclusiveness part of their platform. They helped the Association to devote more resources and support to inclusiveness in the profession, by encouraging the activities of the ethnic caucuses, creating the Office for Diversity, elevating the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Task Force into an ALA round table [now known as GLBTRT], and other accomplishments. It blossomed in the early 2000s, and I was really proud of the Association-they were brave steps, and you saw brave folks coming out of them.

I don't see evidence of the Association moving in that direction anymore, and that's disturbing to me. The Office for Diversity and OLOS were recently combined, which took the only place in the Association that really dealt with people of color and put them into one little group with different responsibilities. ODLOS has a small staff but is expected to do the things those two offices were doing, which I think is unfair.

I am encouraged by the attempt to reach nonmembers and by the resources the Association has and is working to make available.

Dawson: [At the start of my career in the early 1960s] you were not able to go anywhere-I don't think we even had medical care. My parents talked a lot about having to use home remedies. LSU was not easy when I worked there, first as a librarian and then when I got my PhD and worked my way from instructor to professor. I think people need to have goals and objectives to move forward. That was what I always tried to do, and what my parents always had us do. Just as important, students need financial assistance.

Bell: Even today, librarians of color have stories of racism, either overt or subtle, with regard to tenure and promotion. When I came up for tenure in the 1990s at Kent (Ohio) State University, I faced opposition and a lot of adversity from people who I thought knew me, with stupid questions about not having enough non-African-American references.
What do you see as the most important current issues related to diversity in libraries? How have they changed over time?
Orange: There was a member push toward being more diverse in terms of resources and representation and giving diverse groups and populations a voice. I think people in the profession are still working that way, but I don't see ALA as taking those steps. One concern is that ALA is encouraging libraries to have a diverse staff, but it doesn't have a diverse staff itself.

Wedgeworth: There are a lot more opportunities within the field for minorities. The problem is the library field doesn't reach broadly enough to attract people into the field. We are mostly recruiting people who have worked in libraries or who are relatives or friends of librarians and know what librarians do. We haven't been able to reach more broadly into undergraduate talent to fill various kinds of positions in libraries. We need students with backgrounds in the sciences and economics, but we don't tend to reach out to attract those kinds of people.

To counter this, we could do a more aggressive marketing program to attract people to the field and provide more opportunities to experience what it's like to work in a library before choosing a profession. People need to learn about the career at an earlier age than they currently do. That costs money and time and effort, and we don't seem to have been willing or able to make that kind of investment.

Dawson: I went to the BCALA conference in Atlanta in August, and people were talking about a lot of the same issues: how you deal with people and how you recruit people. You still have to help young people to understand that librarianship is a viable profession. You do that by networking with students and being in the community early on, through the reading programs and similar efforts. We have to continue to do what we have always done and be the person that people turn to for information.

Bell: One of ALA's core values is diversity. The profession should try to adapt those kind of initiatives within their libraries as best they can. We have a lot of brilliant students of color out there-for scholarships I support, an essay is required, and they write about issues in public libraries that I don't even think about, like substance abuse, safe spaces, and dress and religion issues. [What is important to library students of color is] being conscious and aware and listening to what's being said to them, the profession, and their needs.

Smith: One issue that's important is that there's diversity within a race. A black person can grow up in New York and have an entirely different experience than one growing up in Nashville. I don't know how successful we are in our efforts, but I know libraries and other institutions are trying to promote a fuller view of diversity.
What advice would you give to your younger self or someone just entering the field?
Orange: I think I would have paid attention to what my father was telling me about the profession and the impact you can have as an individual librarian on a whole community. I wish I'd been less career-minded and more profession-minded.

Wedgeworth: I'm not sure because I had a series of very fortunate positions early in my career that shaped what I did later on. It's not the kind of thing you can advise people about; it simply happened.

Dawson: Have goals and objectives, and understand that-as one of my professors said-not everybody is your friend in your workplace, but you do need to get the job done and be able to get along with people. That's what I remember from LSU the most. I had a challenging time, but I had a supervisor who would say what he wanted to do, and I would try to figure out how to fit that when other people wouldn't do anything.

Bell: Sometimes I think I shouldn't have been as outspoken as I was, because I was told that I was too negative or "rough around the edges." I would also pursue higher education-I always thought about getting a PhD but never did. I really love books and the book as a piece of art. I'm in the process of researching the illustrations and artists in the Freedomways journal, but the process is slow.

Smith: Librarianship is a service field, so you have to want to give back. If you're not interested in helping others, this may not be the field for you. You have to be committed to what you do, and finding new ways of doing things and new ways of promoting knowledge. Reach out to people who seem to be lost.
What would you like your legacy to be?
Orange: I did a lot of thinking about legacy when I retired because there were so many things I wanted to do. Our office and other groups worked hard to make things happen, like the Martin Luther King Jr. Sunrise Celebration, the Coretta Scott King Award, and JCLC. The thing I really did was to collaborate and pull groups together.

I think the work of the profession is to give all populations a voice. It's a hard thing to do, and we have to provide resources for it, but I'm happy I was a part of it.

Wedgeworth: One thing I am pleased to see is that many more librarians are interested in what happens internationally in our field. That didn't happen earlier in my career, and we have been able to open up more opportunities to be involved through the State Department, affiliation with IFLA [the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions], and other organizations. That's been a very positive development. International librarianship has been such a heavy part of my career.

Also, I think librarians have an obligation to write about the field and do research in the field. It's important for us to define our future and not look to others to define it for us.

Bell: My legacy is with supporting students in library school. That's why I created a scholarship to help support travel to the BCALA national conferences and JCLC. I would like to endow that fund for library science students.

Smith: I would like to be remembered as a researcher, writer, and deeply committed librarian. That's why I continue to work well beyond the usual retirement period. I want to be remembered as someone who explored new ways of knowing and reached out to people who wanted to learn more about authors, movements, or something that would make a difference in their lives. I am also a stickler when it comes to administration and writing. That too makes a difference-it guides people to put some structure in things and then reap the rewards. And I believe in education. You never know what turn your life is going to take, so be prepared. Those who are prepared get the best jobs.

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Blazing Trails | American Libraries Magazine

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When Jessie Carney Smith arrived at Fisk University in Nashville in 1965, she says many people there did not know about black literature. Smith, the dean of the library, says, "Many scholars were told that blacks had no history."

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http://www.blackfacts.com/

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Blackfacts.com is the oldest and longest-running data-driven online Black History resource, which has served millions and millions of Black Facts to users across the globe over its unbroken 21-year history.

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"They would talk about stories of how they would go into stores and shop owners would follow them around, and the students would say, 'They only do that because I'm black.' Then they would look at me and ask, 'Mr. Cherng, do you have any stories like this?' " said Cherng, who is now an assistant professor of international education at the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

"I thought about it, and ... I do have stories," he said.

Though he hasn't been followed in a store, Cherng, who is of Taiwanese-Chinese descent, told his students about how often people would ask him, "Where are you from?"

Even when he would answer that he is from Maryland, they would not seem satisfied and would ask again; it was as if they refused to believe that he was from the United States.

After Cherng opened up about these experiences with his students, they were able to comfortably discuss race in the classroom and build a bond, he said.

"Middle school ... is a time when almost all youth are forming and trying out new identities," Cherng said.

"Minority teachers, by virtue of their experiences negotiating the United States with identities that fall outside of the mainstream, can likely understand their students' struggles," he said. "This is certainly not to say that white teachers cannot do the same -- some of my mentors when I taught were white men and women that formed incredible bonds with their students -- but minority teachers draw from different experiences."

It turns out that students of all races seem to have more favorable perceptions of their teachers of color than their white teachers, according to a new study by Cherng and Peter Halpin, assistant professor of applied statistics at New York University, published in the journal Educational Researcher last week.

The impact of teacher diversity

The study included data on 1,680 teachers in 200 schools and about 50,000 students in sixth- through ninth-grade classrooms from six large metropolitan areas across the country.

The data were collected during the academic years of 2009-10 as part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Measures of Effective Teaching project, which used in-depth surveys to measure how students perceived their teachers.

Cherng and Halpin analyzed the data to see whether any trends based on race emerged. They focused on black, white and Latino teachers since there were not enough Asian-American teachers or teachers of other races included in the data to draw conclusions for those demographics, Cherng said.

After accounting for student performance, teacher working conditions and other factors, the researchers found that, overall, students had more favorable perceptions of their black and Latino teachers than white teachers.

For instance, the students reported that their black and Latino teachers were "clearer" or easier to understand than their white teachers.

The students also felt more motivated and supported by their black and Latino teachers, according to the data.

Additionally, the researchers discovered that students' perceptions did not correlate with having a teacher of the same race as them.

"It was not always the case that minority students rated minority teachers particularly high. For example, the relationship between white students and Latino teachers was the same as the relationship between Latino students and Latino teachers," Cherng said. "White students had more favorable perceptions of Latino teachers on almost all measures."

The data revealed that black and Asian-American students had particularly favorable perceptions of black teachers.

However, more research is needed to build a dataset that can be statistically generalized to all students in the United States and can distinguish between individuals of Afro-Latino and non-Afro-Latino descent, Cherng said.

'Educators who reflect ... our nation'

What do other experts think of the new study? "The design of the study and methods used provide robust answers and insights into student preferences for teachers. The qualitative data from the study allow readers to hear the voices of participants in the study," said Rich Milner, a professor of education and director of the Center for Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh.

He added that the study results "are not surprising to me."

"Not to stereotype or generalize, research has shown that teachers of color tend to empathize with their students, relate to their inside and outside of school realities, teach to the multiple learning styles of students, develop instructional practices that are responsive to students and give students' multiple opportunities for success," Milner said.

However, there is a need for a more diverse pool of teachers in the United States, said Shaun Harper, a University of Pennsylvania professor and executive director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education.

Despite the increasing ethnic diversity of the nation's school-age children, a whopping 83% of all elementary and secondary teachers are white, according to the Department of Education (PDF).

"Perhaps students have a greater appreciation for faculty members of color because they see so few of them throughout their K-12 schooling experiences. It is also possible that kids, especially students of color, recognize the demographic mismatch between their peers and teachers. Hence, they appreciate exposure to educators who reflect the racial makeup of their classrooms and our nation," Harper said.

"Findings in this study show the appreciation that young Americans have for racial diversity, which is inspiring," he added. "Too bad their schools often fall short of satisfying students' appetites for teacher diversity and the integration of diverse perspectives in the curriculum."

Though it's vital to have more minority teachers, Cherng said, he doesn't think a drastic shift in teacher demographics will happen anytime soon.

Rather, "my experience working with and teaching educators from all different racial and ethnic backgrounds has convinced me that whatever it is that Latino and black teachers are doing in their classrooms can and must be understood better and taught," he said.

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Students prefer diverse teachers, study says

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"They would talk about stories of how they would go into stores and shop owners would follow them around, and the students would say, 'They only do that because I'm black.' Then they would look at me and ask, 'Mr. Cherng, do you have any stories like this?'

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I woke up this morning filled with gratitude for the opportunity to speak with students at Olympic and CK High in the Central Kitsap School District on Tuesday. I'm always more nervous speaking with students than with adults. I guess because I have more experience with the latter, though I also think it's because as students pile into the auditorium they are less likely to engage me, less likely to send a smile my way and more likely to walk in with all the awkwardness that being an adolescent brings, triggering in me some of my own feelings of inadequacy.

There is a recent rise in overt bullying behavior in our nation's schools particularly as it relates to race, religion, gender and sexual orientation. Regardless of our level of comfort with these and other diversity related topics, it is imperative that we engage students in these types of courageous conversations and help them to develop the very skills we were not taught growing up. As many adults are becoming emboldened to speak their truth at the expense of others, so too are our children.

In the 45-minute keynote I briefly taught about microaggressions and shared a message about treating one another with humanity, dignity and respect. I solicited their ideas and shared some of my own when dealing with bullying behavior, particularly related to diversity. If you've ever heard me speak you know it included lots of storytelling. I'm not sure if I was more like Beyoncé with my head mic or Ellen DeGeneres as I ran up and down the gymnasium bleachers handing the microphone to students. I was probably truer to myself, out of breath, thinkin' I'm passing for cool with the students, trying to walk around with a bit of swag, dressed in my combat boots and army fatigue colored jacket.

I opened with my Where I'm From poem and a story about having to move to Myrtle Creek Oregon during my 5 th grade school year for a couple of months. Every morning as my younger sister and I walked onto the school grounds, we would become surrounded by several older boys who shouted the N word at us. Teachers pretended they didn't hear and the relatives we were living with told us to ignore it. No matter how much I tried to adhere to the sticks and stones will break your bones verbiage, it hurt deeply. My older sister Kelly had just passed away, we had to leave our grandmother's home because she had a stroke and couldn't take care of us, and my mom was away working in Alaska. It was a tough time for me and my younger sister. I wanted the students I spoke to, to consider what might be going on in a peer's life. I also wanted students to know that I understood what it is like to be bullied because of my difference.

But the next part of the story was the most important in my mind. One day, my sister and I walked onto the playground and a group of older girls started protecting us. Each morning they would surround us, encourage us to keep walking and told those boys to leave us alone. I talked with Central Kitsap students about the courage it took these girls who we did not know, to stand up for what was just. Following are 5 questions I asked students and key points that were made about talking with young people about doing the right thing when others are doing wrong.

1) What are some things you can say to the person who is committing the microassault?
These are things people do and say that are not okay, they know it's wrong, so they tend to do it in private or hope that when they target someone they won't get caught. I talked with students about how attacking that person will only make things worse and is more likely to land them, the person responding, in trouble. This is the Two wrongs don't make a right adage. Lots of great ideas were generated: Stop that! That's not funny. It's not okay to say hurtful things like that, if you continue I'm going to report it to a teacher. I encouraged them to come up with anchors they can say that doesn't involve them trying to educate the person doing the harm, but rather an approach that sets boundaries and conveys the message that they don't condone the behavior. Even if what they say has no effect on the bullying behavior, it is far better than silence, which sends a message that you agree with them. I shared with them that silence is a form of action.

2) How do you think the person who is being bullied because of a difference feels?
Some of their responses hurt my heart as they weaved their own experiences into their responses. Some pretended as if they were speaking about someone else, while others openly shared personal stories. I thought they were being very brave, and reminded the audience as students spoke they were showing courage by taking risk. One girl stated, "I used to cut when people teased me, but I haven't done that for four years." Another student stood up and stated a matter of fact, "There are a group of boys who are teasing me, and I don't like it." Other feelings were named like depressed, sad, lonely, isolated, worthless, frustrated, and suicidal. Big heavy sigh. So much our young people are enduring.

3) If you know that bullying makes people feel this way, and you know that this is happening at your school, what can you do to mitigate the impact?
I prefaced this with the fact that they can't solely rely on their teachers and administration to create a culture of inclusion. There are more of them than there are staff and there is power in peer to peer interactions. The students again generated great ideas and I shared some of my own. These included, sit next to that person, give them a compliment, just be with them, invite them to join you and your friends. I ended this with, We just came up with great ideas about what we can do to make someone who is being targeted feel better, but the real question is what will you do?

4) Impact vs. Intent: Micro-Insults:
My last main point was how we sometimes do harm without meaning to. This type of microaggression can still have a powerful negative impact even when we have good intentions. I used examples of phrases like That's retarded, That's so Gay and the use of the N word. I made the point that even by putting an "a" at the end of the the N word, it still has a negative impact; the N word is still the N word no matter how you package it.

I closed with a story about a kid I went to elementary and high school with named Dennis. Dennis was a skinny White kid who in those days was picked on for being a "nerd". During our 10-year high school reunion Dennis came up to me and thanked me for not being one of the kids who was mean to him. I looked for Dennis during our 20-year reunion only to learn that he had died. As I shared this story with the students, I told them no matter how many years pass, hurtful and hateful behavior stays with the victim for a lifetime. While I was glad that I was not one of the kids who picked on Dennis, my regret was that I didn't stand up on his behalf and do what's right when others were doing wrong.

My final comment was, What will your peers remember or say about you 10 years from now?

I'll admit it was exhausting doing two repeat keynote addresses at each of these schools. But by the end of the day I was reenergized by the connections made with the youth. Many students came up to me afterwards, some with tears in their eyes, other asking deeper questions and making connections, and some who wanted to take a picture with me (Thank you Olympic H.S. students for letting me share this photo. From left to right: Mavenna Hoffman, Tyzaih Williams, Amiya Jameson, You J, Aaliyah Williams, Taylor Unger, Cyrus Alejandro, Ella Rathmann, Brittani Christensen).

Thank you JD Sweet, teacher at CK High who started planting seeds in his classroom long before I ever got there. You made my job easier. I appreciate Central Kitsap administrators and staff for giving me the opportunity to engage their students and for their willingness to embark on this difficult journey to create welcoming and inclusive spaces for all their students.

Since Election Day, we've been whirling in a variety of emotions, ranging from deep sorrow to anger, and landing in a place of recommitting to doing everything we can to promote equity and justice and undo institutional white supremacy. Cultures Connecting strives to be a resource for those committed to this path. Here are some of our thoughts and links to resources for you and your organizations.
Circle of Influence Activity
Each one of us has a unique sphere of people, organizations, and connections we can leverage to make a difference. Try this tool to help you plan what you can do:

Write your name in the center of a blank piece of paper and circle it. Then write the names of organizations you're involved with, people you know, events you attend, businesses you frequent, etc. Place these in proximity to your name depending on your closeness to them, indicating your inner circle where you have the most influence, and outer circles.

Think about what you might do at different levels. For example, you can organize a letter writing campaign with the five people you're closest with advocating for the Water Protectors at Standing Rock. Or you can ask a business you frequent to create all-gender bathrooms. It is important none of us become paralyzed in this challenging time. Once we've identified our circle of influence, making change can feel less overwhelming and we can see how a small step one of us takes ripples out to others in our community.
Culturally Responsive Leadership Strategies
Many organizations were struggling with how to respond to the election. Leaders themselves were reacting to the outcomes, then had to set aside their own feelings to immediately support clients and employees. This proved challenging, and some organizations opted not to say anything, rather than engage the wide range of responses.

We believe moments like this present an opportunity to model culturally responsive leadership, and it is not too late to share an organization-wide statement about the election. Here are a few tips:

Reference your mission and vision that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion and make a statement reasserting your organization's commitment to this mission.

Provide a space, time, and/or person people can come to and talk about the impact of the election or report incidents of discrimination. Have agreed upon norms for effective engagement during discussions. One of our favorite strategies is to encourage people to ask questions with genuine curiosity.

Avoid statements such as, "We need to wait and see," or, "You don't have any reason to be afraid..." Although intended to be reassuring, these statements can actually feel minimizing or invalidating. Instead, become curious. Ask people what concerns they have and why. Remember to explore someone else's experience without inserting your own, trying to fix, or endorsing a political stance.

We've seen many other resources to continue to work collaboratively for justice. Please share your favorites in the comments.

Liberty Bell Middle School & High School

This is the text from a keynote given by Ilsa Govan.

"Life isn't fair," my parents told my sister and I when we'd argue about not getting to stay up late on a school night. "Life isn't fair," they repeated when we complained about who got to sit in the front of the car. Despite their good intentions, the clear message was, life isn't ever going to be fair, so you need to live with unfairness. And many of you, like me, were probably taught to stop noticing because there's nothing you can do to change it.

Well, there is. Today we're going to look at examples of ways to be an ally for justice.

An ally is a person who is not experiencing oppression and still chooses to stand up for the rights of those who are. This may be a straight person who stands up for lesbian, gay and bisexual people, a cis gender person addressing transphobia, a male feminist, or a white person who is fighting racism. Some of the most meaningful work and relationships I've had in the past twenty years have been through my work as a white ally.

One of the things I was never taught in school was about white allies throughout history who had stood up against racism despite the cost to them personally. So when I decided I wanted to advocate for racial justice, I didn't have a lot of role models or information on what that might mean. In my life, a white person either pretended not to notice race and tried to treat everyone the same, or was a racist.

Some of you may have noticed a twinge when I talk about being white or when I notice out loud that most of you are white. That might come from you also being told that talking about and noticing race was racist. But the opposite is true. The only way to end racism is to notice how different people are treated differently because of their race. If we don't notice, or we pretend not to (I'm guessing most of you did notice my race, especially at an assembly honoring Dr. King) it makes it a lot harder to stand up against injustice. Turn to your neighbor and say, "You have to notice race to end racism."

The silence in our history books about white allies can leave us wondering, what is my role?

Each one of you has the choice to be an ally in order to create the Beloved Community.

The idea of the Beloved Community comes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Think about the kind of school community you want to experience every day. As explained by the King center, founded by Corretta Scott King, "Dr. King's Beloved Community is a global vision in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood."

You can choose to create the Beloved Community at school every day where people look out for each other, where everyone's humanity is respected. However, in order to do this you may have to give something up.

My question to you is, Wh at are you willing to give up to honor and respect the dignity of another human being?

Keeping this question in mind, let's look at some examples from the past. Since we're celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., let's look at an image from the civil rights movement. For years, black people and their allies fought to end segregation. But winning the court case Brown vs Board of Education was just the beginning for black students. Here's a picture of Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock 9 going to Central High School. The Arkansas National Guard had to be called in to escort the students to school.

Notice the expressions on the faces of the white students. I wonder what they feared would happen when she entered their school?

What would they have to give up in order to welcome her as a part of the community? Possibly the approval of their friends and family. Even deeper than that, white students had to give up the idea that they were inherently superior and therefore deserving of better schools than black youth.

It is easy to see people who experience oppression as victims who need help, rather than recognizing the strength and resiliency they possess. As allies, it is important we don't come from a place of thinking-they need me to fix them. I sometimes call this "white knight syndrome", coming from the idea that the princess is incapable of helping herself and needs to be rescued.

