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Self-Portraits and Braiding in Art at Seaton ES

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Self-Portraits and Braiding in Art at Seaton ES

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I led Seaton ES (DCPS) students through projects that incorporated books and art during the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.

PreK Art students read The Skin You Live In , then made self portraits using mirrors and "people paper" (matching skin tones). Students loved looking in the mirror and saying, "Hello, beautiful!" before using markers to draw their details. Students learned to celebrate their own skin tones while celebrating each other, as well.

Art Grades K-2 art students read Don't Touch My Hair! and made self portraits with people paper and yarn for hair. Students enjoyed using the term "My hair grows up like a flower," quoting the author's words. We talked about personal space (our personal bubbles). Author Sharee Miller did a great job empowering students to say "no" and to hear "no" regarding personal boundaries.

Art Grades 3-5 read Don't Touch My Hair! and made yarn friendship bracelets, practicing two-part twisting or three part-braiding (math connection: 3x2=6; 2x3=6). Students felt empowered sharing how they feel about others touching their hair and were able to try hard things (braiding) or to shine and be admired because they were experts!

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Self-Portraits and Braiding in Art at Seaton ES - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Athena Kopsidas, art teacher at Seaton ES (DCPS), led students through projects that incorporated books and art during the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.

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Sesame Street explain Black Lives Matter

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Black Lives Matter at School - Social Justice Books

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There are 13 guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter movement. We seek to expand student understanding of these principles through the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action (scheduled for the first week of February each year) and beyond. Below you'll find a growing list of recommended titles that center each of the [...]

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Black Lives Matter at School Marketplace of Knowledge at Bruce-Monroe ES

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Black Lives Matter at School Marketplace of Knowledge at Bruce-Monroe ES

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On March 24, the entire school community at Bruce-Monroe ES @ Park View (BMPV) (DCPS) was invited to participate in the Black Lives Matter at School Celebration of Learning. The school was transformed into a Marketplace of Knowledge that was the culmination of a six-week project that involved all grade levels in deep explorations of Black Lives Matter. The day included dance performances, a fashion show, and tours of the walls lined with colorful and captivating images and writings exploring the Black Lives Matter at School guiding principles.

The school wanted to create a sense of community and connectedness, similar to that found in marketplaces in Black Villages; a place to congregate, cultivate relationships, pursue opportunities, and engage in economic and consumer activism. The project was part of the school's commitment to continuing its journey towards becoming an anti-racist, anti-biased, inclusive school community.

Dr. Tamyka Morant, assistant principal, leads the BMPV Equity Team responsible for creating the interdisciplinary unit plans for the Black Lives Matter at School principles and creating the parameters for the Celebration of Learning unit to ensure accessibility and engagement for all grade levels. Grade level teams chose their own principles for deep study from a grade-band list that is embedded in the yearlong curriculum and allows for deep study of all 13 principles by the time students matriculate from BMPV to middle school. Students explored essential questions regarding their assigned principles, such as: How can art be used to amplify Black voices? Who or what events were agents of change? How has studying this BLM Principle helped me grow as an antiracist agent of change?

The celebration of learning kicked off with an assembly for students and families. Third graders opened the assembly by singing "Lift Every Voice and Sing," then each early childhood class took a turn showing off the clothing they created in the style of a Black clothing designer. Finally, second graders took the for a "Beat Your Feet" dance performance. The performance was the culmination of a six-week study of go-go's music and history with Washington Performing Arts.

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Black Lives Matter at School Marketplace of Knowledge at Bruce-Monroe ES - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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On March 24, the entire school community at Bruce-Monroe ES @ Park View (DCPS) was invited to participate in the Black Lives Matter at School Celebration of Learning. The school was transformed into a Marketplace of Knowledge that was the culmination of a six-week project that involved all grade lev

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National Museum of African American History and Culture

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Talking about race, although hard, is necessary. We are here to provide tools and guidance to empower your journey and inspire conversation.

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Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy

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A Guide for Parents and Teachers

Recent eventshave led many parents and teachers to seek out resources to address issues of race and inequality with young children. We share with you here an excerpt from the book Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. The book offers practical guidance to early childhood educators (including parents) for confronting barriers of prejudice, misinformation, and bias about specific aspects of personal and social identity; most importantly, it includes tips for adults and children to respect each other, themselves, and all people. Read more about anti-bias education. Also, see the Movement for Black Lives platform and Teaching Black Lives Matter.
By Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards
Adults sometimes ask: Aren't prejudice, discrimination, and anti-bias adult issues? Why bring children into it? In one sense, these are adult issues. Adults have the power to create, to teach, to maintain bias-and to eliminate it. In another sense, because the realities of prejudice and discrimination begin to affect children's development early, it is developmentally appropriate to address them in our work with young children.

Young children need caring adults to help them construct a positive sense of self and a respectful understanding of others. They need adults to help them begin to navigate and resist the harmful impact of prejudice and discrimination. A person's early childhood years lay the foundation for a developmental and experiential journey that continues into adulthood. With appropriate adult guidance, this foundation will be a strong one, providing the base for the next stages of healthy development and the skills a person needs to thrive and succeed in a complex, diverse world.

Anti-bias education is an integral part of the "bricks and mortar" of emotional well-being and social competence, as well as an emotional foundation upon which children fully develop their cognitive capacities. A healthy sense of self requires that children know and like who they are without feeling superior to others. Understanding and liking one's own personal and social identities open up the possibilities of building caring connections with others. Thinking critically about stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination takes away barriers to comfortable and respectful interactions with a wide range of people and gives children a tool to resist negative messages about their identities. Strong cognitive development is also enhanced when children develop curiosity, openness to multiple perspectives, and critical-thinking skills.

[Below are some topics to explore with your children. Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves has strategies, activities and ideas to spark discussion on each of these topics.]

Strategies for learning about physical differences and similarities

Creating a rich anti-bias learning environment sets the stage for discussion and activities about racial and other physical differences and similarities. The richer the environment, the more likely children will ask questions, even in classrooms where the staff and children come from similar racial backgrounds.

In all activities, highlight that physical diversity among people is desirable, and that all colors, shades, and shapes of people are beautiful. Talk about differences in a tone of delight and interest. Create a vocabulary that encourages children to look at themselves and others and admire their sameness and their uniqueness. Just as we do not wait until a child asks questions about how to read before planning how to provide a range of literacy learning opportunities, anti-bias education is the teacher's responsibility, not the child's, to initiate.

Caution-Never single out one specific child when you do activities about the physical characteristics linked to racial identity. Every activity should be about all of the children, as everyone has a racial identity. Moreover, doing activities about all children reinforces that differences and similarities can be found within each racial identity group as well as across groups.

Exploring skin color, hair, and eyes
Children are active observers of physical characteristics. As they become familiar with some of their own features and those of their classmates, help them to have vocabulary and ideas to understand sameness and difference. There are many ways to involve children in discovering similarities and differences among themselves, their teachers, and their families.

Focus on children's confusion about their own skin color
If, when you invite the children to make self-portraits, a child chooses colors that do not correspond to his actual skin, eye, or hair coloring, consider gently encouraging the child to choose the color closest to his skin color.

Expanding awareness of racial similarities and differences
After helping children become aware that the people within their family are alike and different, it is important to expand their knowledge and awareness to groups of people beyond those in the classroom and neighborhood. As children grow, they move into ever wider and more diverse settings, and we want them to be open to and respectful of all kinds of people they may encounter.

Fostering critical thinking and respectful relationships

Positive and accurate learning experiences about human differences and similarities help to give children a foundation for resisting incorrect and harmful messages about themselves and others. Preschoolers are ready to begin thinking critically about the accuracy and fairness of the information and images they encounter. They also have the capacity to use their developing empathy to understand that unfair behavior hurts people and can learn respectful ways of interacting with others. Teachers can use the following strategies to promote young children's development of these understandings and competencies.

Cultivate children's empathy and ways to deal with the hurt of stereotyping. Read books that depict children experiencing unfair treatment based on their racial identity.

Tell persona doll stories about a discriminatory incident between dolls, engaging children's empathy and problem-solving skills.

Intentionally plan activities to counter potential overgeneralizations or existing stereotypes in the children's general environment.

Support children as they demonstrate awareness of stereotyping.

Engage children in group action. It is empowering when we help children take something that is "unfair" into something "fair." Sometimes this involves addressing personal conflict, helping a child speak up for another child. But it is particularly powerful when children act together.

If we want children to thrive in a diverse world and choose to stand up for themselves and others, then we must choose to help young children make sense out of the confusing and often emotionally charged messages they receive about themselves and others. The commitment to support each child to develop pride and self-confidence and deep connections with others calls on us to foster all children's healthy racial identity. When we give children language to discuss their identities in an atmosphere of interest and delight, and the tools for addressing the unfairness they will inevitably encounter, then we know we have helped children construct a strong foundation for the next phases of their lives.

Early Childhood Books for Teaching about Racial Identity
More titles for young children about racial identity.

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Teaching Young Children about Race - Teaching for Change

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A Guide for Parents and Teachers Recent events have led many parents and teachers to seek out resources to address issues of race and inequality with young children. We share with you here an excerpt from the book Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves.

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Woke Kindergarten 60 Second Text: ...and Martin

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Based on "Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books for Racism and Sexism." Updated in 2013.*
Children's books continue to be an invaluable source of information and values. They reflect the attitudes in our society about diversity, power relationships among different groups of people, and various social identities (e.g., racial, ethnic, gender, economic class, sexual orientation, and disability). The visual and verbal messages young children absorb from books (and other media) heavily influence their ideas about themselves and others. Depending on the quality of the book, they can reinforce (or undermine) children's affirmative self-concept, teach accurate (or misleading) information about people of various identities, and foster positive (or negative) attitudes about diversity. Children's books teach children about who is important, who matters, who is even visible. Consequently, carefully choosing quality children's books is an indispensable educational and child-rearing task.

It is important to offer young children a range of books about people like them and their family - as well as about people who are different from them and their family. All of the books should be accurate and appealing to young children. Fortunately, there are some good anti-bias children's books, which are available as a result of the ongoing activism of many individuals and groups over many years. However, while choices have improved over past decades, the lack of quality multicultural kid's books currently being published has frustrated many communities. The number of children of color in the United States continues to rise, but the number of books published by or about people of color stays the same or even decreases.

Check the Illustrations

Look for Stereotypes: A stereotype is an oversimplified generalization about a particular identity group (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, ability/disability), which usually carries derogatory, inaccurate messages and applies them to ALL people in the group. Stereotypes dehumanize people. So, too, does misinformation. ( See Box 1 below for a list of common, harmful stereotypes).

Unfortunately, all of us absorb socially prevailing stereotypes about a range of people, even if we do not consciously subscribe to them. To alert you to stereotypes in children's books, as well as other media, it is useful to list all the stereotypes you know about various groups of people as precondition for critically reviewing children's books. The books you choose should depict people compassionately and as real human beings. Also consider if images depict all people as genuine individuals with distinctive (rather than stereotypical) features. Books containing stereotypes require you to engage children in critical thinking, but should probably be eliminated from your collection.

BOX 1: Common Harmful/Undermining Stereotypes

Strong, independent girls and women are "manlike"

Book-loving or nonathletic boys and men are "effeminate"

Latino men talk funny, are lazy, gang members, or wear oversize sombreros

Latina women are earth mothers or subservient

African American men are gang members, oversexed, or underemployed

African American women are too independent, oversexed, or "welfare moms"

Arab and/or Muslim men are terrorists

Arab and/or Muslim women are voiceless and passive

All Muslims are Arab / All Arabs are Muslim

American Indians live in teepees, carry bows and arrows, or are half-naked in winter

American Indians were only significant in the past (read)

Disabled people are not independent or are to be pitied

Disabled people must "overcome" their disabilities rather than just live with their disabilities

LGBTQ+ people are invisible

Poor people are invisible

Poor people are depicted as passively needing help from others

AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islanders) are depicted as the "model minority"

AAPI are exotic or their food is exotic/abnormal

All AAPI know martial arts or are meek and compliant

AAPI are portrayed with slanted eyes or just lines to represent eyes

Jewish people are all Zionists (read)

Jewish people are wealthy and yield undue influence in the financial and political world

Look for Tokenism: This is the "one only" message. Regularly seeing only "one" person of any group in a book teaches young children about who is more or less important. Examples of tokenism include books with only one African American child among many white children or having only one book about children with disabilities among many other books. Tokenism also becomes stereotypical. It only allows children to see one view of a group of people, rather than the diversity that exists among all groups.

Look for Invisibility: What children do not see in their books also teaches them about who matters and who doesn't in our society. Invisibility in their storybooks - as well as in textbooks as they get older - undermines children's affirmative sense of themselves and reinforces prejudiced ideas about people who are not seen (See Box 2 for examples of groups who tend to be invisible). The booklists on this website include a great variety of books with groups who are often excluded. (The titles are vetted by Teaching for Change.)

BOX 2: Examples of Groups of People Who Are Often Invisible in Children's Books or Mainstream Media

Families who live in rural areas

Blue-collar workers

Musicians, artists, and writers

Families with two dads or two moms

Single mothers or fathers

Homeless families

Families with an incarcerated parent

People of Middle Eastern descent

Families who practice Islam

Transgender adults and children

Check the Story Line and the Relationships Between People

Even if a book shows visual diversity, the story line may carry biases related to how it handles power relationships among people of various identities. Are whites or male characters the central figures with people of color or female characters in essentially supporting roles? To gain acceptance and/or approval does a child of color, a girl, or child with a disability have to exhibit extraordinary qualities or be the one to understand, forgive, or change? Are the achievements of girls and women based on their own initiative and intelligence, or are they due to their looks or relationship with boys/men?

Are people of color, women, low-income families, or people with disabilities depicted as needing help or in passive roles, while whites, men, and "able-bodied" people are in leadership and action roles? How are problems presented, conceived, and resolved? Who typically causes a problem and who resolves it? Your book collection needs a balance of different people in "doer" roles.

Look at Messages About Different Lifestyles

Do the lives of people of color or people living in poverty in the story contrast unfavorably with the norm of white, middle-class suburban life? Are negative value judgments implied about ways of life that differ from the dominant culture or economic class (e.g., people are to be pitied, or the story is about one person who "gets out" of the less desirable way of life)? Do images and information go beyond oversimplification and offer genuine insights into the lifestyle of the characters in the story? Does the setting reflect current life - or past assumptions about life? Does your book collection depict diversity among people within a specific racial/ethnic group, such as a range of family structures, living environments, socioeconomic conditions and types of work, and male/female roles within the family? (Remember that every racial/ethnic group has diversity, including people who self-identify as white).

Consider the Effects on Children's Self and Social Identities

In addition to specific books, also examine your book collection. Do your books reinforce or counteract messages that teach children to feel inferior or superior because of their skin color, gender, family income, able-bodiedness, or type of family structure? At school, will all of the children you serve see themselves and their family's way of life reflected in your book collection? Will all children of color, including those with mixed heritage, girls, and children from the many types of family structures, children living in poverty, and children with disabilities see one or more characters with whom they can readily and positively identify? If they are visible in your book collection, are the illustrations and information accurate and respectful? Does your overall collection balance the backgrounds of all the children in your program? Does it also show diversity within the social indentity groups to which the children belong (e.g., a range of ways to be female and male, families reflecting different kinds of jobs within a racial/ethnic group). Does your book collection also include a balance between diversity within your classroom and beyond your classroom?

At home, does your book collection reflect diversity among the groups to which your family belongs? Does it have stories about people like you who have contributed to creating a more just world? Does it also include a range of books showing diversity beyond your family and neighborhood?

Look for Books About Children and Adults Engaging in Actions for Change

To fully develop a strong sense of self and a disposition toward cooperation and fairness, children need to know how to stand up for themselves and others when faced with unfairness. They also need to know about people from all social identity groups who have - and are currently - working for justice for all. In addition to previous criteria, here are more items to consider: The story line should be about children and adults working together, rather than perpetrating the myth that change happens because of special, individual people who do it by themselves. Does your book collection include a balance of people who have made important and honored contributions to American life as well as the world community - and not just the traditional white, male "heroes?" Do some of your books about important people include struggles for justice? Do they show people who were/are poor or from racial/ethnic groups of color? Are people with disabilities engaged in these struggles for justice?

Consider the Author's or Illustrator's Background and Perspective

All authors write from a cultural as well as from a personal context. In the past, most children's books were by authors and illustrators who were white and members of the middle class. As a result, a single cultural and class perspective dominated children's literature. There are now excellent books by people of color from a range of backgrounds - although not nearly enough. Consider the biographical material on the jacket flap or back of the book. What qualifies the author or illustrator to deal with the subject? If the book is not about people or events similar to the author or illustrator's background, what specifically recommends them as creators of the book? What is the author's attitude toward her/his story characters? Are the images accurate and do the illustrators respectfully render the people in the story? Do you have books reflecting a balanced range of author and illustrator identities and experiences?

Watch for Loaded Words

A word is loaded when it in any way demeans or makes people invisible because of any of their identities. One example is the generic use of the word "man" to stand for women as well as men (although the opposite never occurs). This traditional terminology is now questioned by many because of its sexist implications. Here are some examples of ways to avoid sexist language: community instead of brotherhood; firefighters inserted of firemen; human family instead of family of man; ancestors instead of forefathers; chairperson instead of chairman. Examples of adjectives applied to people of color that carry racist messages include: "savage," "primitive," "superstitious," "backward," "inscrutable" and "treacherous." Always consider the context in which a word is used and to whom it applies.

Look at the Copyright Date

Copyright dates indicate the publication year, not the time of its writing, which might be two to three years before the copyright date. Although a recent copyright date is no guarantee of a book's relevance or sensitivity, copyright dates are useful information. More children's books began to reflect the reality of a pluralistic society and nonsexist and non-ableist perspectives in the 1970s. Since then, the range of accurate, respectful, and caring books reflecting diversity has increased significantly (unfortunately the diversity of books published in the United States still does not accurately reflect the actual diversity of the people living here). When considering new books for your collection, begin with most recently published ones and then continue with descending copyright dates.

Assess the Appeal of the Story and Illustrations to Young Children

Although these guidelines focus on the messages about diversity and equality reflected in children's books, it is also important to take quality into account. Be sure the book is a "good read." If children find the story or illustrations boring, a book will not hold their attention, even if the book adds a specific kind of diversity you need. Check for active, interesting story lines where different kinds of people are integral to the people in the story, not the main topic. For example, in A Chair for My Mother, a young child tries to save money to get a comfortable chair for her waitress mother. Although the book shows a single parent, working-class family, and a resourceful girl, it is not didactic. Also look for illustrations that are colorful and recognizable to young children. Although they enjoy a range of styles, illustrations that are too subdued or abstract may not hold their attention.

Check for age appropriateness. Most booksellers list any picture book as appropriate for early childhood even if the story line is really for primary grade children. Sometimes a book for older children will work if you simplify the story or "tell" the story rather than read it. In some cases, this is the only way to get books that present specific groups of children (e.g., stories with Cambodian children or children with learning disabilities). Some additional issues to consider:

Many children's books use animal characters instead of people and there are some excellent books that explore diversity with animal characters (e.g., And Tango Makes Three or A Coyote Solstice Tale). Children enjoy these. However, such books are not a substitute for exploring issues of diversity and anti-bias fairness with people as the main characters.

Some early childhood teachers wonder if it is necessary for every book in their collection to show diversity. Every book needs to be accurate, caring, and respectful. However, you will want individual books about specific kinds of people (e.g., a biracial family or a family with adopted children). Diversity becomes essential in the balance of your book collection, where you want to avoid invisibility or tokenism of any group.

Folk and fairy tales have long been a mainstay of children's literature. In the cultures from which they come, folk and fairy tales were used to teach important lessons and values related to their culture of origin. Children love them in their original versions - not their commercially sanitized adaptations. However, folk and fairy tales also carry messages that convey sexism, classism, and racism and must be used thoughtfully as part of introducing young children to diversity and anti-bias values of quality and fairness.

Overuse of folk tales to "teach" about a specific ethnic/cultural group leads to misinformation and confusion. They are about animals and occasionally people from a mythical past and are designed to teach core values and beliefs in their culture of origin. They are not about how people actually live in contemporary society - and that is what young children need to understand. Information and images about how people really live now is what enables young children to build connections to people who are from different cultures while countering stereotypes that children have already absorbed (e.g., how American Indians really live).

Finally there is the somewhat sensitive issue of what to do about "classic" or "well-beloved" children's books. Many of these are wonderful as children's literature, but unfortunately they often convey values of sexism, racism, ableism, or even colonialism. People who love the books that pose this dilemma argue that it is OK to use them because they "reflect their times," which they imply somehow excuses their biased messages. For example, I adored the Babar series of books as a young child and was unpleasantly shocked to realize as an adult how much the images and story lines reflected messages of European colonialism in Africa. I chose not to use them with my own children, wanting them to learn accurate information about how people in Africa really live. Not sharing childhood favorites may sadden some, but it is far better than the harm caused by reinforcing messages of racism and colonialism.
In a nutshell - as you choose books or critically examine your current book selection, always keep in mind the power of books - their words and their images - to nurture or, conversely, to undermine a child's sense of self, positive attitude toward others, and motivation to act for fairness.
Additional Resources

Louise Derman-Sparks is an internationally respected anti-bias educator and author (along with Julie Olsen Edwards) of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. She has co-authored several additional books with Dr. Carol Brunson Day (Teaching/Learning Anti-Racism), the ABC Task Force ( Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children), Dr. Patricia Ramsey (What If All the Kids Are White?), and Dr. John Nimmo and Debbie Leekeenan ( Leading Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change). She speaks throughout the United States and abroad, and served on the NAEYC Governing Board from 1998 to 2001. Louise has a lifelong commitment to building a more just society for all people. Her children Douglass and Holly, now grown, were her inspiration. A Pacific Oaks College faculty member for 33 years - when its mission and pedagogy reflected anti-bias education principles - Louise is now retired.
*In 1980, the Council on Interracial Books for Children published the book Guidelines for Selecting Bias-Free Textbooks and Storybooks. A shorter version of the book in pamphlet form, "Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books for Racism and Sexism," followed. One of the first guides written for teachers and families, it became an invaluable tool for hundreds of thousands of people. Both the book and pamphlet have been out of print for several years. Rethinking Schools published their adaptation of the original Guidelines in 1994.

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Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children's Books - Social Justice Books

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By Louise Derman-Sparks Based on "Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books for Racism and Sexism." Updated in 2013.* Children's books continue to be an invaluable source of information and values. They reflect the attitudes in our society about diversity, power relationships among different groups of people, and various social identities (e.g., racial, ethnic, gender, [...]

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This is such a rich resource - thank you!

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13 Guiding Principles — D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Launched by Teaching for Change, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice is a network of educators who seek to strengthen and deepen social justice teaching.

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“Black is Beautiful” Theme for Early Childhood — D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Maureen Ingram’s early childhood PK3 class at Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS launched the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action with activities around the theme “Black is Beautiful.”

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Art as Empathy: An Early Childhood Educator's Reflection and Application

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Art as Empathy: An Early Childhood Educator's Reflection and Application

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I first learned of Alma Woodsey Thomas and her work while reading Dream Big, Little One to my baby. I immediately remembered seeing her paintings but never knew about the artist. Dena Rapoport, from the National Gallery of Art, shared Alma Thomas' biographical information during the session "Art as Empathy: How an Ordinary D.C. Hero Invites Us to Discover Beauty Wherever We Are" at the Black Lives Matter at School Virtual Curriculum Fair 2022.

During this session, Rapoport led participants in an activity where we thought about our favorite place and associated a color with it. We then added feeling words, more colors, and sensory experiences connected to the place. Rapoport invited participants to consider empathy as not just within ourselves and with others, but in relation to space and place, as well. We used art materials to create patches of color, shapes, and patterns.

During the activity, these questions were raised for me:

What are the criteria in which adults judge children's art?

What is missing from observational assessment?

How do we interact with children as they draw, paint, or create in general?

In what ways do our expectations cause harm to children's exploration and creativity?

Who gets to decide what is beautiful?

In my work with young children over the years, I've witnessed and participated in the pressure for them to create realistic representations. Through observation, work samples, and checklists for conferences, children are expected to produce. Thomas' art exposes children to multiple shades of color, movement, and playful expression. While many early childhood educators are used to judging children's art for assessment purposes or assume anything they create has to be "something," offering Thomas' art and life as inspiration opens a door and provides insight into children's process instead of product.

What children convey through art is more than what the adult viewing it thinks of it. The exercise Dena Rapoport led was a lovely example of how to engage children through feelings, color, and connection to their lives. It allows us to demonstrate empathy toward our students and their abilities.

Instead of asking a child, "What are you making?" why not ask, "What are you feeling as you create?" Thomas' art tells a story of where she found peace and happiness, and maybe we can do better at observing the story of our youngest students.

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Art as Empathy: An Early Childhood Educator's Reflection and Application - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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I first learned of Alma Woodsey Thomas and her work while reading Dream Big, Little One to my baby. I immediately remembered seeing her paintings but never knew about the artist. Dena Rapoport, from the National Gallery of Art, shared Alma Thomas' biographical information during the session "Art as Empathy: How an Ordinary D.C.

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By Laleña Garcia
Illustrated by Caryn Davidson
This powerful activity book will engage hands, hearts, and minds as it introduces children to the guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter movement.
When the Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013, the three founders--Alicia Garza, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, and Opal Tometi--anchored its work in a list of guiding principles, developed through conversation with other activists. These principles commit the movement to empathy, loving engagement, and just action among its participants; affirm the importance of Black women, families, elders, and LGBTQ folk; and celebrate the strength and diversity of Black people in their communities and around the globe.

Now young people can explore these powerful principles in What We Believe: A Black Lives Matter Principles Activity Book. Created by two teachers with more than thirty-five years of educational experience between them, the book presents the guiding principles in down-to-earth, child-friendly language, with each principle accompanied by writing prompts, space for children or adults to create their own reflections, and a coloring page. Supporting materials guide adults in sharing the principles with children and encourage kids to dream big and take action within their communities. An essential resource for anyone discussing racial equity with young people, What We Believe offers a beautiful and inspiring lens on the most important social justice movement of our time.
Read the story behind What We Believe from author Laleña Garcia. In an interview, author Laleña Garcia and illustrator Caryn Davidson share a bit about their partnership, and how they define the role of activist and ally.
About the Creators

Laleña Garcia - Author

Laleña Garcia has been teaching children in New York City since 2000, and educators across the country since 2017. HOW WE CAN LIVE grew out of her work with Black Lives Matter at School, a coalition of educators and parents striving for racial justice in education. A graduate of Yale University and Bank Street College of Education, she lives in Brooklyn. Please visit her website at rootedkids.org and follow her on Instagram at @blm_in_kindergarten.

Caryn Davidson

Caryn Davidson studied Anthropology and Visual Art at Brown University and received her MA in Arts Education from NYU. Since the start of her career in education in 2004, she has founded and developed the arts programs at three public schools in New York City, and led initiatives to promote culturally relevant pedagogy and socially just practices within those school communities. She now teaches art at the high school level in Brooklyn, NY, where she also lives. She is a Steering Committee member of the Black Lives Matter at NYC Schools organizing group and a designer for the national Black Lives Matter at Schools movement. Please visit her website at caryndavidson.com and on Instagram at @caryn_arts.

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What We Believe by Laleña Garcia, illus. by Caryn Davidson | Lee & Low Books

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By Laleña GarciaIllustrated by Caryn Davidson This powerful activity book will engage hands, hearts, and minds as it introduces children to the guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter movement. When the Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013, the three founders--Alicia Garza, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, and Opal Tometi--anchored its work in a list of guiding principles, developed through conversation with other activists.

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D.C. Area and Beyond Participate in BLM at School Week of Action 2023

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D.C. Area and Beyond Participate in BLM at School Week of Action 2023

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Gearing up for the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action is no small feat. While many educators in the D.C. area have been uplifting Black Lives Matter at School work with participation in the Year of Purpose, the Week of Action (held February 6-10, 2023) is a focused opportunity to uplift the guiding principles and national demands.

Read about how D.C. area educators prepared for this year's D.C. area Week of Action during their curricular planning meeting on January 7th and how educators in the D.C. area and beyond engaged in the annual curriculum fair. Then read below about how educators in the D.C. area and beyond brought the Black Lives Matter at School guiding principles and demands into their classrooms.

Check out Hannah Halpern's BLM at School Week of Action Sample 5 day schedule for her elementary school students.

Read an article featuring stories from the D.C. Area Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action at In These Times, " Black Educators are Reimagining A Better Education System."

Students Hear from HBCU Alumni at Montgomery Blair HS

For the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, the staff of Montgomery Blair High School (MCPS) planned a range of activities including a panel discussion of 10 Blair HS staff who are alumni of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Read more.

Ofosu Jones-Quartey, author of Love Your Amazing Self: Joyful Verses for Young Voices, interspersed a read aloud of select verses from his book with mindfulness exercises at Rocketship PCS - Legacy Prep in support of the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. Read more.

Self-Portraits and Braiding in Art at Seaton ES

Athena Kopsidas, art teacher at Seaton ES (DCPS), led students through projects that incorporated The Skin You Live In and Don't Touch My Hair! and art during the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. Read more.

Sweet Cherie Brings Go-Go to Simon ES

At Simon ES (DCPS), K-3rd graders learned about the history and fundamentals of go-go and got a chance to play an improvised tune on Sweet Cherie's bedazzled keyboard. They danced when they heard their name called by the talker, just like at a go-go. The visit was especially joyful because one of the teachers, whose parents met at a Chuck Brown concert in 1972, was celebrating a birthday! Read more.

On February 23, Mimi Eisen, co-author of Erasing the Black Freedom Struggle: How State Standards Fail to Teach the Truth About Reconstruction, was in conversation with Michelle Coles, author of Black Was the Ink, to discuss the parallels between the Reconstruction era and today. Participants in this virtual event had time to collaborate, share resources, and reflect on their own Reconstruction teaching and learning experiences. Read more.

Lots to plan and prep - but also feeling prepared - for Black Lives Matter Week of Action starting on Monday! As I phrase it to the kids - we focus on the ideology all year, but we focus on ACTION and ways to implement change during the week!
- Ms. Halpern (@Ms_Halpern) February 2, 2023

As a result of a Teaching for Black Lives study group, Cordley ES celebrated their first Black Lives Matter at School Week with a kick-off assembly and daily activities and questions to deepen the conversation.

Once a month, students visit their Hawk Families, which are cross-grade level groups of Kindergarten through 5th grade students. In Hawk Families during Black Lives Matter at School Week, students read the book I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes. After reading, students discussed what it means to matter and also wrote three positive affirmations with their group. Some positive affirmations that were brainstormed included:

The next day, students worked on posters that showed what they believed mattered and what they stood for. Students had lots of discussion about current events, as well as the injustice that many groups of people face.

On Friday, students participated in a "Continue the March" march and rally that called for equality, kindness, and acceptance.

The students had lot of local support, including the purchase of Black Lives Matter at Cordley t-shirts and coverage in both local papers. They were the only local school to participate, but they had 97% positive feedback from the parents in their community. There was some pushback in general because of the concern of this being a "political issue" in a school.

See local press coverage in the The Lawrence Times and LJWorld.

Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) endorsed the principles and demands of the BLM at School Week of Action, sharing a public statement in support of the BLM Week of Action, promoting the week of Action, and generating resources for educators.

Each Teaching for Black Lives study group member agreed to focus on the principle of "Unapologetically Black" and to host activities at various sites connected to that theme.Organizationally, HUSD aligned events and programming with BLM Week of Action.

They supported teacher leaders to understand and apply learning from Dr. Gholdy Muhammad's work. She explains,

I take up the ways in which literacy was defined historically within Black communities, particularly in Black literary societies. And I found that literacy was synonymous with education. Literacy was also defined within the four frames of identity, skills, intellectualism, and criticality, the four-part equity model. In other words, as Black people were learning, they were cultivating each of those four areas of their lives. If we compare these four areas to schools today, I find that most educators are teaching skills only or their state learning standards. Yet, our students need more.

In sharing Muhammad's framework, HUSD supported their educators to lean into Black traditions in ways that support ALL learners to be seen, valued, heard, and loved. Towards that end, they encouraged all sites to utilize funds the district has made available through our LCAP [Local Control Accountability Plan] to devote purely to African-American programming.

As a result of these efforts, the Teaching for Black Lives study group formally adopted the HRLF [Historically Responsive Literacy Framework] as something to develop lessons around to share from the Teaching for Black Lives perspective.
Resources:

Woodland Hills Elementary
Brooke Dupuis
Fifth grade students read the Black Lives Matter at School coloring book and learned each of the 13 principles of Black Lives Matter, then made posters to bring awareness of Black Lives Matter at School week and hung them around the school. The students also read the book All Because You Matter to ground the new learning in history.

Fifth grade students went to younger grade levels to read and discuss the principles with them. Teachers then continued the conversations with younger students.

The students came to a better understanding of why we say Black Lives Matter and why it includes all of us. They had a better idea of how you can take steps to make change around you. They were motivated to be more active in their communities because they understood what types of action they could take.

The younger grades were motivated by the older fifth graders and felt comfortable asking them questions they may not have asked of their teachers.

Coliseum College Prep Academy
Charquita Arnold
Charquita Arnold, who usually coordinates the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action activities at the school, used some materials from Seattle Public Schools and created some of her own content.

Arnold shared that, "It was a deeepppp week." Students reviewed the 13 Guiding Principles and engaged in deep conversations with discussion prompts, and gave Black History Month presentations where they read the poem " Two Sets of Notes " by M. K. Asante Jr., which they received from one of their previous book club meetings. Everyone - staff included - enjoyed the experience. In reflecting on their learning, Arnold shared,

There was joy when students said, "Wow! I didn't know that Black women used their braids to plan escape routes," or the awe on students' faces when they learned in history [class] that Black people were auctioned. How they just learned that in my eighth grade class...I don't know. I paused because I thought he was joking and he was like, "Really ...I didn't know that."

Arnold noted that some of the empowering feelings of the week were dampened because some students harbor anti-Black sentiments. Arnold is a Black educator and had to remind herself to be strong. She noted that these beliefs are learned and internalized. She charged herself with interrupting anti-Blackness and guiding students out of those beliefs.

View lesson plans and schedules from the week here and here.

New York

Math, Science Research, and Technology High School
Sandra Stokes
When teaching about the Civil Rights Movement in her Civil Rights and Equality class, Sandra Stokes wanted students to be familiar with the grassroots women who fought for our rights, as well. Each day Stokes taught lessons on Septima Clark, Daisy Bates, Ella Baker, and Fannie Lou Hamer and their roles in fighting for justice and the right to vote.

Stokes incorporated text, articles, and video clips about each woman. Students learned about their lives and sacrifices, and how they started organizations like SNCC and worked with young people their own age. The students were surprised to learn about all that these women did because they had only heard of Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks.

They were so inspired they wanted to create their own group similar to SNCC. When they learned about Fannie Lou Hamer, students were sad to hear that she was beaten and treated so badly. The students were proud that Fannie Lou Hamer went from sharecropper to activist.

Rochester School of the Arts
Meagan Harris
Teachers were able to choose from a number of lessons created and distributed by the school-based planning team and the Black Student Union club that focused on Black history or Black Lives Matter related issues. In middle school science, students discussed how the human race became differently pigmented due to region and migration. In English, students discussed race in To Kill a Mockingbird. Students also attended performances throughout the day.

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D.C. Area and Beyond Participate in BLM at School Week of Action 2023 - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Gearing up for the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action is no small feat. While educators in the D.C.

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In designing my Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action curriculum for PS3 and PK4 at Thomson ES (DCPS), I knew I wanted to cover all 13 of the guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter Movement. I quickly realized that one week would not be enough time for my mixed-age preschool students, so I extended the curriculum for two weeks.

I utilized the "How to talk to young children about the Black Lives Matter Guiding Principles" handout and shared that resource with my students' families as well. I decided to discuss the principles in the following order: Empathy, Diversity, Unapologetically Black, Black Families and Black Villages, Black Women and Intergenerational, Globalism and Collective Value, Queer and Trans Affirming, Loving Engagement and Restorative Justice.

During our morning meeting, we reviewed the principles we had already discussed and I introduced the new topic(s). We would then read and discuss a book that covered highlighted the topic. Sometimes that meant a picture walk, or reading only a few pages.

