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Video: Opinion | A Conversation With Police on Race

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In this short documentary, former officers share their thoughts on policing and race in America.

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Video: Opinion | A Conversation With Black Women on Race

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In this short documentary, black women talk about the challenges they face in society.

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Nine American citizens describe their struggle to belong in a nation that both embraces and rejects them.

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Nine American citizens describe their struggle to belong in a nation that both embraces and rejects them.

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This video is about the disadvantage of being a black person, and how the white people discriminate them by pulling them out of their car and treat them as criminals.

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Video: Opinion | A Conversation With My Black Son

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In this short documentary, parents reveal their struggles with telling their black sons that they may be targets of racial profiling by the police.

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A Conversation With White People on Race

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A Conversation With White People on Race

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Video: Opinion | A Conversation With White People on Race

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This short documentary features interviews with white people on the challenges of talking about race.

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Here’s a paradox: The harder we try to act “super normal” around people of other races, the more likely we’ll be super weird. Is there a way around this? Hint: Yes.

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A Conversation with Asian-Americans on Race

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A Conversation with Asian-Americans on Race

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Video: Opinion | A Conversation With Asian-Americans on Race

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Asian-Americans confront stereotypes about their community.

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Video: The Life-Changing Magic of Hanging Out

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To reduce implicit bias, build friendships that cross the racial divide. Sound too easy to actually work? Researchers beg to differ.

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Video: Opinion | A Conversation With Black Women on Race

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In this short documentary, black women talk about the challenges they face in society.

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Video: Opinion | A Conversation With My Black Son

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In this short documentary, parents reveal their struggles with telling their black sons that they may be targets of racial profiling by the police.

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Video: Opinion | A Conversation About Growing Up Black

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In this short documentary, young black men explain the particular challenges they face growing up in America.

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Video: High Heels, Violins and a Warning

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Orchestras made clever changes to deal with centuries-old bias. If an orchestra can do it, there’s hope for all of us — but a final word of caution.

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Need justification for taking breaks and naps? Turns out those activities could make us less biased toward people of other races.

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Signs of implicit bias lurk within our inboxes, social networks and the patterns of our daily lives. Looking at our own data can help us change our ways.

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Use this page to select your group's mini-film-->Post your film and responses on this wall.

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How do we get students to consider perspectives different from their own? How do we get them to challenge their own biases and prejudices? If, as Atticus Finch famously said, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it," how do we get our students to do that?

Teachers traditionally turn to literature, history and current events to open up these conversations, but it's always helpful to have a bigger toolbox to tackle such important and difficult issues. That's why we pulled together these 25 short New York Times documentaries that range in time from 1 to 7 minutes and tackle issues of race, bias and identity.

To help teachers make the most of these films, we also provide several teaching ideas, related readings and student activities.

In the comments, we hope you'll share how you use these films in your own classroom.

_________
The 25 Films
These films come from four different series published on Nytimes.com from 2015 to 2017.

A Conversation on Race - This series of short films features everyday people as they discuss issues of race and identity in America.

* A Conversation With My Black Son (5 min.)
* A Conversation About Growing Up Black (5 min.)
* A Conversation With White People on Race (5 min.)
* A Conversation With Police on Race (7 min.)
* A Conversation With Black Women on Race (6 min.)
* A Conversation With Latinos on Race (7 min.)
* A Conversation With Asian-Americans on Race (7 min.)

Who, Me, Biased? - This series takes a closer look at the unfair effects of our subconscious.

* Peanut Butter, Jelly and Racism (2 min.)
* Check Our Bias to Wreck Our Bias (3 min.)
* The Life-Changing Magic of Hanging Out (2 min.)
* Why We're Awkward (3 min.)
* Snacks and Punishment (2 min.)
* High Heels, Violins and a Warning (1 min.)

Confronting Racist Objects - Millions of racist objects sit in the homes of everyday Americans. What is their place today? This series features stories about reconciling, reclaiming and reinterpreting racist objects.

* The Collector "We Are Not That" (2 min.)
* The Activist "They Think We're Just Historical" (3 min.)
* The Seller "It's Weird to Me, but It Sells" (2 min.)

Hyphen Nation - What makes someone American? How do you define American identity? In these films, nine American citizens describe their struggle to belong in a nation that both embraces and rejects them.