In her book, Warriors Don't Cry, Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the Little Rock Nine, told the story of the harassment they endured, including having acid poured on her eyes. She wrote of her friend Link, a white boy, who used to tell her about dangerous areas at the school or plots other white students had to hurt her. Many of the white students who were initially friendly, were beaten up or harassed throughout the year and stopped talking with the black students as a result. White allies had to give up their own safety.

Now for a moment, try to imagine the emotional impact of the fear the Little Rock Nine felt walking through the school halls every day. Day after day knowing they were literally risking their lives to get the high quality education everyone deserves. What toll might that take? Imagine how strong they must have been.

Here's another historic example. About 112,000 Japanese Americans on the west coast, many Washington state farmers, store owners, and families, were incarcerated and held in camps during World War II.

George Takei, the actor and writer who played Sulu in Star Trek, was put in an internment camp as a child and has produced a play about his experiences. This is what he has to say about our collective responsibility to our community.

Now for a moment, consider the emotional impact of being suddenly seen as criminal and forced to give up your freedom.

When I was in junior high, our school mascot was the Redmond Warrior. I remember when some people in the school community wanted to change the mascot. Even though I'd only gone to school there one year, I identified as a warrior. I'd played sports where people cheered for us Warriors.

For me to give up this mascot and honor the dignity of Native people was difficult. I had to give up part of my identity and acknowledge that I had unintentionally hurt people by celebrating a racist symbol. This was difficult, as I've always seen myself as a good, kind person and certainly not a racist. I imagine this is the way many Washington football and Cleveland baseball fans feel-they would have to give up the idea that they, as kind-hearted people, had hurt others.

Now think for a minute about the emotion impact on Native youth at my school having their rich culture reduced to stereotypical images and tomahawk chops.

What would she have to give up in order to honor the humanity of couples who were entitled to the same rights as her family?

She might have to sacrifice friends and family who shared her religious beliefs. She would have to give up the idea that her interpretation of the bible and God's law was more important than the laws of the United States. Or she could hold on to those beliefs and give up her job.

I was at a friend's house one time and he got frustrated with a video game he was playing. He threw the controller down and said, "Man, this game is so gay!"

I asked him, "You mean the game is homosexual?"

He said no, he just meant it was bad. We went back and forth for a while about how that insulted an entire group of people when he used "gay" as a slur. I finally ended up just asking him to not use the word in that way around me.

Even though there were no lesbian or gay people present, I spoke up because those comments rob all of us of our humanity. I want to live in a community free of bigotry. Not just because we don't want to hurt someone in the room, but because it is the right thing to treat all people with respect.

Now think for a moment about the impact on the lives of lesbian and gay couples who, finally gaining the right to marry, were then turned away by a member of their community who didn't believe in their inherent shared humanity and rights.

This image is of a white student who was protesting school integration at Central High School in Little Rock.

Following Roof's horrific crime, retailers Wal-Mart, Amazon, Sears, Kmart, and Ebay all said they would stop selling merchandise with the Confederate flag. The flag was removed from cities across the south and taken off of specialty license plates in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. In South Carolina, where the people were shot while praying in church, they passed a bill to remove the flag.

What did people have to give up in order to remove a flag that stood as a symbol of hate and struck fear in the lives of members of their community? What did they have to give up to say, we will not honor a flag that divides our community?

Yet they chose to do it because, as these pictures so clearly illustrate, no matter what it meant to them, this flag had been used as a symbol of hatred.

It is important as allies that we don't try to take over and do what we think is best, but rather we listen to the communities most impacted by oppression and follow their lead.

Now imagine the emotional impact of seeing a confederate flag in your community that was just used as a symbol of hatred by someone who killed nine people because of the color of their skin.

There are other words and symbols we can choose to let go of. I was in a workshop one time and a white man asked me why I wouldn't say the "n-word". He repeated the full word several times and insisted he should not have to be censored. I told him I chose not to use that word because it was a weapon of hate. My question to him was, knowing the harm it causes, why would you want to?

It takes a deep level of humility to accept feedback when someone tells you you're causing harm, especially if that is not your intention. This is no easy task. So often we want to protect our identities, even if it means denying the truth.

Allies for justice know we will make mistakes and embrace the opportunity for truth telling. For it is only through telling the truth that we can have real reconciliation. And through truth and reconciliation, you can build the community you want.

One that honors and respects the dignity of all people.

One that chooses not to cause harm not because you have to, but because you want to.

One that believes life doesn't have to be unfair.

I invite you to stand together now if that is the community you would like to build together.

Stand for fairness.

Stand for justice.

Stand for love.

Stand for dignity.

Stand in celebration of Dr. King's message and your collective hope for your Beloved Community.

Louise Penberthy attended our Train the Trainer workshop in August 2015 and shared this reflection with us. Throughout the article she references the Norms for Courageous Conversations that helped her stay in a place of learning, despite the tension.

by Louise Penberthy, Productivity Coaching and Mediation

http://www.productivitymediation.com/

I took the training on "Strategies for Facilitating Conversations about Race" with Cultures Connecting and had a powerful, life-changing experience during the training. I want to tell you about it, and tell you what the trainers did that made it possible.

I was in the training because I want to help people talk about race, especially white people. I was also there because of a journey I started 15 years ago, when I fell in love with a friend of mine, married him, and started deliberately and continually learning about the community of color I married into.

Pointing out the tension in the room

At the end of the first day of the training, Dr. Hollins - who was leading this part of the training - asked if anyone wanted to share reflections on what we'd done that day. As a couple of people were sharing, I debated whether I should share a thought I had. Unconsciously remembering the norm Take Risks, I shared.

I said that I'd always been (mentally) hard on white boards of nonprofit organizations, because they weren't diverse. I was thinking about my experience with white theaters, for example, how they do their one nonwhite play a year and wonder why that audience doesn't come to the rest of their season, when the reason is obvious! But, I went on, maybe I didn't have to be as hard on white boards, because white people and black people tend to support different organizations.

Then Dr. Hollins was walking closer to me.

She asked me, "Did you notice the reaction in the room?" Tired from two nights of not enough sleep and from an intense day of training, I was too frazzled to notice. Looking back on it, I remember frowns, looks of astonishment, sudden intakes of breath.

Dr. Hollins asked me if I was willing to listen to some people in the room tell me their reaction to what I'd said, to be curious.

I've been cultivating my natural curiosity about people for many years, so of course I said yes.

So Dr. Hollins asked if anybody was willing to tell me their reaction to what I'd said. She called first on a white woman sitting nearby - I'll call her Lucy.

As Lucy spoke to me, I practiced the norm Listen for Understanding. After 13 years as a mediator, I'm good at this, but anybody can do it. Just tell yourself, silently, that while the other person is speaking you're going to accept everything they say as true.

When Lucy had finished, Dr. Hollins asked me if I would express in my own words what I understood Lucy to say. This is harder, but what I tell my mediation clients to do is to imagine that they have to faithfully pass on to a third person what someone has said. Unfortunately, at this point I don't remember what Lucy said, but I know she pointed out ways I was mistaken.

Then Dr. Hollins called on a Latina woman I'll call Josefina. Just as Lucy had done, Josefina embodied the norm Speak Your Truth.

What I heard in what Josefina said was her pain at being a token person of color, of people (white people) constantly interrupting her, of white people presenting her ideas and recommendations as though they were their own. She said that I shouldn't go easier on white boards of nonprofits, but be even harder on them. That the reason they're not diverse is the same reason that they don't effectively serve communities of color.

It wasn't easy for me to hear two people speak their truth about something I said that offended them. Especially in front of 60 people. I certainly did Experience Discomfort! One thing that helped me was how compassionate and supportive Dr. Hollins was in leading us through this conversation. Not only of me, but of Lucy and Josefina, too. I felt that she cared about all of us, and wanted us to get the most out of the exchange that we possibly could.

After absorbing what I'd heard for a few minutes, took a breath. I got as far as "I apologize for offending you," before Dr. Hollins gently cut off the rest of my apology. She told me that listening was the only thing I needed to do, the best gift I could give. I felt incomplete, but after all, another of the norms is Expect and Accept Non-Closure. And maybe she was urging me towards the norm , to keep me from trying to "fix" Josefina's pain, and the pain of everyone in the room.

At some point, Dr. Hollins asked Josefina how she - Josefina - would have been around me without Dr. Hollins' intervention. Josefina said she would've avoided me for the rest of the training. When she said that, a lot of other people in the room nodded. I was horrified, realizing that I never would've known why people were avoiding me. But now? Dr. Hollins asked. Josefina said she was fine with me. (And in fact she sat next to me the next day, which was a great gift she gave me.)

Dr. Hollins asked the room how they would have felt if she hadn't addressed the emotion in the room, hadn't addressed how offended people were by what I said. Some people replied that they would've disengaged from the rest of the training. So it was important for Dr. Hollins to address the problem, otherwise she would've lost the trust of many people in the room.

Recognizing I'm not a bad person

Ilsa Govan was there, too, of course. I haven't mentioned her because Dr. Hollins leading that part of the training, and Ilsa was mostly observing. But she did step in once, when I said something about "people like me" being offensive. She urged me, and everyone, to think of ourselves as "someone who's done what I've done." Rather than seeing myself as a horrible person, to realize that I'd said something offensive.

At the end, Dr. Hollins thanked everyone for their participation in the discussion, acknowledging that it's not easy to do what we did.

I felt really self-conscious when I arrived for the second day of the training, but I remembered to Stay Engaged. It wasn't easy, but then this work isn't easy, and pretty soon I felt better.

So I took another step on what my husband calls my Odyssey of understanding the experiences and the feelings of people of color in this country. Even more deeply than I ever had before, I heard the pain, frustration, anger, and exhaustion that people of color feel every single day of their lives.

I also experienced how acutely uncomfortable it is to accept truths about how you've affected people, especially when it comes to race and racism.

I can use all of this in my own work. Not just learning the facilitation techniques that the trainers were teaching, but also my experience of how difficult the work can be - I can be more compassionate of the people I work with.

Last December I was participating in a peaceful protest led by young people of color at West Lake Center in solidarity with Ferguson to call attention to the fact that Black Lives Matter. I saw many families with young children reacting in different ways to us protestors. Some were clearly annoyed. Others looked frightened and were quickly pulling their children away from us. Still others were engaged in conversations with their children, and, although I couldn't hear them, looked to be explaining what we were doing and why.

Whether talking directly or sending messages through body-language, all of these parents were communicating something to their children not just about protests, but about race in the United States. With the Black Lives Matter movement emerging after Michael Brown was shot by a police officer to the recent murder of Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Cynthia Hurd, Tywanza Sanders, Myra Thompson, Ethel Lee Lance, Rev. Daniel L. Simmons, Rev. Depayne Middleton-Doctor, and Susie Jackson in church by a white supremacist, the time is now to develop more skills in talking with children about racism.

For many parents of color, conversations about racism begin very early as a way to help young children develop the armor they'll need when faced with bias. Children are equipped to realize racial discrimination is not because there's something wrong with them, but something wrong with the person doing the discriminating. And, on a more fundamental level, the talk about what to do when you see a police officer can be a life or death matter.

However, conversations about racism are far less common in white families. Many parents want to believe children don't notice race or are afraid that by calling attention to race, they'll make the problem worse. When, in fact, the best way to ensure white children don't develop a sense of inherent racial superiority is to talk openly about systemic barriers facing people of color.

Here are two tips for talking with children about racism, white privilege, and white supremacy.

1. Practice.
We often avoid having these conversations with children because of our own discomfort. Practice talking with your friends about racism you're seeing in news stories (note: this doesn't mean post an article on social media). Recognize you don't need to know everything and practice asking good questions. Pro tip: Start with friends you know agree with your perspective, then move into more challenging conversations with those who don't.

2. Avoid Making it About Good vs. Bad.
Children are taught from a young age to see the world as full of good guys and bad guys. I remember overhearing a conversation between a six and an eight year old where the older child was saying she'd heard about a really, really bad guy named Hitler. The younger responded, "You mean, he turned to the Dark Side?" Although I laughed at this exchange, it illustrates how racialized good/bad is in media, as white and light are often associated with the protagonist.

Oversimplifying conversations about white supremacy to a good/bad dichotomy may feel like the easiest way to explain this to a child, but it actually makes things more complicated.

There have been many widely publicized cases of police officers killing unarmed Black people and many less discussed, but equally important, cases with Native people such as John T. Williams in Seattle. This is a pattern that results from institutional racism in policies and practices that Michelle Alexander does a great job of illustrating in her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.

This also happens in the context of a wide-spread culture in the United States that continues to treat Black people as less valuable, less intelligent, more dangerous, etc. than white people. It is easy for anyone of us to list the multiple stereotypes of Black people. And given that it is so easy, we must accept the likelihood that we've internalized these stereotypes (to test your own implicit bias, go to Project Implicit). Therefore, individual police officers, especially in stressful situations, may be more likely to see a Black man as dangerous, even if they think they're not prejudiced.

If we just tell children that the officers who killed Freddie Gray were bad people, they might start wondering how all of these "bad guys" got a job in law enforcement. If we just tell children that Dylan Roof was a bad person, we miss the bigger picture of a pattern of white supremacy that persists and influences decisions and attitudes in this country beyond a few extremists.

Finally, good/bad framing leaves no room for change. When I'm doing workshops, people will often respond defensively to the idea that they could have said or done something racist. They talk instead about their good intentions, essentially saying, "I'm a good person." But, it is impossible to live in the United States and not collude in some way with institutional racism. I want our children to grow into adults who understand that good, well-intentioned people can make mistakes because of their racial biases. I want them to be able to acknowledge, apologize, and learn from their mistakes. I also want them to see the potential for growth and change in others. That is much easier when we don't see ourselves as "bad guys" when our biases inevitably show up.

So how do you talk with a child outside of a good/bad binary? Start early, revisit the conversation often, and add increasing depth. For example:

Point out stereotypes on TV shows, in movies, and in books. "What did you notice about the race or clothing colors of the "good guys" and "bad guys"?"

"There are a lot of laws that make our criminal justice system (or simplify to policing) unfair to Black and Brown people."

"All of us have stereotypes and we have to try hard to be fair to each other. When a person is in a position of power, such as a police officer, they have to be extra careful in life and death situations to not let their stereotypes effect their decisions."

"Throughout the history of the United States, Black people have faced violence from white supremacy in the laws, culture and some groups of people. Black people are very resilient and have fought hard for equal treatment. It is up to all of us to put an end to racism. One thing I'm doing to support justice for all is..."

By practicing these conversations we'll become more comfortable with the discomfort. This will help us raise children of color who have a healthy, positive sense of their own racial identity and white children who don't feel superior to others. As we stumble through these talks, we also learn better how we can address racism and white privilege and put an end to these tragedies in our lifetime.
Dan Magill attended our workshop on Activities for Trainers in 2014 and we're happy to share the following reflections on his experience. By Dan Magill, ProActive Content
Have you witnessed or been the recipient of hurtful comments based on race or ethnicity?

Did you feel unable to respond in a healthy way?

Does your workplace have a culture of fear and avoidance when it comes to talking about race?

Do you serve marginalized populations and feel like you lack the ability to relate to your students and clients?

One of the reasons we continue to struggle with racial conflict and marginalization is because people are afraid to talk about it. And, many of the people who aren't afraid still feel unsure of how to talk about it in a way that helps, rather than alienates.
Why are conversations about race so hard to have?
Is it the assumptions? The mistrust? The fear?

Perhaps you're like me, who for the early part of my life as a white man, found it easier to just avoid the issue altogether. I have since learned that it's much easier to avoid and ignore things that make us uncomfortable than to engage with them.

But then, that's why we're still struggling against stereotypes and marginalization decades after the Civil Rights movement.

If you're like me, you know this is a problem, and you want to do something to help. But it's hard to know where to begin. And whenever you have a chance to speak to a situation, you find yourself tongue-tied, afraid of offending someone, and ill-equipped to know what to say.

That's why I attended the workshop by Cultures Connecting called Activities for Facilitating Courageous Conversations on Race.

Led by clinical psychologist Dr. Caprice Hollins and classroom teacher Ilsa Govan , this workshop challenged my privileged assumptions about how I fit into the multitude of experiences and backgrounds all around me.

Early in the workshop, we received tons of materials you can use when you conduct your own training sessions. This is the primary goal of this workshop: To equip attendees to lead their own workshops in whatever context they work in - a school, a workplace, a church, a volunteer organization - any place where lots of people come together from different backgrounds.
Can you talk about race in your workplace?
Where there are varying backgrounds, there is a lack of understanding. A lack of being known.

The materials provided gave me practical tools that I can use to bridge those gaps through honest and respectful conversation.

Here's what you'll experience if you attend this eye-opening workshop the next time they offer it:

First up, you'll receive 7 norms that set the tone for any formal conversation about race. At the heart of these is a profound goal:

We don't want a safe space. We want a brave space.

Safe means comfortable. And conversations on race are anything but. What I found out, and what the people in your life need to know as well, is that being uncomfortable is okay - as long as there's a good reason to go there.

Within that brave space, Dr. Hollins and Ilsa took us through a series of activities. We spent less time on the actual activities than they would normally take, because the goal of this workshop is to enable the participants to run this same workshop themselves. After doing the activity, we spent a long time debriefing not just the content, but the kinds of challenges that come up during the administration of it. Questions such as:

How do you handle a participant who doesn't want to be there?

How do you establish that "brave" space, so people feel comfortable going to the hard places?

What are some effective questions to ask? What should we avoid?

How do we keep on topic and allow people to air their feelings without the session becoming angry?

What do we do if it does become angry?

Going through the tunnel of discomfort
This was expertly demonstrated by the facilitators. In one situation, a fairly uncomfortable misunderstanding arose based on the language one participant used toward another - in front of the entire room with over 60 attendees.

Most of us (especially dominant whites like me) would have just stepped back and said, "It's okay, I'm sure she didn't mean it. Let's try to stay on topic." We'd probably pull them aside, maybe separate them, and try to reassure them that's everything is fine. I know this because everything in my being assumed this is what they would do, and hoped they would do it really fast. This is that 'avoidance' instinct I still have to wrestle against.

But Dr. Hollins did the exact opposite of this. She kept completely calm, and guided the two people through the misunderstanding in front of everyone. Watching this was incredible, and the benefits were priceless:

All 60 of us got to witness what it looks like to go through what I call "the tunnel" - that scary place of conflict and uncertainty, where we can't see what's on the other side.

But if we don't go through the tunnel, the same racial stereotypes, assumptions, biases, and misunderstandings will continue to plague us and perpetuate the lack of opportunity for people of color.

In that situation, what started out as discomfort, awkwardness, and fear of offense, turned into a moment of real breakthrough and a new understanding for both perspectives. Even better, we saw in person what it means and how it looks to have a courageous conversation on race. In public. And it was done in a respectful, healthy, and yet slightly uncomfortable space. Brave.
Does this offend you? Let's talk about it!
We participated in several activities, and while we learned a lot about ourselves, we also left feeling able to facilitate them as well. Here are three we spent the most time on:

Agent/Target : How does it feel to be out of the loop? What's it like to grow up and live in a place where you don't know the rules, but still be held accountable to them? Everyone else knows what's "normal," but they won't tell you. And then they get frustrated when you don't join the crowd and respond the way everyone else does.

Stereotype Exercise : What are all the things you think about other races but would never say? This activity blows political correctness out of the water. You'll see how all these attempts to "protect" us from offensive language has really just shoved the stereotypes we already had under the rug. They're still there, affecting how we perceive people, how we treat them, how we interact with them. We just don't acknowledge it, and hope no one notices. Here's where I also learned what it means to "self-stereotype," and why whites are the only ones who don't do this. This activity can get pretty raw, but that's because this stuff has gone unspoken for too long. Want to defeat your fear? This activity will do it.

Color Line : Do you want to know how people of other ethnicities experience life? For this activity, every attendee filled out a questionnaire asking about various beliefs and experiences, and then got scored based on our answers. Then, we lined up based on our scores. The resulting disparity spoke for itself, as a multiethnic room was suddenly split almost entirely in half. This is a stark picture of the reality of white privilege, and the kinds of bridges we still need to build.

In addition to these, the workshop briefly presents a few other activities, and gives materials explaining several more. I left feeling empowered and equipped to engage my peers in conversations about race in ways I never would have before.

And at the same time, I also grew in my awareness of myself and others.

One of the greatest fears (and lies) is that we shouldn't talk about race because it will only lead to anger and division. But as the presenters astutely pointed out, we are already divided. The only way to come together is to go through the tunnel - to talk about this, openly, honestly, and fearlessly.

I came away with two great feelings.

I experienced the purpose of these activities and grew in my understanding.

I felt ready to engage with others and conduct trainings in my workplace and in my other circles of influence.

If this sounds like the sort of thing the people in your circles of influence would benefit from, I encourage you to attend this workshop the next time it comes around. Or, have Dr. Hollins and Ilsa come to you in person and lead it themselves.

Either way, you'll be taking the small but vital step that far too many people have yet to take.

You'll be talking.

I returned to the White Privilege Conference for a 9th time this March. What keeps me going back? Every year I gain new insights into myself, into my work, and into ways to challenge institutional isms. In addition, the amazing group of people that make WPC special co-create a space that feels like a second home. Seeing the familiar faces and all the new connections keeps me motivated beyond the conference, as I realize just how many people care passionately about making our world a little better.

One theme that stood out was the idea of "calling people in" versus calling them out. Loretta J. Ross spoke about this in her keynote, highlighting the importance of bringing more people into movements for justice. She used a story about talking with her brother to illustrate how loving someone can be a powerful motivation to think critically about oppressive comments. Many other speakers and workshops also touched on this idea. They emphasized the importance of actually caring about the person you're talking to, not trying to situate yourself as superior to them, asking questions, and relating to their experiences.