During our regular read aloud, we would either continue our book discussion or read another book highlighting that same topic. Whenever possible, I tried to make that second book connect to our class study on clothing. We read books featuring Black fashion designers, Black Queer or Trans children, Black people with alter-abilities, Black kids who love clothes and dressing up and being with their families, people of color coming together to strike and demand better working conditions.

On the first day, I read The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson and connected it to the principle of Empathy. We have been talking about thinking about how others feel all year long, so students were able to point out moments in the story where characters did or did not use empathy, and brainstorm ways that they could show empathy in the classroom.

My students really connected with the premise of the book; that there are days when people won't like you, when you won't fit in, when you'll feel lonely or sad. Many of my students speak English as a second language, and were able to relate to the character Rigoberto, who is made fun of because of his accent. One child said, "my mom speaks Italian, and I wouldn't like if someone said something mean to her for how she talks. That's not kind."

On the second day, we discussed the principle of Diversity. We read All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka and Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children by Sandra. L and Myles Pinkney We then drew self-portraits using the Lakeshore people color crayons, trying to pick the just-right shade.

We discussed the colors and where they would find them in real life: "my skin is copper like a penny," "mocha like coffee," "my skin is light brown like toast from a toaster," "my color is like sand by the sea."

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Exploring the Black Lives Matter Principles in an Early Childhood Classroom - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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In designing my Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action curriculum for PS3 and PK4 at Thomson ES (DCPS), I knew I wanted to cover all 13 of the guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter Movement. I quickly realized that one week would not be enough time for my mixed-age preschool students, so I extended the curriculum for two weeks.

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We are pleased to have guest editor Katie Schaffer's help in addressing this sensitive and timely issue. Katie brings extensive knowledge and insight regarding gender issues to this column.

Four-year-old Michael usually comes to school in jeans and a T-shirt but always goes to the dress-up area as soon as he arrives and puts on a dress or skirt.

On the day his mother was volunteering in the classroom, he walked in and immediately put on a ballerina skirt and sparkly shoes. She firmly told him to take them off and instead put on the firefighter's hat and boots, try on the cowboy hat, or do "something that boys do." Michael complied with his mother's demand but soon left the dramatic play area.

When the children went outside to play, Michael's mother told Ana, Michael's teacher, that he consistently plays female roles at home and shows little interest in toys and activities typically associated with boys. She and her husband were very concerned about his behavior, and she asked Ana not to allow Michael to play with any "girl stuff" at school.

Ana also has observed that Michael strongly prefers playing with girls and chooses activities that are stereotypically feminine, like having tea parties and wearing dress-up clothes that have lots of ribbons and sequins. He also frequently tells the other children that he is really a girl and that he wants to be called "Michelle."

Ana knows that some children begin to persistently identify with a gender different from their assigned sex at a very young age (Ehrensaft 2011; Fox 2015). (See "Glossary of Terms" for definitions of words and phrases used in this column.) She is also aware that the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct strongly supports maintaining close, collaborative relationships with families and respecting their child-rearing and cultural preferences. What is her most ethical response?

Responding to the issue

This scenario is similar to the one described in the Focus on Ethics column "Don't Let My Son Dress Up as a Girl!" in the September 2017 issue of Young Children. In both cases, there is a conflict between a family's request that its son not be allowed to engage in stereotypically feminine activities in school and a teacher's belief that it is best for children to be encouraged to choose the activities that are most meaningful to them.

Our role as educators is to create a safe and reflective space for children to develop their identities and to counterbalance gender stereotypes.

Despite the similarities, there are some important differences between these two scenarios. Like Victor (the child described in the September 2017 column), many boys are fascinated by glittery clothing and enjoy playing a variety of roles-including feminine ones-in the dramatic play area. Michael's interest in "girl stuff," however, is not limited to playing with clothes and roles. Michael consistently gravitates to female-assigned pursuits, identifies as a girl, and asks to be called by a girl's name. These are examples of how Michael's gender expression (how a person shows their gender to the world through external choices) is currently gender nonconforming (it does not follow prevailing cultural and social expectations about what is appropriate for their gender). Michael may be-or ultimately identify as- trans or transgender (a person whose gender identity is different from the sex assigned at birth).

While there is nothing new about gender nonconforming behavior in early childhood settings, advice for how educators can best handle conflicting perspectives has been scarce or absent, and resources to help teachers work with children and their families on this issue have not been readily available (Kilman 2013).

As in previous columns, we will use the process described in Ethics and the Early Childhood Educator (Feeney & Freeman 2018) to systematically apply the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (2011) to this situation. We will then consider the unique challenges presented by this case and explore some resources that might be helpful to teachers and administrators who are working with children like Michael and their families.

Our analysis is informed by contributions from students in the ECE 200, The Professional in Early Childhood Education, class at Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon; participants at the June 2018 NAEYC Professional Learning Institute in Austin, Texas; Briel Schmitz, head of Spruce Street School in Seattle, Washington; and Rabbi Meir Muller, assistant professor of early childhood education at the University of South Carolina and head of Cutler Jewish Day School in Columbia, South Carolina. We thank them for contributing to this analysis.

We begin with the first two steps of the process we use to address a workplace issue.

Identify the problem and determine if it involves ethics

This situation involves ethics because Ana must decide the right course of action to support a gender nonconforming or trans child and the child's concerned family.

Determine if it is an ethical responsibility or an ethical dilemma

While we noticed similarities between Michael and Victor (from our 2017 column), we came to appreciate that Ana faced a more challenging situation than Victor's teacher. She needed to respect Michael's preferences while working effectively and sensitively with his parents.

After presenting the scenario to two groups of early childhood educators and doing some research and reflection, we came to the conclusion that Ana is facing an ethical responsibility (a situation with just one morally justified course of action), not an ethical dilemma (a situation for which there is more than one possible resolution, which can be justified in moral terms). Because we consider it an ethical responsibility to respect children's gender self-determination, we will refer to Michael using her chosen name, Michelle, and chosen gender pronouns, she/her, for the remainder of the article.

Assigned sex: The label given at birth-usually male or female-based on a variety of factors (usually genitalia, but sometimes also hormones and chromosomes). The term assigned at birth acknowledges that someone (often a doctor) is making a decision but there is far more biological, anatomical, and chromosomal variation than captured by the binary labels of male and female.

Gender: A social construct that categorizes and labels societal and cultural expectations (i.e., gender norms) for how people of different assigned sexes (and thus assigned genders) are supposed to act. Gender varies over time and from place to place.

Gender identity: How a person self-identifies their gender, which may include man, woman, genderqueer, or other gender identities. A person's understanding of their gender identity can begin as early as age 2.

Gender expression: The way in which a person expresses their gender identity, typically through their appearance, affect, behavior, and activities.

Gender nonconforming: A term to describe a person whose behavior or appearance does not follow prevailing cultural and social expectations about what is appropriate to their assigned gender (and thus assigned sex). Some people who position their gender outside of a man/woman binary describe their gender as gender nonconforming or genderqueer.

Trans or transgender: A self-identification of a person whose gender identity differs from their assigned sex. For example, someone who was assigned female at birth but identifies as male might use the term transman.

Cis or cisgender: A person whose gender identity is the same as their assigned sex. For example, if the doctor said "It's a boy," and the child continues to identify as a boy/man, then he is cis or a cisman. People who are not trans are, therefore, cis.

Queer: A term that allows individuals to avoid the rigid categorization of straight and gay, and can indicate an attraction to people of many genders. For some, queer is also a political statement, expressing rejection of binary thinking and asserting that sexual orientation and gender identity are complex and potentially fluid. Although historically a derogatory term, queer has been reclaimed by many communities to have a positive connotation.

Sexuality: Sexuality is not just about sex. It is about individuals' bodies, genders, feelings, relationships, and ways of experiencing intimacy. In this context, children's healthy sexual development involves learning about their bodies, feelings, and relationships. Sexuality can also refer to sexual feelings, thoughts, attractions, and preferences. Sexual orientation often refers to whom we are sexually attracted. Some common terms for sexuality include bi (or bisexual), gay, straight, and queer.

Guidance from the NAEYC Code

Let's look at the guidance the NAEYC Code provides for this decision.

The groups who discussed this situation both concluded that they could not justify forbidding a child to behave in ways that express her strongly held sense of self and that, therefore, they could not comply with this family's request to keep her from activities associated with girls or femininity. They agreed that Ana's primary responsibility was to Michelle, and that she needed to honor Michelle's ways of expressing her identity. The groups also emphasized the importance of Ana listening carefully to the family's concerns and treating them with understanding and respect.

Some noted that Ana might feel she lacks the expertise to respond confidently to this situation. They recommended that she work closely with her director and seek out other knowledgeable professionals. Together, they could help her prepare to share information about young children's developing gender identity with Michelle's family, helping them understand their child's request to be identified as a girl and to engage in play that she finds meaningful. For suggestions on how to engage families and respond to some of their concerns, see "Practical Guidance for Teachers: Supporting the Families of Gender Nonconforming Children". It would also be important that Ana and the director work with the program's other teachers and families to help them accept Michelle's gender identity with kindness and understanding.

The Code's Core Values, Ideals, and Principles

Respondents to this case found that the Code's Core Values, Ideals, and Principles offered guidance that would help Ana address this family's concerns. They noted, in particular, educators' responsibilities to children and the importance of nurturing positive relationships with families. The following excerpts from the Code are those most applicable to this situation.

Core Values

Base our work on knowledge of how children develop and learn

Appreciate and support the bond between the child and family

Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague)

Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust and respect

I-1.2 -To base program practices upon current knowledge and research in the field of early childhood education, child development, and related disciplines, as well as on particular knowledge of each child.

I-1.3 -To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.

I-1.5 -To create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their contributions.

I-2.2 -To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve.

I-2.5 -To respect the dignity and preferences of each family and to make an effort to learn about its structure, culture, language, customs, and beliefs.

I-2.6 -To acknowledge families' childrearing values and their right to make decisions for their children.

I-2.8 -To help family members enhance their understanding of their children . . . and support family members in the continuing development of their skills as parents.

Principles

P-1.1-Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children. This principle has precedence over all others in this Code.

P-1.4 -We shall use two-way communications to involve all those with relevant knowledge (including families and staff) in decisions concerning a

child, as appropriate, ensuring confidentiality of sensitive information.

P-2.4 -We shall ensure that the family is involved in significant decisions affecting their child.

P-2.6 -As families share information with us about their children and families, we shall ensure that families' input is an important contribution to the planning and implementation of the program.

The Code offers strong justification for a teacher to base her actions on the needs of the child and for honoring the family's childrearing values and agreeing to their request. However, the Code also points educators toward putting the wellbeing of the child above all other concerns. P-1.1 takes precedence over all other items in the Code and supports Ana's decision to place the highest priority on the best interests of the child.

Guidance for the director

These items from the Code's Supplement for Program Administrators (2011) provide additional guidance for the director who is helping Ana address this issue:

P-1.1-We shall place the welfare and safety of children above other obligations (for example, to families, program personnel, employing agency, community). This item takes precedence over all others in this Supplement.

I-2.2 -To serve as a resource for families by providing information and referrals to services in the larger community.

P-2.10 -We shall respond to families' requests to the extent that the requests are congruent with program philosophy, standards of good practice, and the resources of the program. We shall not honor any request that puts a child in a situation that would create physical or emotional harm. In such instances, we shall communicate with the family the reason(s) why the request was not honored and work toward an alternative solution.

Reflecting on the case

Gender curiosity in children is not a recent phenomenon. Young children have always engaged in various forms of gender play, exploration, and identification. However, in recent years there has been greater recognition of the range of ways that individuals can express their gender identity and significantly more representation of trans people and communities in mainstream media. While this has opened up space for conversations about gender nonconforming and trans-identified children, some adults (including some educators, parents, grandparents) still attempt to stop the behavior (as in the case of Michelle's parents) or attempt to rigidly categorize the behavior (assuming they can predict the child's ultimate identity).

It is important to note that in US society today, children who are assigned male at birth receive more intense gender scrutiny than children who are assigned female at birth. For instance, girls are often encouraged by their parents to explore and participate in games traditionally associated with boys. These children are often celebrated as "strong" and "independent." However, when boys express interests in activities associated with girls, they are typically reprimanded, ostracized, or identified as problematic. This double standard stems from a culture that often demeans behavior associated with women and femininity.

This case warrants particularly careful consideration because of the potential lifelong consequences of respecting or refusing to respect Michelle's view of herself. It is important that the adults in Michelle's life be willing to honor who she says she is. Denying children the opportunity to express themselves by forcing them to accept adults' views of gender-appropriate behavior is likely to damage relationships and the children's sense of self, in addition to making their lives more difficult.

Teachers working with families who are concerned about how their children are expressing their gender identity need to be flexible and well prepared. It may be helpful to refresh their knowledge of child development, specifically identity development as it relates to concepts of gender. Gender is varied and dynamic. All of us express our gender differently over the course of our lives; children should be encouraged and supported to play, explore, and define the gender that feels right to them at the time (without an expectation of day-to-day or month-to-month consistency). Our role as educators is to create a safe and reflective space for children to develop their interests and identities and to counterbalance pervasive gender stereotypes.

Flexibility and preparation are also essential for supporting families. The most important thing that a teacher or director can do with families is listen carefully and try to understand their concerns. Some families may be worried about their children's future school experiences during their middle childhood and teen years. They may be seeking assurance that their children will be safe, happy, and well adjusted. Other families may be interested in knowing if there is research that indicates that a transgender child can grow into a confident and well-adjusted adult. Families with strong religious or cultural beliefs that do not support gender nonconformity need to feel that their perspectives are being heard.

Teachers also need to have appropriate resources in mind for families, knowing that different families will be best supported in different ways. Some will be interested in reading scientific literature; others may just need someone to listen to and reassure them. At times, it may be appropriate to refer the family to a community resource person who is skilled in addressing questions of gender and sexual expression.

It may be helpful to remind family members that the ultimate goal is preserving their positive long-term relationships with their child. By sharing current information on child development, teachers may point out that there are things about the child that the family can neither change nor control. While they can't change their child's gender identity, they do have the power to strengthen the relationship by being loving and supportive no matter how their child self-identifies. (For more specifics to help you work effectively with families, see pages 91-93.)

As we pointed out in our September 2017 column about a father's disapproval of his son dressing up in girl's clothing, many child-rearing values are strongly rooted in families' cultural beliefs. Sensitive teachers must carefully balance their responsibilities to children and to their families-this can be particularly challenging when working with groups that have strong positions about appropriate gender roles. Additional challenges arise when a child's gender preference is at odds with their family culture and values. Those situations will call for exceptional cultural navigation skills and, most likely, additional support from experts and organizations in the community. We anticipate that this topic will continue to be addressed in early childhood education.

As a teacher, you have the ability to make the world a better place for children who are gender nonconforming, are gender creative, or identify as trans. One place to start is with an inclusive classroom that supports a variety of gender expressions and avoids perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes. There are simple ways to make classrooms more inclusive, like avoiding consistently dividing children into groups by gender. For example, think about how you call children to the door. Instead of calling boys, then girls, to line up at the door, you might ask children wearing red, then blue, then green, to get ready to go outside. You can incorporate pictures, books, and dress-up materials that avoid gender stereotypes into the classroom. And you can help children move beyond traditional gender roles by encouraging girls to pretend they are firefighters and boys to role-play as nurses. If possible, make your restrooms available to all genders. Respond to children's fears, teach children to stand up for themselves if teased for their gender expressions, and validate their gender identities as they choose to express them. Strive to help all the children and adults in your program embrace a more inclusive, less restrictive view of gender.

Resources for Teachers and Families

Books and articles for adults

Gender Born, Gender Made: Raising Healthy Gender-Nonconforming Children. Diane Ehrensaft (2011). This developmental and clinical psychologist provides clear advice about supporting children who do not conform to society's narrowly defined gender categories.

The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals. Stephanie Brill & Rachel Pepper (2008). A comprehensive resource with information to help adults guide gender-variant and transgender children.

This Is How It Always Is: A Novel. Laurie Frankel (2017). A family's journey of learning and acceptance begins when their 3-year-old son announces that he wants to be a girl when he grows up.

"Tate and the Pink Coat: Exploring Gender and Enacting Anti-Bias Principles." Janice Kroeger, Abigail E. Recker, and Alexandra C. Gunn. 2019. This article presents current research on the importance of gender inclusivity in early childhood classrooms and offers practical tips to help teachers support children's explorations of gender. NAEYC.org/resources/pubs/yc/mar2019/exploring-gender-enacting-anti-bias

Gender Spectrum. This website has links to resources that help programs create gender-sensitive and inclusive environments for all children. Includes resources for children, families, and teachers, and training materials addressing a wide range of topics. www.genderspectrum.org

Teaching Tolerance. This website contains resources for educators committed to diversity, equity, and justice, including classroom and professional development materials focused on race and ethnicity, religion, ability, class, immigration, gender and sexual identity, bullying, and bias. www.tolerance.org/topics

Gender Justice in Early Childhood. This website focuses specifically on young children and offers resources and links to help educators consider their language, teaching practices, and programs from a gender justice perspective.
www.genderjusticeinearlychildhood.com

The Boy & the Bindi, by Vivek Shraya, illus. by Rajni Perera (2016). (Ages 4-8) A 5 year-old South Asian boy is fascinated with his mother's bindi, the colored dot commonly worn in the middle of Hindu women's foreheads. He wants to have one of his own. His mother agrees and teaches him about its cultural significance.

Elena's Serenade, by Campbell Gleeson (2014). (Ages 3-8) A young Mexican girl admires her father's glassblowing and wants to follow in his footsteps. However, pointing to her size and gender, he disapproves of her aspirations. She disguises herself as a boy to learn the craft and ultimately changes her father's views. Told in both English and Spanish, the story explores the limiting nature of gender roles and the power of children to challenge adult thinking.

Introducing Teddy, by Jessica Walton, illus. by Dougal MacPherson (2016). (Ages 3-6) Errol and his teddy bear, Thomas, are best friends who do everything together. One day, Thomas tells Errol, "In my heart, I've always known that I'm a girl teddy, not a boy teddy." Errol replies, "I don't care if you're a girl teddy or a boy teddy! What matters is that you are my friend."