* Mallika (2 min.)
* Jason (2 min.)
* Amanda (1 min.)
* Roy (1 min.)
* Russell (2 min.)
* Wendy (1 min.)
* Ayman (2 min.)
* Armando (2 min.)
* Michaela (2 min.)

The latter three series were produced in collaboration with " POV," television's "longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films." For more educational resources from "POV," visit its website.
__________ Teaching Idea #1: Ask Open-Ended Questions for Reflection and Discussion
Sometimes the best way to prompt reflection and discussion after watching a film is simply to let students share their personal reactions. The four open-ended questions we use in our weekly Film Club are intended to encourage thoughtful and honest dialogue. Students might write a response first, or meet in partners or small groups before discussing with the class as a whole.

* What moments in this film stood out for you? Why?
* Were there any surprises? Anything that challenged what you know - or thought you knew?
* What messages, emotions or ideas will you take away from this film? Why?
* What questions do you still have?

While students watch the film, they can take notes using our Film Club Double-Entry Journal (PDF) to help remember specific moments.
Teaching Idea #2: Offer Students Choice
Different film topics might appeal to different students and classes. If you plan to watch one or more of these films as a class, you can do a quick survey to decide which film in a series to watch. Or, if students are watching on tablets or laptops, you can let them decide individually or as small groups which film or films they'll watch.

If students do end up watching different films, you can have them share their observations and reflections with the rest of the class in a jigsaw activity or class share.
Teaching Idea #3: Go Further With Short Activities
These 25 films raise all sorts of questions about how we see other people, how they see us, and even how we see ourselves.

Extending classroom discussions with formal activities can help push the conversation forward and help students draw connections between their own lives and the ideas expressed in these films. Here are just a few possibilities that can be used before, between or after watching.

* Identity Charts - graphic tools that help students consider the many factors that shape who we are as individuals and as communities (from Facing History and Ourselves)
* Write a biopoem or a "Where I'm From" poem - poetic formats that emphasize how personal experiences shape identities. (from Facing History and Ourselves)
* Checking on Stereotypes - an activity in which students identify stereotypes they've experienced or heard and share specific ways to break down these preconceptions (from Teaching Tolerance).

In addition, specific films might lend themselves to particular activities. You might want to pair Project Implicit's Implicit Bias Test, a test designed to measure unconscious bias, with the series " Who, Me, Biased? "

Or, you can match the film " They Think We're Just Historical" with our Student Opinion question, " Is It Offensive for Sports Teams to Use Native American Names and Mascots? "
Teaching Idea #4: Pair with Short Readings
Short readings that provide additional perspectives or entry points for exploring issues of race, bias and identity can also deepen the conversation. We selected the following from Facing History and Ourselves' collection of resources:

* "Little Things Are Big" by Jesús Colón (also used in our Text to Text lesson plan)
* "The Bear That Wasn't," an illustrated children's book by Frank Tashlin
* "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Adichie
* "Orientation Day", a short personal essay by a 17-year-old student, Jennifer Wang
* Defining Race, short readings about "race" as a shifting social construct
* The Blink of an Eye, short readings about unconscious or implicit bias
* Words Matter, an interview with Niin, an Anishinaabe woman of both Cree and Ojibway descent
* The 'In' Group, a reflection by Eve Shalen, a high-school student
* Street Calculus, a cartoon by Garry Trudeau

For most of these readings, Facing History provides connection questions or even a related lesson plan.
Teaching Idea #5: Take Action
These films naturally raise questions about the daily choices we make, consciously or unconsciously, to treat others with respect and dignity. They also push us to think about the lengths we should go to as schools, communities, a nation and as a world to make sure that all people are treated fairly - so, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated, people "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Students can brainstorm:

* What can we do in our individual lives to make sure others are treated with respect and dignity, and not based on stereotypes and prejudice?

* What can we do as a class or as a school to make sure our community is welcoming of people from different backgrounds - different races, ethnicities, religions, disabilities, gender and sexual orientations?

* And what about as city, state, nation or world? What can we do to make a difference in promoting equality and understanding across divides and in the face of intolerance?

Then, as individuals or as a class, students can come up with their own plans of action to challenge stereotypes and fight against discrimination.

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25 Mini-Films for Exploring Race, Bias and Identity With Students

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How do we get students to consider perspectives different from their own? How do we get them to challenge their own biases and prejudices? If, as Atticus Finch famously said, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ...