DEBBIE REESE INTERVIEWCOUNTER BANS ON BOOKSA STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVEUPHOLD ACCURATE EDUCATIONRURAL SCHOOLSAPPRECIATE A DIVERSE HISTORYLEARNING
FOR JUSTICEISSUE 02 | SPRING 2022 | LEARNINGFORJUSTICE .ORG

Teaching
HonestHistory

Educators, students and community
members express how they fightattempts to curb truth-telling.
To realize a truly diverse democracy,honest education matters.

LFJ 02 Cover 1

4/4/22 8:30 AM

EDUCATOR FUND

Supporting projects that create more inclusive schools

Do you have ideas for innovative projects that would
address local systemic education inequities—but don’tknow how you’ll find the resources?
The Learning for Justice Educator Fund offers partnership
opportunities that include ongoing guidance and critical resources foryour project. With help from your expertise about your own schoolcommunity, we intend to collaboratively generate innovative solutions
that promote affirming school climates, support student action andraise everyone’s consciousness.

2

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Educator Fund Ad_547481.indd 2

Find application informationand deadlines atlearningforjustice.org/EF-Spring22

PHOTO CREDIT GOES HERE

Priority for the Educator Fundis given to applicants working
in Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana and Mississippi.

4/1/22 10:55 AM

SEASON 4
OF THE TEACHING
HARD HISTORYPODCAST IS NOWSTREAMING!

Teaching Hard History:
American Slavery
Key Concept Videos
A series of 10 videos for teaching and learning
about the history of slavery in the United States.
Featuring historians and scholars, including Ibram X. Kendi and Annette
Gordon-Reed, our Teaching Hard History Key Concept Videos examine slavery’s
impact on the lives of enslaved people in what is now the United States andthe nation’s development around the institution. The videos also explain how
enslaved people influenced the nation, its culture and its history.
Find our comprehensive K-5 and 6-12 frameworks, including texts,
quizzes, professional development resources and moreat learningforjustice.org/THH-Spring22
Watch the videos at learningforjustice.org/THH-Videos-Spring22 .

1

T E AC H I N G TO L E R A N C E

LFJ 02_THH Ad_545538.indd 1

4/1/22 10:58 AM

ISSUE 02 | SPRING 2022

DEPARTMENTS

5
7
9
11

Perspectives
Letters to the Editor
Ask Learning for Justice
Why I Teach

Nefertari Yancie, Ph.D., credits her family’scommitment to asking courageous questions,seeking answers and taking action as the impetus
for her career in the classroom.

24 28

13 Down the Hall

Elementary school counselor Nicole Morales
says that, after two difficult school years, the way
forward is to build relationships with intention.

15 PD Café

Use inquiry to teach honest history!

59 Staff Picks

Our book and film reviews help keep your practicefresh and informed!

62 Story Corner
64 One World

37 49

on the cover

We do students a terrible disservice if we
don’t educate them honestly. Connect
our nation’s past to our present to create
an inclusive future.
ILLUSTRATION BY CORNELIA LI

2

L E A R N I N G F O R J U S T I C E

LFJ 02_TOC Editorial_544955.indd 2

ALL ARTICLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR EDUCATIONAL USE AT LEARINGFORJUSTICE .ORG/MAGAZINE/ARCHIVE .

4/4/22 8:24 AM

IN THIS ISSUE ∞Inspire your students withuplifting words from Bethany
Yellowtail featured on ourlatest One World Poster!

8 33

FEATURES

19 My History: More Than Two
Sugar-coated Paragraphs

This Black Alabama teen and her family
had to fill the gaps in her education at
home. Here’s her advice to teachers.

24 A Textbook Case

43 From Slavery to School Discipline

28 Teaching Local History in Tulsa

49 Partners in Honest Teaching

33 “Our Children Are Native

54 Teaching the Past to Improve

Teachers are using the textbook—andgoing beyond it—to change history
education from the ground up.
The history of the Tulsa Race Massacre
was buried for 100 years. Teachers aretrying to change that.

9 54

Every Day”

Scholar Debbie Reese talks book bansand the fear of a just society.

37 The Promise of Rural Schools

The rich history and diversity of ruralcommunities have largely been erased,
but there’s a promising path forward.

Envisioning schools that affirm andprotect Black students means reckoning
with a long history of racist punishment.
Looking for support and solidarity inteaching honest history? Partner witha museum.

the Future

Despite a range of opposition, educators
are committed to teaching honest history
in their classrooms—and students are
eager to learn.

S P R I N G 2 02 2 

LFJ 02_TOC Editorial_544955.indd 3

3

4/4/22 8:05 AM

LEARNING
FOR JUSTICE
Lorem ipsum
DIRECTOR Jalaya Liles Dunn

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Chris Mihal
DEPUTY CREATIVE DIRECTOR Scott Phillips

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, EDITORIAL Monita K. BellASSOCIATE EDITORS Crystal L. Keels, Anya Malley
SENIOR WRITERS Cory Collins, Coshandra Dillard
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, LEARNING IN SCHOOLS Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FACILITATORS Kimberly Burkhalter,

Jaci Jones, Courtney Wai
SPECIALIST, CURRICULUM & TRAINING Jonathan Tobin

SENIOR CREATIVE LEAD Kristina Turner
DESIGNERS Shannon Anderson, Hillary Andrews, Cierra Brinson,

Sunny Paulk, Jacob Saylor, Alex Trott, Claudia Whitaker
CREATIVE PROJECT MANAGER Angela GreerPRODUCTION
PURCHASING PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Kimberly JamesCONTRIBUTORSDEPUTY DIRECTOR, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT & OPERATIONS

Hoyt J. Phillips III
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Kavonda Griffin-Turner
SPECIALIST, DIGITAL PLATFORMS Colin Campbell
SPECIALISTS, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT & OPERATIONS

Madison Coleman, Steffany Moyer
PROGRAM MANAGER, COMMUNITY ADVOCACY PARTNERSHIPS

Adam Alvarez, Arab American National Museum, Dorothee Benz,
Lecia Brooks, Anoa Changa, Zoë van Dijk, Randy Duchaine/Alamy Stock Photo,
Eley, Peyton Fulford, Alleanna Harris, Patty Johnson, K.C.B., Elizabeth Kleinrock,
Cornelia Li, Jianan Liu, Nicole Morales, Karsten Moran, Lorraine Nam,
Elijah Nouvelage , Zé Otavio, Eshe Price, Erick M. Ramos, Debbie Reese,
Erin Robinson, Edel Rodriquez, Kim Salt, Sébastien Thibault,
Christopher Thornock, Upstander Project, Felipe Vargas,
Wikipedia, Wink and Wonder, Nefertari Yancie

Lindsey Shelton
PROGRAM MANAGER, SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS

Jey Ehrenhalt

SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTERPRESIDENT & CEO Margaret Huang CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER Twyla Williams
CHIEF OF STAFF & CULTURE Lecia Brooks CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Arun Kandel
CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER Ann Beeson CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER Tia T. Gordon
CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER Seth Levi INTERIM CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER Melvina Ford
CHIEF POLICY OFFICER LaShawn Warren GENERAL COUNSEL Sybil Hadley
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Danny McGregor

SPLC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bennett Grau (Chair), Karol V. Mason (Vice Chair), Karen Baynes-Dunning , Josh Bekenstein, Bryan Fair, Pam Horowitz,
Isabel Watkins Rubio, Katheryn Russell-Brown, Minjon Tholen , Verna L. Williams, Emery Wright, Joseph J. Levin Jr. (Emeritus)

EDITORIAL OFFICE 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104
EMAIL lfjeditor@splcenter.org SUBSCRIPTIONS learningforjustice.org/magazine/subscribe

Learning for Justice is mailed and released online twice a year at no charge to educators. It is published by theSouthern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit legal and education organization. For permission to reprint articles,
email us at lfjeditor@splcenter.org. For media inquiries, email Ashley Levett at ashley.levett@splcenter.org.
© 2022 SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER

THE MISSION OF LEARNING FOR JUSTICE IS TO HELP TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS EDUCATEE RE C Y

LFJ 02_TOC Editorial_544955.indd 4

AZ

YC

MA
G

Printed with inks containing 27.3% renewable resourcesLA

T H IS

BLE

AS

E
CL

PLE

CHILDREN AND YOUTH TO BE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN A DIVERSE DEMOCRACY.

IN E

IS 100%REC

4/6/22 5:20 PM

Perspectives“We have a powerful potential in our youth,
and we must have the courage to change oldideas and practices so that we may direct
their power toward good ends.”—Mary McLeod Bethune

WE ARE WITNESSING a tumultuous moment in thenation’s public education system. Education asa vehicle for social change—shaped by years ofthoughtful scholarship on equity and bold practices of inclusion—is under assault in the UnitedStates with an array of regressive mandates
designed to uphold a culture of white supremacy. Teaching an honest history counters a prevailing narrative that denies the real origins of
this country and maintains an unjust society.
In his 1963 speech to educators in
New York, “A Talk to Teachers,” author
and activist James Baldwin acknowledged that teaching honestly about thehistory of the U.S. was not without consequence. “You must understand,” heexplained, “that in the attempt to correct so many generations of bad faithand cruelty, when it is operating not onlyin the classroom but in society, you willmeet the most fantastic, the most brutal,
and the most determined resistance.”
Today, as many of you meet the
responsibility to nurture and support
students who are affirmed, curious andinnovative, you are met in return withthis “most determined resistance” inthe form of threatening state legislation, ambiguous school board policies
and a deputized base of supporters
fueled by fear. If we let this resistanceprevail, then our society, as Baldwin
warned, is in “intolerable trouble.”
Education is at the nexus of ournation’s current identity crisis and is
key in the realization of a truly diverse
democracy. Children of color represent
the majority of children in the U.S. andwill bear the brunt of increasing bans
against lessons and texts that offer
an inclusive and honest history that@learnforjustice

LFJ 02_TOC Editorial_544955.indd 5

learningforjusticeconnects our nation’s past to our present and can provide a liberatory pathforward for everyone.
In this issue of Learning for Justice
we are expanding the scope of teaching honest history through various
perspectives and experiences. As you
engage with these stories, I invite you
to mobilize around three core strategies aimed at protecting the future of
ethical and responsible education.
Organize with like-minded educators. In this current climate you must
support each other and band together
as a community of educator advocates. LFJ’s Senior Writer Coshandra
Dillard highlights groups of educators
who unite to make bold, public statements by teaching the truth about
U.S. history in “Teaching the Past to
Improve the Future.” And organizer
and strategist Dorothee Benz, Ph.D.,
writes in “A Textbook Case” about theways many educators correct for flawed
textbooks to teach this nation’s whole,
hard history.
Mobilize the larger community. As
Danielle Neves, deputy chief of academics at Tulsa Public Schools sharesin “Teaching Local History in Tulsa,”
families can aid in educating students@learningforjusticehonestly by engaging constantly with
their children and by making use ofcommunity resources. To that end,
LFJ Program Manager for School
Partnerships Jey Ehrenhalt outlines
the value of forging partnerships
between museums and educators in“Partners in Honest Teaching.” And an
Alabama teen shares her journey withher family to develop a more accurate
picture of U.S. history and culture in“My History: More Than Two Sugarcoated Paragraphs.”
Support the next generation of leaders and educators. Activist and scholar
Debbie Reese, Ph.D., addresses thesurge in book bans across the U.S. andwhat that type of censorship means
for Indigenous students and others in“Our Children Are Native Every Day,”an interview with Dillard and LFJAssociate Editor Crystal L. Keels. In“The Promise of Rural Schools,” former
LFJ Senior Writer Cory Collins shares
how rural communities of color refuse
erasure and seek revitalization. And in“From Slavery to School Discipline,”
journalist Anoa Changa outlines thenation’s racist “pathology of punishment and control” originating fromthe “peculiar institution” of slavery
and continuing today in school discipline practices.
This issue is a reminder of our collective responsibility to counter untruths,
uplift suppressed narratives and engage
available educational resources to meet
resistance with righteous resiliency—
in service of all our nation’s children.
—Jalaya Liles Dunn,
Learning for Justice Director

S P R I N G 2 02 2

5

4/3/22 3:46 PM

MORE THAN
2,000 CONFEDERATEMEMORIALS STILL EXISTThe Third Edition of SPLC’s Whose Heritage? report showsthat more than 2,000 Confederate memorials are stillpresent in the U.S—including 201 schools that remain named
for Confederates.