Julián Is a Mermaid, by Jessica Love (2018). (Ages 4-8) Inspired by women he sees on the subway who are colorfully dressed as mermaids, Julián dresses up like a mermaid when he gets home. He worries about how his grandmother will respond, but she celebrates his transformation.

My Princess Boy, by Cheryl Kilodavis, illus. by Suzanne DeSimone (2009). (Ages 4-8) This story is told from the perspective of the mother of a 4-year-old boy who likes to wear dresses and enjoys things that typically appeal to girls.

Sparkle Boy, by Lesléa Newman, illus. by Maria Mola (2017). (Ages 4-8) Casey loves blocks, puzzles, and his dump truck, but he also wants to try out the shimmer skirt, glittery nails, and bracelets his sister and his grandmother wear. The adults in his life support his choices, but he worries when older boys tease him.

Photographs: © Getty Images

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Focus On Ethics: Gender Expression and Identity

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Our role as educators is to create a safe and reflective space for children to develop their identities and to counterbalance gender stereotypes.

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Talking to Young Children about the Guiding Principles of the Movement for Black Lives

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Talking to Young Children about the Guiding Principles of the Movement for Black Lives

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Early childhood teacher Ashley Chu read This Is the Rope by Jacqueline Woodson in her pre-K - Kindergarten after school book club in D.C. for Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. The focus of the book club is to read books written by people of color that tell the stories of characters of color. Chu describes the lesson:

We are currently reading stories related to the theme of immigration/migration, so we connected it to the book we read last week, by Yuyi Morales. Through that connection, we discussed the reasons people might move and how they may feel when they go somewhere new. Some students have moved in the past and shared their experience, while others talked about going somewhere new on a trip.

When I introduced the book, I related it to one of the 13 Principles of Black Lives Matter, "intergenerational." I explained it meant the story would talk about a grandma, mom, and child, and they will all grow and change through the story, so the story happens over many years. While reading the book, we highlighted how the characters were changing and how the rope is used in different ways. Then, students thought of other ways they might use a rope with their families. Students got a small piece of yarn and drew a picture incorporating the yarn, which they glued to their picture.

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Students Read "This Is the Rope" - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Early childhood teacher Ashley Chu read This Is the Rope by Jacqueline Woodson in her pre-K - Kindergarten after school book club in D.C. for Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. The focus of the book club is to read books written by people of color that tell the stories of characters of color.

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Teaching for Change Offers Workshop at National African American Museum of History and Culture
By Cierra Kaler-Jones

In 2013, then 12-year old Vanessa VanDyke was threatened that she would be expelled unless she cut her natural hair because it was regarded as a "distraction" by administrators. In 2017, sisters Mya and Deanna Cook were told if they did not get rid of their braids, they would be removed from extracurricular activities, banned from prom, and given detention. In 2018, Drew Johnson was publicly forced to cut his locs in order to participate in a wrestling tournament or forfeit his match. In classrooms and schools across the country, we have also seen posted signs that designated which hairstyles were deemed appropriate and which were not, many of those hairstyles traditionally worn by people of color.

In light of these and other incidents, Teaching for Change's D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice, Communities for Just Schools Fund, and the Early Childhood Initiative at the National Museum of African American History and Culture offered a workshop on hair representation in children's books on November 2, 2019. The workshop was designed and facilitated by myself and Teaching for Change Coordinator of Teacher Engagement and Professional Development Rosalie Reyes.

More than 25 educators, administrators, and education advocates from across the D.C. metro area participated in a two-hour workshop around the historical and sociopolitical context of hair, selecting children's books on hair, and how to highlight these lessons and conversations in the classroom. To build community and to encourage networking between attendees, we opened the workshop with a story fortune icebreaker activity. Each attendee received a slip of paper with a prompt that they would then have to share with a partner. A few story fortune prompts included: my favorite hairstyle, why I am interested in children's literature, and a teacher or book that helped me rethink issues of race, gender, or class.

After participants spent some time learning more about one another, we introduced the first lesson. We adapted Bill Bigelow's The Color Line into The Hair Line, to predict and discuss policies, practices, and symbolism around hair. Through the lesson, participants analyzed the ways that hair has been used throughout history to make a statement, tell a story, and to control and create racial hierarchy through messages of inferiority/superiority. Groups then had an opportunity to predict and share examples in smaller conversations, later reviewing another worksheet, which detailed multiple examples throughout history. We moved from grounding ourselves in the historical context to thinking about how the pervasiveness of hair policies, and in some cases, the lack thereof, contribute to current practices in schools.

One example that inspired deep group discussion was about the findings from the National Women's Law Center's report on D.C. codes. The study found that 68 percent of D.C. public high schools that publish their dress codes online ban headwraps or hair scarves. A few school dress codes local to the D.C. metro area have policies, such as "No hats, hair rollers or curlers are allowed during the school day or at school-sponsored activities," and "Headwear is not permitted. This includes but is not limited to hats, visors, bandannas, scarves, bonnets, and hoods. (Exceptions may be granted based on religious and medical reasons with proper verification)." This sparked conversation about how those policies have been ingrained in our practices in the classroom. The topic also inspired questions about how we find balance between honoring students' expression and abiding by safety regulations that are set forth by school districts and school boards.

After situating and emphasizing the importance of grappling with the historical and sociopolitical context of hair, we discussed current examples that show the power of representation in children's literature. One of the examples we highlighted was Matthew Cherry's Hair Love, illustrated by Vashti Harrison. This sweet tale shares the story of Zuri, who is trying to figure out what to do with her hair for a special occasion. With her dad's help, they figure out the perfect solution after a few challenges along the way. We showed the short animated film clip, adapted from the book, alongside the below reaction from a child that sees an image of themselves reflected in the pages of the book. This illustrates the power, beauty, and magic of representation.

Using the book and clip as tools to spark an introductory conversation with early childhood and elementary students, we also encouraged educators to pose questions with students such as,

Do you have someone who does your hair?
Was there a time you did your hair really special?
What is your favorite thing about your hair?

Representatives from Curlanista were also in attendance and they graciously detailed the origin story of the company and talked about the company's founder, Lexi P., who launched the CURLANISTAS BO$$ Network, a youth entrepreneurial program. Dannika Stith-Bowers, an educator herself, brought her three daughters, Layla, Logan, and Leah, to talk about representation and the importance of being able to see themselves reflected in hair care products and books. Stith-Bowers encourages her daughters to select hairstyles they like and they will often point out pictures in books to show how they would like their hair. Each of the girls hugged a book as they sat in front of the room - one a Curlanista coloring book that featured a number of natural styles and textures, another one a notebook to showcase her exquisite drawings, and the other a detailed journal. As Stith-Bowers described each of the girls' different styles for how they like to wear their hair, she also offered a meaningful note,

When my daughter goes to school and isn't happy with her outfit or her hair that day, her teacher talks to her and affirms that she is beautiful just the way she is.

Children's books offer a dynamic and influential mirror for them to feel affirmed, celebrated, and appreciated. One way that the affirmation of hair can show up in a lesson is through reader's theatre, another lesson we shared with the group. Using some guiding questions created by Roving Readers, we asked some pre-reading questions, including,

Why do you love your hair?
How does it feel when someone is doing your hair or when you get a haircut?

After that, we had attendees break into small groups and asked them to select three pages of the book I Love My Hair! to act out to the larger group. This reader's theatre lesson can be adapted for different age groups in a number of ways. For example, for the youngest readers, educators or family members can read to them and have them act out each page. For older readers, they can read the book and either create a new scene to act out or write a related scene about their own experiences if this is something they would like to share. After reading the book, we followed up with some additional questions and statements, including,

Why do you think Keyana loved her hair?
What can you do with your hair?
Now everyone say I LOVE MY HAIR!

Opportunities to not only see different types and textures of hair represented in classroom content, but to also engage in discussion with students about their own hair practices helps to break down the barriers that 'others' hair that has historically been missing from mainstream media. Carefully selecting children's books can play a significant and powerful role in helping shape young children's perspectives about themselves and about others. Through read-alouds, role play, discussion, and other activities, children begin to build empathy and also a sense of confidence in their ability to understand and honor others' experiences. Interacting with children's books helps students with different learning styles comprehend and celebrate all dimensions of human difference, such as engaging with pictures as visual learners, listening as auditory learners, acting out the characters as kinesthetic learners, or talking through their thoughts as verbal learners.

We ended the workshop by giving participants an opportunity to look through some of the children's books on hair we curated and compiled. Some of the books included Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, I Am Not a Number, My Hair is a Garden, and Bad Hair Does Not Exist! Pelo Male No Existe! Each participant received a guiding questions resource sheet for selecting children's books on hair. The resource sheet provided guiding questions and tips for critical selection. Some of the guidance included,

Check the illustrations. What hair textures and styles are missing or invisible? How are you able to supplement those conversations when reading books with children?

Consider how the books might affect children's self and social identity. Then selecting children's books on hair, does your collection incorporate or include different ethnicities? For example, are Afro-Latinx communities, indigenous communities, or communities that cover their hair represented in the text?

The time to explore the books also created space for educators to get together and share their expertise in discussing how they would incorporate some of these books into their classes or turn the book into a lesson, using some of the framework from the reader's theatre as a starting point.

Attendees shared their thoughts about what they learned during the workshop,

I realized how much there is to explore about hair. It is so complex, historically and currently. Literature is such a great starting point for the conversation.

Loved guiding questions and history handouts. Appreciated all of the books to peruse. I liked the intersectionality lens (gender, faith, etc.)

The resources were wonderful. I hadn't thought about all of the laws and policies around hair. The sample lessons / questions were good. Thank you.

I think the most important thing I gained from today was the opportunity to reflect on my experience with hair, the experience of others, and the historical experience in regard to hair representation.

Through discussion and interactive lessons and activities, this workshop extended the national conversation about what it means to affirm, celebrate, and honor different types and textures of hair, namely natural hair, while providing a historical context to ground our teaching and learning.

The team is based in Washington, D.C. and the presenters are available to present at conferences, for professional development, or for teacher education courses. If interested, please contact Cierra Kaler-Jones at ckalerjones@cjsfund.org.

VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM EVENT

Cierra Kaler-Jones is the Education Anew Fellow with Communities for Just Schools Fund and Teaching for Change. She is also a Ph.D. candidate at University of Maryland, College Park studying minority and urban education.

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Hair Representation in Children's Literature - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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By Cierra Kaler-Jones In 2013, then 12-year old Vanessa VanDyke was threatened that she would be expelled unless she cut her natural hair because it was regarded as a "distraction" by administrators. In 2017, sisters Mya and Deanna Cook were told if they did not get rid of their braids, they would be removed from extracurricular activities, banned from prom, and given detention.

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Parents of children in a pre-K class at Anne Beers Elementary School (DCPS) were featured guest readers (part of the Teaching for Change Roving Readers program) in honor of Black History Month and Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.

They read by Shane W. Evans, which tells the story of a Black family preparing to participate in the March on Washington. Following the reading, the young children marched in the hallway, singing "We Shall Overcome."

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We Shall Overcome: Pre-K Class Reads "We March" - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Parents of children in a pre-K class at Anne Beers Elementary School (DCPS) were featured guest readers (part of the Teaching for Change Roving Readers program) in honor of Black History Month and Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action .

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Our youngest students deserve a truthful, age-appropriate account of our past. These resources for elementary educators include a first-of-its-kind framework, along with student texts, teaching tools and professional development for anyone committed to teaching this hard history.

Download the Framework

Here are a few key elements of the framework and the accompanying resources:

Key Concepts
The foundation of the K-5 and 6-12 frameworks, the Key Concepts pinpoint 10 important ideas that all students must understand to truly grasp the historical significance of slavery. Explored through Essential Knowledge in the elementary grades and Summary Objectives in middle and high school teaching, the Key Concepts serve as tools educators can use to structure their teaching.

Essential Knowledge
Each of the 20 "Essential Knowledge" sections identifies an age-appropriate understanding for students to reach and outlines additional information that will help them get there. It also offers recommendations for supporting student learning. Essential Knowledge items 1-10 are designed for K-2 students, and items 11-20 are designed for students in grades 3-5.

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Our youngest students deserve a truthful, age-appropriate account of our past. These resources for elementary educators include a first-of-its-kind framework, along with student texts, teaching tools and professional development for anyone committed to teaching this hard history. Download the Framework

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Woke Kindergarten 60 Second Texts: Move Like Stacey

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Woke Read Alouds: It Feels Good to Be Yourself (NEW version)

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Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talks

Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk is part anti-bias training, part book review. Each short segment explores anti-bias books for home and the classroom with the goal to strengthen parents' and teachers' anti-bias, anti-racism lens and their ability to critically analyze children's media.

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Black Lives Matter - Early Childhood and Elementary Resources - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk is part anti-bias training, part book review. Each short segment explores anti-bias books for home and the classroom with the goal to strengthen parents' and teachers' anti-bias, anti-racism lens and their ability to critically analyze children's media.

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Last May, Teaching for Change's D.C. Area Educator's for Social Justice, hosted a session for early childhood educators on teaching about disability. There was a variety of educators and specialists in attendance including therapists and teachers of inclusive and self-contained classrooms.

Using the chapter titled "Learning About Disabilities and Fairness" from the book Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, small groups discussed sections related to children's early experiences and understandings of ability and disability such as: "young children are curious; they want to know about what they see" and "young children have the capacity to appreciate their shared abilities and similarities."

The anti-bias goals pertaining to disability and fairness are:

All children will develop autonomy and independence (as they are able) as well as confidence and pride in their competence.

All children will learn accurate information, appropriate to their developmental stage, about disabilities and special needs.

All children will gain understanding about how their own abilities are the same as and different from others'.

All children will learn to interact knowledgeably, comfortably, and fairly with each other, whatever their abilities.

All children will learn how to challenge name-calling and stereotyping with respect to their own or others' abilities and will share ideas about accessibility in order to promote interaction and independence.

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Talking to Young Children About Disabilities - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Last May, Teaching for Change's D.C. Area Educator's for Social Justice , hosted a session for early childhood educators on teaching about disability. There was a variety of educators and specialists in attendance including therapists and teachers of inclusive and self-contained classrooms

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Watch the Webinar: Black Lives Matter in the Classroom

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Watch the recording of our most popular webinar yet, "Black Lives Matter in the Classroom: A Conversation with Experts" with Laleña Garcia and Caryn Davidson, author and illustrator of What We Beli...

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We recognize that the ability to process and communicate ideas around race varies from child to child and family to family, and we wanted to honor these differences by allowing families to discuss and interact with this banner in the way that feels right for each of you. Any families that feel so moved are also invited to add a handprint or a written name on the banner. Later this week, all three words will be joined to create our Black Lives Matter mural, in celebration of our week of learning.

Q & A with young children

With young children, we suggest you share just enough to answer the question honestly. You don't need to give them too much detail, and you follow their lead in terms of curiosity and prior knowledge. Here are a couple examples -
Why are we having Black Lives Matter Week?
Sometimes people say and do hurtful things to people due to the color of their skin; our school community is speaking up to say that's unfair.
Why are we wearing hoodies?
Sometimes when people wear hoodies, other people think that they're scary. But we know, whatever you're wearing, you're still the same wonderful person and you matter.

Reflections from our Teachers

Creating this banner, and planning other activities or discussions for this week was a point of struggle and debate for us as early childhood educators and advocates. Young children interact with society, and are exposed to upsetting and concerning events every day, but within different contexts, and with varying degrees of comprehension. They are active participants and observers of the world around them. As teachers, we are often called upon to discuss difficult ideas and help children process them, and as individuals, we each have different feelings and viewpoints on when and how to engage our young learners when complex topics surface. We had a number of discussions and debates, representing a wide range of perspectives. As a result, we agreed on the importance of talking about this with young children, reaching consensus on the following key points.

We build the foundation for a more equitable future by celebrating our differences, including skin color. We do this all year long through thoughtful planning and in response to teachable moments that surface in our classroom communities.

Families will have many different feelings about issues surrounding race and the Black Lives Matter movement, and should have the opportunity to discuss these ideas with their children in their own way.

Children need to know they are safe and loved and they matter. It is important for them to not be completely sheltered from painful things. Social issues are early childhood issues.

We're all still learning about and processing this kind of work with young children, and striving to do what's best for our students and our world. Thank you for your partnership and understanding in this work.

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Black Lives Matter School Mural - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Early childhood students and families at The Inspired Teaching Demonstration School began to work on a #BlackLivesMatter mural this morning. Students in Pk through 8th grade will have the opportunity to add their messages throughout the week as part of the D.C. Area Black Lives Matter Week of Acti

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Sesame Street: I Love My Hair Song (Mando's Spanish Version)

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Early Childhood: Learning about Gender Identity

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

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This article was published in By Brenda Randolph and Betsy DeMulder Teaching Tolerance in the fall of 2008 in collaboration with Teaching for Change. The issue continues to be relevant today.
In the fall of 2007, in a 1st- and 2nd-grade classroom during circle time, Ms. Brown told her students, "My friend is planning a trip to the continent of Africa. Can you tell me what my friend will need when she goes to Africa?" Several children shouted out excitedly.
Animals.
Yeah, animals.
Elephants.
Cheetahs and monkeys.
Lions.
Giraffes.
Jaguars.
Men with spears hunting animals.
Water, 'cause it's very hot.
Food, 'cause they'd be hungry.
A tent.

Ms. Brown followed up with another question, "What will my friend see when she goes to Africa?" The children quickly rattled off a list:
Picking fruit.
Growing corn.
Ms. Brown asked, "What kinds of things do they do there?"

Finally, Ms. Brown asked, "What kind of jobs do they have there?" The children seemed stumped. Then two children piped up.

These responses highlight the images that children often have of Africa.

As Professor Michael Bamidele Adeyemi of the University of Botswana suggests, "Americans believe that Africa is a country, that Africa is 'still uncivilized,' that the average African is polygamous, and that Africa is not urbanized." In fact, the African continent encompasses a diverse set of more than 50 nations, each made up of a variety of urban and rural cultures, lifestyles and socioeconomic realities. Rates of urbanization in Africa are the highest in the world. By 2025, more than half of the African population will be urban. Barbara Brown explains in the March/April 2008 issue of Social Studies and the Young Learner: "Americans are often surprised to learn that the majority of Africans have never seen large wildlife."