I then had the opportunity to practice this in a workshop. When talking in triads, a white woman made a couple of racist remarks, what I would call microaggressions, towards a man of color in our group. Part of her response when we pointed this out was asking him to say stereotypes about her because she said she wanted to be hurt, too.

This reminded me of an experience I once had in an all-white group where a couple of people essentially said, "I want to be called out, not called in. Sometimes that's what I need." This is problematic to me for a few reasons. First, more people hurting because of racism is not going to end racism. White allies wallowing in or even embracing the pain of being called out in order to somehow feel better about our unconscious bias or privilege feels messed up. And the idea that stereotypes about white women or calling out a white person would somehow be equivalent to, and therefore off-set, stereotypes or other forms of racism directed at people of color is also false.

In our white caucus I heard many people talking about not having the skills to call in other white people. I posed a few questions to move us beyond thinking of this as simply a skills deficit:

What do you fear will happen if you call someone in?

What do you get out of your current behavior (calling out)?

What would you have to give up?

How do you feel about the people you are calling out?

What does calling people out have to do with internalized superiority?

These are all questions I continue to ask myself. In the triad, I related a personal story to what the white woman was saying, while still pointing out the problem with her comment along side (not on behalf of) the man of color. She asked me for more resources. It seemed to end with her staying engaged and wanting to learn and change. At the same time, I didn't really care for her and noticed myself feeling superior to her.

And so I will to return to the White Privilege Conference and other spaces where we can continue this journey of exploring what collective liberation means and what it will take for us to get there.

In Solidarity,

Ilsa
(Special shout out to Heather, Kay, Tilman, Johanna, and Ilana this year!)

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I woke up this morning filled with gratitude for the opportunity to speak with students at Olympic and CK High in the Central Kitsap School District on Tuesday. I'm always more nervous speaking with students than with adults.

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Often times we are afraid to have difficult conversations with our children because we feel powerless in the face of such large problems. This can lead to us trying to avoid the problem instead of thinking of ways to proactively engage in solutions. Mutual learning leads to mutual action.

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Talking With Students About Ferguson and Racism

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This teacher believes it’s
crucial for white teachers like her to seek out productive ways to talk about
race and racism with students.

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Identify and verify customs, beliefs, and practices that might be misinterpreted by established institutions within your community e.g. schools, law enforcement, social services, health care providers (this includes such beliefs around certain body parts such as the head, male and female circumcision, cutting or puncturing the skin, transfusions, autopsies)

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MLK 50 | A Commemmoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Join the National Civil Rights Museum in remembering the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination with a yearlong commemoration from April 4, 2017 to April 4, 2018.

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Books and Authors: Talking with Sayantani DasGupta, by Maggie Reagan | Booklist Online

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Sayantani DasGupta has already led an impressive number of lives. The front of her website politely requests that you choose ...

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Speaking of the Present Tense ....

I feel like everyone was talking about THE CROSSOVER as soon as the ARC came out, and I've been looking forward to talking about it here. I expected the biggest question would be "the age question", so was tickled to see Eric comment here that he can't remember why it would possibly be considered YA. One of my favorite things about this book is how well it treads the "crossover" audience, embracing the adolescent perspective squarely from a very "safe" vantage point. I can see it going as wide as 9-15, though I think the target is around 11-13, squarely within both Newbery and Printz territory. We can count on it being considered by both, though it's harder to tell how well it will fare.

Voice and style here stand out to me. I'm pretty critical of novels-in-verse, as I think they usually fail to be a good novel, or good verse, and often both. Here, the style matches the narrative perfectly, and Alexander shows his chops at rhythmic free verse. He utilizes line breaks and form in service of narrative tension and voice...this isn't just prose chopped off after a few words. We get to know Josh first through his voice, on the very first page, and here, the immediacy of the present tense seems justified, as each poem can be taken as a present tense snapshot, moving us forward with spaces between where we're allowed to imagine what else is happening.

The character development as shown between Josh and his brother, Josh's devotion to the sport competing with his devotion to the game, and his growing pains regarding friends and girls, is very effective. The novel starts to show some thinness around the characters of the parents, who feel more and more like plot devices as the narrative moves on, and so the plot a device itself, instead of reality. I think this is one of those treacherous areas with a novel-in-verse... traditional plot just doesn't seem to fit comfortably there, and it starts to feel like the author is insisting we follow the arc. Of course, if it doesn't, we tend to say we feel the book doesn't "accomplish" as much as a novel does. (Does the Newbery practice novel favortism is an age old question...) But if I set aside these novel question here, I see a Newbery contender just in the short-form presentation of Josh as a character: his passion, his questions, his joys and frustrations laid out on the tongue so you can feel them like the ball in his hand.

(SPOILER UPDATE. There are spoilers in the comments below, so proceed forewarned.)

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Speaking of the Present Tense .... I feel like everyone was talking about THE CROSSOVER as soon as the ARC came out, and I've been looking forward to talking about it here. I expected the biggest question would be "the age question", so was tickled to see Eric comment here that he can't remember why it would possibly be considered YA.

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Jason Reynolds has not one but two critically acclaimed middle grade novels that are currently topping many mock Newbery lists: As Brave as You and . Stepping onto the YA scene with 2014's When I Was the Greatest, Reynolds was awarded the prestigious Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Since then, he's found an eager and growing fan base of readers with The Boy in the Black Suit and All-American Boys (coauthored with Brendan Kiely). In 2016, Reynolds expanded his talents into fiction for a slightly younger audience: middle graders. If multiple starred reviews and plenty of buzz are any indication, Reynolds's ability to craft authentic and compelling characters, weave original stories, and connect with readers will see him taking home many more future honors and awards.
What kind of reader were you in middle school? What sort of books did you read?
In middle school, I don't really remember reading anything. At least not all the way through. One of my teachers assigned The Martian Chronicles, but that didn't interest me, so I read just enough (and...probably cheated a bit) to pass the quiz. I also remember people telling me to read "Goosebumps," but I don't think I ever finished one. But what I loved to read were rap lyrics. So I spent most of my middle school years saving my money to buy cassette tapes so that I could read lyrics (and thank yous) printed in the liner notes. This was the true beginning of my love affair with language.
As Brave as You tackles realistic middle grade problems such as parental squabbling and aging grandparents. What motivated you to switch from young adult characters to middle grade ones?
Ah. The ages that fall into the middle grade category are so complicated. On one hand, you're still very much a child. But on the other, you feel like you shouldn't be treated as one-that you have some kind of handle on the world. And this dichotomy causes a bit of dissonance. Snow on a hot day. A flame in water. That's middle grade. And because of this dissonance, there are an almost unlimited amount of questions to be asked, though the protagonists have to struggle with asking them because they feel like they should already know the answers. To everything. To life. And that's the recipe for a funny, heartbreaking, complicated story in my eyes. One where emotional and physical unknowns, coupled with the awkward and innocent maturation process of a preteen, drives the narrative.
You deal with issues such as grief and blindness in a matter-of-fact way. Genie has the luxury of asking questions about these things, which not every child has. Did you think of your story as something that would add to the knowledge of your readers, or were these issues something that just arose as part of your story?
You know, I don't think I was trying to add to the knowledge of my readers as much as I was trying to create a framework for the story. Now the collateral upside is that readers, perhaps, are made aware of some things when it comes to blindness, grief, etc. But my goal was to simply set readers up so that they knew what kind of terrain they were going to be navigating with Genie. Also, there are lots of Genies in the world, and I wanted them all to know that their curiosity is a gift that should be cared for and protected.
In The Boy in the Black Suit, you tackle clothing as part of identity. Clothing is an enormous issue for many middle grade readers and young adult readers because it shows the world who they are, yet few books address it. Why did you?
You nailed it! It totally shows the world who they are, in a way. I mean, the way you describe a young person's shoes allows you to build personality characteristics implicitly. For instance, clean white Nikes say something about a teen. Dirty Converses say something else. I think if done right, it can lift the characters from the page, adding a depth to them by using a descriptor that most people find shallow, though it's an inescapable part of who we are.
Middle grade readers are just starting to be allowed out into the communities on their own. You said that you were "taught" how to act, yet still had bad experiences. What do you think is the best way to prepare middle grade readers to face the unpleasantness of the world without making them fearful?
Tough question. I think one thing I've always tried to do in everything I write is to make sure all the characters are developed, not just the protagonist. Because if everyone has their own story, their own struggle, then it gives the protagonist-in this case, an 11-year-old boy-the opportunity to see that obstacles aren't singular. That trouble and pressure don't only land on his back alone. My hope is to show that though there are bad experiences, perspective given by various people of various age groups provide a courage and confirmation that things will be fine. To be afraid of the world is to let it win. But to be made unafraid through the triumphs of others (until you have your own) is a power. A freedom, even.
There seems to be a cultural dichotomy in the African American experience-many people are raised in Northern cities but have family roots in the South. How did this issue inform Genie's character and experience, as well as your own?
This dichotomy was the cornerstone of his experience. Going from the North to the South, and vice versa, is like traveling to another country, and, for some, another planet. There are different rules. Different foods. Different belief systems. I remember going down south as a kid. It was always an adventure-an expansion of my comfort zone. To put my hands in the dirt, to roam the fields with my grandfather as he tended to his crops, to hear my cousins' accents were all part of my development as a child. And as I got older I valued it even more, because it seemed that though I didn't have a home there, it somehow had a home in me.
In your young adult books, you cover topics that are currently in the news. Now that you've entered the middle grade market, will you continue to address hot-button issues, and if so, how?
I'm honestly not sure, but I can't imagine writing something that doesn't involve that which is real. I don't necessarily always approach my books in order to tackle anything. Instead, I just want to write real characters living real life, and in real life, things happen. That won't change. Also, it does us no good to dance around the hard stuff. In a time where information is at the fingertips of every human, big or small, young or old, it seems a bit silly to assume they don't already know what's going on. So if I can help them synthesize the information so that it makes more sense, and I can do that through an entertaining story, well...why not!
While there are lots of stories about slavery or civil rights, there is a distinct lack of middle grade novels on other areas of black history. That said, have you ever considered delving into historical works?
Hmmmm. Honestly, I haven't. I'm not against it, obviously, as history tends to find its way into my contemporary stories. But my charge is to make sure I can show young people who they are today. Right now. By the time they get to me, there's a good chance they've read the historical books for young readers and the picture books, and after middle grade, there are a plethora of historical books waiting for them. But during this weird, murky, middle grade age, which many people see as "the crossroad," I just want them to feel acknowledged and empowered through representation.
Tell us about Ghost, which is part of a four-part series. What's different about this book/this series than your previous books? How did the concept come together?
Ghost and the whole "Track" series will delve into the lives of four young people, all of whom are the new kids on an elite track team. Ghost is the first of the four, about a hardscrabble young man who has been through a traumatic experience and who, while taking the long way home, finds himself watching a track practice. After a bold decision to bogart the practice to prove that he was faster than their fastest man, Ghost suddenly finds himself, for the first time, a member of a team. With a coach. And it's on this team that Ghost will have to figure out why he's running, who he's running from, and where he's running to. All of the books explore running in different ways, weaving each character's lives in and out of track practice, where they are together, and their individual homes and schools, where they're dealing with life separately. I'm super excited about it.

It's different than the other books in that I have to tell a whole story each time (so that's the same), but then the series itself has to be a whole story, cumulatively. So it's tricky to make sure I'm not answering every question so that I can create touchstones in other books that will illuminate other characters' stories and create ah-ha moments. Tricky tricky, but so much fun!

This article was featured in our free Be Tween enewsletter.
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"A Flame in Water": Jason Reynolds on Writing for Middle Grade Readers

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Jason Reynolds has not one but two critically acclaimed middle grade novels that are currently topping many mock Newbery lists: As Brave as You and . Stepping onto the YA scene with 2014's When I Was the Greatest, Reynolds was awarded the prestigious Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award for New Talent.

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Author and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Walter Dean Myers died on July 2 following a short illness. He was 76.

The award-winning author of more than 100 works for children and young adults-including Monster (HarperCollins, 1999), the first novel to win the Printz Award, as well as Fallen Angels (Scholastic, 1988), Scorpions (HarperCollins, 1988), and Sunrise Over Fallujah (Scholastic, 2008)-Myers was passionately outspoken about the importance of reading and the need for greater diversity in literature.

Regard for Myers-and his influence-ran wide and deep. "I am so deeply hollowed by Walter's passing," emailed award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson. "He was a groundbreaker, an activist, a guide, and most of all, a friend... I don't think a whole lot of us would be publishing if Walter hadn't broken such amazing ground, open such tightly sealed doors. This world is different because of his voice in it. I've spent the past hours wishing for one more conversation with him."

Roger Sutton, editor-in-chief of The Horn Book ( SLJ's sister publication), who knew Myers for 30 years, said, "It was always great to see Walter at ALA and other meetings, and not just because being the same height meant we could always hear each other over the din. He seemed interested in everything, listening as enthusiastically as he talked. Walter was a great reader and writer, and a terrific colleague."

Myers received a bevy of awards and honors for his work, including the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association, sponsored by SLJ, which honors a lifetime of achievement, and the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. He has written six Coretta Scott King Award/Honor books, two Newbery Honor books, and three National Book Award finalists. In 2010, he was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and in 2012, he was appointed the Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, a two-year position designed to raise awareness of the importance of literacy, whose predecessors were notable authors like Katherine Paterson and Jon Scieszka.

Most notably, Myers penned the first book to win the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, with Monster.

Judy Nelson, of the Pierce County, highlighted the significance of the book, about a 16-year-old boy on trial for murder. "For the inaugural Printz Award, the committee felt it was critical that our winning selection reflect the highest quality of writing for teens-establishing a very high standard for all future winners," she said. "Imagine our delight when Walter Dean Myers's novel Monster was published that year. His respect for his readers led him to write this compelling, well-crafted story using a screenplay and diary format and incorporating video stills, drawings and even mug shots throughout."

Similarly, Pat Scales, chair of the American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee, who also served on the committee, called the book "a tour de force in young adult literature. The genius in the work is that teens connect the dots and begin to ponder: How am I perceived? What a perfect choice for the first Printz Award!"

" Reading is not an option" was his platform as YA literature ambassador, and he once told School Library Journal, "As a young man, I saw families prosper without reading, because there were always sufficient opportunities for willing workers who could follow simple instructions. This is no longer the case. Children who don't read are, in the main, destined for lesser lives. I feel a deep sense of responsibility to change this."

Robin Adelson, the executive director of the Children's Book Council-one of the parties that selects the YA literature ambassador-said:

"Walter was one of those people who was so mindful of his good fortune and so grateful for the life he led and he encouraged others to recognize the greatness in their lives and talents. We all fell a little smarter and a little greater after a visit with him. As National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, he traveled the country and... shared the most personal stories with young readers everywhere. Walter unequivocally believed that reading saved his life, and he carried that message to those who needed to hear it most. He will be missed terribly. His legacy will surely outlive us all."

Myers was born in 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. When he was two years old, his mother died and he was raised by Florence Dean, the first wife of his father, George Myers, and her husband, Herbert, in New York City's Harlem. The author and his family underwent much hardship after his uncle's murder when he was 13-his surrogate father became deeply depressed, and his surrogate mother began drinking again-and Myers described books as his salvation. He wrote from a young age and regularly visited the George Bruce Branch of the New York Public Library, immersing himself in books such as Robin Hood and The Red Badge of Courage. At SLJ's 2012 Day of Dialog, Myers delivered the keynote speech, emphasizing how reading was his salvation-"I came out of that. I had a different worldview than just my misery."

Though Myers stopped reading and writing at age 17, dropping out of high school and joining the army, his love of the written word still hadn't been extinguished. After leaving the army, he began to write again. Discovering the work of author James Baldwin-whom he met briefly later-was a life-changing experience for Myers, because it was one of his first encounters with literature focusing on African-Americans and one of the first times seeing himself in a story. Baldwin inspired him to draw upon his own life experiences and worldview when writing.

His winning contest entry for the Council on Interracial Books for Children eventually became his first book, Where Does the Day Go? (Parents Magazine Pr., 1969), a picture book about a young African-American boy whose father uses the difference between night and day to describe the differences between people. Myers would go on to collaborate on many picture books with his son, Christopher, such as Shadow of the Red Moon (Scholastic, 1997), Harlem: A Poem, and Jazz (Scholastic, 1997).

"Myers was a compassionate, wonderful, and brilliant man," said his literary agent, Miriam Altshuler. "He wrote about children who needed a voice and their stories told."

With his Printz winner, Monster (illustrated by Christopher), Myers strove to humanize poor, inner-city children whom he felt went unrepresented in most works. When doing research for the book, Myers spoke to a lawyer doing pro bono work, who told him that the hardest part of his job was making juries see his clients as real people. For Myers, this was the ultimate goal of his writing and, for many, what made his books so accessible.

"Walter wrote such outstanding books that he could easily have rested on his laurels, but he didn't," said K.T. Horning director of the Cooperative Children's Book Center in Madison, Wisconsin. "He never stopped giving, whether as an outspoken activist for diversity in books for children and teens, or as an advocate for powerless children and teens, or as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. He was a giant, and many of today's authors are here because they were able to stand on his shoulders."

For more SLJ articles on Walter Dean Myers read:

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Walter Dean Myers, Award-Winning Author and Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Passes at 76

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Author and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Walter Dean Myers died on July 2 following a short illness. He was 76. The award-winning author of more than 100 works for children and young adults-including Monster (HarperCollins, 1999), the first novel to win the Printz Award, as well as Fallen Angels (Scholastic, 1988), Scorpions (HarperCollins, 1988), and Sunrise Over Fallujah (Scholastic, 2008)-Myers was passionately outspoken about the importance of reading and the need for greater diversity in literature.

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THOMAS, Angie. The Hate U Give. 464p. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray. Feb. 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780062498533.

Gr 8 Up -After Starr and her childhood friend Khalil, both black, leave a party together, they are pulled over by a white police officer, who kills Khalil. The sole witness to the homicide, Starr must testify before a grand jury that will decide whether to indict the cop, and she's terrified, especially as emotions run high. By turns frightened, discouraged, enraged, and impassioned, Starr is authentically adolescent in her reactions. Inhabiting two vastly different spheres-her poor, predominantly black neighborhood, Garden Heights, where gangs are a fact of life, and her rich, mostly white private school-causes strain, and Thomas perceptively illustrates how the personal is political: Starr is disturbed by the racism of her white friend Hailey, who writes Khalil off as a drug dealer, and Starr's father is torn between his desire to support Garden Heights and his need to move his family to a safer environment. The first-person, present-tense narrative is immediate and intense, and the pacing is strong, with Thomas balancing dramatic scenes of violence and protest with moments of reflection. The characterization is slightly uneven; at times, Starr's friends at school feel thinly fleshed out. However, Starr, her family, and the individuals in their neighborhood are achingly real and lovingly crafted. VERDICT Pair this powerful debut with Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely's All American Boys to start a conversation on racism, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement.-Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

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The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas | SLJ Review

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By on THOMAS, Angie. The Hate U Give. 464p. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray. Feb. 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780062498533. Gr 8 Up -After Starr and her childhood friend Khalil, both black, leave a party together, they are pulled over by a white police officer, who kills Khalil.

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Home - International African American Museum

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International African American Museum Coming in 2020 on one of the most important sites in American history, the place where almost half of all African captives arrived in the U.S., the IAAM will present the largely under told experiences and contributions of Americans of African descent.

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Explore articles and videos of some of the most prominent African Americans in politics, the arts, law, science and sports who have made Black History what it is today.

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Check out these famous quotes & facts from history & culture, read articles and get the latest news on any famous person you are interested in on Biography.

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Find the best poems by searching our collection of over 8,000 poems by classic and contemporary poets, including Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Juan Felipe Herrera, Langston Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, and more. You can even find poems by occasion, theme, and form.

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Why Study Race & Ethnicity?

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Why Study Race & Ethnicity? | Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity

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In the current moment, as in the past, it is essential for everyone to understand the dynamics of race and ethnicity. Such knowledge is required to participate in a diverse democracy. Across the globe, race and ethnicity are relevant to every dimension of social, political and economic life.

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Four Reasons Why You Should Learn About Other Cultures

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Being culturally aware is becoming an important skill to have in both the workplace and in everyday life.

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Interracial Marriage

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The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage
By Selina Alko
Illustrated by Sean Qualls
Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic)
$18.99
ISBN: 978-0545478533
Ages 4-7
On shelves now.

When the Supreme Court ruled on June 26, 2015 that same-sex couples could marry in all fifty states, I found myself, like many parents of young children, in the position of trying to explain the ramifications to my offspring. Newly turned four, my daughter needed a bit of context. After all, as far as she was concerned gay people had always had the right to marry so what exactly was the big deal here? In times of change, my back up tends to be children's books that discuss similar, but not identical, situations. And what book do I own that covers a court case involving the legality of people marrying? Why, none other than The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage by creative couple Selina Alko and Sean Qualls. It's almost too perfect that the book has come out the same year as this momentous court decision. Discussing the legal process, as well as the prejudices of the time, the book offers to parents like myself not just a window to the past, but a way of discussing present and future court cases that involve the personal lives of everyday people. Really, when you take all that into consideration, the fact that the book is also an amazing testament to the power of love itself . . . well, that's just the icing on the cake.

In 1958 Richard Loving, a white man, fell in love with Mildred Jeter, a black/Native American woman. Residents of Virginia, they could not marry in their home state so they did so in Washington D.C. instead. Then they turned right around and went home to Virginia. Not long after they were interrupted in the night by a police invasion. They were charged with "unlawful cohabitation" and were told in no uncertain terms that if they were going to continue living together then they needed to leave Virginia. They did, but they also hired lawyers to plead their case. By 1967 the Lovings made it all the way to The Supreme Court where their lawyers read a prepared statement from Richard. It said, "Tell the court I love my wife, and it is just unfair that I can't live with her in Virginia." In a unanimous ruling, the laws restricting such marriages were struck down. The couple returned to Virginia, found a new house, and lived "happily (and legally) ever after." An Author's Note about her marriage to Sean Qualls (she is white and he is black) as well as a note about the art, Sources, and Suggestions for Further Reading appear at the end of the book.

"How do you sue someone?" Here's a challenge. Explain the concept of suing the government to a four-year-old brain. To do so, you may have to explain a lot of connected concepts along the way. What is a lawyer? And a court? And, for that matter, why are the laws (and cops) sometimes wrong? So when I pick up a book like The Case for Loving as a parent, I'm desperately hoping on some level that the authors have figured out how to break down these complex questions into something small children can understand and possibly even accept. In the case of this book, the legal process is explained as simply as possible. "They wanted to return to Virginia for good, so they hired lawyers to help fight for what was right." And then later, "It was time to take the Loving case all the way to The Supreme Court." Now the book doesn't explain what The Supreme Court was necessarily, and that's where the art comes in. Much of the heavy lifting is done by the illustrations, which show the judges sitting in a row, allowing parents like myself the chance to explain their role. Here you will not find a deep explanation of the legal process, but at least it shows a process and allows you to fill in the gaps for the young and curious.

It was very interesting to me to see how Alko and Qualls handled the art in this book. I've often noticed that editors like to choose Sean as an artist when they want an illustrator that can offset some of the darker aspects of a work. For example, take Margarita Engle's magnificently sordid Pura Belpre Medal winner The Poet Slave of Cuba. A tale of torture, gore, and hope, Qualls' art managed to represent the darkness with a lighter touch, while never taking away from the important story at hand. In The Case for Loving he has scaled the story down a bit and given it a simpler edge. His characters are a bit broader and more cartoonlike than those in, say, . This is due in part to Alko's contributions. As they say in their "About the Art" section at the back of the book, Alko's art is all about bold colors and Sean's is about subtle layers of color and texture. Together, they alleviate the tension in different scenes. Moments that could be particularly frightening, as when the police burst into the Lovings' bedroom to arrest them, are cast instead as simply dramatic. I noticed too that characters were much smaller in this book than they tend to be in Sean's others. It was interesting to note the moments when that illustrators made the faces of Richard and Virginia large. The page early in the book where Richard and Mildred look at one another over the book's gutter pairs well with the page later in the book where their faces appear on posters behind bars against the words "Unlawful Cohabitation". But aside from those two double spreads the family is small, often seen just outside their different respective homes. It seemed to be important to Qualls and Alko to show them as a family unit as often as possible.

Few books are perfect, and Loving has its off-kilter moments from time to time. For example, it describes darker skin tones in terms of food. That's not a crime, of course, but you rarely hear white skin described as "white as aged cheese" or "the color of creamy mayonnaise" so why is dark colored skin always edible? In this book Mildred is "a creamy caramel" and she lives where people ranged from "the color of chamomile tea" to darker shades. A side issue has arisen concerning Mildred's identification as Native American and whether or not the original case made more of her African-American roots because it would build a stronger case in court. This is a far bigger issue than a picture book could hope to encompass, though I would be interested in a middle grade or young adult nonfiction book on the topic that went into the subject in a little more depth.

Recently I read my kid another nonfiction picture book chronicling injustice called Drum Dream Girl by the aforementioned Margarita Engle. In that book a young girl isn't allowed to drum because of her gender. My daughter was absolutely flabbergasted by the notion. When I read her The Case for Loving she was similarly baffled. And when, someday, someone writes a book about the landmark decision made by The Supreme Court to allow gay couples to wed, so too will some future child be just as floored by what seems completely normal to them. Until then, this is certainly a book written and published at just the right time. Informative and heartfelt all at once, it works beyond the immediate need. Context is not an easy thing to come by when we discuss complex subjects with our kids. It takes a book like this to give us the words we so desperately need. Many thanks then for that.

On shelves now.

Source: Galley sent from publisher for review.
Like This? Then Try:
Misc: Don't forget to check out this incident that occurred involving this book and W. Kamau Bell's treatment at Berkeley's Elmwood Café.

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Review of the Day: The Case for Loving by Selina Alko and Sean Qualls

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The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage By Selina Alko Illustrated by Sean Qualls Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic) $18.99 ISBN: 978-0545478533 Ages 4-7 On shelves now.

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Sharon G. Flake has been a force in writing for children and young adults since 1998, when her first novel, The Skin I'm In, was published by editor Andrea Davis Pinkney at Disney-Hyperion's Jump at the Sun Imprint. The novel was peppered with accolades, including being named a Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year. The novel also earned Flake her first recognition by the Coretta Scott King Award Committee, which honored the author the John Steptoe award for new talent.

Since then, Flake has published six books, with a seventh, You Don't Even Know Me, scheduled to hit bookstores on February 16th. You Don't Even Know Me, a collection of stories and poems, aims to disprove old stereotypes about boys by showing them in a multitude of situations. The book has already been named a Junior Library Guild Selection, with many more accolades sure to follow.

We are proud and honored to highlight Sharon G. Flake as a Vanguard author for this year's 28 Days Later.
Like most of your fans, I love your first novel, The Skin I'm In. How often do you get asked to write a sequel, and have you ever considered the idea?
I am asked many, many times a month if I will write a sequel to The Skin I'm In. I always tell readers that I won't be doing one. The book is so well-loved, anything I do as a second act most likely wouldn't live up to the first. Sometimes we need to quit while we're ahead. But there are days when I do think, "What if Maleeka were seventeen or a grown up and married? What would she be up to?"
According to your website, you wrote your first novel while working at the University of Pittsburgh. Now, you're a full-time author. What does your typical writing day look like?
I'm up early, most times around 7 a.m. but sometimes I get up in the wee hours of the morning say around four a.m. and write. PJ's are my clothing of choice for much of the morning. I write about three to four hours a day (weekdays). If I'm under deadline, I might write up to eight hours a day, including weekends. I'm answering email , letters, all day long, responding to students, librarians or parents and their thoughts on my work, or scheduling visits. I update my website, check out Facebook, take some time off to watch Divorce Court (I love that show), walk the dog, have tea, back to email, talk with agent or editor or publicist (or all three)...Kicking back and reading a little of this or that is typical as well. And oh yes, I talk to my mom and a few other people who still wonder what authors do all day long.
What drew you to write your latest work, You Don't Even Know Me?
I've been struggling with another novel for a few years now-my first time doing real brain drain battle with a novel, by the way. The book won, sort of, I put it on hold and decided for my brains sake to do something shorter; another collection of short stories, but this time for boys. Young men always ask me to write something about them. And boys, like girls, are always on my mind. I always feel like we can say more about them, tell fuller stories. That as adults, we can engage them in a different kind of dialogue in and outside of class, and that literature is a great way to do that.
Most of your novels feature girls as main characters. Did you have any problems with writing from a boy's point-of-view in You Don't Even Know Me?
I'm getting this question a lot. But people forget that for almost twelve years now I've spent a lot of time with boys-as characters, that is. The young men in my novels have always had a lot to say and have been very present. In Bang! and Who Am I Without Him: short stories and poems about girls, young men talk of many things, love; living with violence; outwitting possessive aunts; working through relationships, grief and lost; and learning to use ones' gifts for good. In The Skin I'm In there is Caleb and John John and Maleeka's deceased father.

Here is how I see it: Girls and boys don't live on separate planets. They sit side by side in class, argue at home or on the baseball field, and cuddle on dates at the movies. They are ever present in each other's lives so I guess from the start I never thought twice about writing from a boy's point of view. From time to time, however, I'd have to remind myself that something I just wrote was more likely to come out of a girl's mouth, rather than a boy's.
Your latest two books are collections of shorter pieces-short stories and poems. What drew you to writing this style of book?
It's funny, after I wrote Who Am I Without Him, people said to me, that there was this philosophy in the industry that young people didn't read short stories. I'd never heard that. I tend to follow my gut when I write things, not trends. When I wrote Who Am I Without Him, I wanted to look at relationships between boys and girls. I prayed about it and the title popped in my head and so I went with it. It's been a big seller. After that, I said I wouldn't write another short story collection. I tend to write books and keep moving. What short stories do, however, is allow me to showcase young people in many different ways. For instance, in my new novel, a young man gets married; one boy talks about loving Cinnamon, Chocolate Beige girls while another boy in another poem says white is what he likes. Middle class boys speak up about what it's like being them, and even younger boys have their say: one talks about what it's like being stuck in puberty while another says fearlessly, When I am president of the world I'll move the White House to Harlem, Outlaw guns especially the ones they make to take out you and me. A young man who is used to looking out for his mom, gets chased after by an older woman; while another boy wrestles with getting even and still more wrestle with that thing called love. Fathers play a big role in this novel, too. And not just birth fathers, but step dads, adopted dads, granddads and surrogate fathers. There are so many boys speaking their own truths in this novel, that I think it will spark all sorts of conversations in school, church, at home and community centers. I'm hoping it will help people take young men out of boxes, you know the boxes that say young men don't read; don't care about relationships; won't discuss certain subjects.
Can you share some advice for any aspiring authors?
1) Write. It's the only way to improve.

2) Join a writing group, even if it's just for six months or a year. There's something about being in the company of other writers, especially at the beginning, that helps push you along; builds your confidence; helps you understand the industry, and makes you think you can do this writing thing.

3) Pay attention to voice. Every word you write should be read out loud, no matter how many times you re-write. It will let you hear just how authentic your character's voices really are.

4) Remember when you are writing, you are not leading a parade, you are following one. Be present. Don't worry about what your character will do next, stay with them in the now and they will take you to the next place. I never know what is going to happen in a short story or novel. I am as surprised to know what will happen at the bottom of the first page or second, as any other reader. If you can suspend your mind and follow your gut than your writing will be fresh and your stories will have their own unique flavor.
Can you tell us a little about your next project?
If I did, some people would have to disappear:-) Mums the word. People will just have to watch and see.
Believe me, Sharon, we will!

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Sharon G. Flake has been a force in writing for children and young adults since 1998, when her first novel, The Skin I'm In, was published by editor Andrea Davis Pinkney at Disney-Hyperion's Jump at the Sun Imprint. The novel was peppered with accolades, including being named a Bank Street College of Education Best Children's...

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Nikki Grimes children's book author poet teacher children's literature young adultsCoretta Scott King award

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Derrick Barnes is the author of nine books for children, the most recent being Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

The book, which has been voted one of the best books of the year by NPR, is among the first wave of titles published by acclaimed writer Denene Millner's new children's book imprint, housed within Agate books.

Of Barnes' book, Millner says simply: " Crown is a jewel. The words just literally jumped off the computer screen; they had swagger and were unapologetically black and full of a deep and abiding love for black boys and this beautiful experience. What makes the book extra special is that it is an unabashed celebration of black-boy joy. Our boys need to hear that."

In Crown, Barnes explores the role of the barbershop in the black community in creating a safe space for black youths, instilling within them self-esteem and pride in their blackness. "He'll drape you like royalty with that cape to keep the fine hairs off of your neck and your princely robes," Barnes writes in Crown. "It's amazing what a tight fade, high/low/bald does for your confidence: Dark Caesar." Here, Barnes' language affirms the sacredness of the fresh-cut experience, which allows young black men to feel like kings.

Barnes, who began his writing career as the first black male writer for Hallmark, quickly parlayed that experience into a multibook deal with Scholastic, a major children's book publisher. Also a proud husband, father, activist and HBCU graduate, Barnes cites all of those influences for the success of his work.

The Root sat down with Barnes to discuss writing, the greatness of HBCUs, the need for diverse books-and, of course, the importance of a fresh cut.

Derrick Barnes: I saw a sketch one of my Facebook friends did of his teen son after coming home from the barber. The cut was fresh! I was inspired to write a poem because the cut made me think about being in the sixth grade and catching the bus to the barbershop on Thursday evenings.

DB: When I got up out of that chair, I felt smarter, more handsome and more important-like I could take over the world, you know? I wanted to capture all of those positive, self-affirming feelings and throw a regal twist on top of it.

DB: I think just being poor. I've always had an imagination, but reading sparked and heightened that imagination. I'd hang a flash light from the pole in my closet, grab a couple of pillows, and make a cozy little reading nook and knock out book after book.

The first thing that I remember writing was a short story about a group of stray dogs trekking across the country looking for a lost magical bone at 10 years old. But I didn't know that I wanted to be a professional writer until I had my first paid gig as a columnist for the Jackson State University Blue and White Flash.

DB: I felt the history every day that I was on the campus of Jackson State University. Lots of affirming messages, lots of encouragement to go out into the world and dominate and conquer. I really felt like I could be some kind of influential writer that could utilize my voice to be a change agent, a difference-maker. Plus, I met my best friends and the love of my life and the eventual mother of my four sons (the "Mighty Barnes Brothers") on "the yard." It was the greatest period of my life.

DB: Yes. I respect and feel honored to be a writer in the great lineage of black writers that came before me. I care about the work that I put into the world and how that work inspires children-makes them feel better about themselves and the world around them. When all of this is over, your two greatest legacies will be your family and your work as an artist.

DB: The easy answer, especially for children of color, would be for them to read books that mirror their own lives. And while that may be absolutely true, children, especially black children, need books that stretch their imagination. They need books that will challenge the way that they see the world. They also need books about people that came before them that may have lived harrowing lives but beat the odds, that challenged the system, and that fought revolutionary fights in order to bring about change in their lives and the collective lives of others.

DB: The Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, puts out a staggering report on the dearth of characters of color in children's books every year. There has been a gradual increase in books written by and about black people. I love that. But there needs to be diversity on all levels of publishing.

And although books about our history and pivotal figures from African-American history are important, I want to see an increase of "slice of life" books just featuring black people being people. Not slaves, basketball players and civil rights workers exclusively. I want them in fantasy books, falling in love, being awkward, heroic, "wimpy," whatever. The same stories and tales that are afforded to white writers and characters.

TR: What would your advice be to young black aspiring children's book writers?

DB: My advice would be, as told to me by one of my mentors, Dr. Alfred Tatum of the University of Illinois at Chicago, would be to write "unapologetically." Write your own truths, from your own point of views and experiences.

DB: I'm hopeful. Sometimes we have to get out of our comfort zone, which I feel like we were in the past eight years, and be pushed to the limits, pushed to activism. We're definitely at that point now. Because of the current climate created by this presidential administration, I think people of color, in particular black folks, are seeking places they can go to feel appreciated and not fear for their safety and face obstacles towards their growth, but places where we can flourish.

We need to bond together. Support each other economically and financially. The American public system has failed us for decades. If we keep depending on it to educate and raise our babies, things will only get worse.

DB: They feed each other well. My writing is always centered around the positive upliftment of black people, the positive upliftment and interaction of human beings. I won't apologize for my love of black people, nor for wanting to see us do better educationwise, economically and as a community. As an artist, I have a prominent role to play in that improvement. I always say that a better black America will make for a better America. My role as a husband, father and writer will always be centered around playing my part to make things better.
Editor's note: This interview has been edited and condensed.

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For the Love of Black Boys: Derrick Barnes and His Ode to the Fresh Cut

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Derrick Barnes is the author of nine books for children, the most recent being Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut The book, which has been voted one of the best books of the year by NPR, is among the first wave of titles published by acclaimed writer Denene Millner's new children's book imprint, housed within Agate books.

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The Undefeated 44 most influential black Americans in history

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Our select #Undefeated44 list has been unwrapped. Check the receipts of why we feel these black Americans shook up the world.

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As President Obama has said, the change we seek will take longer than one term or one presidency. Real change-big change-takes many years and requires each generation to embrace the obligations and opportunities that come with the title of Citizen.

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I've tried to prepare everything you need for a meaningful visit.Teachers, librarians, or administrators will find loads of detailed information. I'm always glad to hear from parents, former students, and other interested individuals. Just click on email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

I have been very blessed. Who am I? I'm a creator, a visionary, a poet. I approach the world with the eyes of an artist, the ears of a musician, and the soul of a writer. I see rainbows where others see only rain, and possibilities when others see only problems.

I love to write; words flow easily from my fingertips, and my heart beats rapidly with excitement as an idea becomes a reality on the paper in front of me. I'm a learner and a seeker of knowledge, and I try to take my readers along on my journey. I am truly passionate about what I do.

I learned to dream through reading, learned to create dreams through writing, and learned to develop dreamers through teaching. I shall always be a dreamer. Come dream with me.

-Sharon M. Draper

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Welcome to the Official Site of Sharon Draper

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I've tried to prepare everything you need for a meaningful visit.Teachers, librarians, or administrators will find loads of detailed information. I'm always glad to hear from parents, former students, and other interested individuals. Just click on email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

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Before the Ever After is my newest novel

So I've updated my website again. I guess I should say I've 'revised' it. Just like the writing process, this website is constantly in revision. I think you're here because you want to know more about me. Well, this is the place where you'll find out lots of stuff. Everything you need for your report, your essay, your article, your last minute homework assignment - is in here. So no more Sunday night emails begging me to respond in an hour, okay? While I would love to, I'm either putting my kids to bed, having some quiet time, or writing. Soooooooo...click and find out how I started writing or where I do most of my writing. Click and find out the titles of some of my books or where to get them. You want to know who my daughter is named after? What my favorite food is? It's in here.

It's wild to think that people all over the country and all around the world are reading my books! Click to find out some of the languages my books are published in. And if you want to know some of the awards I've won, that info is here too. I've won lots of them. They're probably not all in here. But if you check out places like Coretta Scott King Awards, Newbery Awards, National Book Awards, ALMA Award, Langston Hughes Award - you can find out much more about what some of the awards I've won mean and why I won them.

Some of you I've met before and some of you I hope to meet one day. But until then, here's the place to get your questions answered, see what I kinda look like, learn about my writing and get a taste of Brooklyn, New York!!!

Welcome to my world. Enjoy it.
-Jacqueline Woodson

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So I've updated my website again. I guess I should say I've 'revised' it. Just like the writing process, this website is constantly in revision. I think you're here because you want to know more about me. Well, this is the place where you'll find out lots of stuff.

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The Official Website of The Toni Morrison Society

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The Toni Morrison Society is a non-profit literary organization that consists of scholars and lay readers of Morrison's works from around the world.

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Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage-and lost his mother and all memory of her when he was a child-but he is also gifted with a mysterious power. Hiram almost drowns when he crashes a carriage into a river, but is saved from the depths by a force he doesn't understand...

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Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage-and lost his mother and all memory of her when he was a child-but he is also gifted with a mysterious power. Hiram almost drowns when he crashes a carriage into a river, but is saved from the depths by a force he doesn't understand...

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"I'm from a race that had been forbidden to learn how to read."

The pride in Carla Hayden's voice takes on added significance when you know that she is the first African American to helm the Library of Congress. Not only that. Hayden is the first woman to lead the world's largest library. "I'm a female in a female-dominated profession, where at least 85 percent to 90 percent of the workforce is female," she said in the latest episode of "Cape Up."
LISTEN HERE For more conversations like this, subscribe to "Cape UP" on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.
"I call myself an accidental librarian," Hayden said as she recounted her journey from local librarian to becoming the 14th librarian of Congress. "I didn't know about the profession. I would actually go into a library, the central library, between job interviews after I graduated from undergrad. [O]ne of my fellow graduate colleagues said, 'Hey are you [going] for those library jobs? They're hiring anybody.' "

[This is the perfect escape from the insanity of our politics today. Meet Franklin Sirmans.]

Libraries are much different (read: fun) today than how they were in the Stone Age of my youth. "Libraries are more a place now and activity centers and opportunity centers than they might have been when you were in school," Hayden said. The digital age has presented a challenge to libraries that Hayden doesn't fear. When I told her that I could do all my research from my desk by using Google, she shot me the classic stern librarian look of my childhood. "I'm giving you a look," Hayden said, "because a lot of the things that you are retrieving online have been put online by libraries like the Library of Congress."

I first met Hayden at an event at the National Museum for African American History and Culture. The central point of her brief presentation was that the Library of Congress wasn't just a library. We needed to think of it as an institution with collections just as impressive as those of any museum. If the Smithsonian is "America's attic," then the Library of Congress is the other one. "[At the library,] you have 164 million items," Hayden revealed. "Collections that range from the largest gathering of comic books in the world to Jackie Robinson's papers."

The highlight of the podcast interview came after our formal sit-down when Hayden took me to a conference room where several blow-your-mind artifacts were on display, and we captured it all on camera.

Watch the video and listen to the podcast to see and hear Hayden and senior reference librarian Eric Frazier walked me through some of the incredible collection on the table: books by Galileo Galilei (are those his fingerprints?!) and Nicolaus Copernicus, a Koran owned by Thomas Jefferson. Ever wonder what was in President Abraham Lincoln's pockets when he was assassinated in 1865? Look no further than the Library of Congress to find out what those things were and how the library got them.

"The legend goes that the new librarian of Congress moved into the office, and there was a door that had a vault, it's like a false door," Hayden said of the discovery in 1975. "The legend continues that the gentleman who was, let's say, incarcerated for being very expert at opening these types of things was given a small pardon to come and help open the vault, and he did. And inside there was just one item, and it was this one black box. And in the box, when they opened it, was a note saying that, through a gift from Abraham Lincoln's granddaughter, these were the contents of his pocket the night he was assassinated.

"I have to tell you, as the 14th librarian of Congress, I looked through every nook and cranny of the new office that I got into," Hayden said, laughing, clearly reveling in her dream job.
"Cape Up" is Jonathan's weekly podcast talking to key figures behind the news and our culture. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts.