ILLUSTRATION BY ZOË VAN DIJK6

PHOTO CREDIT GOES HERE

Recent efforts to remove Confederatememorials offer inspiring insightsthat can assist social justice advocatesworking to create fairer, freer andmore just public spaces. In 2021, 33
schools were renamed or closed—
more than any other previous year.
Visit splcenter.org/whose-heritage
to read the full report and learn more
about the movement to remove
Confederate memorials.

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Whose Heritage AD_555266.indd 6

4/4/22 8:41 AM

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 7 ASK LEARNING FOR JUSTICE 9ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT 10 & 12 WHY I TEACH 11 D O W N T H E H A L L 1 3
STUDENT READS 14 FREE STUFF 14

Reader Reactions

In our Fall 2021 issue, we interviewed LiberatED founderDena Simmons, Ed.D., about humanity, healing and doing
the work of honoring students’ whole selves. Readers
responded with an outpouring of love and support. Readthe full story here: lfj.pub/doing-the-work

Yes… well-said. There IS a tension between equity
AND efficiency. There is a tension between crucial change needed for our children and comfort
requested by those of us with institutional power.
We walk the tightrope as organizations seeking
transformation. The journey continues—@shawley03
VIA TWITTER

I’ve been plugged up with my computer all day,crossing off tons of educational task; this by far is mybest read of the day! #AcademicChatter #academicWriting #equity #EquityMatters #edutwitter @LiberatED_SEL—@teach2lift
VIA TWITTERPHOTO BY KARSTEN MORAN

Learning for Justice depends
on your support and criticalfeedback to improve ourwork. We love hearing fromyou! Please let us knowwhat you think by emailinglfjeditor@splcenter.org or
reaching out via Facebook,
Twitter or Instagram.

THE MOMENT:THE INSURRECTION
This is absolutely amazingthat you all work so diligently
for us to be able to facilitate
real conversations in class!
Thank you all so much!
—Ivorylkjr
VIA ONLINE COMMENTLGBTQ GUIDE:NEW MEDIA LIST!
I just picked up one of thesebooks for my toddler to see
LGBTQ characters in a children’s book. Check out thisgreat list of books and movies from @learnforjustice
to include more LGBTQ
representation in your@learnforjustice

LFJ 02_First Bell_538179.indd 7

learningforjustice@learningforjusticeschool or classroom:
lfj.pub/lgbtq-books—@roshnimirchi

stories so full of helpful resources for further
reflection and learning.

VIA TWITTERLEARNING FORJUSTICE ISSUE 1
I received the “Learning
for Justice” inauguralissue last week, and felt
compelled to write to you
and your staff, to thankyou for the content, theintentions, the lessons
contained therein.
The magazine’s design isclean and accessible; theillustrations are thoughtful and memorable; theI look forward to receiving the next issue. I knowthat paper can seem suchan outdated medium
to some, but not to me!
And not to my teenage
kids either, who will findthis magazine open on
their desks, so that they
may flip through it inidle moments…and mostprobably find themselvesengrossed in a topic about
which they hadn’t previously thought too deeply.

S P R I N G 2 02 2 

7

4/2/22 11:20 AM

FREE ONE WORLDPOSTERS
Curious as to why @learnforjustice has quotes by
Marianne Williamson?
I’m grateful for the free,downloadable art but
Williamson is fatphobic,
ableist, and has a generally
terrible track record withqueer people.
—@GenderPudding
VIA TWITTER

Editor’s note: Thank you somuch for this feedback andfor the information about
her record. We have since
removed these posters.
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!
Have an opinion about something you
see in Learning for Justice magazine oron our website? Email us atWith gratitude andadmiration. Well done,
editorial team!
—Lisa Goeller
VIA EMAIL

What an incredible
resource! So timely.
—Isabelle Selikoff
VIA FACEBOOKThe entire issue is a must
read, especially appreciate
this article on the urgent
need to teach critical media
literacy [“Reimagining
Digital Literacy Education
to Save Ourselves”]@learnforjustice—@Lozaleadlearner
VIA TWITTER

Imagine a whole issue
on ways to work toward
educational justice
without relying on polygenic scores predicting

8

L E A R N I N G F O R J U S T I C E

LFJ 02_First Bell_538179.indd 8

educational attainment.
—@DorothyERoberts
VIA TWITTERPD OPEN ENROLLMENT
I would highly recommend
this for anyone. It wasa fantastic PD and evenmore impressive since it
was virtual!
—LFJ Workshop Attendee

to Season 4 of @learnforjustice’s Teaching Hard
History podcast w/ @ProfJeffries, get on it!
They’re taking on teaching the history of The Jim
Crow Era
lfj.pub/thh-podcast #learningforjustice #sschat#historyteacher—@KidadaEWilliams
VIA TWITTER

It was the perfect amountof time!
—LFJ Workshop Attendee“LANGUAGE ACCESS”
Yes! Transparency andadvocacy for ALL no matterthe language or background.
—@Bailey_Kasey2

ARTICLE ON CRITICALRACE THEORYThis raises two questions:
1. If parents shouldn’t control the education of theirchildren, who should andwhy? 2. Do children belong
to the family or the state?
—C.j. Goin

VIA TWITTERVIA FACEBOOKTEACHING HARDHISTORY PODCAST
If you all aren’t listening

Black history is US history.
—Sue Budak Runne

lfjeditor@splcenter.org with the subject
line “Letter to the Editor.” Or maila letter to 400 Washington Ave.,
Montgomery, AL 36104.

AWESOME
INSTA[The Social
Justice Standards]
are not only essential goals for everyclassroom, butthey recognize thatstudents can doimportant work. We
can help all young
people develop theessential skills anddispositions theyneed to thrive in theirdiverse communities,
locally and globally.
—@KKWORLDSAVVY

VIA FACEBOOKILLUSTRATION BY JIANAN LIU

4/2/22 11:20 AM

Ask Learning for JusticeQ:

I want to teach honest history, and I want to besensitive and respectful in how I do it—I don’t wantto say the wrong thing. What advice do you have?”
Teaching honest history isunderstandably difficult fora lot of educators, especiallywhen discussing American
enslavement. However,being silent on the topic canharm all students, particularly those whose families
or identity groups were thetargets of harm. One way toensure you are being mindful when discussing hard
histories is to be intentional
about language.
While we focus on
American enslavement here,teaching honest history—
and centering the humanityof historically marginalized
communities—means always
choosing your language carefully. History is typicallypresented through a dominant perspective, so taking
steps to understand and analyze the historical context ofwords and phrases is key. In
some cases, dominant groups

ILLUSTRATION BY SÉBASTIEN THIBAULTLFJ 02_First Bell_538179.indd 9

have weaponized language
to stigmatize other groups.
For example, when teaching
about the history of immigration in the United States, theword illegal is often used todescribe immigrants without
papers and is meant to connote criminality, especiallyconcerning immigrants ofcolor. We recommend using
undocumented instead. In
general, frame class content
around personhood.
Our word choices havereal-life consequences.
For instance, during legal
enslavement, Black people
held in bondage were called“slaves.” Enslavers were
“slave holders” or “masters.”
This language shaped how
white people discussed andsubsequently thought aboutenslaved Black people. Overtime, this narrative of white
power over Black bodies
became the prevailing one.

In short, language frames
our understanding of U.S.
history. And we see theharm language has inflicted
on enslaved people andtheir descendants.
For this reason, we’vebeen intentional with thelanguage choices in our
resources and materials,
especially our Teaching
Hard History framework.
With a team of historians
and educators, we deliberately wrote the frameworkto center the humanityof people in bondage—that’s why we use the people-first term “enslaved
people.” Calling someone a “slave” undermines
their personhood and centers their whole identity
on being held captive. In
the “Transatlantic Slave
Trade” episode of Crash
Course Black American
History, author, scholar

and educator Clint Smith
explains that enslaved person “emphasizes that slavery is a condition that wasinvoluntarily imposed on
someone, rather than being
an inherent condition tosomeone’s existence.”
Language shifts cantake some adjustment, andyou’ll come across some ofthat traditional language
in valuable scholarship andother academic texts. You’llalso encounter it in useful
resources outside the academy. The key is to be deliberate about the language you
use with students, and it’sa good idea to explain why
you’re using that language.
These choices are especiallycritical as you discuss histories of oppression in yourclassroom. Otherwise, thatprevailing narrative of white
supremacy will continue
unchecked.
To break this cycle, weneed to humanize people
who historically have been
dehumanized. We must
remember and celebratethat these full human beings
contributed to American
culture in myriad ways andcreated communities in dire,brutal circumstances.
When your language
reflects that enslaved people
were more than “slaves,” youand your students can tell amore complete and honest
historical narrative.
ASK LEARNING FOR JUSTICE!
Need the kind of advice andexpertise only Learning for
Justice can provide? Email us at
lfjeditor@splcenter.org with
“Ask LFJ” in the subject line.

S P R I N G 2 02 2

9

4/2/22 11:21 AM

ARTICLESPOTLIGHT
Search for theseheadlines atlearningforjustice.org.
•
Pay BIPOC Educators
for Their DEI LaborBY SELENA A. CARRIÓN
A R T I C L E 8 . 5 . 2 1 / / R A C E & E T H N I C I T Y, G E N D E R & S E X U A L I D E N T I T Y

Partnering With Families to Support
Black GirlsBY ADAM ALVAREZ, PH.D., AND ESHE PRICE

In our work together at Rowan University, we—Latino professor Adam Alvarez
and Black woman doctoral student Eshe Price—often share our collective observations, experiences and ideas for improving conditions for youth of color. Being
parents of color and former K-12 teachers, we approach the intersection of race,
trauma and education with a sense of intimacy. We have witnessed firsthand the
racialized wounds that occur in school settings, particularly for Black girls likeEmmy, Eshe’s daughter.
For Black girls, who are often viewed as less innocent than their white peers,
common trauma-based responses like withdrawal, isolation, depression, irritability, aggression or risky behaviors tend to be criminalized. Consequently, their
responses to social and economic issues over which they have no control are moreharshly punished. In the process, many of their bodies are violated by agents ofthe state. Many Black girls are pushed out of school, funneled into the justice system and struggle with high levels of cascading stress. This is why the combined
support of educators, families and caregivers is crucial.

And a reader replied...
#BlackGirls often suffer from traumatic stress that goes unnoticed, and #schools canhelp. Engaging these students and their families with more empathy is essential to dismantling policies that marginalize #BlackStudents.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE:

lfj.pub/support-black-girls

10

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_First Bell_538179.indd 10•
Parents Push forStudent Safety
BY COSHANDRA DILLARD•
What Critical Race
Theory Is and What it
Means for Teachers
BY BOB KIM•
Teaching
Reconstruction Is
Absolutely Necessary
BY URSULAWOLFE-ROCCADID YOU KNOW?
DID YOU KNOW?

A 2019 study foundthat, per 100 students
enrolled in school, Black
students missed out on
82 more days becauseof out-of-school suspensions thantheir white peers.
—THE CENTER FOR
CIVIL RIGHTS REMEDIESAND LEARNING POLICYINSTITUTE

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTOPHER THORNOCK

4/2/22 11:22 AM

Why I Teach

Nefertari Yancie, Ph.D.,
teaches social studies at ClayChalkville Middle School in
Birmingham, Alabama.