Images in the news, popular media and school textbooks often highlight African people living in abject poverty; rarely do they show the realities of wealth, power and good health that also exist throughout the continent. Typically, African children are depicted as sick and hungry; rare are depictions of the millions of African children who arrive at school fed and ready to learn each day.

Inaccurate impressions of Africa start early, as children are exposed to stereotypical information in books, the news media, advertisements, and film and TV programs such as "The Lion King," "Madagascar" and "George of the Jungle," to name just a few.

It is not just children who see Africa as a land full of wild animals and starving children. One of the authors of this article showed slides in her child's classroom of their family's trip to the capital city of Dakar in Senegal, with images of cars, tall buildings and people in schools, restaurants and at work. As soon as the slide show was over, the teacher jumped in front of the class and told all the students, "I want you to know that this is not the real Africa that you have just seen here."

Because teachers, parents, and other adults are influenced by ongoing exposure to these stereotypes, we must carefully examine and challenge our own knowledge and assumptions about African environments, customs, traditions and cultural realities. Otherwise, our misimpressions influence the kinds of learning opportunities we create for children.

This is a challenging but essential task. Vivian Yenika-Agbaw, the author of Representing Africa in Children's Literature: Old and New Ways of Seeing, analyzed 50 fictional children's books set in West Africa and published between 1960 and 1995. She found that the texts "represent West Africa as either primitive/barbaric or natural/romantic."

She also examined messages regarding life in Africa as depicted in picture books for young children. Although some picture books depicted "Africans as dignified people with varied cultures," many painted a more stereotypical picture; negative messages included descriptions and depictions of Africa "as a 'Mythical Home' with unexplainable natural and historical occurrences ... as a vulnerable place prone to foreign invasions ... [and] as a place where people share space with animals."

Our own review of 30 children's books about Africa found skewed and incomplete images. More than 90 percent of the books, for example, showed only rural or village life and jungles. Based on images from these books, readers would assume there are no cities in Africa.

Why is this important?

Stereotypical representations of Africa and its people have a profound impact on three levels:

Racial relations and identity development for all Americans. Constant association of Africa with animals, poverty and exotic behaviors affects the perception of African American and black heritage around the world. Such deficit images of Africa contribute directly to racism. Historically, these misconceptions were used to justify enslavement and colonialism. The portrayal of Africa in Western media and children's books continues to feed a belief in white superiority and the need of Africans (Blacks) to be saved or feared. The images also contribute directly to internalized racism, leading many black children in the U.S. to want to distance themselves from any association with their African heritage.

Treatment of first-generation African immigrants. Most recent immigrants from African countries to the United States learn quickly about how little Americans know about Africa and experience firsthand the racism associated with that ignorance. We have heard countless stories from first-generation immigrants from Africa about the questions they receive. Invariably, they are asked about wild animals. Many of these immigrants have come from cities in Africa and have not seen a wild animal except in the zoo. In some cases, children are taunted, told to return to the jungle or asked to show their tail.

Global/international relations and foreign policy. Ultimately what students in the United States learn about Africa impacts our country's relations with and policies toward African countries. If negative stereotypes prevail, then as citizens we are unlikely to challenge policies that are paternalistic or exploitative. If the next generation of students develops a deeper and more respectful understanding of African countries, then our foreign relations and policies will follow suit.
Use the names of specific countries instead of just calling it "Africa."
Challenging African Stereotypes in the Classroom

Below are recommendations for using an anti-bias curricular approach when creating learning experiences about the African continent for children in the United States.

Just as it is unusual to use "Europe" when referring to France or "North America" when referring to Canada, avoid using "Africa" to stand for individual African countries.
Avoid activities that perpetuate stereotypes of hungry and poor Africans.
Some guidance:

Some children's books have Africa in the title, but the author's note indicates which nation is featured.

If a parent, fellow teacher, or guest speaker references Africa, you can ask: "Which country?"

If there are first-generation immigrants from the African continent in your school or classroom, be sure that you and your students know their specific countries of origin.

Read Africa is Not a Country (Burns & Melnicove, 2000) to your students, and find the featured countries on a map of Africa. Reinforce the vastness of the continent with the informative map "How Big is Africa," which fits Europe, China, and the United States into Africa.

Use "regular" language.
Activities that use images of hungry, helpless Africans reinforce negative stereotypes that pervade children's consciousness due to limited exposure to counter images. When fundraising drives, social studies lessons or current events focus on issues of poverty in an African country, use the opportunity to teach about the root causes of hunger and poverty globally. Be sure to help children recognize that poverty is also prevalent here in the United States, and that poverty locally and globally is impacted by U.S. trade policies and multinational corporations. Students can then identify strategies for lasting change, e.g. purchasing fair-trade items, educating their communities, and advocating for progressive legislation.
Pay attention to the messages and images conveyed by your choice of art activities.
Terry Moore, a 3rd-grade teacher, describes how a small group of committed students moved their school "from charity drives to education to action." For their final project, the students held a Hunger Banquet, an activity designed by Oxfam America to mimic inequities and politics in the real world. Students charged $5 admission to an ice cream banquet, then dished out unequal portions to the attendees. The activity dramatically changed the way their fellow students viewed hunger and poverty. The money the students raised was donated to an organization dedicated to helping people obtain a sustainable source of food and income (" Beyond Bake Sales: Elementary Students Fight Hunger and Child Labor" in Rethinking Schools, Summer 2004). Many more lessons like this can be found in Rethinking Globalization: Teaching for Justice in an Unjust World.
Make sure you are using as many contemporary stories as you are folktales.
Employ words and phrases that you would normally use when discussing life in the U.S. Use "house" not "hut" and "people" (or identity group or ethnic group) instead of "tribe." The latter is a source of endless debate and discussion. Curtis Keim provides a cogent critique of the term "tribe" in his book Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind (Keim, 1999).
Include North Africa.
In many classrooms, making "African" masks and "huts" are students' first school-based introductions to Africa. Expand students' perspectives by introducing contemporary art and artists. Highlight Nigerian batik specialist Nike Onlaniyi Davies and encourage students to use her techniques to create their own artistic expressions. Davies is featured in Faces magazine's "The Yoruba People: Nigeria and Beyond" (September 1995) and on her website. If mask-making is an essential part of your curriculum, be sure to include masks from throughout the world. Know the country and cultural significance of the masks you are introducing from Africa and be aware that some countries in Africa have no masking traditions. Introduce students to the wide variety of musical expressions from Africa by playing compact discs while students work. Start with Putumayo's "Mali," which features the lyrical kora, the vibrant balaphon and blues-tinged sounds from southern Mali.
Highlight typical social groups and everyday activities.
African folktales are a great way to teach values and gain insight into cultures and beliefs. The heavy use of folktales, however, can lead to misconceptions since folktales are typically set in the past and feature wild animals and rural scenes. Balance folktales with stories that introduce young children to present-day reality in cities and towns. These images are represented well in Ikenna Goes to Nigeria (Onyefulu, 2007) and A Child's Day in a South African City (Wulfsohn, 2002).
Avoid wild animal motifs.
Don't separate the study of North African countries from countries south of the Sahara. Bring North Africa into your discussions with The Day of Ahmed's Secret (Heide & Gilliland, 1990), set in Egypt, and My Father's Shop (Ichikawa, 2006), set in Morocco. When studying ancient Egypt, be sure to include ancient Nubia, Egypt's southern neighbor. The Rise of the Golden Cobra (Aubin, 2007), a novel set during the reign of King Piankhy, is a good choice for upper elementary students.
Explore African perspectives and actions.
Avoid materials that emphasize exotic practices. Provide posters and books that feature African children and families engaged in everyday activities, especially those activities with which children in the U.S. can relate. The African continent is a diverse collection of countries where people live in wealth and in poverty, in rural and in urban dwellings; where livelihoods depend upon farming, business, and industry; and where individuals occupy all of the professions we have come to associate with the industrialized world, including doctors, lawyers, and professors. Tololwa Mollel's My Rows and Piles of Coins (1999) and Big Boy (1997) are much more representative of life in Tanzania than the endless stream of books about East Africa's cattle-keeping Maasai. For occupation diversity, ask children to identify the different occupations in Here Comes our Bride (Onyefulu, 2004).
Take an imaginary city tour.
Did you know that most Africans have never seen large wild animals? Elephants, lions and giraffes populate only a few countries, primarily in East and Southern Africa, and today most of these large animals live in or near national parks. Children in Africa are much more likely to see the same animals an American child would see. I Lost My Tooth in Africa (Diakite, 2006), What's Cooking, Jamela? (2001) and Musa's Journey (Grobler, 1997) collectively feature birds, dogs, cats, chickens and a host of other barnyard animals. If "wild animals" is a must-do theme, read a book about wild animals in the U.S., and then read Home Now (Beake, 2007), a realistic story about an orphaned South African girl who befriends an orphaned elephant that lives in a national park. In Ashraf of Africa (Mennen and Daly, 1990), we see fierce lions, gliding crocodiles, and thundering zebras but discover that Ashraf, who lives "in a city, a city at the very tip of the great African continent," has only seen these animals in a book.
Brenda Randolph is the Director of AfricaAccess, chairperson of the Africana Children's Book Award and served for many years as a Library Media Specialist with the Montgomery County Maryland Public Schools. Betsy DeMulder is the Director of Initiatives in Educational Transformation at George Mason University and served as a visiting scholar with Teaching for Change. Thanks to Barbara Brown (Boston University), Lindsey Allard, Merry Merryfield (Ohio State University), and Deborah Menkart (Teaching for Change) for their contributions to the article.
Share the ways Africans see their world by reading award-winning books by African authors. Tololwa Mollel (Tanzania), Ifeoma Onyefulu (Nigeria) and Elinor Sisulu (South Africa) are just a few of the authors from African countries who have won Children's Africana Best Book Awards (complete list of winners at AfricaAccessReview.org). Highlight Africans who organized to bring about needed change. For example, students can learn about Kenya's Green Movement and the leadership of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. Independent readers can tackle easy-to-read biographies including Lilian Ngoyi (van Wyk, 2003) and Helen Joseph (van Wyk, 2003); these unsung heroes - one black, one white - opposed apartheid side by side and in death are buried side by side.

To ensure that your students never say, "I didn't know there were cities in Africa," pretend your class is taking a trip that includes a tour of two or more cities. Students will need to plan their air travel, select hotels, understand the currency and exchange rate, pack appropriate clothing and identify places of interest to visit. Good choices for this project are: Accra, Ghana; Cairo, Egypt; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town (Stein, 1998) and Cairo (Stein, 1996) are good resources for planning trips to these cities. For Accra and Addis Ababa, use Google Images and the University of Wisconsin's digital collection Africa Focus: Sights and Sounds from Africa. Don't limit your study of urbanization in Africa to the present. Ask students in grades 3 and higher to write about living in an ancient or medieval African city. UNESCO's World Heritage site has useful information on Aksum and Lalibela, Ethiopia, and medieval Timbuktu, Mali.

Reprinted from Teaching Tolerance. Number 34: Fall 2008.

Here are recommended book for pre-K - 12 classrooms on Africa.

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I Didn't Know There Were Cities in Africa! - Teaching for Change

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This article was published in Teaching Tolerance in the fall of 2008 in collaboration with Teaching for Change. The issue continues to be relevant today. By Brenda Randolph and Betsy DeMulder In the fall of 2007, in a 1st- and 2nd-grade classroom during circle time, Ms. Brown told her students, "My friend is planning a ...

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BLM at School is committed to teaching truthful histories and amassing the powerful practices, creative tools, and key strategies by which past, present, and future generations can advance the struggle of Black liberation. This summer, we renewed our curriculum work to create a more process-oriented, dialogic, secure, and empowering space for curriculum and community-building. This all-volunteer effort to map, index, and ensure continued wide access to identity-affirming, justice-oriented educational materials across the lifespan is more necessary than ever.

DONATE TO SUPPORT OUR MOVEMENT TO RECLAIM OUR CLASSROOMS AS INCUBATORS FOR INCLUSIVITY, EQUITY, & JUSTICE.

We are grateful for all of the contributions from educators and organizers from around the country who worked collaboratively to curate a variety of classroom resources for every age group. These resources are all free of charge and meant to be shared and used. The goal of these lessons and activities is to challenge racism and oppression and providing students with the vocabulary and tools needed to take action. If you are interested in joining the team please click here and email Chris Rogers.

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National coalition organizing for racial justice in education.

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Jamila Felton, librarian at St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School in Washington, D.C., read What Do You Do with a Voice Like That?: The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan to her kindergarten classes for Black Lives Matter Week at School of Action.

After Ms. Felton read the book, students talked about how Barbara Jordan used her voice powerfully to help people. A student stated that she used her voice to fight for justice for other people and that she was a teacher that taught her students important stuff.

The previous week, students read Martin & Mahalia: His Words, Her Song.

One child asked what Black Lives Matter meant. Ms. Felton explained it "was about justice, equality and the affirmation of black lives in the United States and all over the world."

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Learning About the Power of Voice from the Story of Barbara Jordan - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Jamila Felton, librarian at St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School in Washington, D.C., read What Do You Do with a Voice Like That?: The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan to her kindergarten classes for Black Lives Matter Week at School of Actio

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How Does Race Affect a Student’s Math Education?

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A new paper examines the ways “whiteness” reproduces racial advantages and disadvantages.

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The D.C. Area Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Schools gave a powerful start to Black History Month in classrooms across the Washington, D.C. area. Pre-K - 12th grade teachers in more than 100 schools taught lessons about structural racism, intersectional Black identities, and Black history.

D.C. was one of many cities across the country that participated in the national Black Lives Matter Week of Action in our Schools from February 5-10, 2018. The three key demands issued by the Black Lives Matter at School national movement were:

end zero tolerance and implement restorative justice,

hire more Black teachers in our schools, and

Black history/ethnic studies mandated K-12.

In the D.C. area, Teaching for Change and Center for Inspired Teaching, with many other groups, collaborated with teachers to bring these issues and content to more than 100 schools.

Here is some of what we learned from the D.C. Area Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Schools.

1.) A Movement brings radical change to the classroom.

In many schools, the week of action opened a dialogue that led to deeper understanding of the Movement for Black Lives and the thirteen principles of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Applying the lens of the Black Lives Matter Movement sharpened the focus of Black History Month in a way we have never seen before. Going beyond the typical Black History Month "I have a dream" lessons on the Civil Rights Movement, students learned about Bayard Rustin, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Black Power, and Dr. Martin Luther King's stand on the war and labor. One second grader remarked, "Black Lives Matter is like the Civil Rights Movement."

2.) The Black Lives Matter Movement helps students connect with history in a new way.

Talking about the Black Lives Matter Movement allowed students to reflect on the long history of the Movement for Black Lives. For example, a sixth grade Arlington teacher began her lesson on the U.S. Constitution with a discussion of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The class then read Mumbet's Declaration of Independence, the true story of an enslaved woman in Massachusetts who sued for her own freedom. After the read aloud, students read the preamble to the Constitution and discussed who wasn't included in the "we the people" phrase. Bringing it to today, they brainstormed how they could use the Constitution to fight for justice on issues in their own lives such as sexual harassment, deportation, the Muslim ban, health care, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

3.) Black Lives Matter is relevant to all grade levels.

The principles of the Black Lives Matter Movement were applied in developmentally appropriate ways from early childhood through high school. At one D.C. school, the community created a Black Lives Matter mural. The youngest learners contributed what is beautiful and black. Elementary students added a panel of what it takes to be alive, and middle school students expressed why the Black Lives Matter movement is important. One eighth grader reacted, "It means a whole lot that our school is honoring Black lives because I like to fight for justice."

4.) Black Lives Matter is relevant to every subject area.

Educators used the 13 principles of the Movement to teach about a wide range of subjects during the week of action. Several educators used a lesson incorporating police violence victims' #LastWords to write poetry, Spanish classes were exposed to the often untold Black history of Latin America, music classes held lessons on D.C. go-go music, social studies classes participated in " Resistance 101: A Lesson on Social Justice Activists and Strategies," " Black Muslims in the United States: An Introduction," and much more.

5.) The week of action opens communication between young people and adults.

Throughout the week, public events in the evenings provided opportunities for adults in the community to come together with and learn from young people. At an interschool seminar, young people and adults had honest and powerful conversations on student-selected topics including gentrification, mental illness and race, the war on drugs, and more. At a powerful open mic poetry event, people of all ages (the youngest was five years old) shared their " Love Poems for Black Women" with an enthusiastic audience. The young authors of a book about a teen who was killed by the police gave a presentation at a public library.

6.) Grassroots, educator-led planning, preparation, and learning are key.

The success of the week reflected months of planning by teachers in the D.C. area. The planning meetings, which began in the fall of 2017, were convened by Teaching for Change's D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice and Center for Inspired Teaching. During the meetings, educators established local demands, selected and developed lessons, planned events, and built community. The lessons were shared at two curriculum fairs. In advance of the week of action, teachers read recommended background reading to prepare and attended a talk on the history of racist ideas by Dr. Ibram Kendi.

7.) Teachers need strong allies to support this work.

Teachers cannot do this alone. First and foremost, the local Black Lives Matter chapters need to be on board. In D.C., we had the support of Black Lives Matter DMV and the BYP100 DC Chapter. In addition, we had co-sponsorship of the Washington Teachers' Union, the DCPS Secondary Literacy office, and endorsements by many other groups.

Over the last several years, we have seen the power of the Black Lives Matter Movement to raise awareness and discourse nationally about race and racism in the United States. Now we've seen the power these conversations can have in the classroom. The lessons and dialogues that took place during the week of action provided the momentum and inspiration to continue throughout the year.
See more photos and read more stories from the D.C. Area Black Lives Matter in Schools Week of Action.

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Seven Things We Learned From the D.C. Area Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Schools

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The D.C. Area Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Schools gave a powerful start to Black History Month in classrooms across the Washington, D.C. area. Pre-K - 12th grade teachers in more than 100 schools taught lessons about structural racism, intersectional Black identities, and Black history. D.C.