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senior reference librarian eric frazier; carla hayden; library of congress; comic books; jackie robinson’s papers; contents of lincoln’s pockets; galileo; copernicus; thomas jefferson koran; lincoln assassination; lincoln’s pockets; library of congress collections; african american museum of history and culture

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Opinion | Carla Hayden wants you to know that the Library of Congress is America's other attic

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"I'm from a race that had been forbidden to learn how to read." The pride in Carla Hayden's voice takes on added significance when you know that she is the first African American to helm the Library of Congress. Not only that. Hayden is the first woman to lead the world's largest library.

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Learning to Live in One World - Margaret Mead: Human Nature and the Power of Culture | Exhibitions - Library of Congress

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The Library of Congress > Exhibitions > Margaret Mead: Human Nature and the Power of Culture > Learning to Live in One World

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This November 14- 18, Cultural Vistas participated in International Education Week (IEW) by bringing international exchange visitors to elementary, middle and high schools in both New York and Washington, D.C to give presentations on their home countries. This year we had 19 J-1 international interns and exchange alumni participate. The hope is, by sharing their cultures with young American students, participants help to increase global understanding.

Through feedback collected from teachers, students, our international participants, and Cultural Vistas staff, we learned that these presentations are influential and can make a lasting impact on everyone's life.

Here our Top 3 IEW Takeaways from Participants:

It's fun!

By listening to IEW presentations, students got to "visit" new countries, and consistently said afterwards that it was a lot of fun!

Presenters are encouraged to create entertaining and interactive activities for the students to participate in. So Nadezhda Smakhtina, an Edmund S. Muskie Internship Program alumna, made a short, Jeopardy-style game for the students after giving her presentation on Russia. One student commented that he "liked how the presenter was very engaging" and enjoyed learning about foreign countries because it gave him "a greater outlook on life."

After Korea WEST participant Yunhee Jung's presentation, a 4 th grader said "I would describe it as fun and exciting. I would like to try Korean food." The class had learned about traditional dishes, including bibimpap and beef bulgogi. During a presentation by another Korean participant, students were asked to volunteer for a Korean writing challenge where they were able to test out their Korean writing skills and learn how to write their own names in the language.

Students also had fun joking around with their exchange visitors. According to Jennifer Nina, a Cultural Vistas staffer who was onsite for a presentation by Altynbek, a Kyrgyz Muskie alum, "The best moment I witnessed was when Altynbek was given a bag of Takis (a brand of spicy corn chips) by the school, and the class started chanting in unison 'EAT ONE! EAT ONE! EAT ONE!' with the class then bursting into cheers after he ate one! That moment alone was gold."

It helps to break down barriers and overcome stereotypes

This year our participants represented nine different countries. Some of these countries, like Germany, Japan, China and Russia, are well known to most students because of international media coverage. But we also had participants who joined us from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. These countries, including Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, are often not often in the mix when speaking about geography or global economics.

One way to break down barriers is to introduce students to a new country. Tamar Papava , an alumna of our Edmund S. Muskie Internship Program, started off by asking students to raise their hands if they had heard of Georgia, the country. Only two hands went up in a group of over 40 students. During her presentation, Tamar taught many aspects of Georgian culture, including typical cuisine and traditional dances.

By the end, students who had never before heard of Georgia were commenting on how they wanted to visit it to see the beautiful landscapes and try the delicious-looking food.

Even if they had heard of a country before, this was many students' first time meeting someone from there. During a presentation by Miho Mitobe, a participant of Cultural Vistas' Japan IDYL program, at Theodore Roosevelt High School, she taught the students how to make origami paper cranes. It was great to see not only the students listening to her presentation on Japan, but how engaged they were during the activity.

Students kept asking for the next folding step and wanted Miho to double check that they had done each fold the correct way.

Other students remarked on how IEW helped them learn positive things about countries that are portrayed differently by the media. After a presentation given by one of our participants from Russia, a student remarked that it was "mind-changing and that what they see and hear is people talking about how Russians are bad but they aren't." Yulia Popova, the Russian presenter and another Edmund S. Muskie Internship Program alumna, said she was also surprised "that if they do know anything about Russia it is generally negative."

Another misconception that students had was that Russia is always cold. After the presentation students learned that Russia has four seasons, just like the United States.

During another presentation on Germany, many students were surprised and impressed by the relative size of the country compared to the U.S. given that Germany is a big contender in sports and an important player in global politics.

According to Kathryn Brenner, a teacher at Jefferson Academy, teaching international cultures to American students "is incredibly important." She added, "Our students are growing up in a global age and without this background knowledge they will not be able to be successful in the changing world." Kathryn said their World Culture Fair is a great opportunity to "develop globally aware students and having folks in from other countries allows us to do that."

It creates an environment for understanding and perspective building

We asked all of the students who attended IEW presentations "If you had to sum up this activity in one word, how would you describe it?"

Here is what they had to say:

After the presentations, students were also asked why they thought learning about international cultures was important, and many said it helps to create mutual understanding. One sophomore from Columbia Heights Education Campus commented that "because we live in a divided world, and it's important to know about each other." Another student said learning about new cultures helps "expand your horizons, and shows you the differences around the world" leading to building "strong relationships and lasting friendships."

Living peacefully together was a priority to another student, who said presentations on other cultures are "important because as America is becoming more diverse, it's important to know all the cultures."

International Education Week is a great way for students to understand how large the world really is beyond America. Carlos Zamora, a 3 rd and 4 th grade teacher at P.S. 72 commented on how "living in New York City is like living in a bubble. Exposing [students] to other cultures will open their minds to try different things."

This goes both ways, as some of our international participants had never been in an American school. Yujin Jang, a Korea WEST program participant noted that "before I met [the students], I didn't expect that they would have interests and huge curiosity about other cultures. However, they had a big interest and bunch of questions about my presentation.

Several questions they asked me were surprisingly impressive." Naoki Imazato, a Train USA participant, had a similar reaction after attending P.S. 321. He said he was amazed by the student's positive attitude. "If I talk to Japanese student, they are shy and there are few questions. I felt surprised and happy as there are many questions from the students."

We would like to thank all of the J-1 international exchange participants and alumni who volunteered their time to present during International Education Week. It is because of passionate people like all of them that we are able to create global understanding and continue to make an impact with all the work that we do.
Cultural Vistas participates in International Education Week every year and encourages all its exchange visitors to get involved. Interested in volunteering for IEW next year or want to learn about other ways to get involved in your community? Check out our blog post on How to Volunteer as a J-1 International Intern in the U.S. Love seeing all the photos from International Education Week? Check out our Facebook Album Hear what some of our international exchange participants had to say about what international education means to them

by reading our blog post. to see more.

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Why Learning About International Cultures is Important - Cultural Vistas

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This November 14- 18, Cultural Vistas participated in International Education Week (IEW) by bringing international exchange visitors to elementary, middle and high schools in both New York and Washington, D.C to give presentations on their home countries. This year we had 19 J-1 international interns and exchange alumni participate.

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ONTARIO - "Martin Luther King Jr. started feeling the way he did at a young age."

Kim McDowall, a first-grade teacher at Four Rivers Community School, spoke to a classroom full of her students on Thursday during an activity designed to teach about Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and morals that he stood for before his assassination in 1968.

"Even though you're young, if you have strong feelings in your heart, you can be just like Martin Luther King Jr.," McDowall continued in her lesson as her students watched a quick video on the civil rights leader, which was interspersed with sound bites of the civil right leader's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

McDowall, along with fellow first-grade teacher Kimberly Ruiz, had activities set aside for 39 students, in English and Spanish, respectively. Activities lasted for two hours on Thursday - the day before a teacher work day and before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday - with students from the two classes rotating to spend an hour with each teacher in their respective language.

In McDowall's class, shortly after the conclusion of the video, she had her students gather around a teaching easel and asked one question: "What do you want to happen to make the world a better place?" Students were given the opportunity to tell a partner what that dream was, and then followed up by some of the students telling McDowall, who wrote on a large sheet of paper on the easel, "My Dream to Help the World." By the time she was done writing some responses from the students, she had "Join the Army to save America," "Everyone has friends," and "Picking up the trash everywhere."

Leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, both classes of students had been learning about the civil rights leader for the past two weeks, McDowall said.

The last activity for McDowall's class was creation of a drawing - a picture of themselves sleeping and dreaming of ways to make the world a better place. A thought bubble would hover over, giving the kids a chance to write their dream.

"I hope the students have the awareness that it wasn't always this way," McDowall said, speaking of the integrated classrooms and improved relations amongst students of different ethnicities.

In addition, the teacher hoped her students realized, "He [Martin Luther King Jr.] made a change without using his fist, without violence. At their age, it's so easy to resort to that."

Ruiz, on the other hand had a different focus for students in her lessons and activities. A quote by King Jr. that is remembered as, "Share our similarities. Celebrate our differences," and that message that still continues today, Ruiz said.

Ruiz had her students create a drawing in the shape of their hands to go along with that quote.

"I hope they're able to realize that they all have a voice, and that if you don't use that voice, than nothing ever changes," Ruiz said. "These are big messages for little people."

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ONTARIO - "Martin Luther King Jr. started feeling the way he did at a young age." Kim McDowall, a first-grade teacher at Four Rivers Community School, spoke to a classroom full of her students on Thursday during an activity designed to teach about Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and morals that he stood for before his assassination in 1968.

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What I am learning from my white grandchildren -- truths about race | Anthony Peterson | TEDxAntioch

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Culture is about the practices, knowledge, and beliefs that are more or less shared among a group of people. Most carers we spoke to believed that we can all learn a lot from cultures that are different to our own. People said that learning from each other can teach us how best to help families affected by mental health problems.

Sense of community and strong family values
Many carers felt that in White British culture people focus mostly on themselves as individuals: they are 'preoccupied with their own life'. Several carers commented on the differences between life in Britain and life in their country of origin.

In contrast, in many other cultures, people tend to think of themselves as part of a family or community. One man said that in his native Sri Lanka, 'when someone is sick, the whole family suffers.' Others remarked that close knit families and communities meant those who are sick would not be left 'to fend for themselves' and that 'family involvement would be the norm'.

In particular, some carers believed the way people with mental health problems in the UK are 'locked away' and separated from the community is unhelpful, making them feel rejected and lonely.

Some African-Caribbean carers emphasised how in the West Indies, many people with mental health problems continue to be an important part of the community. People just don't make such 'a big deal' out of it when people are unwell. One woman said that the move towards 'care in the community' in the UK means things are improving. Living in a close knit community can help carers because more people could 'muck in', stop by during the course of the day, and help out with shopping, transport or keeping them company.

Some said that the downside of putting the family first, even before yourself, was that it could also lead to carers not being able to help themselves. The same thing was said about living in extended or polygamous families. Carers from different ethnic backgrounds also said that the 'next generation' in their community didn't always share more 'traditional' family values.

Views on health services
Some people were critical of the reliance on medication in the British mental health care system and said in other cultures the focus was more on caring, comforting and encouragement.

Others felt that the UK system can be needlessly complicated. For instance, in a crisis it can take 6-7 professionals, from police officers to psychiatrists, to get someone admitted to hospital. Elsewhere things could be quite different.

Another carer thought we could learn from cultures where family participation in the hospital care of loved ones is more welcome and where professionals are more willing to discuss their care.

A couple of people questioned whether a patient's individual rights (e.g. to refuse medication) should be more important than the efforts of others to improve their health. An example was given of Indian institutions where psychiatric medication is made without taste so it can be added to food without the knowledge of the person taking it. Other carers disagreed with the approach of treating people without their knowledge.

Several carers from African and South Asian backgrounds said in their culture there were more negative attitudes to mental health problems than in other cultures. They felt that their community needed to learn more about mental health problems from the British or West Indian perspectives so it would be easier for people to ask for help (see ' What other cultures can learn from British culture
Negative attitudes to mental health problems').

The UK social security system, which provides financial support from the government, was also seen as a good model for other countries as it could put carers' minds at ease and make them less dependent on family support. People were also grateful for a National Health Service (NHS) which, despite its weaknesses, is free of charge.

Last reviewed June 2015.

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Mental health: ethnic minority carers' experiences

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Culture is about the practices, knowledge, and beliefs that are more or less shared among a group of people. Most carers we spoke to believed that we can all learn a lot from cultures that are different to our own.

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Discussing racial issues can make students and teachers uncomfortable. Here, educator and scholar Dr. Beverly Tatum shares her wisdom on teaching about slavery and race-related issues.
Classroom teachers across the country are faced with explaining the central paradox of a democracy that declared all men equal but enslaved and oppressed one group to provide independence and prosperity for another. The task is difficult because your audience is children.

Slavery is a topic that makes many of us uncomfortable. Yet, black-white race relations in the United States have been forever shaped by slavery and its social, psychological, and economic legacy. It requires discussion. How should we approach the topic with children?

Too often I hear from young African American students that they feel embarrassment in school when slavery is discussed. Ironically, slavery is one of the few ways the black experience is included in their schooling, even during Black History Month, a time of celebration. Uncomfortable with the portrayal of their group as helpless victims, students squirm as they feel the eyes of white children looking for their reaction to this subject.

In my professional-development work with white teachers, they sometimes remark how uncomfortable they, too, are with this example (and others) of the painful history of race relations. As one elementary teacher said: "It is hard to tell small children about slavery, hard to explain that young black men were lynched and that police turned fire hoses on children while others bombed churches, killing black children at their prayers. This history is a terrible legacy for all of us. The other day [another] teacher told me that she could not look into the faces of her students when she taught about these things. It was too painful, and too embarrassing. . . . If we are all uncomfortable, something is wrong in our approach."

Something is wrong. While it is necessary to be honest about the racism of our past and present, it is also necessary to provide children (and adults) with a vision that change is possible. Where can we find this vision? We can look for it in our history, we can create it with our colleagues, and we can demonstrate it in our classrooms.

The Africans who were brought here as slaves were not just passive victims. They found ways to resist their victimization. All whites were not bad, and some black resisters found white allies. Concrete examples are critical.

For young children, examples can be found in picture books. One of my favorites is Faith Ringgold's Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky. This story is told from the point of view of a young black girl who travels back in time and experiences both the chilling realities of slavery and the power of her own resistance and eventual escape. White people are presented in the story as enemies (slave owners) and as allies (hosts on the Underground Railroad). This dual representation is important for all children, regardless of color.

A white friend of mine often told her young son the story of how Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus in 1955 and sparked her whole community to take a stand against racist whites during the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott. The story was one of the child's favorites when he was just four years old. Then one day he asked her, "Are all white people bad?" Now he was five, and already seemed to be feeling bad about being white.

I recommended talking more about what white people had done to oppose injustice. Jeanette Winter's book Follow the Drinking Gourd highlights the role of a white man and other white allies who offer assistance along the Underground Railroad.

When discussing a sensitive topic such as slavery, make sure all are treated respectfully as individuals. Follow the rule yourself, and don't allow children to be treated as if they represent an entire racial group.

When you feel uncomfortable or notice students squirming, acknowledge the discomfort. Let them know it is normal. You can say, "It is hard to talk about the time when there were slaves. It can make us all feel bad. Sometimes I feel ____." You can fill in the blank yourself; feelings of guilt or anger are common.

Let students see themselves as agents of change and healing. Although slavery ended a long time ago, we still face racism today. By treating one another with respect, students are fighting racism.

Encourage them to note examples of bias and stereotypes in their reading. Children can learn to question whether derogatory depictions of other people are stereotypes. They can learn to ask who is doing what in the story's plot, and why; who is in the role of leader and who is taking the orders; and who has been left out of the story altogether.

Social studies and history curricula rarely emphasize examples of black or white resistance to slavery or racism. You're not alone in your discomfort with the topic, or your search for solutions. Share your concerns, frustrations, success stories, and resources with colleagues and friends.

Coming to terms with past and present injustice is often cause for anger and guilt, frustration and despair. All children, regardless of color, need to find the hope in this history. We must not insensitively sanitize the pain of those caught in the bind of oppression. We need to celebrate the strength of the human spirit to go beyond the roles of victim and victimizer. In doing so, we may inspire one another to do likewise in the struggle against the contemporary injustices we face.

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It's Not So Black and White: Discussing Race and Racism in the Classroom | Scholastic

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Discussing racial issues can make students and teachers uncomfortable. Here, educator and scholar Dr. Beverly Tatum shares her wisdom on teaching about slavery and race-related issues. Classroom teachers across the country are faced with explaining the central paradox of a democracy that declared all men equal but enslaved and oppressed one group to provide independence and prosperity for another.

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Open up the newspaper or turn on the news these days, and you'll find plenty of talk about race and racism. But it's a different story in many classrooms.

Some teachers don't consider race germane to their math or English syllabus. Others strive for colorblindness in the classroom, wanting to believe we live in a post-racial society. Unfortunately, says H. Richard Milner, we don't.

Milner directs the Center for Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh. He spends much of his time researching effective teaching methods and leading professional development for teachers, schools and districts, helping to implement teaching strategies that deal with race.

He's motivated by research that shows that people who feel good about their own race do better academically.

"I'm someone's father. I'm someone's husband. I'm someone's friend. I'm someone's son," says Milner, "but I'm also a black man. And my being black shapes my experiences, and so if you are not attuned to the part of my being that is race, then it's very difficult for you to understand and respond to my humanity."

Milner's new book, Rac(e)ing to Class: Confronting Poverty and Race in Schools and Classrooms, serves as a tool for educators who want to better understand what talking about race can sound like - with evidence-based approaches and practical classroom tips.
How did your work in classrooms drive you to write this book?
I often found that teachers would shy away from and were very uncomfortable talking about race.

I believe most educators in general have great intentions, but I do believe they are grossly underprepared for the types of complexity they face every day in school. So, until we get race right, until we get class right, until we get the intersection of race and class correct, we're going to reap the consequences of it. So we can continue walking around like race and racism and issues of discrimination are not pervasive, but the students are the ones who are grossly underserved. As adults, even if it might make us uncomfortable, we've got to engage in these uncomfortable conversations. Even if we disagree.
So where does a teacher's work start and where does it end?
One of the reasons this work is so complex is because the outside school experiences of students are quite often inconsistent with what the expectations are inside school. It's the schools' responsibility to take on the onus of understanding language patterns, of understanding what the students experience outside of school.

For instance, if students read particular kinds of books outside of school, if they engage in social media outside of school, then teachers must figure out how to utilize that as an anchor for what happens inside of school.

Instructionally, it's the teacher's responsibility to really research and develop learner lenses to understand what's happening with the student outside of school, so that she or he can be responsive to that reality.

Teachers want lessons that make connections, that make it real for students.
So how can teachers incorporate those outside realities into curriculum? You mention a case study in the book that involves a robbery that happened right around the corner from a middle school. When you talked to teachers at that school, what did you recommend?
I was doing a professional development session with the teachers, and I just posed a question. I said, "I'm wondering why you guys didn't mention the robbery in the classroom," and the educators in the room just got offended.

There was a guy who sat in the back and said, "I teach math and science, what does a robbery have to do with my teaching math and science?"

So I gave some examples: You could talk about the relationship between well-lit communities and those that aren't. You could count the number of streetlights in a particular vicinity. You could pull up Google Maps and have the students guesstimate the amount of time it would take the police to drive from the police precinct to the robbery scene at different rates of speed. You could have the students look at the relationship between gun shop access and crime.

There are all these mathematical ways of engaging the incident and being responsive to the things that the students are concerned about. But it takes the teachers' willingness to delve into, to be creative, and to be consistent with and align with the things that they're supposed to be teaching. I would never tell a teacher to teach anything that they are not supposed to teach. Teachers can make lessons relevant and accessible to students and still align with and be consistent with the Common Core standards and so forth.
In the book you give examples from your classroom visits - but you don't always offer solutions or answers. Why? Is that intentional?
So this work is contextual. With the cases, I really want teachers to read them to reflect about their own practices, to problematize them, to call me out and say "I disagree with this."

Just because it's complex and we don't know for sure what's going on doesn't mean we shouldn't be interrogating and trying to figure it out. And that's where I think we really fall short.

We see that particular groups of students, like black and brown male students, are constantly being suspended and expelled from school, and we've got to stop it. We've got to recognize what's going on, and we've got to address it. So with each case, it invites readers to strategize about what they would do in a particular situation.
In the book, you talk about community assets - how negative circumstances can be viewed in positive ways. How does this apply to teachers?
It's the lenses by which we look at situations. On an individual level the fact that a student is able to work six or seven hours every night at McDonald's or Hardee's or wherever it happens to be for several nights a week demonstrates an asset. Rather than saying, "Poor thing, she's barely getting by in my class." That's looking at it from a deficit.

An assets perspective: "Carla demonstrates the capacity to balance her schoolwork and her part-time job. I should talk with her about how I can assist her ..."

Even when talking about neighborhood conditions, a student has made it through a situation where they walk through gang violence. The asset is: That student has been able to navigate and negotiate a challenging set of circumstances.
Do you get any pushback? What do you say to teachers or principals who say, "This is too much" or "This is not my job"?
I do get pushback. Some districts I go in, and the principal will say, "Well, we don't really have a race issue."

I always say that it's important for teachers and people to relax their egos and to realize that it is not only about them. This work is about how we better, more effectively meet the needs of every child, of every student. When I get teachers to a place where they are deliberate about and intentional about reflecting on why they're doing what they're doing in the classroom, people tend to come around, at least in terms of thinking about the possibilities.

I also stress that parents care about their children. They may not know necessarily how to support them educationally, but I have very rarely if ever met a parent who doesn't care about his or her child. All communities care about their children. I think that's important to show teachers.

We are in trouble. This is urgent work. Teachers can wait on parents to change. They can wait on policymakers to come up with something extraordinary. Or they can be proactive and say, "You know what, I am complicit in ensuring the underachievement of some of our students."
What should readers take away from this book?
We've really got to disrupt and confront the attempts to not address issues of race, racism and other forms of discrimination on a micro level as well as a macro level. We can't have conversations about poverty if we're not having serious conversations about race.