Ask, Investigate and Advocate
Several of my colleagues have said,“I was born to teach,” and I’ve
looked at them in awe—primarily because I know the same is nottrue for me. Mine was a long andcircuitous road paved with many
challenges, doubts and triumphs.
What I can say with certainty,
though, is I was born to be a learner.
I grew up in Plainfield, New
Jersey. During my father’s childhood there in the 1960s, at thepeak of the civil rights movement,
protests for equality—grassroots
movements—were taking place.
Plainfield gained national attention as one of more than a hundred
U.S. cities marked by racial unrest
during the “Long, Hot Summer of
1967.” People of color were protesting to receive the political, socialand economic rights promised by
the U.S. Constitution. My parents
and family were at the center of thissocial upheaval that would come toshape my worldview.
My father says that every generation has its own unique question.
For those like him who grew up
in the 1960s, that question was“Why?” and it demanded answers.
“Why must we as Black people
accept being treated as if we have nodignity?” and “Why are you, the government, failing by not giving us aseat at the table when we are dying
in your battlefields and working inyour industrial plants?” My family passed down to me the bravery
to ask the tough questions and thethirst to find the answers. I believe
that, without my knowing andwithout my permission, my family set me on the road to become ateacher.
I teach because I am a learnerand I need to instill this same drive
to learn and ask questions in mystudents. They must ask, “Why?”because it appears that this will be
the question for their generation
as well. Ask, investigate and advocate. I believe these skills should
be taught in the classroom because
when students embrace and masterthem, these skills will transcend theclassroom.
Ask the compelling questions
that lead to dialogue about howchanges may be made for the common good. Ask if we are learningfrom the mistakes of our past or
looking for avenues to ensure that

SHARE YOUR Story

What motivates you to get up each morning and serve students in our nation’s schools? We want to hearfrom you. Send your 600-word submission for the “Why I Teach” column to lfjsubmissions@splcenter.org.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELEY

LFJ 02_First Bell_538179.indd 11

S P R I N G 2 02 2

11

4/2/22 11:22 AM

all races, cultures and genders are
fully represented. Investigate different perspectives, even if they
conflict with one’s own. Investigate
history because it teaches valuablelessons about what we, as a nation,
have done right and have done
wrong. Advocate for change and be
the change agent who takes civic
action to continue the work of those
who have gone before. Advocate so
those who have historically been
disregarded are recognized.
This kind of inquiry and advocacy
was honed in me from childhood.
It was listening to my father anduncles enthusiastically debate in
my grandmother’s kitchen. It wasalso listening to my Uncle Joe tellmy grandmother he was going toprotest a landfill being put in ourneighborhood and her replying,“Have a good time!” It was receiving a picture book about BenjaminBanneker from Uncle Mike when
every other child in second grade
was learning about Martin LutherKing Jr. And it was my father insisting my first chapter book was The
Autobiography of Malcolm X insteadof The Wizard of Oz.
My family instilled in me a love
for learning, especially about history, my role in it and what it means
to question the status quo. So I
teach because it is my way of continuing for my students the legacy
that my family passed to me—alegacy of empowerment fromknowledge that leads to a future ofpossibilities for change.

A R T I C L E 7. 6 . 2 1 / / R A C E & E T H N I C I T Y, G E N D E R & S E X U A L I D E N T I T Y,
RIGHTS & ACTIVISM

Students Say Teach the Truth
BY ELIZABETH KLEINROCK

Although we’ve recently witnessed a mainstream mass awakening
to the prevalence of racism in our society with the increased visibility of movements such as Black Lives Matter and Stop AsianHate, lawmakers, educators and caregivers in 20 states are currently fighting legislative and other battles over what confusedlegislators are calling the presence of critical race theory (CRT) in
K-12 schools. At this moment, these legislators and their supporters are misusing CRT as an umbrella term for topics such as race,
racism, gender, diversity, equity, liberation and identity, among
others. However, it’s not lost on me that the opinions missing fromthis conversation are those of the people most directly affected:
our students.
As these laws will touch millions of our nation’s youth, I wondered what my students thought about this ongoing battle overteaching about race, racism and U.S. history. The following
responses were collected from a group of my current and former students, ranging from fifth to ninth
grade. (All students who are quoted volunteered toparticipate and gave permission for their words to be
used anonymously.)

And a reader replied...
“It’s only a sensitive topic because people are uncomfortable talking
about it”. Amen to that, seventh grader!
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE:

lfj.pub/teach-the-truth

DID YOU KNOW?
DID YOU KNOW?

DID YOU KNOW?
DID YOU KNOW?

DID YOU KNOW?
DID YOU KNOW?

In 2019, nearly 1 in 5
students attended schoolin a rural district.

In 2021, nine states passed
legislation banning educatorsfrom discussing topics considered
to be under the umbrellaof critical race theory.

From September of 2020
to September of 2021, recorded
attempts to ban school librarybooks rose by 67%.

—EDUCATION WEEK—AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION—THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION

12LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_First Bell_538179.indd 12

4/2/22 11:29 AM

Down the Hall

The
RelationshipAspectNicole Morales serves as the school
counselor at Holt Elementary School
in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She taught
in K-5 classrooms throughout theSouth for 20 years and then earneda master’s degree in school counseling. Morales shared her thoughts with
LFJ about the urgency for intentional
relationship building in the current
climate of public education. This
interview has been edited for lengthand clarity.
With the ongoing pandemic and allthat entails, what kinds of things do
you notice as your school’s counselor? How are students doing?
Nothing takes the place of a humanteaching another human being.
Children returning from virtual
learning had to be slowly transitioned
back into, “What are the normal
expectations for school? How do I
interact with my peers? Is it OK forme to high-five people?” We’re seeing
the ramifications of not having dailysocial interaction.
We see a lot of behavioral issues
with younger kids. Some of themwould’ve been 18 months old or rightat 2 when COVID started, so manyof them were never exposed to daycare, pre-K or Head Start. Where achild of 5 could handle rules, structure and consequences, you’re
getting more of the mentality of
2-year-olds—having fits and thatkind of thing. And when you’re trying to teach something, especiallywith younger children, you mustbe hands-on. If you aren’t, it’s justwasted time.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELIJAH NOUVELAGELFJ 02_First Bell_538179.indd 13

Nicole Morales is the school counselor at
Holt Elementary School in Tuscaloosa,
Alabama.

What are some ways educators can
support students right now?
Just being there and listening.
Educators at my school sit with theirclasses and talk before the day starts.
They call it morning meeting. A lotof schools are implementing that. It
has really helped. Students talk about
the day or something that’s bothering them.

Being mindful of different situations students may be in is so
important, even if you talk to themfor only a minute. You can do what’s
called “10 by 2.” Choose students whoneed special care and attention andtalk to them daily for two minutes for
10 days straight. A lot of my colleagues
do that and it works. Kids will learn
more from you if they know you care.

S P R I N G 2 02 2 

13

4/2/22 11:22 AMfirstBell

Student Reads

Our free, online Student Texts Libraryis packed with classroom-ready texts
for K-12 educators. Each is alignedwith LFJ’s topics and social justicedomains and accompanied by text-dependent questions. Here are a few ofour favorite Teaching Hard History
readings to share with students.

Meet Frederick Douglass (K-2)

Students will learn about Douglass’amazing journey from slavery to
self-emancipation and how he committed his life to fighting for the liberty
of others.
lfj.pub/meet-douglass

The Night Was Dark (3-5)

Elizabeth, an enslaved girl, has neverexperienced freedom. But when thegrownups talk about Harriet Tubman,
who helps enslaved people escape,Elizabeth begins to feel hope.
lfj.pub/night-was-dark

Creating a Culture: The Music of
Enslaved People (6-8)

Students will learn how enslaved
Africans carried their traditions—likemusic—to the places where they were
held captive. They built instruments,
improvised and used music as a formof communication.
lfj.pub/creating-a-culture

On Liberty and Slavery (9-12)

George Moses Horton, an African
American poet born into slavery,
writes about the hardships of bondage and his longing to be free in “On
Liberty and Slavery.”lfj.pub/liberty-and-slavery

FREE STUFF!
These web resources supportand supplement social justiceeducation—at no cost!

14

We’ve been intentional aboutbuilding relationships with one
another. When you’re trying tobuild back school climate and culture after COVID, our focus is on therelationship aspect.
Why did you choose to become aschool counselor, and what do you
love about your work?
I knew that my time in the classroom had run out. It was time forsomething different. I feel like I cando more preventative measures as aschool counselor. Do I miss my regular classroom? I do. I do miss theteaching aspect and just being with
one group of students. However,I’ve been able to broaden that territory and reach a whole school. At
the time—about three years ago—I
saw that we needed caring counselors and we hardly had any African
American counselors. There’ve been
several more since I started. That’s agreat thing.
The kids make you feel like arock star. You walk up and down
the hallway and hear, “Hey, Miss
Morales!” My colleagues andadministrators are great. I havea social worker who’s phenomenal. I wish she was here every
day—she’s only here two and a halfdays a week—then we could reallymake some significant changes. I’mdoing what I can and giving it myall. I’m in the right place with theright people.

The ACT UP Oral History
Project houses nearly 200
video interviews with folksfrom the AIDS Coalition
to Unleash Power, New
York, including the Latina/o
Caucus Archive. From AIDS
treatment to youth education and more, learn fromfirsthand accounts of activists and group members.
actuporalhistory.org

With the Smithsonian
National Museum of
African American History
and Culture’s Searchable
Museum, even those who
can’t make the physicaltrip can explore. Find lesser-known stories, methodsof study and comprehensive exhibits across topics inAfrican American history.
searchablemuseum.com

What should people know aboutschool counselors?
It’s difficult. It’s not for everybody, but it’s so important to havea person who can be the mediator
between home and school, administrators and teachers. I know itsounds cliché, but it really is about
relationships. You can take thetoughest, most difficult parent andjust give them a chance to be heard.
If you make school a pleasant experience—make it transparent andbuild relationships with parents—
it makes a huge difference. Climate
and culture.
I don’t remember, when I wasyounger, having a school counselor,but I wish we had more. Some people say, “Oh, you just sit in your officeand drink coffee.” Well, you didn’t
see that suicide protocol I had to do
for an hour and a half. You didn’t seethat I’m trying to get somebody’slights paid, keep their water on or
trying to get them housing.
We need more counselors. We’reseeing so many emotional problems, especially with younger kids
and even with some adults. I would
encourage more funding for school
counselors. Since we have had allthese issues with the pandemic,
we really had to go back to basics.
Learning to de-escalate and calm
situations. Thinking about how wetalk to one another. Building relationships. With those basic things,
we’ll see some changes.

With topics including thecriminalization of peopleof color, immigrant rights
and gender discrimination,
RadicalMath includes curriculum and resources toincorporate racial and social
justice in math classes. You
can search by math content,
resource type and social
justice issue.
radicalmath.org/about

Featuring pre-reading,lesson plans, extended
learning from a range ofresources and more, An
Educator’s Guide to The
1619 Project: Born on the
Water allows you to bringthis powerful work to yourelementary or middle
school classroom.
1619books.com

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_First Bell_538179.indd 14

4/2/22 11:23 AM

PD CAFÉPD CAFÉ OFFERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIESTO COMPLETE ALONE OR WITH COLLEAGUES.

Using Inquiry to Teach Honest History
Learning for Justice’s Teaching Hard History: A Framework for Teaching American Slavery—available at both the K-5 and 6-12 levels—offers a foundation for teaching honest history through inquiry. The framework and its accompanying resources provide teachers withtools to accurately teach this history and allow students to dig deeper into the content by exploring essential questions, engaging in
performance tasks and acting for justice.
Using the framework in conjunction with The College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards, this PD Café
will guide you through a high school Inquiry Design Model (IDM). We hope these strategies help you support students as they examine
the history of American slavery through compelling, rigorous questions. This approach to using IDMs with the Teaching Hard History
framework is included in our publication Teaching American Slavery Through Inquiry.