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Lesson based on the book Milo’s Museum﻿ by Zetta Elliott 

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Lesson based on the book Milo’s Museum﻿ by Zetta Elliott 

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Teaching Ideas | Teaching Stories

Reviewed by Deborah Menkart

Review Source: Rethinking Schools
Book Author: Zetta Elliott

Milo's Museum by Zetta Elliott is a beautifully illustrated, empowering story of a young girl (Milo) who is excited to go on a school field trip to a museum. Her grandfather explains, "Museums hold all the things that people feel are valuable or important." Imagine how Milo feels when she finds the museum offers little to no representation of African American history. Her follow up conversations with family members help give language to her frustration (and that of the readers'.) They also inspire her to take matters into her own hands, becoming the curator and docent of her own museum. At the end of the story, Milo changes the name of her museum to "The People's Museum" when her friends ask her if they could incorporate items from their community into the museum.

This story opens the door to age-appropriate conversations with young children about representation, institutional racism, youth activism, museum studies, lessons from family, and community engagement. It is also one of the all too few books that describes youth activism supported and informed by elders-instead of in opposition to or in isolation of adults.

Teaching Idea: Make your own museum!

Ask students to make a list of the things that tell a story about who they are.

What objects reveal your strengths?

Have you ever won a trophy or prize?

Is there something you loved when you were younger but have since outgrown?

What are your prized possessions?

What art have you created?

Ask students to talk to the elders in their families-parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts.

Ask them to share photographs and heirlooms that tell a story about their family (an heirloom is something precious that gets passed down from one generation to the next).

Has your family ever migrated from one place to another?

What objects help you celebrate your family's culture(s)?

Ask students to think about the story they want to tell.

Have your family members overcome any challenges?

What makes you proud to be part of your family and/or your community?

Find a space in the school where they can display their precious objects.

Teaching Stories

Milo's Museum Project for First Grade

First graders in Melissa Somerville's and Jessica Jones' classrooms at Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS read the book Milo's Museum by Zetta Elliott in preparation for the Black Lives Matter Week of Action, discussed the book, and then created "museum pieces" that represent the change they want to see or something that shows how they feel when they think about people being treated unfairly. CONTINUE READING.

Milo's Museum Read Aloud

At Mundo Verde Bilingual PCS, first grade students in Ms. Dani and Mr. CJ's class began their morning meeting with a read-aloud of Milo's Museum. CONTINUE READING.

Publisher's synopsis: Milo is excited about her class trip to the museum. The docent leads them on a tour and afterward Milo has time to look around on her own. But something doesn't feel right, and Milo gradually realizes that the people from her community are missing from the museum. When her aunt urges her to find a solution, Milo takes matters into her own hands and opens her own museum!

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Milo's Museum by Zetta Elliott is a beautifully illustrated, empowering story of a young girl (Milo) who is excited to go on a school field trip to a museum.

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Youth deserve safety, support, education, and resources. Not policing and handcuffs.

That's why Black Swan Academy and many organizations and community members across DC are fighting for police-free schools.

We need your help - will you join the #PoliceFreeSchoolsDC campaign to support youth today?

Many people have been conditioned to believe that police keep us safe even though they harm, detain, and kill so many people, including school students.

Police make the classroom unsafe for youth, especially Black youth, ushering them into the school-to-prison pipeline and exposing them to state violence.

We demand DC Council immediately remove policing from schools.

They should use those funds and more to increase access to resources that youth across DC have said will actually promote safety.

This includes things like safe housing, affirming classrooms to learn and dream in, and support with navigating challenges and conflict.

Let's fight for the supportive world that youth deserve.

Tell your friends, family, and neighbors to support #PoliceFreeSchoolsDC.

Thank you to all the incredible coalition partners of Police-Free Schools DC, including:

Advocates for Justice and Education

ESOC

Georgetown Juvenile Justice Clinic & Initiative

Fair Budget Coalition/ Harriet's Wildest Dreams

Children's Law Center

Akoma Project DC

Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center

National Women's Law Center

Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs

DC Girls' Coalition

United We Dream DMV

Children's Law Center

ACLU-DC

Sunrise DC

Envisioning Safety On Our Campuses Now DC/MD

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC

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Police-Free Schools - Black Swan Academy

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That's why Black Swan Academy and many organizations and community members across DC are fighting for police-free schools. We need your help - will you join the #PoliceFreeSchoolsDC campaign to support youth today? Many people have been conditioned to believe that police keep us safe even though they harm, detain, and kill so many people, including school students.

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Families Lead Read Alouds of Black History Books — D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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At Langdon ES (DCPS), parents and grandparents were featured guest readers (part of the Teaching for Change Roving Readers program) in honor of Black History Month and Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. They read in Ms. Louis’ 3rd grade class and Ms. Sco

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In February of 2019, a positive behavior support coach who was employed by the district in Madison, Wis., allegedly physically assaulted and ripped the hair out of the head of an 11-year-old Black girl. In the same school district, several teachers and substitutes have been fired or resigned earlier this academic year after reports they used racial slurs in the classroom. In the neighboring school district of Middleton, Wis., a school bus driver was fired after the district confirmed he had slapped a Black child. All these incidents in Wisconsin happened within months of each other.

In Binghamton, N.Y., four 12-year-old Black girls reported they were strip-searched at their school for acting too hyper and giddy in January. School officials likely assumed the girls were on drugs because their Black joy was unrecognizable. Of course, no drugs were found and the district denies strip searching the girls. However, the district does admit that asking students to remove some of their clothing is in compliance with a "sobriety check". The girls' parents dispute the district's claims, and a civil lawsuit from the parents and a third-party investigation are still ongoing.

Last Halloween, 14 staff members at Middleton Heights Elementary, 30 miles west of Boise, Idaho, were involved in dressing up as Mexicans and the border wall for Halloween. The district's superintendent issued a public apology and placed the teachers on paid administrative leave.

"An Essay for Teachers Who Understand Racism Is Real"

"Teachers, We Cannot Go Back to the Way Things Were

"White Teachers Need Anti-Racist Therapy"

"Dear White Teachers: You Can't Love Your Black Students If You Don't Know Them"

"'Grit Is in Our DNA': Why Teaching Grit Is Inherently Anti-Black"

Sadly, incidents like these fill my social-media timeline on a weekly basis. With regularity, school districts' spokespersons portray these incidents as isolated events, the work of a few overzealous, culturally insensitive but "good" teachers. These responses never acknowledge how racism is systemic, institutionalized, and structural, or how racism breeds and is maintained by violence.

Physical and psychological attacks on Black and Brown children's bodies and culture are more than just racist acts by misguided school educators; they are the spirit murdering of Black and Brown children. This type of violence toward children of color is less visceral and seemingly less tragic than physical acts of murder at the hands of White mobs and White self-appointed vigilantes, the shooting of unarmed people of color by police officers in their own homes and communities, or the senseless violence in some Black communities, which are all conditions of racism.

What I am talking about is a slow death, a death of the spirit, a death that is built on racism and intended to reduce, humiliate, and destroy people of color.

Legal scholar Patricia Williams coined the term "spirit murdering" to argue that racism is more than just physical pain; racism robs people of color of their humanity and dignity and leaves personal, psychological, and spiritual injuries. Racism is traumatic because it is a loss of protection, safety, nurturance, and acceptance-all things children need to enter school and learn.

The spirit murdering of Black and Brown children leaves a trail of unanswered questions: How do children learn after being physically assaulted or racially insulted by a person who is supposed to protect them, love them, and teach them? How does a Black or Brown child live, learn, and grow when her spirit is under attack at school, and her body is in danger inside the classroom? How does a parent grapple with this reality? How are children's imagination and humanity stunted by the notion that they are never safe in their schools because of the color of their skin or the God they pray to? Where does the soul go to heal when school is a place of trauma?

School officials continue to misdiagnose the spirit murdering happening in their schools every day, even in a time when folks are screaming in the streets that Black Lives Matter, demanding immigration rights, calling to end police brutality, standing up to Islamophobia and transphobia, and demanding racial justice. When schools mirror our society's hate, educational justice becomes out of our reach.
Related Video In 2016, Bettina L. Love, the author of this Commentary, spoke to Education Week about African-American girls and discipline. Here's what she had to say:

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How Schools Are 'Spirit Murdering' Black and Brown Students (Opinion)

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In February of 2019, a positive behavior support coach who was employed by the district in Madison, Wis., allegedly physically assaulted and ripped the hair out of the head of an 11-year-old Black girl. In the same school district, several teachers and substitutes have been fired or resigned earlier this academic year after reports they used racial slurs in the classroom.

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Safety does not exist when Black and Brown young people are forced to interact with a system of policing that views them as a threat and not as students. For many Black and Brown youth, the presence of police in their schools disrupts their learning environments. There is a culture clash that exists between law enforcement and the learning environment: police enforce criminal laws, while schools are supposed to nurture students. This report addresses the stark reality that police in schools is an issue of American racial disparity that requires deep structural change. We will explore the question of why police are in schools at all and conclude that police are incongruent with the educational environment we envision for our children.

First, this report examines the advent of policing practices in America's public schools and their historical roots in suppressing Black and Latino student movement and the criminalization of Black childhood. We discuss the documented harms of school policing, including the disparate impact that policing has on students of color, students with disabilities, and students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual (LQBTQIA).

The report centers the voices of young people from around the country who describe the everyday indignities that they experience at the hands of school police. It also, for the first time, catalogues known assaults of young people by school police officers. The report shines a spotlight on three particular cases where young people were assaulted by school police and how their communities responded. These case studies - in Oakland, CA, in Philadelphia, PA, and in Spring Valley, SC, serve as models in the fight to end school policing. The report chronicles how Black and Brown youth have used organizing and advocacy to advance a vision of school safety that is not reliant on policing.

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We Came to Learn: A Call to Action for Police-Free Schools

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Safety does not exist when Black and Brown young people are forced to interact with a system of policing that views them as a threat and not as students. For many Black and Brown youth, the presence of police in their schools disrupts their learning environments.

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“I am Jazz” Read Aloud By Dani McCormick

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“I am Jazz” Read Aloud By Dani McCormick

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"I am Jazz" introduction of transgender and nonbinary identities

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By Kara Hinderlie

Illustrator: Kesha Bruce

For years, I have struggled to find authentic ways of helping young children - kindergarteners and 1st graders - learn, remember, and appreciate Black history. Come January, the halls of my school are plastered with a variety of Martin Luther King Jr. tributes and artwork that conveniently find their way to being relabeled for February's Black History Month displays - and disappear in time for March's green living tips to save the planet.

But here is what my students need to know: Black is beautiful.

And here is why they need to know it...

Currently, in my predominantly white kindergarten class of 27, I see the few Black boys in my class targeted as the ones who did something wrong, as the kids who are called mean, as the kids who are not named as a friend. I see my one Black girl sad on the playground, or looking for a spot at the table with her white peers, unsure how to make space for herself. They are on the periphery of play, usually the "it" in tag, and it reminds me of my own story: In high school a teacher told us that, in our society, the color black symbolizes bad and evil, and white symbolizes good and pure.

I also remember when I was in a human development college class watching a video clip of children choosing a white baby doll instead of a brown one. I remember a little Black girl in the study saying the brown dolls were not as pretty, and the little white girls saying the brown dolls looked dirty. The video and the study itself made me sad for the little Brown girl I once was, trying to fit in and make friends in school.

One day I came across a stack of books the former librarian volunteer at my elementary school was going to throw out marked "Free books." In it were two copies of Black Is Beautiful. It was published in the '70s by Ann McGovern and made up of black-and-white photos of simple black subjects: a black bird, black jelly beans, black puppies, a black butterfly, a young Black girl in dress-up. The words in the book were written like a free verse poem. I loved the simplicity and took both copies to use in my classroom.

The students listened to me read aloud using a voice of wonderment and adoration - some pages I whispered in reverence. I stopped at the page of the Black girl playing dress-up in her mom's clothes, the only page mentioning black skin being beautiful:

Black lace, black face.
Black is beautiful.

"Do you see her wearing her mama's fancy clothes? So beautiful and fun," I said. When I finished, I asked what they noticed in the book.

"I notice the pictures only had black."

"I notice a black bird."

"I noticed beautiful."

"The horse was black!"

"I noticed the candy!"

"Yeah!" the class responds in a chorus of agreement.

I wrote down what they noticed on chart paper. Then I asked, "What can we add to this Black Is Beautiful book that the author didn't mention?"

"The tire swing!" Timothy said.

"Some people may not see a tire swing as beautiful. How can we convince them it is? I think about how some of you love to push it, and some of you love to ride on the tire swing. Hmm . . . what would some beautiful movement words be that you could say with tire swing?"

"It twirls!"

"It spins around and around!" said Chris, who was now on his knees, having popped up during his share out.

"Oooh! I can't wait to see how you write that!" I popped up too, and smiled.

I moved on, asking for more ideas. I framed their answers in the style and context of the book we read, modeling how to expand their list to sound like a poem. I wrote down their new ideas, and pointed to the ones already mentioned or from the original text: a kitten, a dog, sneakers, a witch.

"I notice the author wrote this like poetry to help us remember how beautiful the things in the book were. What words and descriptions can we add to our ideas to make people see the beauty and goodness of the color black?"

"My dress is soft and cozy," Lori gently patted her black fuzzy skirt, smiling into her own shoulder.

Nadira, who had been gazing away, raised her hand. "Black bird floating in the night sky."

I wrote what they said on the board and asked them to tell a friend three black things they are going to write about in a beautiful way. I know some will only get a picture or a word down while some will fill the page, but I want them all to start by telling someone three things. It gives them a goal and sets the expectation with a starting point.

I sent them off to write their ideas and have "Black is beautiful" written on sentence strips at each writing table for reference. I collected their work, went home, and typed them up.

The next day we reviewed: "Who remembers something that is black and beautiful?"

"Horses!"

"Birds!"

"Sneakers!"

"Rain clouds!"

"Yes!" I said. "Today we are going to look at a different kind of black is beautiful. We know that there are things that are black and beautiful, and people who are Black and beautiful. But it can be a little confusing because is people's skin the color of black paper or a black shirt? No! Black people are all different shades of brown. We just call it black sometimes. Today we are going to write about beautiful Black people and I have a few books to share with you to help give you ideas."

I started off by reading by Langston Hughes.

"Sunshines, I love this book," I told my students. "The words in this book are so simple and so powerful. This book is actually a short poem that was stretched across the pages so the photographs could illustrate each line of the poem. When I read this poem to you, I want you to study the pictures as you hear the words I say. Look at the faces and features of these Black people and notice their beauty. Notice what Langston compares the beauty to. In one place he compares me to the sun! I always feel so great when I read this poem."

The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.

The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people.

Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls
of my people.

I tell them to listen to ways Langston knows Black- and Brown-skinned people are beautiful. It's a slow book, with only a few words per page, which allows my students to study the sepia-toned photos. Using the same format from the last lesson, we try to translate the idea of black is beautiful to features of Black and Brown people. After I finished the book, I ask the students to tell me about beautiful Black people. "What did Langston say?"

"Beautiful like the sun."

"The stars are beautiful!"

I am explicit when I talk to the students about the metaphor in this poem. It is hard to understand when you are 5 years old and the world is a literal, concrete place. Some do not make the connections I want them to make, they are not thinking about the Black people of the poem but of their metaphors as the thing of beauty. So I make the connection for them and carry them with me through an example.

"Now you understand why I love this poem. Langston compares beautiful people with the sun and stars. Look at this page." I show them the page of an elderly man, face raised and smiling at something unseen to the reader. "When I look at this page, I see joy and happiness. I see lines around his mouth that say he smiles a lot. His skin looks soft to touch. That is why he looks beautiful to me, and I think that's why they chose this picture to go with the word 'also' in the poem. Sometimes we think of beauty one way and then discover, like in this book, there are other ways that we can see beauty!"

I re-read the poem and asked for "Black is beautiful" examples again. This time there are more accurate answers:

"Eyes are beautiful!"

"Brown skin is beautiful."

"Hands are beautiful."

Brandon, a Black boy who often sits quietly as if in meditation, raised his hand. "Souls are beautiful." He looks at me and we smile.

We also read Hair Dance! by Dinah Johnson, another book with photos of Black and Brown kids playing outside. There is so much visual movement in this book; kids are jumping and hair is swinging. This book is special because the children in the book are from our neighborhood, the author is a parent, the kids were previous students in our school. This interests the children and they study the pictures and recognize some of their playground in the artwork. This time around when kids answer what is beautiful, they move their heads as if flipping their own imaginary beaded braids. They are holding their own hair in the air to mimic the pictures they saw while I read the rhythmic words in the book. The resounding agreement is that Black hair is beautiful - and so is jumping! We spend two minutes trying to jump high and fast to get our own hair to dance.

But this time when I sent them to write, they were less confident. Maybe I moved too quickly, or maybe the metaphor was too big of a jump. They stuck pretty close to the examples given in the books: hands, hair, skin. They focused on the metaphor and less on the physical attributes of people as beautiful.

And this was what my students deserve to know: Black is beautiful.

I tell the kids why I think it's important to celebrate Black history. I tell them my story, of learning about history where no one looked like me or my family. "We have Black History Month as a reminder to teachers that there is not much written about all of the things that Black and Brown people have contributed to our lives. When I was a kid, I only learned about the ways white people changed our lives. There were no books or activities in our school that let us know who those Black people were, or how they affected the way we live. I will share inventors and leaders who paved the way, or made an important discovery through diligence and hard work." They seemed intrigued. Some looked surprised, some totally bored. Buy-in to the unknown is hard, so I gave them an example.

Fresh off the heels of a presidential election with an unexpected outcome, where girls were coming in wearing pussycat hats and pant suits, I told the class about Shirley Chisholm.

I then told them mostly about inventors or "real firsts," as opposed to firsts for Black people, because they are the most tangible for young learners to understand. It is a clear, concrete contribution to bettering our daily lives: refrigeration, open-heart surgery, stoplights, peanut butter. I want my students to have a basis for appreciating Black people. Later, when they learn about the more complex concepts of slavery, Jim Crow, and civil rights, somewhere in the back of their mind I hope they will remember the beauty of Black and the ways Black people made life better for them. And then maybe, in the front of their eyes, they will see the injustice for what it was and what it still is.

For the next writing exercise, to retain the feeling of reverence we stayed with the free verse poetry writing style of the first book I introduced by Langston Hughes. The tone of that piece set the mood for the beauty on the page, and allowed them to transition into that poetic mode of writing, thinking, and seeing their ideas in a different light. I had them talk in pairs and instructed them to tell each other who they remember learning about and liked. When I asked them to write, they quickly jotted down their choices: Stoplights speak to cars in colors, tasty peanut butter on sandwiches for lunch every day, open-heart surgery saving lives.

When writing with young children, I have to make publishing decisions. In this unit, I wanted the kids to see their ideas from these lessons typed up and put together as a collective piece. If I made them do the extra combining work it could make the unit drag on too long, its message losing potency. So, in this instance, I did it for them.

Once all the parts were typed into one poem, I brought in craft and scrapbook supplies all in black: pipe cleaners, pom-poms, feathers, beads, stickers, textured felt, and dozens of patterned papers; all glittery, soft, and shiny - the jewels of the crafting world. I cropped their poems and let them collage them into beautiful black works of art. I read the poems aloud as I handed them out one at a time, so they could hear each other's work as inspiration.

Resistance
Some years when I do this lesson, I get backlash in the form of parent emails to the principal, disengagement from students, or the fairness argument from both students and parents: "Why just black, why not all colors?" This year it was Andrew, a tall blue-eyed white boy, and a proficient reader and writer.

When he learned about Black inventor Lyda Newman's improved hairbrush, Andrew whispered to a friend, "That's not special."

When he saw the sentence strips with "Black is beautiful" written on them for a second day, he turned them face down on the tables and exclaimed, "We already did these!"

When Jasmin told her friends something Black was beautiful, he responded, "Black is not beautiful."

Andrew, whose humor sometimes runs in the center of insulting, who often finds delight in others' misfortune, exclusion, or embarrassment, was creating another opportunity for me to change his mind.

When he turned the sentence strips face down exclaiming their completion, I explained this project was going to last the entire month. "Sometimes we remember things better and learn more when we stick with it. It feels like we finished because we did finish one part, but there's more I want to show you and more I want you to try." Andrew said, "OK."

When he said Ms. Newman's invention wasn't special, I noted there is a difference between flashy and noteworthy. "Raise your hand if you have a brush like this one in your house. Raise your hand if you've seen one before. Isn't that cool you're learning about the person who made something we've all seen or used every day? That's why I wanted you to learn about Ms. Newman. She gave us things we use so much they seem boring, but every time someone uses or buys it, she is getting affirmation that what she created was needed, even still today!" I make eye contact with Andrew when I say this, and he nods in agreement.

When Jasmin came to me upset that Andrew told her Black wasn't beautiful, I took him aside and told him about the power of an ally.

"Why did you say Black isn't beautiful to Jasmin?"

"I was kidding. It is." He tries to get the early exit card by placating me.

"I'm spending a lot of time on Black is beautiful because I want you on my team, Andrew. I want you to be the person who stands up and defends Black when someone else tries to do what you just did, tries to make a joke about it, and tries to hurt someone's feelings about Black. Black isn't just a color of clothes, right?"

"No, it's people and brown skin."

"So when someone jokes about Black, it makes us, people with that skin, feel less important. But you have a chance to be a leader. Friends look to you to include them and they follow your lead. If you decide not to treat Black as a joke, if you tell a friend why it's not funny to joke like that, you'll be helping the unfairness that is all around us. You will be making this place a better place for more of us. Can you try to do that? Help us feel welcomed and proud of Black?"

Andrew nods, "OK, yeah! I'm sorry I hurt Jasmin's feelings, Ms. Kara."

"I know, Andrew. Thank you for apologizing. I'm glad you're on my team." Andrew smiles shyly and takes a big breath.

Then I take a big breath as he goes back to his seat.

Yeah, the work is weighty, little one. Deep breaths help.

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By Kara Hinderlie Illustrator: Kesha Bruce For years, I have struggled to find authentic ways of helping young children - kindergarteners and 1st graders - learn, remember, and appreciate Black history. Come January, the halls of my school are plastered with a variety of Martin Luther King Jr.

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National Black Lives Matter in School Week of Action Starter Kit

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Multilingual Resources for Teaching Black Lives Matter in ECE

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Multilingual Resources for Teaching Black Lives Matter in ECE

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Developed by Carlos Duque, Capital City PCS and Itzel Mejía-Menéndez, De Colores Learning Center

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Multilingual Resources for Black Lives Matter (1.21.2020).pdf

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The science and poetry of skin color

By Katharine Johnson

Illustrator: Sheila Hamanaka

When I look out at my room full of 1st- and 2nd-grade students, I see a symphony of colors. I see this as beautiful and invaluable. Yet I realize the world does not always embrace my students' multiracial reality. I know that the world will not receive Jamal with his skin the color of summer midnight and his easy laugh the same way it will receive Anita, with her skin the color of late summer wheat and her quiet smile. Young people, like adults, receive countless confusing and negative messages about the implications of skin color. Consistently they get the message that some are better than others-that white trumps black and brown.

Worse than an unwelcoming world is the possibility of an unwelcoming classroom and school. I see racism taking root in the relationships my young learners are establishing. I have had to step in and help my students negotiate their multiracial environment-whether it is stopping a white student from assuming an African American classmate is the one who needs to go with the parent volunteer to work on reading skills, or helping a student of color find a group to join when, once again, she has not been invited into the dramatic play of a group of white girls. Knowing this, I am always on the lookout for learning opportunities that will be accessible and affirming.

When I attended a workshop led by Katie Kissinger demonstrating her approach to celebrating skin tone with her preschool students, I knew I had found a new possibility for beginning to disrupt the skin color prejudice that harms my students on a daily basis. Kissinger's students had celebrated their skin tones and learned about the biological basis of skin color. Young children, like adults, see different skin colors-and assign meaning to these differences. I wanted my students to understand something of the science of skin color in order to challenge the notion that skin color is an indication of anything more than genetic adaptations to one's environment. My aim with this lesson was twofold: First, I wanted students to see their similarities across a skin tone spectrum. This would be the science of skin tone. Second, I wanted them to practice the art of praising their own skin tones as a way to access the connection between skin tone and identity in a positive way. This would be the poetry.

The Science of Skin Tone

I began the lesson by grounding my students in the science of skin tone. Kissinger's own book, All the Colors We Are, offers clear explanations for why people have different skin tones. My students were fascinated by the idea presented in Kissinger's book that all people come in shades of brown. Exclamations like "Yes, why do they call me white? I'm not white. I'm pinkish brownish tannish goldish" peppered the cluster of students gathered on the rug for read-aloud. Kissinger's book presents different skin tones as adaptations to different environments. Imagining the evolution of skin tone over millennia is beyond the scope of most 6- and 7-year-old imaginations, but the idea that our skin has tone to make us a good match for our environment, that our skin tone could be understood as a way to make us stronger, offered my multiracial class a path into this conversation. I also used the book Your Skin and Mine by Paul Showers to introduce key ideas and scientific concepts. Reading each book aloud, I asked students to turn and talk after most pages so they could monitor their own growing understanding. We created a word wall dedicated to words related to skin tone. Melanin, tone, genetic, and heritage all took places of prominence on the wall.

Using the books and students' understanding, we wrote a kid-friendly definition of each term. We defined melanin as the stuff in your body that gives your skin and hair its color. Students came to understand genetics as the recipe for how one's body will be built. After reading these books, my students stood on solid ground with some basic ideas: Skin tone has evolved over time; it is an adaptation to different environments, especially proximity to the equator; and everyone, regardless of how one's "race" is named or misnamed, is a shade of brown.

Once students had some understanding of the science of skin tones, I moved into the language of praise. Following Kissinger's lead again, I stopped by the local hardware store to collect paint chips in dozens of shades of brown and peach and tan. I wanted my 6-, 7-, and 8-year-olds to match paint chips to skin tones, just as Kissinger had done with her preschoolers. I gathered the class on the rug so everyone could see me and the paint chips. Holding out the top of my forearm, I laid a paint chip against my skin. "What do you think? Does this look like my skin?" I asked. Thinking aloud, I modeled deciding which chips seemed too dark or too light, which ones had too much blue or too little red. Soon I asked my students to help me in my matching process, finally landing on a good match. I read the name of the color, Caramel Whip, to the group and wrote my name on the back of the paint chip.

Then I released students to explore the chips I had spread around the room. They mingled and chatted, helping each other find a good match for their own skin. To close the day's lesson, all the students shared their chips with the class, to applause after each share. Jessica, who had been frustrated by not finding a perfect match, landed on Saddle Brown with help from a few friends. Fergus went with Beach House, Justin and Tyler both identified with Coconut Grove, and Samantha's color match was called Liberty-a great match for her. I collected their paint chips to use when we transitioned to writing poems.

The Poetry of Skin Tone

I began the writing process by reading Sheila Hamanaka's picture book poem All the Colors of the Earth. First, I simply read the poem aloud slowly, taking time so we could look closely at each illustration. I had students pair-share their favorite pages, and a few shared favorites with the whole class. Jamal was especially fond of the line "the roaring browns of bears and soaring eagles." As soon as he shared that as his favorite line, six or seven hands went down. Apparently this had been a favorite. Raina offered up the line "like caramel and chocolate and the honey of bees."

"Why do you like that one so much?" I asked.

"Those are all sweet," Raina answered. "I think the poem is supposed to make us feel happy and those things make me happy."

Students continued to share new favorites or restate ones that had already been shared for a few more minutes. It was important to me that students have a chance to simply connect with the language and imagery Hamanaka uses. Often the message students receive, especially white students, is that to talk explicitly about difference is to be racist. We needed our exploration of skin color to begin with a gentle, welcoming discussion.

After students connected with the poem, I moved into the craft of writing. I wanted students to begin to think like poets. I tailored my questions toward the moves Hamanaka used, hoping students might be able to replicate those moves. "Sheila Hamanaka uses a lot of comparisons in her poem," I began. "Who remembers one thing she compared skin tone to?" Students called out bears and eagles and seashells and chocolate. I tried to keep up with the flurry of ideas as I recorded their connections on chart paper.

"Sheila Hamanaka chose her comparisons very carefully," I told my class. "How do you think she feels about skin tone based on the comparisons she chose?" I pushed students to recognize that the poem is a praise poem in celebration of skin tone. I reminded students of Raina's idea that the poem makes her happy because Hamanaka compares skin tone to sweet things. Ted thought Hamanaka believes that skin tone makes you strong since she used eagles and bears in her poem. Larry said that the poem made him feel peaceful because it compares skin tone to whispering grass and the ocean.

"How do you feel about your skin tone?" I asked, a little apprehensively. Even though I had laid the path for praise of skin tone, there was still the possibility that some students would have negative concepts of their skin tone and others would claim to have no feelings at all. To maintain a praise focus and offer some additional language support, I suggested that students choose one of the feeling words we had just listed if they did not want to think of their own feeling word. "Happy" and "strong" were the most popular feelings, and that was good enough for us to move forward with the poets' work of comparing.

"What is one thing in the world you can compare your skin to?" We closed that day's lesson with students mingling around the room and sharing their comparisons with as many partners as they could. I listened closely to the partner shares, especially eavesdropping on my students of color. I do not want any of my students to feel under a spotlight or that they need to be representatives of their group. What I realized in my eavesdropping was that my students of color were better able to generate lists of comparisons with their partners than some of my white students. I suspect that white students are less practiced at paying attention to their own skin tone. I used suggestive questions and references to nudge some students toward richer language and also toward celebration.

Jeremy, a first-generation child from Eritrea, suggested his skin was the color of dirt. Jeremy's comparison stirred concern in me. Of all my students of color, he was the most socially isolated in the class. I only knew of one other student who has ever played with Jeremy outside of the structured school day. Other students often complained about having to partner with him or tattled about his behavior in P.E. or in the lunch line. Sitting next to him and seeing his paper with dirt as the lone idea listed, I wondered what his motivation was for that comparison, and I wondered why he seemed at a loss for other ideas.

Rather than admonish him for a potentially negative comparison, I probed his connection: "What type of dirt do you imagine? Is it like fresh soil ready to be planted in a garden or like the rich muddy edges of a pond or like the dry patch in front of the soccer goal?" As an expert soccer player, Jeremy ended up with several references to the types of dirt on the field. I cannot be certain Jeremy's original idea of dirt carried negative connotations for him, but I can attest that his face brightened as he added more ideas to his brainstorming chart and his hand went up to share as we closed the lesson. Fergus, a white student, said he couldn't think of anything other than the color of his paint chip. I sent him over to the area of our classroom library with large full-color science books. "Flip through some nature books and see what you find that reminds you of your skin tone and how you feel about it," I suggested. He came back to his seat 10 minutes later with river stones and prairies for his list. Since Fergus spends every summer fishing with his grandfather in Montana, these seemed like excellent choices.

The next day, I introduced another set of poems in praise of skin tone from the book The Blacker the Berry, by Joyce Carol Thomas. Each of these poems describes one of the many hues of African American skin color, from deep rich browns to red to seemingly white. Thomas uses images from nature and dialogue between children and elders to celebrate skin tone. For example: "I am midnight and berries/I call the silver stars at dusk/By moonrise they appear/and we turn berries into nectar/Because I am dark the moon and stars/shine brighter/because berries are dark the juice is sweeter." Thomas links feelings about skin tone to family, referring to grandparents' advice, motherly love, and heritage: "My mother says I am/Red raspberries stirred into blackberries/Like the raspberries I will always be here/Like the blackberries I was here with the first seed."

For each of these poems, I asked students: "How does Joyce Carol Thomas describe skin tone?" Students added to the chart that we had started with Hamanaka's poem. Thomas' work gave us additional categories: family memories, berries, sky colors, and feelings. Now we had enough poetic moves and categories borrowed from other poets to move into generating student ideas.

I designed a brainstorming template for students to use based on what they had noticed in Hamanaka's and Thomas' poems. Our big categories included: nature, animals, smells, food, and emotions. We gathered on the rug and I showed students a chart paper-sized version of the brainstorming template. "These are some of the ways we noticed other poets described skin tone. Today, we are going to think of our own ideas about how to describe our skin tones."

Then I modeled the process of thinking about how to celebrate and describe skin aloud. I pulled my paint chip from the basket of chips and re-read the name of the color: Caramel Whip. "Where would I put this on my chart?" I asked the class. We agreed it belonged under foods. "Let's see if we can think of any other comparisons for my skin." I looked closely at the back of my forearm and showed it to the students sitting closest to me. "What in nature is like this color?" I wondered aloud. "It looks a little like beach sand," I began and added this idea to the chart in the category Things in Nature. When I asked students for more nature comparisons for my skin color, they called out "bunny fur," "dry grass," and "peaches." All of these went onto the chart.

I wanted students to start thinking about their own skin. "What did you tell your partner yesterday that you compared your skin to?" I told them to share again with a nearby partner. "Who can share their idea?" I asked after a few minutes of partner talk. Many hands went up.

"Cocoa," said Sayla.

"Lovely," I responded. "Where would that idea go on the brainstorming chart?" Working with the students, I modeled placing their ideas onto the chart under the appropriate category. The categories themselves were not that important. My goal was to generate a variety of ideas.

When I felt confident that students had a sense of how to sort their ideas, I released them to work on their own brainstorming charts. "Try to get at least one idea in each section," I recommended as students settled into desks and corners of the carpet to fill out charts.

While students chatted and listed ideas on their brainstorm charts, I again roved and made sure each student came up with ideas celebrating their color. Not every student immediately settled down and brainstormed 10 or 12 poetic images in praise of their skin tone. Many needed one-on-one help to get rolling or to keep going. Neil struggled to come up with ideas, so I paired him with a trusted friend to think together. Katie listed white paper and milk as her skin tone and said she was done. We studied her skin, laying her arm next to mine to see that the pinked-up creaminess of her skin tone had little to do with the name of her race as white. She added strawberries to her milk to get closer to the real tone of her skin and came up with one of my favorite ideas-grilled cheese bread. Jason stared into space from his seat, so I pulled up a chair next to him and reminded him to start with the name of his paint chip. We studied his forearm together and imagined lions with their golden hair shining in the sun and cookie dough. Josie's pencil couldn't move fast enough to list all the browns in the world that her skin reminded her of, so I asked her to share her thinking process with the class. Some students ended up with only two or three ideas, but that was enough to get rolling with the poetry.

Poets as Advisors

Now students were ready to sculpt their ideas into poems. I once again relied on think aloud as a modeling technique. I gathered the students on the rug and reviewed the oversized brainstorm chart we had made as a class the day before. "I am going to take these ideas and turn them into a poem today. You are going to take your ideas and turn them into a poem as well. I need some advice on how to do this. First, I am going to take advice from Sheila Hamanaka and Joyce Carol Thomas." I had a couple of student volunteers read aloud once more the skin tone poems we already knew.

"I think I am going to start my poem with an idea from Sheila Hamanaka," I said as I began writing my poem on chart paper. "I am not going to copy her whole poem, but I want to use one of her ideas as a way to jump into my own poem." I wrote: "I am the colors of the Earth" at the top of the chart paper. Next, I looked back at the chart of brainstormed ideas and dramatically modeled choosing an idea to add to my poem. "I think I will use this one next," I said pointing to dry beach sand. I wrote: "My skin is the color of warm beach sand." "What idea should I write next?" I asked the class. Working together, we drafted four or five lines for my poem.

It was time for students to write their own poems. As a way to remind them of the options we noticed in the model poems, I released them from the rug by asking who wanted to start with which type of idea. "Who thinks they will start with a food comparison?" I asked. "Who wants to include a detail about how your skin is like the skin of someone else in your family? Who wants to start with hair instead of skin? Who wants to start by comparing it to an animal? Tell a neighbor how you will start your poem."

We wrote for the rest of the week. Some days we cranked out longer sessions of 45 minutes of writing and sharing. Once or twice, we simply squeezed in 20 minutes before lunch. But each day that week, students touched this work-writing, rereading, sharing with friends, sharing in small groups, and sharing all together. For students who were ready to stretch as writers, I led a revision lesson on adding more detail to their metaphors. I modeled adding action to the image of an eagle so it became an eagle soaring through the mountains. If students compared their skin to caramel, that caramel could become warm caramel or caramel inside a candy. First- and 2nd-grade metaphors tend toward the cliché, but I wanted them to try to stretch their ideas.

When students seemed satisfied with their poems, we created self-portraits. I let students choose the medium-paints or crayons-that matched how they wanted their portraits to look. Poems and portraits hung in the hallway for several months, the students protesting whenever I wondered if it might be time to take them down.

I know that children see and wonder about skin color. I know that children, even as young as 6, experience racism directed at themselves, their moms, their neighbors, their cousins, the man in front of them in line at the grocery store. I also know that opening my classroom to a discussion about the skin tone differences that we see and the ones that we ignore is one component to disrupting prejudice based on skin color. And I know that this is just the beginning-sharing an experience around loving our skin tones does not suddenly take away the real pain of how the world sees "white" and "black" and "brown" skinned peoples.

The two weeks we spent writing and learning about skin tone opened my classroom in some important ways. Samantha, an African American girl who barely spoke even in morning circle time at the start of the year, read her entire poem aloud to her classmates. Tyler and Justin, one white and one African American, who had never spent free time together before, became friends when they realized they both had skin that matched Coconut Grove. Jeremy, also African American, finished a piece of writing on the same schedule as the rest of the class for the first time.

Maybe Samantha was simply ready to emerge as a more vocal and public presence in the classroom. Maybe Justin and Tyler would have found some other connection and become friends. Maybe the academic support I offered Jeremy finally kicked in. Maybe not. Maybe the discussion of the science of skin tone and the praise of our beautiful differences facilitated these important transformations. I prefer to attribute my students' growth to the poems in celebration of skin tone. Regardless, I plan to continue teaching in ways that might interrupt racist hierarchies and might do so joyfully.

Resources

Hamanaka, Sheila. 1994. All the Colors of the Earth. Morrow Junior.

Kissinger, Katie, and Wernher Krutein. 1994. All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color. Redleaf.

Showers, Paul, and Kathleen Kuchera. 1991. Your Skin and Mine. HarperCollins.

Thomas, Joyce Carol, and Floyd Cooper. 2008. The Blacker the Berry: Poems. HarperCollins.

All the Colors of the Earth

Children come in all the colors of the earth
The roaring browns of bears and soaring eagles,
The whispering golds of late summer grasses,
And crackling russets of falling leaves,
The tinkling pinks of tiny seashells rumbling by the sea.
Children come with hair like bouncy baby lambs,
Or hair that flows like water,
Or hair that curls like sleeping cats in snoozy cat colors.
Children come in all the colors of love,
In endless shades of you and me.
For love comes in cinnamon, walnut and wheat,
Love is amber and ivory and ginger and sweet,
Like caramel and chocolate and the honey of bees,
Dark as leopard spots, light as sand
Children come in all the colors
of the earth and sky and sea.
-Sheila Hamanaka
Copyright 1994 by Sheila Hamanaka. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
My skin is sweet cinnamon mixed with cream.
It's the color of sand dollars on the ocean floor.
It's like spicy sugar.
It's like light caramel
It's also like a heron's neck.
My skin is the lion's eye.
And it's like a slithering viper on freshly mowed grass, pebbles under the desert sun.
My skin is beautiful
like my father's and mother's.
-Teddy

What Color Am I?

I am delicious mocha with a hint of cinnamon
I am warm caramel in the bottom of the bowl
I smell like spice cake baking in the oven
I am a spicy cinnamon latte.
- Sadie

My skin is not white
It is caramel whip,
sandy beaches
and the sound of pebbles under the desert sun
My skin is the warmth of the summer sun
And the promise of a day filled with joy.
-Malcolm

This article appears in our new book, Rhythm and Resistance: Teaching Poetry for Social Justice

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An early elementary school teacher combines a science lesson and poetry to encourage children to celebrate their own skin tone and that of their classmates.

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The Comfort Food lesson was designed to help students make a personal connection to the civil rights movement and to recognize that people, just like themselves, came together as a community to fight against the injustices of segregation and discrimination. The use of food in the story helps students to identify with the civil rights activists, unified by a common goal and engaging in the common practice of fellowship over a meal.

This activity has been implemented in a variety of classrooms with much success. Students enjoy choosing their favorite foods to add to their menus and delight in inventing creative names for their foods. They are challenged to demonstrate writing skills, practice alliteration and identify adjectives, as well as recognize food group. The students especially enjoy experimenting with a variety of art materials to create their own plates of food.

The primary goal of Comfort Food is to inspire future social activists. As the students write their menus and design their plates they are guided to view themselves as activists who must strengthen themselves and others to fight for justice and equality for all.

Objectives

To recognize the role of community in social activism.

To make a personal connection with civil rights activists through family and food.

To identify food groups to create a menu.

To use alliteration to name menu items.

To describe foods using adjectives.

To create a plate of foods out of various materials.

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The Comfort Food lesson was designed to help students make a personal connection to the civil rights movement and to recognize that people, just like themselves, came together as a community to fight against the injustices of segregation and discrimination.

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December 31, 2020 · 1:39 pm

I always love reading folks' year-end reflections. I've rarely gotten it together to write one myself, but think that, in this moment I have between working on my book that's slated to come out in 2021 and procrastination, a year in review seems appropriate.

First, thanks to everyone who's reached out in solidarity, in purchases of coffee (thank you!) and in love to express their support for #DisruptTexts and my co-founders. The greatest thanks is doing the work; thus, please continue to #DisruptTexts in ways that fundamentally normalize high achievement for all students, and especially Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other POC children and youth. Please, keep doing that.
Top Blog Posts

1. 31 Days: We Begin, Again

2. Dr. Joseph Rodriguez' Guest Post for #31DaysIBPOC

3. Announcing: My New JAAL Column

4. 2020: My Year in Reading Progress

There were also lots of hits around the site about me, how to work with me, and publications/podcasts. I am limiting my professional development work in 2021 to allow me to be intentional about what I say yes to, to continue existing relationships with departments who have already contracted with me, and to be able to continue doing my own work that enables me to be authentic during my PD work. Thus, if you'd like to work with me, please reach out, knowing I have limited availability, but I'd love to work with you if possible.
My Faves
I had a few favorite things from 2020.

My #Blackboylit faves include:

Ty's Travels from Kelly Starling Lyons-so great for emergent readers!

I Am Every Good Thing, Gordon James & Derrick Barnes

King and the Dragonflies, Kacen Callender

I was in a significant reading rut because pandemic. I know there were such great young adult and verse texts for #blackboylit that I intend to read in 2021. Once I do, I'll update my favorites to include those as well. Thanks to Black Children's Books and Authors for their comprehensive lists that help me to keep my TBR abundant (and I also donated during Kwanzaa in the spirit of cooperative economics, BTW).

I did enjoy expanding to #bipocboylit because I collaborated with one of my favorite brilliant people and educators, Aeriale Johnson. We wrote " Literacy As a Tool for Liberation " for ASCD. In 2021, I am hoping for more opportunities to write with people I admire and who push my practice. Ms. J and I are working on a book together; send us your energy so we complete that project! That's why I loved editing the JAAL column; such fantastic voices that we should be paying attention to in the field of literacy work.

I had the most fun interviewing MacArthur Genius Fellow THE Jackie Woodson for the Horn Book magazine with some of my favorite Black women. There was so much love for her and for Black children in that moment.
2021: Looking Ahead
ASCD is insisting I complete this book, lol. So, look for that to be out at some point. It's about how we can do the work of creating culturally relevant intentional literacy communities for Black and IPOC youth. I'm excited for that.

I'll continue presenting nationally and leading PD for districts. Reach out if you'd like to think about working with me. I'm energized by the work departments are undertaking to push their own understandings forward as they select texts that can make a difference on readers. The best way to find me is through the Find Me/Work with Me page.

I'm grateful for the abundant opportunities to engage in such a broad range of literacy experiences, even during the midst of a global pandemic that has impacted so many. I am encouraged that I am in community with people who are committed to equity, liberation, and justice.

May we have a better 2021. Together.

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2020: A Wrap-Up & #Blackboylit Faves

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December 31, 2020 · 1:39 pm I always love reading folks' year-end reflections. I've rarely gotten it together to write one myself, but think that, in this moment I have between working on my book that's slated to come out in 2021 and procrastination, a year in review seems appropriate.

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Welcome to Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk from Teaching for Change. In this video series, we introduce children's books using an anti-bias, anti-racist lens as a strategy to talk about issues around race and the world with children. (View other episodes on the series home page and our YouTube playlist.)

The book featured in the video below is Missing Daddy, written by anti-criminalization and anti-violence educator and organizer Mariame Kaba, and illustrated by a multidisciplinary artist from Chicago, bria royal. Published in 2019, this book can be found on our Incarceration booklist, and is recommended for children in elementary school, though it could be adapted for early childhood.

In Missing Daddy, the young narrator's father went to prison when she was just three. Sometimes her classmates can be cruel, but she is surrounded by a loving family and an understanding teacher and counselor. This poignant book will help not only young children who find themselves in this circumstance, but will also sensitize classmates and educators themselves. Missing Daddy is a warm and necessary book.

Five Key Takeaways from Missing Daddy:

1. Positive self-identity

2. Diversity of human experience

3. Diversity in family structure

4. Diversity of economic class

5. Impact of incarceration

Booklist

Learn More

Note: Book titles on SocialJusticeBooks.org are linked to Powells.com (an independent, unionized bookstore) and/or Bookshop (indie bookstore platform). A small percentage from book sales through these links goes to Teaching for Change.

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Freedom Reads: Episode 3 - Missing Daddy - Social Justice Books

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Welcome to Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk from Teaching for Change. In this video series, we introduce children's books using an anti-bias, anti-racist lens as a strategy to talk about issues around race and the world with children. (View other episodes on the series home page and our YouTube playlist.)

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Early Childhood Art Inspired by Cyrus Kabiru's Afrofuturist C-Stunners

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Early Childhood Art Inspired by Cyrus Kabiru's Afrofuturist C-Stunners

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As the Early Childhood Atelierista (working virtually yet live with the children), I am centering our Black joy projects around Afrofuturism.

From the essay " Afrofuturism Has Always Looked Forward: How can the ideology serve as a blueprint for cultural growth? " by Taylor Crumpton:

For the uninitiated, Afrofuturism is a fluid ideology shaped by generations of artists, musicians, scholars, and activists whose aim is to reconstruct "Blackness" in the culture. Reflected in the life and works of such figures as Octavia Butler, Sojourner Truth, Sun Ra, and Janelle Monáe, Afrofuturism is a cultural blueprint to guide society. The term was coined by Mark Dery in 1993 but birthed in the minds of enslaved Africans who prayed for their lives and the lives of their descendants along the horrific Middle Passage. The first Afrofuturists envisioned a society free from the bondage of oppression - both physical and social. Afrofuturism imagines a future void of white supremacist thought and the structures that violently oppressed Black communities. Afrofuturism evaluates the past and future to create better conditions for the present generation of Black people through the use of technology, often presented through art, music, and literature.

For the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, we began by being inspired by the vision and genius of Cyrus Kabiru.

The PreK children were spellbound listening to and watching Cyrus speak and create through shared videos.

"I grew up surrounded by a lot of trash," says Cyrus Kabiru. "The biggest dumpsite in Nairobi was right opposite my house. I used to tell my dad, 'When I grow up I'll give trash a second chance.' I used to feel like trash also needs a chance to live."

After looking at Mr. Kabiru's glasses (C-Stunners, as he calls them), glasses no one had ever imagined before, I explained how he is called an Afrofuturist. He is an artist from Kenya who creates art that no one in the world has ever seen before, he creates by making a new and better future, where trash is given a second chance. All of his C-Stunners also tell a story. Each one is different. He is a creative genius.

Children's responses were through making. As they created, I played music from an Afrofuturism playlist I created of SunRa, Janelle Monet, Laura Mvula, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Kamasi Washington, Erykah Badu, Valerie June, and more. The sensory and delight of the creative process was compelling to observe. I could see all the squares on the video where children were dancing or experimenting, constructing and creating, all while centering the Afrofuturist ideals of Cyrus Kabiru.

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Early Childhood Art Inspired by Cyrus Kabiru's Afrofuturist C-Stunners - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Early childhood students at School Within School @ Goding explore Black joy through the Afrofuturist art of Cyrus Kabiru, who creates glasses (he calls c-stunners) out of discarded materials.

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Peace of Mind and Arts Education During the Black Lives Matter Year of Purpose

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Peace of Mind and Arts Education During the Black Lives Matter Year of Purpose

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Then music educator Meaghan Carrol welcomed students to their virtual music lesson and informed them of a song they will be focusing on for an upcoming project in connection to Black History Month and the Black Lives Matter at School week of action.

Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing is known to many as the Black national anthem. The group watched a video of Committed Sings rendition of the song and practiced singing the lyrics.

"We can connect to this piece and the incredibly powerful words to this day because there are still inequalities in our country," stated Carrol. Exploring some of the history of the song, Carrol shared that the song was first sung by 500 school children for Lincoln's birthday in 1900. "Students went out and taught it to their families, became teachers and taught it to their students"

This song and story is living testimony of the Intergenerational and Unapologetically Black guiding principles.

As part of the Black Lives Matter at School Year of Purpose, Lafayette 1st-5th graders were inspired by excerpts from Amanda Gorman's poem, "The Hill We Climb" and the tradition of story quilts to create their own "quilt" squares using a variety of art materials. They also launched a digital art installation inspired by excerpts from Amanda Gorman's poem, "The Hill We Climb" and the tradition of story quilts.

At the March 17 "Wellness Wednesday," art teacher Laurie McLaughlin and Andrea Perll debuted a website where you can view the story quilts as well as a video featuring the soundtrack from the Lafayette "Lift Ev'ry Voice" Choir.

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Peace of Mind and Arts Education During the Black Lives Matter Year of Purpose - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Students and staff from Lafayette ES gathered virtually for a special "Wellness Wednesday" during the Black Lives Matter at School Week featuring an introduction to the Black Lives Matter Movement 13 guiding principles and a lesson on the history of Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing .

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Centering the Intergenerational Black Lives Matter Guiding Principle in a Kindergarten Classroom

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Centering the Intergenerational Black Lives Matter Guiding Principle in a Kindergarten Classroom

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Day 1 focused on making the principle relevant for children by asking, who are the people in your family? We read Grandma's Purseby Vanessa Brantley-Newton. On one page, Mimi pulls out a sleeve of pictures from her purse with her family growing and changing over time. We looked at this picture, then invited students to draw pictures of their families. One student brought her laptop to her living room mantel, where she showed us photos on display of her and her brother. Other students shared drawings of a picture they would want to carry with them - a grandmother with her suitcase, a family at the beach, a water balloon fight with the whole family, and a celebration of mom's birthday.

Day 2 brought attention to relationships that bring us comfort and joy through the story Max and the Tag-Along Moonby Floyd Cooper. We connected with students' lives by asking them to think of how they can be comforted when they miss someone. I asked students if there was someone they miss right now, perhaps because of the pandemic. One student shared about a friend who moved away, and another shared about an aunt who died. We talked about what we can do when we miss someone. Though this was not where I imagined the discussion would go, it provided an authentic context for talking about finding comfort through our families.

Day 3 honed in on the idea of learning from people of different ages through the story Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina. This story really resonated with many of my students who have parents or grandparents who speak limited English, or are dual language learners themselves. One student in my class is a recent immigrant who primarily speaks Spanish - he lit up when he heard Spanish words in the story! After we read the story, I asked students, "How can you help someone in your family?" I then attempted to ask the question in Spanish, but my Spanish is pretty limited, so another student who speaks both English and Spanish chimed in and said, "I can handle this!" and proceeded to translate the question into Spanish. This moment really brought the story to life for us, as classmates were able to help each other out with their language skills. Then, we discussed ways we help our families. One student shared, "I help my mom with the baby." Another shared "my mom teaches me to speak Spanish," and another shared, "my dad is teaching me to speak Oromo." One student shared, "When my mom's back is hurting, I help her pick things up and make my own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

Day 4 broadened our thinking into the larger community. We read by Libba Moore Gray. When Miss Tizzy does not feel well in the story, students predicted that the children would make her soup and help get her medicine. When we finished reading, they enjoyed recounting the things the children did for Miss Tizzy. Following this story, we participated in Cupid's Kids and made Valentine's Day cards for senior residents in D.C. We talked about how this could bring joy to seniors, just like the children brought joy to Miss Tizzy.

Though we were only able to study one of the 13 principles, we covered multiple narratives and celebrated people of different ages in our own families and beyond. My hope is that this week brought joy to my students and helped them draw connections between their lives and the Black Lives Matter intergenerational principle.

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Centering the Intergenerational Black Lives Matter Guiding Principle in a Kindergarten Classroom - D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

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Day 1 focused on making the principle relevant for children by asking, who are the people in your family? We read Grandma's Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. On one page, Mimi pulls out a sleeve of pictures from her purse with her family growing and changing over time.

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Talking About Race

Check out resources to help facilitate conversations about race, including classroom appropriate lesson plans, guides on how to have tough conversations with peers and students, and more.

Teaching for Black Lives, Edited By Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, Wayne Au. Rethinking Schools.

Black Lives Matter at School, website of the national coalition organizing for racial justice in education.

2020 Curriculum Resource Guide, BlackLivesMatteratSchool.com

Creating the Space to Talk about Race in Your School (PDF), National Education Association

Lessons by grade-level and educator resources, Washington DC Black Lives Matter

Classroom Activities, Circle Scripts, and Promoting Positive School Climate, Rochester City School District

Share your BLM at School events, actions or resolutions here: neaedjustice@nea.org
Standing Together

See how cities like Milwaukee, Rochester, and Seattle have passed community and union resolutions - and then mobilized to support Black Lives Matter at School.

Art and Activism

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Black Lives Matter at School - Resources - NEA EdJustice

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Talking About Race Check out resources to help facilitate conversations about race, including classroom appropriate lesson plans, guides on how to have tough conversations with peers and students, and more. Teaching for Black Lives, Edited By Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, Wayne Au. Rethinking Schools. Black Lives Matter at School, website of the national coalition organizing ...

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Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

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Unearthing Genius & Joy with Gholdy Muhammad

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Uncle Devin's WEE Nation Reads with UMBC's Diverse Books Project

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Uncle Devin's WEE Nation Reads with UMBC's Diverse Books Project

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Uncle Devin interviews Huda Essa, Author of "Teach Us Your Name"; how to respect people's cultures, especially our names!

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WEE Nation Reads & UMBC Diverse Books Project: Huda Essa #childrensbooks

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What We Do & How We've Done It: A Guide for BLM at School

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What We Do & How We've Done It: A Guide for BLM at School

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National coalition organizing for racial justice in education.