The other one is that we can talk about reform, we can talk about shifts to classroom level, but we also need to make sure we're deliberate about making serious shifts on a district level as well. Because there are outstanding individual teachers who go into the classroom, close their doors and great things happen. It really is about how we make changes for black and brown children on a broader level.

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Uncomfortable Conversations: Talking About Race In The Classroom

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Open up the newspaper or turn on the news these days, and you'll find plenty of talk about race and racism. But it's a different story in many classrooms. Some teachers don't consider race germane to their math or English syllabus. Others strive for colorblindness in the classroom, wanting to believe we live in a post-racial society.

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Racism is a system of advantage based on race and supported by institutions, policies and practices that benefit dominant groups and disadvantage subdominant groups. Racism is a social expression of power and privilege.

Main Issues

Race and ethnicity drive many debates and policies in public education:

Public policies such as the U.S. Supreme Court's limitations on postsecondary institutions' use of race-conscious measures in admitting racial minorities ("affirmative action") is just one example of race and ethnicity based policies that support a system that benefits one group and disadvantages another. This systemic support of racism is often reflected at both the institutional and individual/group level. At the individual/group level, schools are faced with increased incidents of race-related bullying, harassment and violence. At the institutional level, schools may consciously or unconsciously engage in racial bias in decisions on academic tracking, assignment to special education classes and promotion, and suspension or expulsion. Many school districts have few minority education employees relative to the racial makeup of the student population. Similarly, some districts lack culturally competent educators who are attuned to the cultural or linguistic needs of their students.

Strategies

Learn more about the social construction of race and racism in the United States, including how race provides systems of advantage and disadvantage

Reflect on your own racial identity and how it has shaped your life experiences-personal inquiry is a necessary prerequisite to facilitating inquiry among others

Foster a sense of safety around conversations on race by encouraging participants to take responsibility for their own learning and interactions, to respect each other, to avoid blame and snap judgments, and to allow for mistakes

Create a meaningful blueprint that includes sustained inquiry, examination of challenges, and a plan to meet the needs of colleagues or students as they explore the emotional territory of race.

In addition, in Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice (Routledge 2007), Adams, Bell and Griffin offer the following "logical" or "psychological" sequence of learning activities to introduce students to concepts on race and ethnicity in a safe and effective manner:

Begin with low-risk activities. Learners need to feel safe in order to express and examine deep feeling. Begin with activities moving from individual reflection to discussion in pairs or small groups before engaging in whole group discussions.

Move from concrete to abstract. For students to understand the concepts of race and oppression, they must first see examples of these concepts that are rooted in concrete experiences.

Move from personal to institutional/societal. Before examining how race affects institutions or society, students should first explore the impact of race on a personal level.

Move from difference to dominance. Allow students to talk about their own experiences as members of a racial or ethnic group and listen to others talk about their experiences before introducing concepts of societal dominance, social power and privilege.

Related Links

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Racism is a system of advantage based on race and supported by institutions, policies and practices that benefit dominant groups and disadvantage subdominant groups. Racism is a social expression of power and privilege. Race and ethnicity drive many debates and policies in public education: Public policies such as the U.S.

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In the mid-1960s, an acquaintance of mine was a young, timid teacher beginning her career in a virtually all-black high school on the South Side of Chicago. Even to this day, she recalls two events from that period. On one occasion, she saw a burly white male teacher telling a group of black teenagers that they were stupid and that they had better realize it. On another occasion, she observed as a classroom of unruly adolescents was silenced by the fixed stare of a black female teacher, whose disciplinary approach surely reminded many of their mothers at home.

The contrast between these two teachers, while more extreme than one usually finds, either then or now, nevertheless helps to explain why so many are urging the nation to recruit more minority teachers. The availability of minority teachers appears to be an important issue. While 17 percent of the students in K-12 public schools are black, black teachers make up just 8 percent of the teaching force (see Figure 1). These disparities are even more pronounced in many urban schools, where student bodies that are nearly 100 percent minority are often taught by majority-white teaching staffs.

However, we actually know very little about how differences between a teacher's race and those of her students affect the learning environment. This study makes use of data from a randomized field trial conducted in Tennessee to produce higher-quality information on this controversial subject than has been available previously. The results are troubling. Black students learn more from black teachers and white students from white teachers, suggesting that the racial dynamics within classrooms may contribute to the persistent racial gap in student performance, at least in Tennessee.
Why Race Could Matter
The racial interactions between teachers and students could influence student performance in several ways. For example, pupils may trust and respect someone with whom they share a salient characteristic, making learning come more easily. Likewise, a teacher of the same race may serve as a more effective role model, boosting students' confidence and enthusiasm for learning. However, while such role-model effects are widely believed to be important, there is actually little direct empirical evidence that they exist.

Claude M. Steele's theory of "stereotype threat" suggests another way that student performance might respond to a teacher's race (and one for which there is empirical support). Stereotype threat can occur in situations where students perceive that a stereotype regarding their ability will come into play-such as when a black student is taught by a white teacher.

A series of experiments conducted at Stanford University by Steele and Joshua Aronson appear to confirm the existence of the stereotype threat phenomenon. Groups of students took tests comprising the most difficult items on the verbal GRE exam. When told beforehand that the test was a laboratory problem-solving task unrelated to ability, black and white students performed similarly. However, black students performed relatively worse when told that the test was diagnostic of ability. The racial differences were similar when researchers merely asked students to fill out a pretest demographic questionnaire that inquired into their race, a minor manipulation of the stereotype threat.

There may also be (largely unintended) racial biases in teachers' behavior. In particular, minority teachers may be more generous with minority students, devoting more time to them and making more favorable assumptions about their capabilities. White teachers may be relatively generous with white students in just the same ways. A limited body of experimental evidence does suggest that teachers, in allocating class time, interacting with students, and designing class materials, are more favorably disposed toward students who share their racial or ethnic background. For example, a 1979 study by Marylee Taylor placed white teachers in a teaching environment where they could not observe the student directly. Taylor found that the teachers provided less coaching and briefer, less positive feedback when told beforehand that the student was black. Similarly, studies based on observations from actual classrooms often find that black students with white teachers receive less attention, are praised less, and are scolded more often than their white counterparts.

However, there is surprisingly little empirical evidence on the relationship between students' exposure to teachers of their own race and their subsequent academic performance. And the available studies, all of which rely on observational data to compare the test scores of students with different kinds of teachers, actually find that having a teacher of the same race has little impact. However, the inferences based on conventional data sets could be quite misleading. For example, if lower-performing black students are more likely to be assigned to black teachers, the effects of such teachers will be underestimated.

Minority teachers may be more generous with minority students, devoting more time to them and making more favorable assumptions about their capabilities. White teachers may be relatively generous with white students in just the same ways.

Project STAR
This study presents new evidence on the test-score consequences of a teacher's race by examining data from Tennessee's well-known experiment in reducing class size, Project STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Ratio). A key feature of Project STAR's experimental design was the random assignment of both students and teachers to specific classrooms within each school. Project STAR was not designed to evaluate the relationship between students' performance and their assignment to teachers of their own race. Nonetheless, the study's randomized pairings of students and teachers provide an excellent opportunity to do so.

Project STAR followed a cohort of students from 79 schools as they progressed from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Within each school, students and teachers were assigned randomly to classrooms of three types: a small class of 15 students and two regular-sized classes of 22 students (one with a teacher's aide). Started in 1985 with 6,325 kindergartners, the study ultimately came to include roughly 11,600 students, with 2,200, 1,600, and 1,200 students entering in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades, respectively. Students were administered the Stanford Achievement Tests in math and reading in the spring of each study year.

Given Project STAR's limited number of Hispanic, Asian, and Native American participants, I edited these data to include only those observations from black and white non-Hispanic students with black and white non-Hispanic teachers. This process excluded just 95 students from the original 6,325 kindergartners. A small number of students with missing test scores or other data were also excluded.

Overall, roughly two-thirds of the students in the remaining sample were white. Of these students, 94 percent were in classrooms with white teachers during their current academic year, while just 45 percent of black students had black teachers-an indication of the relative scarcity of black teachers among the participating schools. The racial distributions varied dramatically among schools. For example, in the 16 participating city schools, 97 percent of the students and half of the teachers were black. By contrast, in the 7 urban schools outside of large cities and in the 38 rural schools, 93 percent of the students and 97 percent of the teachers were white. The 18 suburban schools were more integrated, with African-Americans composing 38 percent of the students and 26 percent of the teachers.

Like any large-scale social experiment, Project STAR had some potentially troublesome complications. For example, roughly 10 percent of students moved between small and regular classes, largely because of parental complaints or behavioral problems. Furthermore, the study had fairly high rates of attrition, ranging from 20 to 30 percent of students per year. This attrition could reflect ordinary factors unrelated to the study, such as students' moving out of a school's geographic zone or having to repeat a grade, as well as families' responses to being assigned to a particular class.

Fortunately, these problems seem less important for a study of teachers' race than for one of class size. When sending their child to a school, parents presumably had fairly sound expectations regarding the probability that their child would be assigned a teacher of the same race. And, since teachers and students would be reassigned in the next academic year, the racial pairings in a given year do not provide very strong incentives to leave the school. By contrast, students assigned to large classes were expected to remain in large classes through the 3rd grade.

It is nonetheless important to consider whether Project STAR's deviations from an ideal experimental design might influence this study's results. For most of the analysis, I use a data set created by pooling the observations from all four years for a total of 23,883 observations with math scores and 23,544 with reading scores. Aggregating the data in this way is useful since it provides enough observations to look separately at students grouped by race and gender. The larger sample also makes it possible to consider the cumulative effects of exposure over a number of years to an own-race teacher.

To evaluate whether the experiment successfully matched students and teachers of different races in a random manner, I examined the association between students' traits and their assignment to an own-race teacher. If the matching of students and teachers were indeed random, we should find no within-school association between observed student traits and exposure to an own-race teacher. Evaluations confirmed that this was indeed the case: students' gender, age, eligibility for the free lunch program, and class-size assignment all exhibit small and statistically weak within-school relationships with assignment to an own-race teacher.

Roughly two-thirds of the students in the Project STAR sample were white. Of these students, 94 percent were in classrooms with white teachers during their current academic year, while just 45 percent of black students had black teachers-an indication of the relative scarcity of black teachers among the participating schools.

Results
My research design effectively compared the performance of students assigned to teachers of the same race with the performance of students who were assigned to teachers of a different race but who were in the same grade and who entered the experiment in the same school and year. Restricting the comparison to students who entered the experiment in the same school and year is essential because this was the level at which random assignment took place. The analysis also took into account students' age, gender, eligibility for the free lunch program, and whether they had been assigned to a small class, as well as variables measuring the demographic composition of the student's class.

Among black children, the results indicate that having a black teacher for a year was associated with a statistically significant 3 to 5 percentile-point increase in math scores. On the reading test, the scores of black pupils with black teachers were 3 to 6 percentile points higher. Meanwhile, white pupils of both genders placed with a white teacher scored 4 to 5 percentile points higher in math. In reading, white boys had scores 2 to 6 points higher when learning from a teacher of their own race, but for white girls, no significant differences could be detected.
The Role of Teacher Quality
The chief obstacle to attributing these sizable differences to the race of the teacher is the possibility that they are instead a function of differences in teacher quality that could not be directly observed. For instance, the results for black students are consistent with the plausible alternative hypothesis that predominantly black schools tend to attract and retain high-quality black teachers but only low-quality white teachers. Similarly, the results for white students could merely reflect the possibility that the black teachers in predominantly white schools tend to be of lower quality than the white teachers in those schools. Furthermore, given the severe segregation of students by race across most of these schools, it is also possible that both types of bias (relatively low-quality white teachers in black schools and relatively low-quality black teachers in white schools) occurred simultaneously.

To begin testing for this possibility, I first reanalyzed the data, taking into account the degree to which teachers' years of experience, levels of education, and merit-pay classification might have influenced students' performance. (Notably, the Project STAR data do not provide information on teachers' gender. In all likelihood, this was intended to preserve teachers' confidentiality since there were so few males in the sample.) Including these observed teacher traits in the analysis had no appreciable effect on the performance gains associated with assignment to a teacher of the same race.

However, previous research has shown that these teacher traits are not always associated with significant gains in achievement. Consequently, there is still reason to be concerned that the apparent effects of a teacher's race actually reflect unobserved but race-specific differences in teacher quality.

An admittedly indirect way to evaluate the effects of these unobserved differences in teacher quality is to consider how the performance gain associated with having a teacher of the same race varies across different types of schools. Schools with relatively few disadvantaged students are widely thought to be able to recruit teachers of higher and more uniform quality. Similarly, schools with students of predominantly one race may be able to recruit only low-quality teachers of the other race. If these assumptions hold, evidence that the effects of being assigned to a teacher who shares one's race are concentrated in disadvantaged or highly segregated schools would suggest that differences in teacher quality are influencing the findings to some degree.

To test this proposition, I identified schools as disadvantaged if an above-average share of its students were receiving free lunches. Likewise, for both white and black students, I identified schools as segregated if the share of black or white students was above the average for each race.

Among white students, the results indicate that being assigned to a white teacher had similar effects regardless of school type. Assuming that these schools differ in their ability to recruit good teachers, this pattern suggests that differences in teacher quality are not distorting the findings on the effect of white students' being exposed to white teachers.

By contrast, among black students, the benefits of having a black teacher were concentrated in schools with higher levels of disadvantage and racial segregation. This is consistent with the notion that the apparent achievement gains associated with having a black teacher reflect in part the relatively low quality of white teachers who work in more disadvantaged schools and in schools with large populations of African-American students. However, the same differences could also indicate that classroom racial dynamics, such as stereotype threat and role-model effects, are particularly relevant in more disadvantaged and segregated black communities.
Within-Classroom Comparisons
A more straightforward way to assess this concern is to compare students within the same classrooms, some of whom share the teacher's race while others do not. In effect, this technique holds teacher quality constant by comparing the relative performance of white and black students under the same teacher. A disadvantage of this approach is that it is no longer possible to look separately at students grouped by race and gender.

In this analysis, students still performed better when taught by teachers of their own race, but the effects were somewhat less dramatic. In mathematics, the observed gain for all students dropped slightly, from 3.8 to 3.1 percentile points. Nevertheless, the effect was still quite large (representing 35 percent of the corresponding black-white test-score gap in this data set) and statistically significant. In reading, the observed gain declined from 3.1 to 1.6 percentile points, but it still represented 29 percent of the black-white test-score gap in reading (see Figure 2). These results clearly indicate that the unobserved aspects of teacher quality cannot explain the sizable achievement gains associated with students' being assigned to teachers who share their race.

Looking at the data in this way also allows us to see what happens when students are assigned to a teacher of the same race for more than one year. Are the effects cumulative? The results suggest that they are. On average, students' performance improved by roughly 2 to 3 percentile points during their first year with a teacher of the same race. During the second year, no further improvements were observed in the data. But among students who spent three or four years with a teacher who shared their race, test scores increased by 2 to 3 percentile points with each additional year. The cumulative effect of being assigned to an own-race teacher for four consecutive years is roughly 9 percentile points in math and 8 points in reading (see Figure 3). However, it is important to note that, as one would expect, 96 percent of the students who had a teacher of the same race for four consecutive years were white. It is unclear whether similar patterns would emerge for black students who experienced black teachers for multiple consecutive years.
Conclusion
These results clearly support the conventional assumption that recruiting minority teachers can generate important achievement gains among minority students. However, they also suggest that a typically overlooked cost of such efforts may be a meaningful reduction in the achievement of nonminority students. Several important caveats also deserve mention. For instance, students and teachers in Tennessee may experience unique cultural and racial dynamics that make it difficult to extrapolate the findings to other areas of the country. In addition, this study does not say much about racial interactions in the upper grades or about the effects of teachers' race on long-term outcomes such as attainment of further education or employment.

But the most important caveat is that this study tells us little about why the racial match between students and teachers seems to matter. Noting this is especially important since the results could be construed narrowly as supporting increased racial segregation of teachers and students as a means of improving overall achievement. Not only is this interpretation blind to the potentially adverse social consequences of such a policy, but it also ignores the possibility of more balanced policies informed by an improved understanding of why the racial interactions between students and teachers influence student outcomes. Learning why, for instance, white teachers are not as effective with black students as black teachers appear to be might suggest improvements in training that could make teachers equally effective for all students, regardless of race.

Thomas S. Dee is an assistant professor of economics at Swarthmore College and a faculty research fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research. This article is adapted from a study that will appear in The Review of Economics and Statistics.

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In the mid-1960s, an acquaintance of mine was a young, timid teacher beginning her career in a virtually all-black high school on the South Side of Chicago. Even to this day, she recalls two events from that period.

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Multiple variables influence an individual student's behaviors and attitudes. These overlapping categories of identity include, but are not limited to, characteristics such as gender, race, ethnic group, social class, region of origin, religion, and level of ability. We need to be careful, of course, that generalizations about our students' behavior do not substitute one set of assumptions for another. Although groups who have characteristics in common often share norms of behavior, attitudes, or speaking styles, not every person endorses these views. It is important to remember that some "[m]inority groups draw great strength and character from racial, religious, or national solidarity" (Brookfield and Preskill 131), but that not all members of these groups identify with them. Some people of color, for example, do not experience strong cultural affiliations, and many biracial students prefer not to identify with a particular race. Furthermore, even those who do identify with a particular group will not share the same thoughts or actions. Assuming all members of a group think alike robs people of their individuality.

In short, though the following sections focus on issues particular to certain groups, we do not mean to suggest that homogeneity exists within any of these groups. The complexity of ethnic groups in the US challenges concepts such as ethnic learning styles or the ability to identify racial or ethnic group membership by physical characteristics or behavior (Banks 155). Rather than assuming that our students learn in only one style or another, we need to learn to recognize the differing ways in which students learn. By structuring our classes to include a variety of modes of learning, all the students in the course will be able to learn effectively. Being aware of some of the issues facing members of particular groups helps make us sensitive to the pressures faced by many students while treating each student as a whole person rather than as a stereotype.

Race or Ethnicity
The biracial and multiracial student population is increasing significantly, as are all groups of color. In fact, if current trends continue, the US Census projects that groups of color will make up about 47% of the nation's population by 2050 (Banks xxi). The categories of race and ethnicity apply to more than just students of color, however. All students enter the classroom with an ethnic and racial identity, whether consciously or unconsciously. Even though "race" is a contested term biologically, it is still used in daily interactions as a way to "categorize people according to certain visual or accented language traits to 'mark' them as racially/ethnically distinct" (Tatum 4). Given the social history of the United States, we cannot quickly discount "race" as a special factor in some of our students' development. All of our students bring their histories into our classrooms. Some of these histories can be problematic, because for many people of color "racism and cultural bigotry remain pervasive" (Brookfield and Preskill 129).
Life is often stressful for students of color on predominantly white campuses. Many times the power and presence of racism in this setting is underestimated (Tatum 77). People of color often feel overlooked, made representative for their race or ethnic group, or attacked personally or by association, while whiteness remains an invisible or normative category. Research even indicates that many instructors "communicate negative feelings to students of color and have a disproportionate number of negative verbal and nonverbal interactions with them" (Haberman; Irvine; Zeichner & Hoeft). These negative interactions include ignoring students of color, challenging them less often during discussion or problem-solving sessions, counseling them to take less-advanced courses in mathematics or science, and even accusing those who do well of cheating (a phenomenon also known as "spotlighting"). Such lack of attention and lower expectations from a succession of teachers can cause students of color to feel alienated from their academic environment and to have diminished confidence in their abilities.
One way to combat these feelings of alienation, isolation or tokenism is to establish positive facultystudent relations with all of your students. Studies indicate that "relationships with faculty are one of the most effective predictors of student outcomes" for black students on largely white campuses (Watson 79). Positive relationships lead to lower levels of alienation and higher retention and graduation rates. Another way to create a supportive environment is to acknowledge and address differences in the classroom and provide course material or examples that draw from a wide variety of cultures and experiences. Color-blindness is not the goal of a multicultural education, but awareness and appreciation of unique individuals is. As mentioned earlier, it is also important to realize that vast differences exist between the various cultures lumped together under such words as "ethnic," "minority," or "students of color." All African-American students, for example, do not know each other, nor do they all speak alike, think alike, or have similar life experiences. Similarly, Asian-American students may exhibit very different reactions and backgrounds than African-American students. Student behaviors or attitudes may also differ widely according to gender, social class, their specific cultural group, and even how long ago their families immigrated to the US.
To a learner whose home culture differs from the one dominant in many university classrooms, unspoken expectations of classroom interaction and communication-how one gets the floor, shows deference, concurs or disagrees, etc.-may seem confusing, alienating, or unfair. If we remain unaware of such possible cultural influences, they can cause misunderstandings in the classroom. For example, in many cultures (including Asian and Latino/a), silence before one's superiors, indirection in expressing one's thoughts, and avoiding direct eye contact all signal respect for authority. Students from such cultures may hesitate to speak out in class, to address the teacher's ideas directly, or to state strongly their ideas in writing. Thus, a professor might consider a Latino student who avoids eye contact during discussion as "apathetic" or "indifferent," while the student might simply be conforming to culturally delineated patterns of respect (Collett 178). On the other hand, the teacher's continued eye contact, meant to elicit comments or signal interest in the student's ideas, may make the student uncomfortable since a direct gaze could indicate either a direct confrontation (if directed to the same sex), or an attempt at seduction (if directed between the sexes). On neither side would the assumptions be correct. In general, increasing your knowledge about and sensitivity to ethnic, racial, and cultural groups other than your own will help you become a better teacher.

Gender
Because much research has been conducted on gender dynamics in education, we have included this information in a separate section. See chapter II for more on this topic.