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_PD Cafe_537950.indd 15

15

4/4/22 10:20 AM

PD CAFÉ
Inquiry Design Model
Teaching history through inquiry helps students make meaning of
the world. They can analyze historical content, treating it not merely as a collection of facts but as information they research. They canconstruct questions and evaluate multiple sources of information
to draw conclusions. Inquiry offers students the opportunity to do
the following:• develop a passion for questioning interpretations of the past
• explore and analyze content to shape their understanding of
the present• think critically about the world they live in• pursue their ideas about an essential question• become more engaged in the learning process• awaken their curiosity• navigate the world beyond the classroom
IDMs highlight key elements of the instructional design process,avoiding overly rigid curricula and honoring educators’ knowledge
and expertise.

How to Use the Inquiry Design Model
The IDM is organized into three elements of inquiry:• questions, which include a compelling question that frames
the inquiry, along with aligned supporting questions• performance tasks, which provide students with learning
experiences and teachers with opportunities to evaluate what
students know
• featured sources, which offer substance and content forinquiry, such as primary and secondary documents
Here, we will model how to plan and facilitate an IDM using thehigh school emancipation inquiry focused on the compellingquestion, “Does it matter who ended slavery?”Unpacking an IDM:
“Does It Matter Who Ended Slavery?”Step 1: Design the compelling question and a summative performance task.
A strong compelling question frames the IDM by encouraging students
to join a historical debate, evaluate the facts behind these arguments
and weigh the significance of the arguments themselves. Compellingquestions also engage students by asking them to make present-day
connections to historical events. After determining the compellingquestion, you’ll design a summative performance task that will ask
students to craft arguments and present their findings to that question.
For example, the question, “Does it matter who ended slavery?”draws students in by asking them to understand a contemporary
debate about teaching accurate history while using primary andsecondary documents. The summative performance task requires
students to construct arguments using claims and evidence fromthe IDM. An optional extension activity asks students to apply
their learnings by analyzing a history textbook and proposing
revisions. These tasks are strong because they require students
to act like historians: They must study 19th-century laws that16

provided gradual emancipation, including the 13th Amendment,
and draw conclusions about the work of 20th-century historians
who represent differing positions.
Step 2: Map the compelling question to the Teaching Hard
History framework.
After you craft the compelling question and summative performancetask, you will map it to a Summary Objective in the framework.
When you do that, you will see which Key Concepts the question
connects to as well. If you’re an elementary educator, follow a similar
process, mapping your compelling question and performance task toan Essential Knowledge from the K-5 framework.
For this example, the compelling question ties into the frameworkin Summary Objective 15.F, which is about the Emancipation
Proclamation. This compelling question also maps to Key Concepts 2, 5, 7 and 10.
Step 3: Design the supporting questions and formative performance tasks.
Next, you will design the supporting questions and align each
one to a formative performance task. Supporting questions flesh
out the compelling question by organizing and sequencing themain ideas and help students build their understanding. Formative tasks follow the same logic; they provide smaller “steps” forstudents to reach the summative performance task, which also
allows you to evaluate their understanding throughout the IDM.
Formative performance tasks should still require students to practice higher-level thinking while gaining background content.
For example, in the emancipation inquiry, the supporting questions sequence this way:
Supporting Question 1:
What legal steps were taken to end slavery?
Supporting Question 2:
What arguments do historians make about who ended slavery?
Supporting Question 3:
What are the implications of the debate over who
ended slavery?
The sequencing of performance tasks requires students tounderstand background content and then identify and analyze
arguments from historians. Formative performance tasks alignwith each supporting question. For example, for the first supporting question, students’ formative performance task would beto create an annotated timeline that describes legal steps taken
between 1861 and 1865 to end slavery.
Step 4: Choose sources that align to the compelling and supporting questions, and design instruction.
For this step, you will select the sources (from LFJ’s Teaching
Hard History Text Library or other sources) that students will
use to dialogue about their responses. The best sources allow
students to analyze competing perspectives and draw their own
conclusions. Once sources are selected, you should plan how you

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_PD Cafe_537950.indd 16

4/4/22 10:20 AM

will use them with your students through inquiry-based teaching
throughout the IDM.
For example, at the beginning of the IDM, invite students tograpple with the compelling question, “Does it matter who
ended slavery?” Students can read and discuss Joe Heim’s
article “On Emancipation Day in D.C., Two Memorials Tell Very
Different Stories” from The Washington Post. Then, students
can compare that initial source with photos of the Emancipation
Memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial.
Facilitating the learning from these featured sources, you canengage students in a conversation about the process of emancipation and how historians and citizens have interpreted events
like emancipation. (Note that both these sources are linked inour sample IDM for “Does It Matter Who Ended Slavery?” here:
lfj.pub/ended-slavery.)Step 5: Teach from an inquiry stance by facilitating the IDM.
Through deliberate design of the IDM, teachers can position
themselves as facilitators, rather than knowledge holders, during
this stage. Even careful attention to the order of the IDM canhelp build a more student-driven space. For example, you could
start the IDM by staging the compelling question with aligned
resources to hook students and then repeating the processwith each of the supporting questions. You would then direct
students to complete a summative performance task and, if
possible, the extension activity. You can conclude the IDM byhelping students take informed action.
You can also facilitate inquiry-based learning through theformative tasks. For example, students create timelines when
responding to Supporting Question 1, “What legal steps weretaken to end slavery?” After students have completed theirtimelines, you can facilitate dialogue around the supporting
question and then invite them to record their first responses tothe compelling question.
Step 6: Students work on summative performance tasks.
After answering each of the supporting questions through its
counterpart formative performance task, students can address
the compelling question through a summative performance task.
This stage of the IDM pulls the inquiry together and asks students
to draw conclusions based on the cumulative knowledge they
have gained.
At this point, pose the compelling question, “Does it matter who
ended slavery?” Students can construct their arguments throughessays, detailed outlines or posters. They should use specificclaims and evidence from their engagement with the IDM. As
an extension activity, they can continue acting as historians by
critiquing and revising a history textbook.
Step 7: Students take informed action.
This final step can take a wide range of forms (e.g., discussions, debates and presentations) and can occur in a variety ofcontexts—inside and outside of the classroom. Key to any action,
however, is the idea that it is informed by students’ participationin the IDM and compels them to apply what they learned in areal-world setting.
In the IDM “Does It Matter Who Ended Slavery?” students cantake informed action by watching the film Lincoln, evaluating its
historical accuracy, and writing and publishing a review on IMDb.
com. This helps students synthesize their understanding of thecontent and act on it in a 21st-century way.
The complexity surrounding American enslavement and its legacies, as well as the lingering effects of white supremacy, requires
deep engagement from students. Using an IDM to teach American enslavement supports such engagement. The IDM, with its
focus on questions, tasks and sources, provides a structure forthis natural desire to inquire. As James Baldwin said, “History is
not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are
our history.” Our capacity to teach about challenging topics—likeenslavement and white supremacy—makes the reality of a future
rooted in equity, justice and liberation more possible.

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_PD Cafe_537950.indd 17

17

4/6/22 5:03 PM

NEW GUIDEPROTECTING IMMIGRANTSTUDENTS’ RIGHTS TO A
PUBLIC EDUCATIONA Guide for Advocates
The Southern Poverty Law Center’s new
resource Protecting Immigrant Students’
Rights to a Public Education: A Guidef or Advocates offers information andrecommendations educators, caregivers
and other trusted adults can use to ensurethat their school or district is meeting its

legal responsibility to ELLs and immigrantstudents and families.
Designed to share with families
and available in multiple languages, anaccompanying pamphlet offers overviews ofthis information, easy-to-use reference lists
and links to further resources.

PHOTO CREDIT GOES HERE

18

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICEDOWNLOAD THIS FREE GUIDE AT SPLCENTER.ORG/PLYLER
LFJ 02_Plyler AD 18

4/1/22 12:14 PM

My History:

MORE THAN TWOSUGAR-COATEDPARAGRAPHS
This Black Alabama
teen and her family
had to fill the gaps
in her education at
home. Here’s her
advice to teachers.

BY K.C.B.
PHOTOGRAPHY BYPEYTON FULFORDS P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_My History_537519.indd 19

19

4/2/22 2:46 PM

“STUDENTS, TODAY WE are going totake an in-depth look into the history behind the triangular trade route,which happens to involve slavery. We
are going to take an unfiltered approachto the concept, and the U.S. wasn’t asheavily involved with slavery as you
might think. Actually, more often thannot, traders only took captive those thatwere already slaves in their villages as
prisoners of war.”
This is how a teacher explained theinstitution of slavery in the UnitedStates to my classmates and me, andthis exact example is often seen as anample explanation for something so
devastating. That classroom experience and others like it sparked an idea
in me. Education is the key to a strong
society, so when information is hidden
and dishonest, that hinders the futureof our society and limits the amount ofchange possible.
An education that consists ofglossed-over information like theone that I and so many students havereceived reduces the importance of
substantial events in U.S. history to only
a couple of sugar-coated paragraphs ina textbook. This kind of teaching makes
statistical excuses for events that took
place for over 200 years and that created a system so dehumanizing that thestress it caused in the past is embeddedin the DNA of an entire people. Thiskind of education minimizes the startof a national system of legal oppression.
Learning this way means only knowing
the names of a few historical figures

20

while the rest collect dust because
including them goes against a specificnarrative that is so commonly spreadthroughout our nation.
Our nation: We’re taught that it’s aland for all, a melting pot and a place
where liberty is a natural right. So how
are we, as students, to execute these
ideals if our education doesn’t reflectthem? How can we effectively makechange and make our society just if wearen’t taught the truth behind what
we’re changing? You can’t know where
you’re going without knowing where
you came from.
A Disservice
I went to a middle school where perspective was limited. We didn’t celebrate cultural appreciation months,
and we had only those two sugar-coatedparagraphs about the unpleasant areasof U.S. history in our textbooks. Thatsugar-coated education is damaging in
the worst way possible: Students in the
U.S. are not educated honestly. As a student, particularly as a student of color,my education has been a disservice thathas had a weighty impact on my life. I’mforced to work harder because I have tolearn about my culture on my own time.
And then, as if I haven’t been throughthe same educational system as the restof my class, I’ve been expected to know
the most.
I had the reputation in middle schoolfor being the one the teacher would callon for corrections. I was the one who
led class discussions on slavery and

A TEACHER’SFIRST DUTY IS TO
THEIR STUDENTS.
racism, and I was expected to always bein “tip-top” shape academically as thestudent who filled the diversity quota.
And as the only Black cheerleader at
the school, I had to explain how thebows they used wouldn’t fit my hair. I
had to explain to teachers—some whoheld master’s degrees in their fields andsome who were practicing physicians—
how my hair was able to change frombraids one week to an afro the next.
Then, when I injured myself during therequired physical education course, formonths I heard whispers of criticism,as if my genetic makeup excluded myability to feel pain.
All of this pushed me to take back mypower and engage with history myself.
A dishonest education is disorienting and destructive to a student’s
understanding of the real world. That’s
my early education summed up. The
foundation of false facts is laid downin early elementary school. From there,
you’re only given the tools necessary to

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_My History_537519.indd 20

4/2/22 2:46 PM

continue to add to the falsities. That’s
what happened to me. I was completely
clueless about what was lacking, andeventually, the negative truth of allthese unpleasant experiences I have
had with education hit me. I came tothis realization thinking about what I
was going through and what I wasn’t
learning. I was forced to take off all thelayers of inaccurate information that I
was initially forced to put on.
After shedding those layers, I could
see bits and pieces of things that I thenworked to retain in the form of knowledge. But I had no real connection to
my culture as a Black person in the
U.S., and I wasn’t given the opportunity
throughout my education to know that
I had no connection. So I had to learn
on my own. I had to figure out how tomake connections, all while clearing
up the confusion I felt after the yearsof selective or sugar-coated material
I was given in school. That’s what myeducation has been like, and this is theimpact that it had on my life.
A Family Journey
to Cultural Connection
My mother and I went on a journey
to find out about our ancestors. We
learned about DNA patterns (which
is how I found out that because of
the trauma that slavery inflicted on
my people, we quite literally passstress down genetically). We learned
that Black women, statistically, arethe most educated in the world. We
learned that the stigma around mental health in our communities isfostered by standards that the media
portrays for people of color (struggling families, impoverished lifestyles, less fortunate situations,“urban” swag, and more).
My father taught me the intricaciesof current Black culture through a lensof love and experience. He helped me
truly appreciate and celebrate my culture. He introduced me to the historyof our music, foods, fashion and joy, allof which was astounding. Both of myparents helped me connect with myroots. How could all of this be disregarded by an educational system? Was
this entire community not worthy ofrecognition? If not, in whose eyes were
we deemed insignificant?
I was a military kid, so I’ve beenable to experience educational norms

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_My History_537519.indd 21

21

4/2/22 2:46 PM

Henrietta Lacks (above) sought cancer treatment
in 1951. Without her knowledge, doctors harvested
her cells that are still used today for medical
research. Mary Putnam Jacobi, M.D., (below)
created the Association for the Advancement of
the Medical Education of Women in 1872.