Social Class
In the United States, social class remains an unspoken, largely invisible social characteristic (Brookfield and Preskill 143). The American myth of a classless society, where the issue of class is forgotten or is subsumed under issues of race, often holds sway at universities as well. At U.Va., in-state students who transfer from Piedmont Virginia Community College and other local two-year community colleges and who come from working-class backgrounds comprise an easily overlooked underrepresented group. Such students, who may be slightly older than their counterparts, often perceive a difference between their class origins and identities and those of many of their instructors and peers. As a result, many working-class students suffer from anxiety over whether their performance in this new environment is adequate, from feelings of condescension from other students, and from feelings of social and academic isolation. By contrast, students with middle-class upbringings are often the least aware of class status, have a better sense of how to negotiate the university system, and tend to assume that if they work hard they will succeed (Warren 1998, 1).
Because the educational quality of American high schools varies widely according to geographical location, which is itself tied to class, some rural or inner-city students may enter our classrooms less educationally experienced and with less confidence in their abilities than other students. To respond effectively to such students, we must understand their lack of experience as an effect of class and school quality and as the reflection of a lack of educational experience, not of inherent ability. Because most instructors, even those who also come from a working-class background, hold an "idea of appropriate forms of classroom discourse...much closer to middle-class than working-class norms" (Brookfield and Preskill 145), they may rely on academic conventions or forms of speech that are disorienting and even intimidating to working-class students. One way to relieve student anxiety is to acknowledge and encourage a wide range of speaking forms, while being explicit about codes of discourse you or other students find offensive or too informal (e.g., excessive cursing, unfamiliar slang, etc.). Most importantly, don't mock, even affectionately, a student's preferred mode of talking. Other ways to address class-based differences include the following (Warren):

Help students learn "how to play the game." Be very explicit about rules of operation and norms for your class and for the university.

Let students know how their work ranks, why it is adequate or not (or why some of the work is adequate and some is not), and what you think they can do in the future.

Acknowledge and discuss class differences. Point out value-laden language or class-based differences in discussion.

Sexual Orientation/Gender Identification
It is easy to ignore the presence of what Laurie Crumpacker calls the "invisible minority" of gay and lesbian students in our classrooms (qtd. in Chism 26), since such students must choose whether to make their orientation known to us and their classmates. This very choice is both the product and the source of special difficulties. Lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and questioning students face overt hostility and rejection and the perpetuation of sexual stereotypes. To complicate matters further, this hostile climate exists while students may be struggling to come to terms with their sexual identities. No matter when such students may have discovered their sexual identity, they face the particular difficulty of "coming out" in a potentially hostile college environment, a social environment that still condones prejudiced remarks about sexual orientation that it no longer condones about race or gender. Techniques such as these can help you create a supportive environment for students:

Don't assume that all students are heterosexual.

Don't give assignments that force lesbian and gay students either to lie or to "come out" to the class. For example, in courses that use personal essays or discuss personal experience, be cautious about giving assignments or calling on students in a way that forces them to describe their social life (such as "Describe your ideal date" or asking a female student to "tell me about your boyfriend" or a male student to "tell me about your girlfriend"). If you do give such an assignment, give an alternative topic as well.

Don't ignore homophobic remarks made in your classroom. In class, students may make remarks concerning sexual orientation that they would never make concerning race or gender. Such a reaction seems to be particularly common in firstyear students and can occur more often in certain disciplines (such as psychology, English composition, and foreign language) where students' personal reactions to controversial subjects are often discussed. A less explicit uneasiness about issues of sexual orientation may also occur. Students may balk, for instance, at discussing texts that contain the term "lesbian" or that discuss gay issues. Ignoring such comments only perpetuates the problem. Instead, explain in clear terms why you find such comments objectionable or engage the class in a brief discussion about the negative effects such comments may have. For more tips on how to deal with a discussion that becomes heated or out of hand, see chapter IV, "Dealing with Conflicts."

Religion
The increasing racial and ethnic diversity of our society brings with it an increasing religious diversity. Many religious students go through their college years feeling at odds with the basic structure of their institutions. For example, while universities tend to be closed on important Christian holidays, such as Christmas, almost all universities hold classes on the important religious holidays of non-Christian students, such as the Eid ul Fitr at the end of Ramadan or Yom Kippur. It is usually up to faculty and TAs to make individual arrangements in order not to place students who wish to attend services on these days at an inherent disadvantage. To relieve this problem, make it clear that you will honor important religious holidays without lowering your attendance standards. You can consult the Interfaith Calendar website (www.interfaithcalendar.org) for schedules of religious holidays to locate ones that occur during instructional time. You might also announce in your syllabus that students who ask to miss classes because of important religious holidays will not be penalized, but that they must notify you well ahead of time and make up the work.
Religious differences, as well as the general differences between non-religious and religious students, reflect one of the deepest divisions in contemporary American society and one of the most problematic for the college classroom. Such splits occur throughout the university but are particularly apparent in disciplines such as philosophy and religious studies. Since religious beliefs (along with many fundamental beliefs that people hold dear) cannot be proven by the strict bounds of logic, how do we talk about them in our classrooms? What do we do, for instance, when a student's faith collides with the material presented? Such difficult questions may never be easily addressed. Yet if we acknowledge such differing viewpoints, we can become more effective teachers. We can lead our students through one of the most difficult, but most important, issues in the diverse classroom-how to acknowledge and respectfully examine vastly different beliefs. As you prepare to do so, consider the following suggestions:

Don't criticize any religion or religious belief if such criticism is not important to the course material. When it is, use a tone and choice of words that show respect for those who hold those beliefs or practice that religion.

When possible, allow your students alternate but equivalent assignments on topics that might offend them. For instance, examples of contemporary student behavior that assume all students are sexually active may offend those celibate for cultural or religious reasons. Similarly, the type of assignment discussed in the section on sexual orientation, such as "describe your ideal date," can also produce anxiety or resistance in religious students from cultures where dating is uncommon (such as traditional Islamic cultures).

Make a clear distinction for your students between faith and proof. Acknowledge students' beliefs in subjects they feel strongly about, but challenge unwarranted or illogical assumptions.

Emphasize dialogue and collaborative thinking. Try using the word "suppose" (or words to that effect) to introduce ideas that might seem challenging to some students' belief systems and to keep the conversation open.

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Multiple variables influence an individual student's behaviors and attitudes. These overlapping categories of identity include, but are not limited to, characteristics such as gender, race, ethnic group, social class, region of origin, religion, and level of ability. We need to be careful, of course, that generalizations about our students' behavior do not substitute one set of assumptions for another.

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Making a space where teachers can talk about difference.

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The Census Bureau announced on Thursday that whites now account for under half of the births in the United States. Despite this milestone, there is no guarantee that children from different backgrounds will encounter one another in their neighborhoods, schools or social life. How many people do you regularly see or talk to from different racial or ethnic backgrounds? Where in your daily life is that most likely to happen? Do you think getting to know people from a different background than your own is important?

In the article " Whites Account for Under Half of Births in the U.S.," Sabrina Tavernise writes:

Such a turn has been long expected, but no one was certain when the moment would arrive - signaling a milestone for a nation whose government was founded by white Europeans and has wrestled mightily with issues of race, from the days of slavery, through a civil war, bitter civil rights battles and, most recently, highly charged debates over efforts to restrict immigration.

While over all, whites will remain a majority for some time, the fact that a younger generation is being born in which minorities are the majority has broad implications for the country's economy, its political life and its identity. "This is an important tipping point," said William H. Frey, the senior demographer at the Brookings Institution, describing the shift as a "transformation from a mostly white baby boomer culture to the more globalized multiethnic country that we are becoming."

In another recent article, " Why Don't We Have Any White Kids?," N. R. Kleinfield examines a New York City school that is far from integrated:

In the broad resegregation of the nation's schools that has transpired over recent decades, New York's public-school system looms as one of the most segregated. While the city's public-school population looks diverse - 40.3 percent Hispanic, 32 percent black, 14.9 percent white and 13.7 percent Asian - many of its schools are nothing of the sort.

About 650 of the nearly 1,700 schools in the system have populations that are 70 percent a single race, a New York Times analysis of schools data for the 2009-10 school year found; more than half the city's schools are at least 90 percent black and Hispanic. Explore Charter is one of them: of the school's 502 students from kindergarten through eighth grade this school year, 92.7 percent are black, 5.7 percent are Hispanic, and a scattering are of mixed race. None are white or Asian. There is a good deal of cultural diversity, with students, for instance, of Haitian, Guyanese and Nigerian heritage. But not of class. Nearly 80 percent of the students qualify for subsidized lunch, a mark of poverty. The school's makeup is in line with charter schools nationally, which are over all less integrated than traditional public schools.

At Explore, as at many schools in New York City, children trundle from segregated neighborhoods to segregated schools, living a hermetic reality.

... Decades of academic studies point to the corroding effects of segregation on students, especially minorities, both in diminished academic performance and in the failure to equip them for the interracial world that awaits them.

Students: Do you think interacting with different people from different cultural backgrounds is part of a well-rounded education? Why or why not? How integrated is your school? Your community? Your social or family life? What might be better about a segregated community and school? What might be worse? What could students from a segregated community do to meet people outside their neighborhood? What role, if any, should the government play in seeking to integrate aspects of daily life?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.

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How Often Do You Interact With People of Another Race or Ethnicity?

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The Census Bureau announced on Thursday that whites now account for under half of the births in the United States. Despite this milestone, there is no guarantee that children from different backgrounds will encounter one another in their neighborhoods, schools or social life.

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With all the many forces pulling Americans apart, it is important to remember the strokes of fate that have kept this global amalgam together.

The 209,145 names adorning the African-American Civil War Memorial National Monument in the nation's capital do not get enough credit for giving their lives and courage for a country that did not yet recognize their humanity.

With the national theme of African-Americans in Times of War for the 2018 Black History Month, their example represents the values that can draw all Americans together.

They've done it before.

President Abraham Lincoln's decision to issue the final Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, was incredibly unpopular, followed just months later by massive civil disobedience with the anti-draft riots in New York City. But the most practical effect of the Proclamation was to allow Frederick Douglass, Rev. Henry Highland Garnet and other leaders to encourage 10 percent of all the black men in the country, whether in slavery or not, to volunteer to fight for the Union Army.

Their service swung white public opinion in the Northern states such that the U.S. Senate would approve the 13th Amendment by April 1864, Lincoln would be re-elected, the House of Representatives would join the Senate on Jan. 31, 1865, and most tellingly, 33 state legislatures would ratify the first Constitutional amendment in 60 years.

It's hardly an isolated phenomenon. The role of 5,000 black Revolutionary soldiers following a similar shift by Gen. George Washington helped fuel a number of Northern states to end slavery soon after the adoption of the Constitution. It would be the St. Domingo Legion from Haiti that played a decisive role in the defeat of the British at Yorktown, Va. The Haitian Revolution would lead to the Louisiana Purchase and independence movements across Latin America. Similarly, heroism in World War II would lead to President Truman's decision to end segregation in the military and add momentum to Thurgood Marshall's legal crusade.

As educators and communities consider how to commemorate a particularly significant Black History Month in 2018, given the 50th anniversary after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the recent 150th anniversary of the 14th Amendment, tracking those individual legacies is a very effective way to face the division of today.

For today's young people, these stories are significant. The dignity of these heroes survives in the more than 100 historically black colleges and universities, some of which, like Howard University and Lincoln University, were directly founded by veterans of the Civil War. In fact, nine date their founding to 1867, as the Congressional Black Caucus recently pointed out.

But unless today's students of all races learn the people who had the most at stake in the Civil War played a critical role in the ultimate result, which benefits all Americans, we will continue to belabor the evil which they vanquished.
In addition to the African-American Civil War Memorial, the Gullah-Geechee National Cultural Heritage Corridor and 900 freedmen's encampments chronicled by the National Park Service are rich resources for student assignments. Leaving out this compelling history leads to intolerance, as Dr. King described in his Other America speech at Stanford University in 1967.

The omission of the role of America's black war heroes leaves a hole for today's students that should not exist. Every classroom in the country should have a laser focus on that National Monument as we prepare for Black History Month. All ideologies and all races can find common ground in the distinguished record of African-Americans in Times of War.

Today's Civil War is for our youth. We must lift the stories of the departed to raise the futures of today's young warriors against injustice.
Historian John William Templeton is co-founder of National Black Business Month and author of "Road to Ratification: How 27 States Faced the Most Challenging Issue in American History," as well as producer of the companion 31-episode instructional series. He moderates MLK+50 at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park on Jan. 15.

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thirteenth amendment to the united states constitution

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Don't let black history fade for the next generation

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With all the many forces pulling Americans apart, it is important to remember the strokes of fate that have kept this global amalgam together. The 209,145 names adorning the African-American Civil War Memorial National Monument in the nation's capital do not get enough credit for giving their lives and courage for a country that did not yet recognize their humanity.

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ASALH | The Founders of Black History Month (est. 1915)

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The 2018 theme, "African Americans in Times of War," commemorates the centennial of the end of the First World War in 1918, and explores the complex meanings and implications of this international struggle and its aftermath. The First World War was initially termed by many as "The Great War," "The War to End All Wars," and the war "to make the world safe for democracy."

Those very concepts provide a broad, useful framework for focusing on the roles of African Americans in every American war, from the Revolutionary War Era to that of the present "War against Terrorism." Times of War inevitably provide the framework for many stories related to African American soldiers and sailors, veterans, and civilians. This is a theme filled with paradoxes of valor and defeat, of civil rights opportunities and setbacks, of struggles abroad and at home, of artistic creativity and repression, and of catastrophic loss of life and the righteous hope for peace.

The theme suggests that contemporary conditions, past and present, give us cause for critical pause in our studies and deliberations to consider the specific and unique issues faced by African Americans in times of war. These issues include opportunities for advancement and repression of opportunities during wartime; the struggle to integrate the military and experiences during segregation/apartheid and successful integration; veterans experiences once they returned home; the creation of African American Veteran of Foreign War posts; cultures and aesthetics of dissent; global/international discourse;, including impact and influence of the Pan African Congresses; the impact of migration and urban development; educational opportunities; health care development; the roles of civil rights and Black liberation organizations, including the Black Power movement and the Black Panther Party; the roles of African American businesses, women, religious institutions, and the Black press; in the struggle abroad and at home; the topographies and spaces of Black military struggle, resistance and rebellion; and how Black soldiers and/veterans are documented and memorialized within public and private spaces. These diverse stories reveal war's impact not only on men and women in uniform but on the larger African American community.

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ASALH Announces 2018 Black History Theme, African Americans in Times of War | ASALH - The Founders of Black History Month

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The 2018 theme, "African Americans in Times of War," commemorates the centennial of the end of the First World War in 1918, and explores the complex meanings and implications of this international struggle and its aftermath.

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On February 1, 1960, four African American college students--Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond--sat down at this "whites only" lunch counter at the Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina, and politely asked for service. Their request was refused, and when asked to leave, the students remained in their seats in protest.

For the six months that followed, hundreds of students, civil rights organizations, churches, and members of the community joined the protest and boycotted the store. Their commitment ultimately led to the desegregation of the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter on July 25, 1960. Their peaceful sit-down was a watershed event in the struggle for civil rights and helped ignite a youth-led movement to challenge racial inequality throughout the South.

Use this Investigation Sheet to guide students through describing the object and analyzing its meaning.

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Explore Black History Month with your students using lessons, podcasts, activities, and primary sources.

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Online Resources
National Research Collection NARA Resources

The American Image: Portrait of Black Chicago

An exhibit of photographs taken by John White of Chicago during the 1970s. The site consists of an introduction and three parts.

Black Family Research: Using Records of the Post Civil War Federal Agencies at the National Archives

Reconstruction-era federal records document the black family's struggle for freedom and equality and provide insight into the federal government's policy toward the nearly 4 million African Americans freed at the close of the American Civil War.

Freedman's Bureau Preservation Project

Reginald Washington's Prologue article on NARA's preservation of post-Civil War era records documenting the federal government's assistance to newly freed slaves.

NARA Records pertaining to American Slavery and the International Slave Trade

Compiled by Walter B. Hill, Jr.

NARA's microfilm publications on Black studies.
To search this catalog online:

From the main Microfilm Catalog page, click Advanced Search (next to the Search button)

In the right hand column, under Subject Catalog, select "Black Studies"

Hit "Search"

Prologue, Summer 1997, Vol. 29, No. 2

"This issue of Prologue focuses on the use of federal records in African American historical research. Sixteen articles by NARA staff and other historians explore the depth and breadth of material in the National Archives relative to African Americans. This issue examines the Civil War and Reconstruction, labor issues, civil rights, pictorial records, and research aids.

Researching African Americans in the U.S. Army, 1866-1890: Buffalo Soldiers and Black Infantrymen

An article by Trevor Plante from the Spring 2001 issue of the NARA publication Prologue.

Other Federal Sites

African American Heritage

This National Park Service site provides links to information about people, places, stories, museum collections, travel and lesson plans.

The African-American Mosaic

This is a Library of Congress resource guide for the study of black history and culture.

African American Odyssey

According to Choice magazine, this Library of Congress virtual exhibition was designed to "give a comprehensive, rich picture of more than 200 years of African American struggle and achievement."

Afro-American Genealogical Research

Instructions from the Library of Congress on how to begin Afro-American genealogical research.

The Daniel A.P. Murray Pamphlet Collection

Full-text manuscripts documenting African American history and culture from the early 19th through the 20th centuries. Includes the Timeline of African American History, 1852-1925. From the Library of Congress.

NAACP: A Century in the Fight for Freedom

The Library of Congress presents "a retrospective of the major personalities, events, and achievements that shaped the NAACPâ€™s history during its first 100 years." Of special interest is the NAACP Interactive Timeline .

National Museum of African American History

This is the site of the future National Museum of African American History, which is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

Sources for Images on African American History

A bibliographic reference aid from the Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division.

Non-Federal Web Sites

African American Biographical Database

According to Chadwyck-Healey, this database is the largest electronic collection of biographical information on African Americans, 1790-1950. Click "Search" in the left-hand panel to access tips for locating individuals or searching full-text subjects.

African American History: Digital Library

This site links to black history information in libraries across the country. Subjects range from personal papers and manuscripts to sheet music to transcripts of speeches.

African American Oral History Collection

The Oral History Center at the University of Louisville has digitized and made available online a series of interviews conducted in the 1970s to document the life of African Americans in Louisville.

African American Women Writers of the 19th Century

The New York Public Library provides an online collection of some 52 full-text works.

African American Women's History Resources at Rubenstein Library

"This guide hightlights material within the holdings of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library ranging from the early days of slavery to the present that document African American women's stories."

The African American World

A compilation of PBS and NPR sites that focus on the African American experience. Sites are organized into History, Arts & Culture, Race & Society, and Profiles. Includes a timeline, Reference Room, and links for kids and teachers.

African-Americans - Biography, Autobiography, and History

This web site, hosted by the Avalon Project at Yale Law School, makes accessible a number of full-text books by notable black authors including Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Africans in America

This well-organized PBS site was designed as a teaching guide for a six-hour television series covering the history of slavery in the U.S.

After Slavery: Race, Labor and Politics in the Post-Emancipation Carolinas

This web site is an international research collaboration drawing together developments of the post-emancipation South and understanding the period to be an important part of American labor history.

Black History, American History

A collection of essays by African American public intellectuals which have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly over the years. The contributors include Frederick Douglass (1866), Booker T. Washington, (1896, 1899) and W.E.B. DuBois (1897, 1902) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963).

Black History Month

Infoplease.com has assembled this collection of resources and features to honor Black History month.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica's Guide to Black History

Encyclopaedia Britannica's online guide to African American History covers the years 1619-1999. This site offers a comprehensive time line and information on terms, people, and eras relating to black history.

Hutchins Center for African & African American Research

At Harvard University, "The Hutchins Center for African and African American Research supports research on the history and culture of people of African descent the world over and provides a forum for collaboration and the ongoing exchange of ideas."

The John Henrik Clarke Africana Library

The Cornell University library provides a special collection focusing on the history and culture of people of African ancestry.

John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture

Part of the Duke University's David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, this collection highlights archival material concerning African American history and culture, with particular strengths in nineteenth century slavery and African American life in the post-World War II civil rights era

Moorland-Spingarn Research Center

The MSRC at Howard University is recognized as one of the world's largest and most comprehensive repositories for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world.

The Negro Travelers Green Book

The University of South Carolina Libraries has digitized the 1956 edition of The Negro Travelers Green Book, which provided African American tourists with information about places to stay, dine, and sightsee safely during the era of segregation. In addition to the digitized book, the site also includes interactive maps.

Research Quick Start Guides: African American Studies

This Stanford University site is good for beginning black history research.

This Day in Black History

"A community driven, interactive online periodical about the black experience. Each day, DayInBlackHistory.com highlights black icons, events, and more that have shaped the world on that day in history."

Unknown No Longer

The Virginia Historical Society has created this database of enslaved Virginians, drawing on their collection of unpublished documents. The database provides the names of slaves, along with other relevant information about each person. Users can also browse the collection, and a message board is available.

State, Regional, and Local Research

The African-American Experience in Ohio, 1850-1920

Search or browse the Ohio Historical Society's collections relating to African Americans in Ohio.

African Americans - Archives Dept.

Listing of collections relating to African Americans in Wisconsin and particularly the Milwaukee area.

Allegany County African American History

Western Maryland's Historical Library provides a list of African American individuals, groups and organizations of Allegany and surrounding counties.

Avery Research Center

The College of Charleston, South Carolina, documents the "unique historical and cultural heritage of African Americans in Charleston and the South Carolina Low Country."

Black Archives of Mid-America

This project is a collaboration between the Black Archives of Mid-America Inc. and the Kansas City Public Library. Funded by the Missouri State Library, it is the largest repository of African American history and artifacts in the Midwest, particularly in the four-state area of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Oklahoma.

Documenting the American South

This collection at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, contains sources on Southern history, literature and culture from the colonial period through the first decades of the 20th century.

Missouri's African American History

This site is full of links to research in the Missouri State Archives. Of particular interest are:

National Archives for Black Women's History

(Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, Washington, D.C.)
The mission of this site is to "identify, collect, develop, interpret, and preserve the legacy of Mary McLeod Bethune including her unique focus on the individual and collective history of African American women."

Race and Place: African American Community Histories

This web site on slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the era of Jim Crow, is by the Virginia Center for Digital History at the University of Virginia in collaboration with the Woodson Institute for Afro-American and African Studies at UVA.

Records relating to African Americans in the New York State Archives

New York State Archives Leaflet No. 8; 1997.

Military

African Americans in the U.S. Army

Links to information about African Americans in the U.S. Army including artwork and photography, and information about specific units. From the U.S. Army Center for Military History.

Black Men in Navy Blue during the Civil War

A history of black sailors in the Navy during the Civil War. An article from the NARA publication, Prologue, by Joseph P. Reidy.

Black Wings: African American Pioneer Aviators

This online exhibit from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is about the black pioneers of aviation who learned to fly despite formidable obstacles.

Civil War: Black American Contributions to Union Intelligence

This publication originally appeared in the Winter 1998-1999 edition of Studies in Intelligence, a journal published by the Central Intelligence Agency's Center for the Study of Intelligence.

Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

A database maintained by the National Park Service containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Researchers can find information about black soldiers by searching regiments by race.

Desegregation of the Armed Forces

This collection from the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum focuses on President Truman's decision to desegregate the U.S. Armed Forces. There are links to a chronology, documents, photographs, oral histories, and lesson plans.

Documenting African Americans in the Records of Military Agencies

This article by Lisha Penn from the NARA publication Prologue, (Summer 1997, vol. 29, no. 2) reports on her progress in developing Reference Information Paper 105 (RIP 105), Records of Military Agencies Relating to African Americans from the Post World War I Period to the Korean War.

Exploring the Life and History of the "Buffalo Soldiers"

Walter Hill, author of this article in The Record and an archivist at NARA, writes about the black military presence during the Civil War period and after the war, when the members of the 10th Cavalry acquired the name "Buffalo Soldiers" during the 1871 campaign against the Comanche Indians.

Teaching With Documents: Photographs of the 369th Infantry and African Americans during World War I

Historical background and photographs of the 369th Army Regiment. A celebration of one of World War I's finest units.

Teaching With Documents: The Fight for Equal Rights: Black Soldiers in the Civil War

This is a NARA "Teaching with Documents" lesson plan on Colored Troops during the Civil War.

Photographs/Photographers

James VanDerZee

This online exhibit from the Metropolitan Museum of Art displays 69 of James VanDerZee's photographs. VanDerZee was one of the first African American photographers of the 20th century. Self-taught, he became known as the photographer of choice for some of Harlem's most illustrious residents.

Through the Lens of Time: Images of African Americans from the Cook Collection

This collection includes over 250 images of African Americans dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily in the Richmond and central Virginia area.

Van Vechten Collection

The Carl Van Vechten Photographs Collection at the Library of Congress consists mainly of portraits of celebrities, including many from the Harlem Renaissance.

Culture

African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920

This collection from the Library of Congress consists of 1,305 pieces of African American sheet music dating from 1850 through 1920, including many songs from the heyday of antebellum black face minstrelsy in the 1850s and from the abolitionist movement of the same period.

Archives of African American Music and Culture

Established in 1991, the AAAMC is a repository of materials covering musical idioms and cultural expressions from the post-World War II era. Maintained by Indiana University.

Black Film Center/Archive

A repository of films and related materials by and about African Americans. Hosted by Indiana University.

The Black Renaissance in Washington, D.C., 1920-1930s

This D.C. Public Library site, funded by a Carnegie Corporation of New York grant, documents the influence of the Black Renaissance in the D.C. area.

Center for Black Music Research

This Columbia College Chicago collection documents, collects, preserves, and disseminates information about black music in all parts of the world.

The State Historical Society of Wisconsin has made available in digital format all 103 issues of the first African American owned and operated newspaper published in the United States (1827-1829).

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

This web site for the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture includes Digital Schomburg, a feature that offers online exhibitions, books, images, Africana Heritage Newsletters, and audio and video resources.

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Online Resources General Collection National Research NARA Resources Other Federal sites Non-Federal web sites nationwide State, Regional, and Local Research Military Photographs Culture Chronological Topics Slavery Abolition Reconstruction Segregation and Black Migration Civil Rights National Research Collection NARA Resources The American Image: Portrait of Black Chicago An exhibit of photographs taken by John White of Chicago during the 1970s.

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Book Talk - Online

February 2

Online Panel Discussion

February 6

Men of Change: Taking it to the Streets Opening Panel
Join us for a virtual panel discussion to kick off the Anacostia Community Museum's outdoor installation of the Men of Change: Taking it to the Streets exhibition. The social unrest of 2020 has illuminated the active presence of institutionalized racism in America and its impact on the Black community. CNN Correspondent Omar Jimenez will moderate this discussion between panelists Jonathan Jackson, founding partner of the design firm We Should Do it All; Dr. Rob Gore, founder of the youth intervention program, Kings Against Violence Initiative; and artist Tariku Shiferaw.

(Smithsonian Institution)

Historical Reenactor

February 11

Young Learners Program - Meet Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman is portrayed by Daisy Century, a talented teacher and inspirational actor with American Historical Theatre. Harriet Tubman's indomitable spirit, valor, and fearless actions as an abolitionist, Union nurse and spy, suffragist, and humanitarian continue to inspire children and adults today. A question-and-answer session with Harriet Tubman will follow the presentation.
View on YouTube

(National Archives)

Book Talk - Online

February 18

Giants of Racial Justice
In an event celebrating African American History Month, Peniel E. Joseph ("The Sword and the Shield") and Tamara Payne ("The Dead Are Arising") will discuss their books on Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. with NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans. This event will be premiered on Facebook and YouTube and on the Library of Congress website.

(Library of Congress)

Lecture - Online

February 25

On the Road with Jason Reynolds
National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Jason Reynolds will discuss his ambassadorship, including his recent "GRAB THE MIC: Tell Your Story" virtual tour, with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. Through his platform, "GRAB THE MIC: Tell Your Story," Reynolds has directed his focus as ambassador by empowering students to embrace and share their own personal stories. This event will be premiered on Facebook and YouTube and on the Library of Congress website.

(Library of Congress)

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February 2 February 6 Men of Change: Taking it to the Streets Opening Panel Join us for a virtual panel discussion to kick off the Anacostia Community Museum's outdoor installation of the Men of Change: Taking it to the Streets exhibition.

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Inspire your students to explore black history and culture through writing. Present any of these engaging writing prompts in your middle school or high school classroom during Black History Month or beyond. Each activity requires students to inquire about the people, places, events, and issues that have shaped African-American history.

Writing a Historical Dialogue

Ask your students to imagine what a conversation would be like between them and a significant African-American contributor to social studies, science, math, or English. What would they ask? What would they want to know?

Present them with the following lists of famous figures and encourage them to choose a person they don't know much about. Then have them research the figure and create a dialogue (written conversation) between themselves and the person. The dialogue should discuss important experiences in the person's life and work.
Use this minilesson to help your students create a historical dialogue.
Writing an Arts & Performance Review

Discuss the significance of the Harlem Renaissance, an era in the 1920s and 30s that is considered a golden age for African-American art, music, dance, and literature. Show this video to give a brief overview of the period.

Then ask your students to pretend that they are entertainment critics in New York City during this era. Explain that their editor (you) has assigned them to write a review of a special piece of art from the period. Have them choose between the following options, or allow them to seek other art and entertainment from the period:

Have students complete background research on the artist, writer, musician, or performance they chose. Then assign a written review in which students do the following tasks:

Give their opinions of the art or performance.

Give examples from the art or performance to support their views.

Use specific details to describe something special about the sights, sounds, colors, or words.

Provide background information about the artist, writer, performer, or genre.

Describe how the piece fits within the larger culture of the Harlem Renaissance.

Use this minilesson to help your students write an arts and performance review.
Writing a List Poem

Help your students create list poems, which playfully explore a topic by listing people, places, things, or ideas. Often the title says what the list is about. Advise students that list poems do not necessarily need to include rhythm or rhyme, but each word should be carefully chosen and memorable.

Present the example below. Then ask students to write their own list poems based on the same title, or allow them to choose different topics related to Black History Month.
Black History Is
Frederick at a lectern

Harriet along a railroad

Rosa aboard a bus

Martin amid a march

Thurgood inside a courtroom

Nine outside a schoolhouse

Jackie at the ball diamond

Mae beyond the Earth

Barack atop the polls
Use this minilesson to help your students write a list poem.
Debating the Issues

Many of the writers, artists, and political figures that drove African-American history did so by crafting powerful arguments. Inspire your students to build their own arguments about key issues by presenting them with the following debatable statements.

African-Americans' fight for social justice ended after the Civil Rights Movement.

The Academy Awards need to do a better job of recognizing African-Americans' contributions in cinema.

Black History Month isn't needed because black history is American history.

Black culture is a lifestyle.

Ask students to pick a statement that they have strong feelings about. Do they agree or disagree? Have students research their topics to create argumentative essays that either support or counter the statements they've chosen. Introduce them to the 7 C's for Building an Argument to help them develop their essays. Emphasize that students should consider both sides of the issue and support their own stance in a respectful manner.

(Neftali / Shutterstock.com, Oldrich / Shutterstock.com, catwalker / Shutterstock.com, YANGCHAO / Shutterstock.com, Boris15 / Shutterstock.com, catwalker / Shutterstock.com, BokehStock / Shutterstock.com, Neftali / Shutterstock.com)

"Mae Jemison" by NASA - http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2004-00020.html. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mae_Jemison.jpg#/media/File:Mae_Jemison.jpg

"Duke Ellington at the Hurricane Club 1943". Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Duke_Ellington_at_the_Hurricane_Club_1943.jpg#/media/File:Duke_Ellington_at_the_Hurricane_Club_1943.jpg

"Jrobinson" by Photo by Bob Sandberg Look photographer - Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jrobinson.jpg#/media/File:Jrobinson.jpg

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Blog post: 4 Writing Activities for Celebrating Black History

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Inspire your students to explore black history and culture through writing. Present any of these engaging writing prompts in your middle school or high school classroom during Black History Month or beyond. Each activity requires students to inquire about the people, places, events, and issues that have shaped African-American history.

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Copyright 2019 Charleston County Public Library

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spoken word (literary school or movement)

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poems prayers & promises (musical album)

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AMAZING MUST SEE: Black History in 6 minutes of Spoken Word by a Teen!

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15 yr. old teen explains in Spoken Word, "We Have Overcome" tribute during a Black History Month Celebration at a local college!

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Watch this for inspiration about people who had  significant impact 

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Watch this for inspiration about people who had  significant impact 

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The ABCs of Black History   Children's Guide

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LIKE,comment and SUBcribe.for more...it's free

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Search SPMS resources

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Simmons-Pinckney MS - Research Resources

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Use DATABASES to locate digital resources for research, exploring, and learning on the Charleston County School Libraries' SPMS Library Catalog Home Page or access the SC Virtual Library and MackinVia through the CCSD Portal . When accessing outside of school, you will find that you need the DISCUS username and password which changes every school year, please contact SPMS Libriarian-Media Specialist, Mrs.

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association for the study of african american life and history

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Here's how the U.S. started commemorating African-American history each February

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Black History Month Activities, History, Timeline, Ideas, Events, Facts & Quizzes

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Black History Month is observed every February in the United States. Learn about the history of Black History Month, read biographies of famous African Americans, try our quizzes and crosswords, find stats and facts about African Americans, and more.

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Jesse Williams, actor, 'Grey's Anatomy'

Before "Grey's Anatomy" catapulted Jesse Williams into household name status, he taught history to Philadelphia high school students. Black history has always been a part of his life - 365 days a year ("nothing changes in February") - so he understands that it was created for us by us. Still, he is unapologetic in his view that in its current state, the month itself is "a Band-Aid on a completely unnecessary wound of selfishness in American culture."

One way to change this problem, he says, is to restructure how history is taught in public schools. "You're vilifying us for six months, then you're going to give us a little black-and-white photo of Martin Luther King, give us two stanzas from 'I Have a Dream' and move on," he said. "That's a really condescending and exhausting experience for black people in school."

Teaching truthful history amid what he says he hopes is a "fleeting and short Trump era" is pressingly urgent, he adds. "It's 2017 now," he said. "We don't need to coddle white America this much. We're conditioned to believe black and brown people have not contributed to society. Then we wonder why they're mistreated."

What's important, Mr. Williams's says, is to get busy concerning ourselves with the daily work of honoring black lives.

"A lot of these holidays are in memoriam, a way to look back and not forget," he added. "So let's treat Black History Month that way and make sure we don't forget and spread the word about all of the rest of our ancestors that have made great contributions who are outside of the great five. We need to keep demonstrating and fighting for justice and to be seen and to be heard by ourselves and others. That doesn't go away because the emperor has no clothes. It actually becomes more important."
- BENÉ VIERA
Raven Wilkinson, former dancer, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo

"Maybe it's the political climate, but we're paying a lot of good attention to it this year," the ballet dancer Raven Wilkinson said. "Some people wonder, 'Why do we need to have a Black History Month?' We should use every chance to celebrate the hard-fought democracy for our country by everyone. We should celebrate and remember that it is a country of immigrants."

As an African-American dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in the mid-1950s, Ms. Wilkinson, 82, has perspective. "You have people with very divergent attitudes and ideas, and the minute they get the upper hand there's a sense of fear and apprehension," she said. "There has to be someone to blame and somebody to resent. I felt that very much in some of my experiences in traveling."

It was during a tour stop in Montgomery, Ala., that Ms. Wilkinson found herself locked inside her hotel room for her safety and watching a cross burning through the window. The company's tour coincided with a Ku Klux Klan convention. "You couldn't see the sidewalk for all the sheets roaming around," she recalled.

At lunch, in a hotel dining room filled with families, Ms. Wilkinson noticed sheets and hoods on a nearby chair. "The thing I realized when I saw those - it was dirty linen," she said. "The air went out or something. Just those tousled old sheets on a chair, it made me realize how empty this was and what a shame it was. They were very simple people and yet they could get this power by putting on these sheets and hoods and being in a mob. I always thought that was so sad. I didn't fear them anymore."

Even now, amid President Trump's push for a travel ban on refugees, among other issues, Ms. Wilkinson doesn't fear that the country is going back in time. "We go so far and we take two or three or four steps backward, because that is what progress is," she said. "We've achieved so much, yet we slide back to some of the most primary, ridiculous things. But I'm not discouraged. You've got to live through it. And just take breaths."
- GIA KOURLAS
Janet Mock, author, 'Redefining Realness'

Janet Mock wishes she had known the work of the black transgender activists Marsha P. Johnson and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, who were instrumental in the Stonewall riots, as a black transgender kid growing up in Honolulu. The power of being able to see yourself through representation can help you look past the cruelty that ignorance can breed.

Black History Month, Ms. Mock says, reminds her of the hard work of her ancestors and "to continue to say the names of not only my forbearers but also my contemporaries who are linked in arms with me doing this work."

Long gone are the days when Ms. Mock, who was among the only black students in her school, "cringed" during Black History Month because of the laserlike attention it drew. Her multiple histories - black, woman, transgender, Native Hawaiian - are always front and center. February only makes her say black revolutionary women's names that much louder.

"I think about how many of these black women have been instrumental in centering black trans and queer people's work," she said. "I think about the women who created Black Lives Matter: Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi. We're still creating history, and we're still creating work."

These black women and countless others inspire her to put "one foot in front of the other" in the fight for black, queer and transgender women's voices to be heard.

"The contributions of black women for the black freedom struggle is real and it's documented," she said. "Our work and our job is to continue to say their names while they are here, while they can smell their flowers."
- BENÉ VIERA
Dev Hynes, musician

For Dev Hynes, the London-born singer who records fragile electronic pop under the name Blood Orange, Black History Month is always bittersweet. "It makes me feel somewhat angry, actually," he said. "The fact that it even needs to exist was always really bothersome to me."

He compares the occasion to a small favor in a bad relationship. "I see it kind of like dating someone and they're really busy all the time, and you've been neglected. But they're like, 'O.K., I'll take you out on Thursday.' "

Mr. Hynes, who has written songs for artists like Solange Knowles and FKA Twigs, says that he mostly thinks of Black History Month during February's first few days. After that, it re-emerges only in counterpoint to what he views as racist events.

"It stays in my mind when things like the Grammys happen," he said. At this year's show, Adele's "25" beat out Beyoncé's "Lemonade" for album of the year. Many people, including Adele, considered "Lemonade" to be the superior work. (No black woman has won that award since 1999.) "I always think that's a funny juxtaposition."

For Mr. Hynes, the first month of the Trump administration made questions of ethnicity and cultural history impossible for people to ignore. But as an artist, he said, he had been thinking through these issues "all the time."

And though he expects the current climate will eventually make its way into his work, he admits that his own February has been relatively unproductive. "My mind isn't really on the music too much," he said. "Every now and then I've been getting into it, but it hasn't been as relaxing as it once was." Instead he's been reading - two books about J. D. Salinger and James Baldwin's "The Devil Finds Work." He's seen "I Am Not Your Negro," Raoul Peck's documentary on Mr. Baldwin, twice.
- NICK MURRAY

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Black History Month: Pressing Forward on the Heels of Progress

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Jesse Williams, actor, 'Grey's Anatomy' Before "Grey's Anatomy" catapulted Jesse Williams into household name status, he taught history to Philadelphia high school students. Black history has always been a part of his life - 365 days a year ("nothing changes in February") - so he understands that it was created for us by us.

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A People’s Journey, A Nation’s Story | National Museum of African American History and Culture

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Hundreds of stunning images from black history, drawn from old negatives, have long been buried in the musty envelopes and crowded bins of the New York Times archives.

None of them was published by The Times until now.

Were the photos - or the people in them - not deemed newsworthy enough? Did the images not arrive in time for publication? Were they pushed aside by words here at an institution long known as the Gray Lady?

As you scroll through the images, each will take you back: To the charred wreckage of Malcolm X's house in Queens, just hours after it was bombed. To the Lincoln Memorial, where thousands of African-American protesters gathered, six years before the March on Washington. To Lena Horne's elegant penthouse on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. To a city sidewalk where schoolgirls jumped rope, while the writer Zora Neale Hurston cheered them on, behind the scenes.

Photographers for The Times captured all of these scenes, but then the pictures and negatives were filed in our archives, where they sat for decades.

This month, we present a robust selection for the very first time.

Every day during Black History Month, we will publish at least one of these photographs online, illuminating stories that were never told in our pages and others that have been mostly forgotten.

Among them are images of confrontations between the police and demonstrators, including a rally that erupted in violence after the assassination of Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader.

There are pioneers in Hollywood and hip-hop and in the ballpark, as well as ordinary people savoring daily life. And there are prominent figures, such as James Baldwin and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in photographs with stories of their own.

Consider the close-up of Dr. King above. It is the only photo in this project that has been previously published; it has appeared many times over the past 50 years, as the backside of the print clearly shows, and it looks as if it might have been taken during a formal sitting.

But it was shot during the summer of 1963 on a day when black protesters hurled eggs at Dr. King as he arrived at a church in Harlem. Earlier that day, he criticized black nationalists, saying that those who called for a separate black state were "wrong." Some believed that those remarks inspired the attack that night.

Our photographer snapped Dr. King's picture as he participated in a round table that was broadcast on NBC. The photo below, unpublished until now, captured that discussion. (Click on the image for a larger view, and to scroll through the other photos.)

Sometime later, an editor cropped one of those images from the NBC appearance to create the head shot of Dr. King that is now so familiar and so disconnected from the tumultuous events of that day.

Many of these photographs, and their stories, are equally intriguing. But the collection is far from comprehensive. There are gaps, for many reasons.

We had a small staff of photographers - the first was hired sometime after 1910 - and nearly all of them were based in New York City. As a result, most staff photographs depicted events in New York and places nearby, though The Times also bought pictures from freelancers and studios in other parts of the country and overseas. (The Times's picture agency, Wide World News Photo Service, which had staff members in London, Berlin and elsewhere, was sold to The Associated Press in 1941.)

More than now, we also put a premium back then on words, not pictures, which meant that many photographs that were taken were never published.

But other holes in coverage probably reflect the biases of some earlier editors at our news organization, long known as the newspaper of record. They and they alone determined who was newsworthy and who was not, at a time when black people were marginalized in society and in the media.

In our archive of roughly five million prints, after weeks of searching, we could not find a single staff photograph of W.E.B. Du Bois; of Romare Bearden, one of the country's pre-eminent artists; or of Richard Wright, the influential author of "Native Son" and "Black Boy." (The Times did publish a handful of photographs of these men taken by freelancers, friends or private studios.)

Our archive is vast - and the filing was sometimes idiosyncratic - so some of these images may still be unearthed. But as we unveil this trove of rediscovered photographs, keep in mind how much we are missing.

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Hundreds of stunning images from black history, drawn from old negatives, have long been buried in the musty envelopes and crowded bins of the New York Times archives. None of them was published by The Times until now. Were the photos - or the people in them - not deemed newsworthy enough?

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African American History and Heritage Site: Resources and Links for Black History Month, Kwanzaa, Martin Luther Kind Day, Juneteenth and More!

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1. The Negro National Anthem: Lift Every Voice and Sing 2. Black History Month in the United States & Canada 3.Martin Luther King Jr. Day 4. Kwanzaa 5. Juneteenth 6. Black Music Month (June)7. Black Nationalism (Marcus Garvey, Black Nationalist Colors and Flag, Malcolm X, Black Power, Organization Us) 8.NAACP 9.National Urban League 10.National Council of Negro Women 11.