22

first Black professional nurse; Marie
Van Brittan Brown and her inventionof the first home security system; andthat African dance and culture largely
inspired jazz dance techniques. Thoseare examples of major accomplishments by Black people that weren’ttaught in school.
My journey to cultural connection
has been a long one. It takes the help of
my family and constant research on my
own to root out all the falsities in education and emerge with a clearer picture of U.S. history and culture. As fatewould have it, my mom was taking an
African American history course during
the summer before my sixth grade year.
Once I decided to really pay attention
to what she had been trying to tell me,
I learned. My father has always been anatural teacher, so once I was able toappreciate his lessons, I learned. We did
it. We found a way to truly clear away all
the untruths I learned in school.
Honesty Is the Answer
After cleaning up the confusion fromfalsities and sugar-coated facts, I
learned the importance of transparent education through art, music,
speech, writing and so on. It’s our
only route to a real education, andit’s the root of all of our expressions.
How, then, can teachers effectively
communicate such important principles to students? How can you teachsomeone the law, how can you teachthem personal finance, how can youteach them literature, how can youteach them history—and how can youteach all of these things effectively?
My advice is quite simple: Honesty is
the answer.

WIKIPEDIAin entirely different locations. In elementary school, when I lived in New
England, I never learned about slavery—not even from two sugar-coatedparagraphs. I never learned about
the civil rights movement, neverlearned about prominent—or any—
African American heroes and neverlearned about Black contributions
to society. The only history I learned
was Eurocentric in nature—beauty
norms, acceptable styles and “true”
U.S. heroes.
At an entirely different school, backhome in Alabama, I had a teacher who
promised to be open and give us knowledge about slavery. What she actually
only taught us was that this country had
the lowest statistical involvement in
the trade of African humans. She taught
an entire grade of youth that this country, one that was actually built uponslavery, had the least involvement in
it. This is what we were provided withas “education.”
I wasn’t able to learn about the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. in my early elementary classrooms
in New England, even though he is a
man who has a national holiday celebrating him. I didn’t know that there
are a multitude of prominent African
American contributors to society until
I later learned about Garrett Morganwith his invention of the three-signal
traffic light; Mary Eliza Mahoney, theLE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_My History_537519.indd 22

4/2/22 2:46 PM

WIKIPEDIA

A teacher’s first duty is to theirstudents. Hindering students witha false education—or a sugar-coated
one—does not align with what is sonecessary for a teacher to do. Insteadof relying on a student’s ability tocorrect a given curriculum, teachers can lean into their ability to lead.
Educators can teach with clear expectations and give students ample support to actively engage in learning.
Hold steadfast to educational promises made in the classroom, and whenbeing vulnerable enough to show yourimperfections (because you should,
within reason), lend to students, withthat same vulnerability, comfort inknowing the truth behind their curriculum and instruction.
I wish that future youth are given
the opportunity to have an honest
education. I also hope that all cultures are included in education.
Every group deserves to be regarded
because, at the very least, that inclusion prepares students for what’s tocome. Throughout life, we are going to
be exposed to people who have different experiences than ours. How are weto be an inclusive society if our education is not inclusive? How are weto exercise liberty and equality if we
don’t know anything about the othercommunities that are deserving of
those principles?
Education in the U.S. should beall-encompassing. We have to know
more about where and what we camefrom and who we are in order to growas a nation and to be the embodimentof those founding principles. The methods with which we educate shouldreflect the truth of each principle we

THERE ARE NO MORE EXCUSES TO CONTINUEALLOWING A SUGAR-COATED EDUCATION WITH
INACCURATE INFORMATION TO DOMINATE.
have laid out as the map to a successful nation (life, liberty, equality and the
pursuit of happiness, to name a few).
This means all of the importance associated with our natural rights as citizens should also be reflected in how andwhat we learn. We need lessons that domore than focus on Eurocentric ideas
and spaces.
Let’s learn how the Wampanoag(who inhabited what is currently
Massachusetts) influenced the practiceof cultivation that we use presently andhow that practice continues to support
our nation. Let’s take an in-depth look
into medical studies involving womenlike Henrietta Lacks and learn about
women like Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi,
while acknowledging both of their contributions to medicine. And we needmore classes about financial development and diversity. Simply stated, weneed to rise above teaching the minimum on all subjects.
It wasn’t until recently that a more
student-centered approach to education has been highlighted. Education
should always be tailored to meet
students’ needs. If the educator hasenough information on the subject toteach it, they should be able to tailor
it to focus on those learning it. There
are so many methods, resources andways to research today. There are no
more excuses to continue allowing asugar-coated education with inaccurate information to dominate. We canchange things for the better.
Education is key to a successful society. Hiding information and being dishonest with learning leaves the society disadvantaged. Educators should
teach with honesty. My education
started with a foundation that could
not support the reality of my life andexperiences. I had to sift through falsities and find my way forward. But I was
empowered to get a clear picture, andthat knowledge has forever impacted
me in the best of ways.
If we are to truly be an inclusive society, we must value one another and ourstories. We must learn from each other.
We are capable of change and success.
If we begin our education without sugar-coated paragraphs and with a focus onhonesty, the impact on our society—andon the world—will be extraordinary.
K.C.B. is a high school student in Alabama.

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_My History_537519.indd 23

23

4/2/22 2:46 PM

A Textbook Case

How teachers are changing history education from the ground up
BY DOROTHEE BENZ
“M A K E T E XT B O O KS B E T T E R .” That
was the blunt imperative in Learning
for Justice’s Teaching Hard History:
American Slavery, a study that examined how American slavery is taught
in U.S. schools and what needs tochange for it to be accurately taught.
Improving textbooks was one recommendation in the report.

24

ILLUSTRATION BY ERICK M. RAMOSClassroom educators agree there’s a
lot of room for improvement.
“When I came into the classroom,
there were textbooks in my rooms forme to use that are approved by ourstate,” says Ciara Hart, an eighth grade
history teacher in Louisiana. “I took all
the textbooks and put them on a cart
and took them to the library because

I went to the slavery section to read
how they interpreted that history, andI wasn’t pleased with what I read.
“They’re all sitting in the libraryright now, collecting dust.”
Slavery was—and is—more than “achapter” in U.S. history. It was central to the economic and social development of the colonies and was the

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_A Textbook Case.indd 24

4/2/22 3:05 PM

prime driver of the nation’s wealth. Its
principal legacy, racism, has shaped
virtually everything: social, economicand educational inequality; housing,health care and labor policy; domestic
terrorism, policing and mass incarceration; and so much more. To help students understand the enormity of slavery’s role is to equip them with the tools
to contest the injustices of the present.
Thus, slavery can’t be contained to achapter in a textbook either.
Textbooks fall short in how theyteach slavery and its legacy. But in thehands of a skilled educator, they canstill be a useful teaching tool, especiallyin combination with other resources.
Many educators effectively incorporate
them in teaching the whole, hard historyof the U.S. Learning for Justice talked to
19 educators in seven states about how
they use textbooks in their classrooms.
Besides uncovering an abundanceof useful examples, these interviews
underscore the essential role of teacher
agency in guiding students to understand the past and its connection to
the present. Christopher Rogers, whoheads up the curriculum work of Black
Lives Matter at School, sums it up like
this: “We are professionals, and in
owning our practice, we also own theright to determine what is the properand most effective and relevant way toreach our students.”
Professional expertise and agency
are especially important now, whenteachers are navigating not justflawed textbooks but also politicalbacklash against teaching the truth
about U.S. history.

Textbooks are embedded
white supremacist structures.

Brian Ford teaches U.S. history at
Montclair High School in New Jersey
and is part of the BLM at School curriculum team. Like Ciara Hart, he issharply critical of textbooks. “Slavery
isn’t situated in the broader historicalconversation about the construction ofrace and racism in America,” he says.

Ford’s colleague in the MHS history
department, Shana Stein, teaches from
Reconstruction to the present. “WhereI start, there is no mention [in the textbook] of slavery at all anymore,” shesays. “The impression that a student
has is that slavery ended in 1865 withthe 13th Amendment—end of story.”
For instance, when the book discusses
sharecropping, the Black Codes and theorigins of Jim Crow, “there’s no mention of enslavement,” Stein explains.
Hart’s critique is that textbooks
disregard the perspectives of theenslaved. “I think there are meaningful ways you can do that,” she says, “sostudents are able to understand capitalism and the economic impact of all
those things” without stripping away
the humanity of the people involved
and reducing it to “the beef between
the North and the South.”
The failure to adequately explain
the centrality of slavery to the formation and shaping of the nation and thelack of content that gives agency tothe enslaved are also identified in the
Teaching Hard History textbook review.
These failures are directly related
to the fact that textbooks are a multibillion-dollar industry in the U.S.
Traditional textbooks from the major
publishers are not marketed to teachers, students or schools. They aremarketed to state education boards,
which are political entities controlled
by states’ executive branches. In part
because of this, textbook publishers
are risk-averse and avoid anything thatmight cause “controversy.”
But “controversy ” in the context of the largely unexamined white
supremacist assumptions that shape
our national narratives boils down toanything that challenges those assumptions. Textbooks present information in ways that obscure the agencyof those who built, maintained andenforced the system of slavery—and
that’s a problem.
“They often don’t have active
verbs of people actually enslaving

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_A Textbook Case.indd 25

25

4/2/22 3:06 PM

other people,” says historian David
Gerwin. “They talk about slavery in theAmericas, rather than a particular person who [enslaved people] or a particular legislative act.”“It’s not ever going to change because
the change we need in the textbooks is
one that they’re not willing to make—because they’re not ready to have thatconversation,” says N’Kengé Robertson, ahigh school English language arts teacher
in Detroit who has also taught African
American history and is a member of the
BLM at School curriculum team.
In short, textbooks are structurally connected to the same racial capitalism whose legacy runs from 1619 toGeorge Floyd to today. It is impossible
to truly fix textbooks without also fixing the political, economic and social
structures in which they are embedded.

Let students’ questions
shape lessons.

But textbooks are a fact of life, andmost history teachers use them either
because of requirements to do so or
because of time constraints. Forgoing
the pre-packaged textbook and supplemental materials that come with themmeans a significant amount of additional work for teachers. Depending ona teacher’s experience, number of students and other workload factors, someare simply not able to do that.
Thus, the critical question for
most teachers is how to use textbooks
when teaching about slavery and its
legacy effectively.
Stein has taught both AP history
and honors history. The latter gives her
more freedom, and she uses the textbook less frequently in that class. But
there are still times when the book is
helpful in providing background.
“Sometimes the textbook even has
good suggestions for understanding
questions, but I always add my own
questions,” she says. “We do these sort of
textbook talk-backs, where I always say,‘Who is not represented? Whose story
isn’t being told and why?’” Together,

26

Stein says, she and her students “readbetween the lines”; in the process, she
is using the textbook to teach criticalreading and thinking skills.
She recalls with delight a student who,
unprompted, started keeping a Google
Doc of “all the things she felt the textbook got wrong.” Some of these items
generated robust classroom discussion,and at the end of the year, the class readthrough the whole document together.

“

The change
we need in the
textbooks is one
that they’re
not willing tomake—because
they’re not readyto have thatconversation.
N’KENGÉ ROBERTSON“

Many teachers use supplemental sources “in conversation withthe textbook,” as Joe Costello put it.
Costello teaches eighth-grade social
studies in Union, New Jersey, andfrequently turns to Learning for
Justice for those materials. For herpart, Stein uses resources from theZinn Education Project, the Stanford
History Education Group and Facing
History and Ourselves. Robertson recommended the book Teaching for Black
Lives from Rethinking Schools.

Many additional sources exist, suchas The 1619 Project Education Network,
BLM at Schools’ collection of classroom
resources and a constantly expanding
universe of digitized primary sources.
Jordan Lanfair, a former Chicago
teacher and current teacher trainer,
jokes that he has a “hate/hate relationship” with textbooks. Despite that, hefinds them useful as a “springboard.”“We need some foundation that allof us can access, a jumping-off point,”
Lanfair says. From there, what is crucial
for him is allowing students’ questions in
response to the textbook to shape the lessons. “Let your students ask every question that comes up. Go for it. Let’s explore
that. It’s like, ‘But why did that happen?’ ‘I
don’t know. Let’s put it on the board.’ Thatis our big question for homework then.”
Educators are sometimes told to“squash down” questions, Lanfair
says, but teachers need to do the opposite. “[Students] are going to think
them, so let’s bring that in. Let’s chaseup those answers.”
In helping students “chase up”
answers, Lanfair drew on various additional sources.
In teaching about slavery, Lanfair
started with Columbus and the occasion of Columbus Day/Indigenous
Peoples Day, which conveniently falls
early in the school year. His students
looked at proclamations from individual cities and diaries from Columbus’crew members. For a teacher with lesstime to spend on a Columbus Day lesson, he recommends pulling sourcesfrom online museum archives.
Like Lanfair, John Skelton seesvalue in starting with the textbook toprovide “common language, what happened, when it happened, maybe someof the aspects of why it happened.”
Skelton teaches high school history
in Charlottesville, Virginia, where the2017 Unite the Right white supremacist rally galvanized the AlbemarleCounty School Division (where
Charlottesville is located) to develop
both a system-wide anti-racism policy

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_A Textbook Case.indd 26

4/2/22 3:08 PM

and a new social studies curriculum,
Reframing the Narrative. The curriculum is structured around the Inquiry
Design Model, which centers the students’ agency in the learning processby building lessons around questions
that students explore. (See this issue’s
PD Café for more on using the Inquiry
Design Model to teach about slavery.)“What the inquiries allow us to do isrestructure the conversation around adifferent lens,” says Skelton. For example,
the curriculum’s Reconstruction inquiry
asks the question, “How did African
Americans construct freedom during
the Reconstruction era?” Focusing on
the agency of the people at the heart of
Reconstruction in this way stands insharp contrast to textbook approaches,
which center actors like Congress.
The inquiry draws on curated primarysources and gives students a “more complex understanding of the human aspectsof the different components that make up
this era,” says Skelton.

Ask the hard questions.

The Reframing the Narrative curriculum is so named precisely because

the dominant narrative—reflected
in textbooks—needs correction. The
educators featured here and manyothers across the country are doing
this kind of reframing work every
day in their classrooms, sometimes“talking back” to textbooks and sometimes bypassing them.
This classroom praxis of reframing
U.S. history is part of a larger wave ofinnovation and activism among educators, and it has drawn intense backlash. Efforts to keep accurate historyout of schools are ricocheting acrossthe country, fueled by racist fearmongering and deliberate misinformation. In November 2021, PEN
America reported that, in the firstnine months of the year alone, 24 legislatures had introduced 54 state bills
restricting teaching.
Speaking at The New York Times’
December 2021 event on teaching
The 1619 Project, Nikole HannahJones, the project’s creator, noted
widespread “defiance among educators who are determined to teachwhat they think is appropriate, what
they think is right” in the face of thisbacklash. That defiance was evident
among the educators interviewed forthis piece—along with incredible creativity and joy at leading students toconnect the dots and understand thepast and present alike.
Ultimately, it’s the professionalism
and agency of educators—what BLM at
School’s Rogers calls “owning our practice”—that is the target of the rightwing
backlash. Agency and professionalism
are also the key to teaching the truth
despite it.
“What resources you have to use is notnecessarily what you have to teach,” says
Lanfair. “They gave me the resources, but
you can’t tell me how to do instruction.
And I just ask a lot of questions.”
And Hart centers why questioning
is so vital: “I want [my students] to ask
critical questions of the country they
live in—ask the hard questions so thatthey can really develop and be active
members of society.”
Dorothee Benz, Ph.D., is a writer, organizer and strategist who has spentdecades on the frontlines of social justice struggles in the United States.

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_A Textbook Case.indd 27

27

4/2/22 3:07 PM

Teaching Local History
in Tulsa
ILLUSTRATION BY KIM SALTFor 100 years, the history of the Tulsa Race Massacre was mostly missing from public
discussions. Tulsa teachers are among the people trying to change that.

28

PHOTO CREDIT GOES HEREBY COSHANDRA DILLARD

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Tulsa_539305.indd 28

4/3/22 2:03 PM

WHEN MAY 31 rolls around each year,

PHOTO CREDIT GOES HERE

people—both from Tulsa, Oklahoma,
and elsewhere—often discuss when
they first learned about the 1921
Tulsa Race Massacre. Many recall
being introduced to that shamefulmark in history via word of mouth orfrom the HBO series Watchmen longafter they’d left high school.
Vivian Clark-Adams, Ph.D., wholeft Tulsa after graduating fromhigh school in 1968, learned about
the Tulsa Race Massacre in the
1980s when she returned home. She
became angry. She had attended
school in Tulsa since the fifth grade.
She says she learned Oklahoma history in eighth grade. Yet, she’d heard

nothing about what happened in her
city in 1921—then called the “Tulsa
Race Riot.”“I came back here to do my doctorate at the University of Tulsa,
and they had an exhibit of the Tulsa
Race Riot,” Clark-Adams remembers. “And I had never heard or seen
anything about it before. … I was madfor a number of reasons—one, that I
had never heard of it.”
The 71-year-old Clark-Adams,
who teaches sociology part time at
Tulsa Community College, grewangrier when learning about theviciousness of the attacks on Black
citizens. As an adult, she was able tohandle that anger and frustration.

But she believes there is a devastating emotional effect on young students if they feel important piecesof history have been hidden fromthem. She says hard history should
be taught early in children’s schooling by skilled teachers.
Clark-Adams served on the firstcommittee to examine the event—
the Oklahoma Commission to
Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921—
which reported its findings in 2001.
Different committees formed later,
as she says very few of the first committee’s recommendations wereadopted by city and state officials.
The recommendation for reparations was not one of them.

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_Tulsa_539305.indd 29

29

4/3/22 2:03 PM

Students can see the residual
effects of what happened 100 years
ago in North Tulsa’s Greenwood
District, often called “Black WallStreet.” Residents note that the painis still palpable there, and truth-telling must come before true healing
and reconciliation can occur.
“The effects of the race massacre
are still here in Tulsa,” says Akela
Leach, a fifth grade teacher in Tulsa.
“It’s still very visible. It’s still very
segregated. And there’s still a huge
difference between South Tulsa
and North Tulsa, which is where
Greenwood was located.”
Fallon Laine Dickson, a local
business owner, moved to Tulsa withher family at a young age. She didn’t
hear about the massacre until her
20s, when someone suggested theymeet her at their office on “Black
Wall Street.”“I’m like, ‘Why don’t I know thisarea? I know a lot about Tulsa. I’ve
been here since first grade,’” Dicksonreflects. “By the time I looked up theaddress and [did] just a little quick
Google search, I had found out about
the community.”
While Greenwood reboundedand experienced prosperity by the30

1940s, it was devastated again by
an expressway cutting through thecommunity. Once again, people lost
homes and businesses in the name of“urban renewal.”Dickson says that learning about
the local history helps residents
make sense of their environment andis a first step in repairing it.
She notes that when residents
understand that history and realize their agency, they can positively
affect the future of their community.
“Our dollars helped the economic
growth of the city,” she says, “and so
we just get pushed out when we don’t
know. When we’re uneducated, we
get pushed out.”
Fortunately, Tulsa residents,
including educators, are working to
make sure that young people know
their local history.
“It’s a little bit more than justthe notion of getting history to stop
repeating itself,” says Danielle Neves,deputy chief of academics at Tulsa
Public Schools (TPS). “How do weleverage our history so that we makedifferent choices, that we understanddifferently the impacts of decisions
on communities, on people, on trajectories and on futures?”

A New Curriculum in Tulsa
Neves notes that Oklahoma’s social
studies standards have improved
over the years, but more work should
be done to center the experiencesof historically marginalized people,
particularly Black, Indigenous andLatinx people. Tulsa educators areworking to fill in those gaps.
A new curriculum, developedby TPS educators, launched at theend of the 2020-2021 school year
in alignment with the Tulsa Race
Massacre Centennial observance.
Third through 12th grade students
in social studies courses learned
about the history and legacy of theGreenwood District, the massacre
and its aftermath. With each year,
students will learn a new layer about
their city. Normally, Neves explains,
stand-alone units would be introduced at different times throughout the year, depending on gradelevel. Since the initiative began withall teachers in these grades teaching
the lessons at the same time, gradelevel teams across the district came
together to talk about how it went.
Leach, a Tulsa native, helped
develop lessons for third throughfifth grades and trained otherteachers. She first learned about themassacre at her church as a child,but she did not learn much about it
in school. Today, her students andothers throughout the district will
get a fuller picture of what happened in Tulsa.
“For many of our students in
TPS, they live near Greenwood, orthey go to school near Greenwood
or they have gone to Juneteenth inGreenwood,” Leach says. “Students
were completely engaged because
they knew that they were learning
something about themselves.”
With the new curriculum, starting in third grade, teachers introduce

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Tulsa_539305.indd 30

4/3/22 2:03 PM

new vocabulary and concepts forstudents before diving into lessons.
They also have access to picture
books on Tulsa, primary sources
and age-appropriate videos that help
them make sense of segregation anddiscrimination.
“By fifth grade, they are very
articulate in being able to explain
what is happening,” Leach says.
The focus isn’t on the 1921 event
itself. Teachers give students somecontext first. For example, in fifth
grade, students spend time learning
about all-Black towns in Oklahoma
and why Black people viewed thestate as the promised land. They
then learn why Tulsa was segregated and about the vibrancy ofGreenwood and its unique economic
prosperity. After they learn about
the massacre, they will learn how
residents rebuilt their community.
By eighth grade, students will look
more broadly at racial terror and cansee Greenwood as just one example of what was happening in otherplaces throughout the United States.
“We try to build it across the continuum,” Neves says. “So, what we
didn’t want to have is seven, eight,
nine years of students reciting what
happened on May 31, 1921.”
Middle school and high school
students delve deeper into themore traumatic events of the massacre, the effects of gentrification
and reparations.
“They have a foundation of what
Greenwood was before they eventalk about that,” Leach explains.
While planning lessons, Leachsays, educators were mindful of theculture of their classrooms. Each lesson has a “Before You Begin” sectionthat prepares teachers to have critical conversations. Teachers also
make space to listen and respond to
students’ emotional reactions.

“Students werecompletely
engaged because
they knew thatthey were learning
something about
themselves.”—Akela Leach

Preparing Teachers and Listening
to Students
From 2018 to 2021, TPS hosted
annual summer teacher institutes
on the Tulsa Race Massacre, which
included sessions with local historians. Teachers also visited theGreenwood Cultural Center, theJohn Hope Franklin Reconciliation
Park and other landmarks. In April
and May 2021, nearly 500 teachers participated in additional professional development sessions
on hard history and Tulsa Race
Massacre lessons.
While some teachers felt they
didn’t need this deep historicalimmersion, others were grateful forthat opportunity. They were challenged to understand their own feelings about the ugly parts of the past.
“The point was to recognize[their feelings], whether that wasfor a white teacher’s fear of doing it
wrong or for a Black teacher—especially a Black teacher whose family
has lived in Tulsa for generations—
feeling more anger and frustration about … the need for us to so
actively have to bring this history
into schools because it wasn’t always
being taught,” Neves says. “It was alearning experience for all of us.”At the end of the 2020-2021
school year, teachers conductedinterviews and focus groups withsome students across the district.
Neves says this information gathering revealed that students are
tuned in; they want to know more.
And parents were pleased that theirchildren were learning local history
in a way that they hadn’t.
Before the launch, Neves says
some parents expressed concern
about the accuracy of the lessons.
Some questioned the number of people who died during the massacre.
It’s an issue that’s long been debated

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_Tulsa_539305.indd 31

31

4/3/22 2:03 PM

locally as official records and firsthand witness accounts don’t match.
Regardless, parents approved ofteachers diving into the history.
“It was more a question of someparents being concerned about
whether or not the history would betaught objectively and with as muchhistorical accuracy as can exist andnot to be leveraged as a way to tell,in their words, a different history of
Tulsa,” Neves recalls.
These conversations have opened
students’ minds to other histories,
too. They also want to learn more
about Indigenous peoples and cultures and better understand the relationship between Indigenous andBlack people in Oklahoma. After listening to students, Neves says educators will put the same efforts into
these histories as they did with theTulsa Race Massacre curriculum.
“When we are diving into topics
that we already know our students
are interested in,” Neves explains,“it allows us to empower them, tomake sense of this hard history inways that will impact what they’re
doing today and what they’ll do in
the future.”
It Takes Everyone
It takes an entire community to upliftuncomfortable, buried local history.
While there is movement in Tulsa,
some residents are still wary about
the future of their city.
Pushback against this kind of
education is inevitable. But the work
Tulsa teachers are doing around themassacre is critical in a time whensome residents believe there is stilla “conspiracy of silence” by thosein power.
“They did a fantastic job of covering up this history for almost a hundred years, and they’re trying to doit again,” Vivian Clark-Adams says.

32“We’ve got a number of monuments
dealing with Black Wall Street andits resilience, so it’s not like we cancompletely erase it again. But thereis that attempt.”
Educators say there is a role forparents and caregivers in helping
their children learn about local history. TPS shares resources in weekly
messages to families. And Tulsa Race
Massacre lessons are also published
on a district website.
“We believe that families are achild’s first and primary teachers,
and we always want to provide themwith resources to support learning
at home,” Neves says. “We encourage families to talk with their children about what they are learningat school and to leverage community resources to learn more.”
Meanwhile, there are groups
of Tulsans with an entrepreneurial spirit who are finding ways toimprove economic conditions inNorth Tulsa while keeping its history
alive. As with all movements, it’ll takesome time to see substantial change.
Educators believe that change
is possible with a young population
who knows their community’s story.
“There are so many passionate
educators who recognize that ourstudents are going to need some skill
sets that we might not have needed
growing up at a different time, andthat if they’re going to be successful—in our increasingly diverse society—then we’ve got to equip themwith the tools to do that,” Neves says.
“I deeply believe that the ability to grapple with hard history andcome out with a vision for the futurethat you feel like you could be partof is one of the best ways for us todo that.”Dillard is a senior writer for Learning
for Justice.

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Tulsa_539305.indd 32

4/3/22 2:03 PM

“Our Children Are
Native Every Day”
Book Bans and the Fear of a Just Society
BY COSHANDRA DILLARD AND CRYSTAL L. KEELSILLUSTRATION BY ZÉ OTAVIOLFJ 02_Our Children are Native Everyday_538046.indd 33

S P R I N G 2 02 2

33

4/4/22 10:32 AM

DEBBIE REESE , PH.D., is an activist,

scholar and former elementary school
teacher. With Jean Mendoza, Ph.D.,
she adapted the award-winning book
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of theUnited States for Young People from
Roxanne Dunbar- Ortiz’s original
for adults. A member of the Nambé
Owingeh nation, Reese founded in2006 American Indians in Children’s
Literature (AICL), an online resource
providing analyses of representationsof Indigenous peoples in children’s andyoung adult books. She has lectured
widely and has published across multiple academic disciplines.
Reese recently shared her thoughts
with Learning for Justice about themost recent spate of book-banning
campaigns that began in earnest
throughout the United States in 2021.
This interview has been edited forlength and clarity.
Lawmakers around the nation wantto ban books in schools that challenge white-centric narratives andoffer more honest retellings of history. This includes An Indigenous
People’s History of the United States
for Young People. What is the dangerin such bans?

Back in 1990, Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop
published an article that became apowerful framework for educators.
That article is “Mirrors, Windows, andSliding Glass Doors.” In it, she said
that books can be windows, offering aview of a real or imagined world where
things were familiar or strange to thereader. Windows could also be like sliding glass doors. A reader opens the door
and walks in, to become part of whatever an author provides. And, she said,

34“A strong sense of justice canform in a young child’s mind
when they read books that tell
the truth. When they grow into
adulthood, that sense of justicecan guide them in how they
vote and where they work.”
when the light is just right, a person can
see themselves reflected in a window,
similar to gazing into a mirror.
Today—more than ever before—children from groups that have been
marginalized by mainstream U.S.
institutions can find books that affirm
their existence. The increase of Native
authors who write for children is small
but significant. Editors used to tellNative authors that the characters andstorylines of manuscripts they were
submitting for publication would not
sell. The reason? Their stories did notmatch the public perception of who
Native peoples are. In other words, if it
wasn’t a character in feathers who waseither a savage aggressor or a tragic figure who greeted everyone with a palm
raised to say, “How,” the book would not
sell. That perception is based upon stereotypes created primarily by non-Native writers. Those stereotypes misinform readers and perpetuate a cycle ofignorance that is difficult to interrupt.

In 2022, the majority of children’sbooks by Native writers are ones set in
the present day. In the last few years,
we’ve also seen an increase in nonfiction by Native writers. To circle back to
Bishop’s metaphor, Native kids are able
to find mirrors that reflect who they are.
These books hold truths. Truths, however, are perceived as inappropriate.
Here’s an example: The politicallyconservative “Moms for Liberty”
group that is challenging books at
school board meetings across thecountry objects to Aliki’s biography ofJohnny Appleseed. Published in 1963,
the book has stereotypical imagery of
Native peoples in it but is—unfortunately—included in the Wit & Wisdom
curriculum used by many schools in
the U.S. In their video, a mom saysthat Johnny Appleseed is usually agreat story, but “about three-quartersof the way into the book, there’s the
angry white people, the mean white
people that are chasing the Indians

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Our Children are Native Everyday_538046.indd 34

4/4/22 10:32 AM

from their homes; [it] shows the conflict between the white settlers and theNative Americans.”
There was, in fact, conflict. Native
peoples were defending their homelands and families from white settlers who wanted to take that land forthemselves. Those are facts, but Moms
for Liberty thinks teachers should
use a happier version of the JohnnyAppleseed story. I think it is safe to
say they want a happier version of U.S.
history. The book Jean Mendoza andI adapted is An Indigenous Peoples’
History of the United States for Young
People. Written for middle grade students, the book has truths about history
that I am certain would be read aloud,indignantly, at school board meetings if
those challenging it have actually readthe book. Our adaptation is included onlists of books that politicians and parents do not want in their schools.
Book Riot did an analysis of books
being challenged and concluded thatmost of them are ones with LBGTQ+ content. Last year [U.S. Rep.] Sharice Davids
published her autobiographical picture book, Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native
Kid Becomes a Congresswoman. WhenDavids and [current U.S. Secretary of
the Interior] Deb Haaland won theircampaigns for Congress in 2019, Native
families across the country were overjoyed! Native representatives in the U.S.
Congress are rare. In her book, Davids
talks about two things that Moms for
Liberty and other book-banning campaigns would object to: the history of
her nation’s treatment by the U.S. government and her identity as a lesbian.
On one page, Davids wrote about
her tribal nation being in two states(Nebraska and Wisconsin) because“the U.S. government forced tribes tomove away from their homelands.” Theaccompanying illustration shows a soldier pointing his rifle at Native people. There are also pages in the bookwhere Davids wrote about being a lesbian. On the second page (the bookpages are not numbered), she says she
had a lot of doubters during the race.
“They thought I couldn’t win based onwhat I look like, who I love, and where
I started,” Davids explains. On the final
page, she writes that growing up, she
had no idea that she “would be one of
the first Native American women in
Congress and the first lesbian representative from Kansas.”
What, I wonder, do the book banners want in schools? With their campaigns, they are taking away mirrors
for kids who so desperately need anddeserve to see themselves in books.
And they’re depriving others of windows into other peoples’ lives—windows that provide perspectives thatthey didn’t have access to before!
People are reportedly objecting tocertain books because they fear students will feel some guilt or discomfort about their race or gender, orthat it creates anti-American sentiment. But there are rarely considerations for the discomfort of, forexample, Native students seeing
their histories or cultures misrepresented. What do you think is behind
this response to truth-telling?

Fear of a just society. If we were, infact, a just society, treaties madebetween the U.S. government andtribal nations would be respected inways they have not been, in the pastand present. Respecting them, however, could mean loss of resources—
and money—to non-Native people andcorporations who want to forge ahead
with pipelines and developments that
deconsecrate Native lands and put
resources like clean drinking water at
risk. A strong sense of justice can form
in a young child’s mind when they readbooks that tell the truth. When theygrow into adulthood, that sense of justice can guide them in how they voteand where they work. If they work in
Congress, they would join someone like
Sharice Davids in bills she proposes andsupports that are forward-looking withrespect to things like water.
You do events promoting authentic representation for stories by andabout Indigenous peoples. So muchof the public conversation is about
the negative effects of that representation’s absence. What positiveeffects do you see when it’s there?

I have not seen any studies that empirically document the positive effects ofbooks by Native writers. An example ofsomething similar is the studies done byresearchers in Tucson, Arizona, when the
Arizona legislature felt that the Mexican
American courses in the Tucson schools
were teaching kids “how to overthrow
the U.S. government.” Those courses
had been in place for many years. In
them, Latinx children learned about
Latinx peoples. They read stories written by Latinx writers. The studies showed
improvements in attendance, grades
and graduation rates by students who
had taken the courses. They felt empowered! That empowerment, however, wasS P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_Our Children are Native Everyday_538046.indd 35

35

4/4/22 10:32 AM

“With their campaigns, they
are taking away mirrors
for kids who so desperately
need and deserve to seethemselves in books.”
perceived as a threat, and lawmakers in
Arizona passed a ban on ethnic studies
courses. It seems reasonable to say thatlegislators are passing similar laws acrossthe country.
Why is it important that all children
be exposed to books told from Native
perspectives? Why is it critical tohave more Native-centered books inclassrooms and libraries?

In terms of population, we are few incomparison to nearly all other groups.
Children from the other groups willgrow up and become policymakers or
people who influence policy. If theyread Native books and develop empathy for us—if they come to see us ashuman beings—my hope is that theiractions will be shaped by us rather
than by stereotypical kinds of information. If they are not involved in work ofthat kind, they may be in other placesof influence. If they’re parents, they’ll
choose better books for their children.
If they are teachers, they’ll teach about
us by using books by us.
Earlier, you referenced Bishop’s“Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding
Glass Doors.” How do you believethese book bans will affect students’36

abilities to imagine and create amore just world?

In psychology, there is a theory that
I think applies to the impact mirror
books can have on a reader. The theoryis “possible selves.” It was developedby Dr. Hazel Markus in the 1980s. I
came to know of it through reading thestudies she and Dr. Stephanie Fryberg
did on mascots. Possible selves areimages of the self that a person hopes
to become. The images motivate sustained, goal-directed behavior andcan play a role in attainment of futuregoals. Earlier I referenced a book about
a lesbian Native woman who is now inCongress. That book contains images
that function, for lesbian and/or Native
readers, as a possible self. I believe thatbooks by Native writers provide Native
children with an array of possible selvesthat has not existed in the past.
How can parents, educators andcommunity members effectively
work against efforts to prohibit
accurate, honest teaching and books
that contain more diversity
in perspectives?

There is an impetus to “buy the book”
that is being challenged or banned, andthat may make the buyer feel like they’vedone something good. It may be good forthe author and publisher, but an important point is circulating on social media: It
does nothing for the children in the classroom who are being denied access to thebook. A better strategy is to go to schoolboard meetings when books are being
challenged. Defend the books there andon social media, and campaign for andvote in local elections. They matter somuch to the well-being of communities.
In what ways can teachers be
more culturally responsive to
Native students?

Our children are Native every day. But
in far too many places, books by Native
writers are only brought into the classroom in November [during Native
American Heritage month]. We are who
we are, all year long. Use the books, allyear round. Bring those possible selves
into the classroom as a matter of course
so that Native children’s identities areaffirmed, every day. That affirmationof white children is the default. It happens for them, every day. Our children
deserve that, too.
Dillard is a senior writer for Learning
for Justice, and Keels is a Learning for
Justice associate editor.

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Our Children are Native Everyday_538046.indd 36

4/4/22 10:32 AM

The Promise of
Rural Schools
The rich history and diversity of rural communities have largely been erased.
Appreciating both charts a promising path forward.
BY CORY COLLINSILLUSTRATION BY LORRAINE NAM
S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_The Promise of Rural Schools_539336.indd 37

37

4/3/22 2:23 PM

LONG BEFORE MADISON County, Mississippi, becamea majority white Jackson suburb, it was a supermajority Black and agricultural community, its dissonant history tilled into its very soil.
It’d be easy to depict Madison County’s past
as a sad story—as one only haunted with pain andunequal opportunity. It’s a place where more than
three-fourths of its residents were enslaved in 1860;
where tenant farming and sharecropping exploitedthe labor of Black workers; where Black people’s
access to an affirming education was subject to constant disruption—and required constant struggle.
It’s a single story that depicts Madison County
as rural and bereft of promise. But for Oleta
Fitzgerald, who grew up on a family farm there,
living in the rural South meant more than that.
“It means what summers were like,” she remembers. “It means happier times of plums and blackberries and strawberries and peach trees and big
gardens and making syrup, going to church andharvest festivals and knowing everybody.
“In times past it has meant strong community
around education.”Fitzgerald is the director of the Children’s
Defense Fund’s Southern Regional Office inMississippi, the daughter of a businessman andschoolteacher—an heir of their advocacy.
Madison County was home to a Freedom
School. It was home to pioneering Black educators like Rosa Allie Lee Scott, who helped secure a
Rosenwald School for her community and who now
rests on the grounds of a school bearing her name.
It was home to a tradition of demanding and charting a freer rural South.
That history matters. That nuanced story of therural United States matters. A story largely missing
from the popular conception of “rural.”Erasing that story obscures not just the historyof rural communities but their diversity, the uniqueneeds of each of their schools and the opportunities to reimagine a better education—and future—
for their children.
Rural Isn’t Singular“The prevailing narrative is that rural equals
white,” says Mara Casey Tieken, Ph.D., author of38

Why Rural Schools Matter. “This invisibilizes agood chunk of the rural population.”
Approximately one-fifth of the nation’s rural
population—more than 10 million people—identify as people of color. According to the Brookings
Institution, roughly 1 in 10 rural counties is majority people of color.
The dominant narrative that erases this diversity, Tieken says, has consequences. Uniqueneeds of rural communities go unaddressed; theirstrengths go unappreciated.
It means that rural communities of color rarely
see their stories told in popular culture or the classroom. It means they are often erased from voting
blocs and policy conversations.
That includes how their schools have been left
out of the current conversation surrounding inclusive education. Though largely erased from thatconversation surrounding the teaching of race andU.S. history, rural schools in the South are disproportionately shaped by it.
How History Shaped the South’s Rural Schools
The Mississippi Delta—a 4-million-acre region
between the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers—sits on
fertile soil and, thus, sits on a legacy of slavery andexploitation that persisted long after emancipation.
“Those counties are the counties, historically, where there was the heaviest slave tradeand enslaved population,” says Fitzgerald.
For today’s rural South, that history creates “thegreat dichotomy between the rich and the poorthat is the offshoot of plantation owners and theplantation economy.”Then, backlash to Reconstruction helped set thestage for decades of white politicians stripping theregion of local control.
“They’ve been drawn out of power,” Fitzgerald
says. “The representation we have doesn’t by itself
have the power to bring resources into the communities they represent.”
That systematic theft of power, compounded by
racial and economic segregation, informs the conditions of rural schools.
In 1896, the Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson
decision stated that “separate but equal” was

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_The Promise of Rural Schools_539336.indd 38

4/3/22 2:23 PMsufficient; the ruling upheld segregation under aguise of equality, in the same breath maintaining“distinctions based upon color.”“Separate but equal was never achieved,”
explains Valerie Grim, Ph.D., a scholar of rural
African American history who grew up in the
Delta. “In practice, Black land grants were neverproperly funded. And as a result of that, Black highschools, Black elementary schools were neverproperly funded by the state.
“Those schools struggled because there was not
equitable money given for teachers, for salaries, forclassrooms, for innovation in the classroom, for
textbooks, for labs.”
Brown v. Board of Education did not change that.
Mass white flight to private schools, coupled with aschool-funding model based on property value andpolitical power, created a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“What you see today with schools that are ‘failing,’ particularly in Black-majority counties likein the Delta … it’s because that system that createdthe failure hasn’t gone anywhere,” Grim explains.
“The foundation of racism, institutional discrimination, structural discrimination—which led topoverty and which has sustained poverty in the
Delta—is still there.”
According to the Rural School and Community
Trust, 1 in 4 students in rural Mississippi schools
lives below the poverty line; the state spends $2,000
less per rural student than the national average.
“This is not a tragedy of rural education,” Tieken
says. “This is a tragedy of policymaking.”
If rural schools aren’t closed or taken over—practices that have devastated rural Black communities—underfunding may force them to persist through infrastructural disaster.
Fitzgerald says an audit report in Indianola,
Mississippi, read: “It would be cheaper to rebuild
all of these buildings than it will be to fix them.”
Facing these realities, it’s difficult for ruralschool districts to retain highly qualified educators.
“Grow-your-own” initiatives—designed toinspire and recruit local candidates to serve theircommunities as teachers—struggle when potential future educators are navigating the same historically under-resourced systems. This affects

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_The Promise of Rural Schools_539336.indd 39

39

4/3/22 2:23 PM

students’ access to college and ability to meet certification requirements. They witness firsthand the
difficulty of teaching in underfunded schools—andthe better resources and pay elsewhere.
“It really speaks to the importance of providing
a quality education,” says Sanford Johnson, a former teacher and the Mississippi executive directorof Teach Plus. “Because ultimately if we’re counting
on students in a school to come back and be teachers at this school, they need to feel they had a goodexperience at that school.”This challenge is exacerbated in communities
with immigrant populations. Roughly 4% of rural
students are English language learners. But there’s“Students get

tired of reading
about how theirpeople weretreated when you
don’t get the story
about how theirpeople overcame.”—Valerie Grima huge ELL teacher shortage and few resources torecruit or train them.
In Hendry County, Florida, educator Sherry
Blanset says Latino/a/e families are very involved
but unlikely to ask for needed resources due tolanguage and structural barriers. With several dialects of Spanish and Indigenous languages within
Hendry County alone, stopgap measures like providing students with Spanish-English dictionaries do not suffice.

40“It’s so incredibly frustrating to our students,”
she says. “Staffing is an issue; having the money toprovide those [ELL] positions is an issue. They’re
doing what they can and they are helping thosestudents, but it’s not enough.”
For all these reasons, the consequential history
of “not enough” resources looms.
But the history of the rural South and its
schools is not just a story of hardship and failed
policies; it’s a story of resilience, resistance andinnovation—a history that proves not all heroesof the story had to leave.
Not Just a Place to Leave
Most rural students encounter one of two stories
about “place”: Rural spaces either effectively don’t
exist in history or, if they do, they exist as places toleave, devoid of opportunity.
“I had read enough history and I’d talked toenough folks in my life to know that, for a lot of people, Mississippi was a place where you escaped from,”
Johnson remembers. “You ran as far away from thestate as you possibly could. And that’s exactly what
I thought when I was a high school senior.”
Educators can help shift this narrative, opening doors to historic precedent and future
opportunities.
“When we tell [more affirming] stories, we offer
them a really different frame of reference,” Tieken
says. “Look at the important things that happened
here and what kind of important things can continue to happen here.”Across the rural South, communities of color are
rich in admirable history.
“I think every kid in Mississippi should know
about Fannie Lou Hamer. Every kid in Mississippi
should know about Aaron Henry and the work of Bob
Moses and Medgar Evers,” Johnson says. “We talkabout patriotic education; these are some true patriots and we don’t really share those stories as much.”
From farmworkers’ labor movements to scholarship that arose from Black land-grant institutions, local history can be affirming for rural
students of color—and can disrupt a dominant narrative that erases their power.

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_The Promise of Rural Schools_539336.indd 40

4/3/22 2:23 PM

“Certain kinds of inclusion in the curriculum [are] the exact motivation [students] need to
improve,” Grim says. “Students get tired of reading
about how their people were treated when you don’t
get the story about how their people overcame.”
Rural Education as ResistanceIn downtown Hayneville, Alabama, where Shatara
Clark teaches English at Central High School, twomonuments tell two stories. In the courthousesquare, a Confederate memorial reads, in part, “No
men died there with more glory.”
Steps away, tucked under the shade of a tree, is amonument to Jonathan Daniels, a civil rights activist killed by an off-duty police officer in 1965.
The juxtaposition can feel emblematic of an
ongoing injustice, especially in a state that, in
2017, passed a law to protect Confederate monuments—where, four years later, the same governor
presided over a vote banning teaching about raceand racism in schools, using the bogeyman of “critical race theory.”“Because of where I teach and who I teach, predominantly African American students, I am concerned,” Clark admits. “If they’re not getting thetruth, if they’re not able to understand that as kids,
I would hate for them to go in the world thinking
that certain things are OK that are not OK.”
Yet, rural communities are largely left out ofdebates about state standards and legislation
regarding what history should be taught.
“I feel like we’re not represented,” Blanset says.
“And then we’re handed whatever the case may be.
… ‘This is what you’re teaching.’ And even just having a voice in that conversation would be incredibly
powerful and send a message to our students thateven though we live in a rural area, we still matter.”
The history of education itself presents timely
lessons on how people overcame systemic neglect
and sustained cultural values.

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_The Promise of Rural Schools_539336.indd 41

41

4/3/22 2:23 PM

“When you look at educational development
in Black communities from slavery through integration, you will find tremendous documentationthat indicates Black people supported education
for their children, for themselves, and what they
were willing to do to make that possible,” Grim
explains. “And they were making those determinations because they wanted education not only
for literal reasons so that their children would
know reading, writing and arithmetic, but [so]they could shape that education in a way to help
sustain Black life and Black communities.”
It’s a tradition Grim calls “Black self-determinism”—a storied resistance by Black rural communities against white supremacy and paternalism.
For students of color in rural schools today, that
history not only resonates; it charts a path forward.
The Promise of Rural Schools
Sanford Johnson inherited the duality of Delta education. He is the son of a principal who left homefor education opportunities and then returned to
do the work. His parents both cared deeply for the
Delta’s communities. Yet, in time, his parents madethe difficult decision to move to Starkville, a college
town, where they knew their kids would have moreresources and opportunities.
Today, Johnson and his wife, both education
leaders, have two kids. They’ve reached a different
conclusion.

42“We don’t see the things that our kids need,”
Johnson admits. “But we’re trying to see, ‘Can webuild it here?’ … ‘Let’s see if we can create the placethat we want, so we don’t have to move to anothertown to provide our kids with what they need.’”
Rural schools’ strengths present unique opportunities in the efforts to build something better.
They are, as Fitzgerald says, “the center of community activity in rural areas.” They are, as Blanset
says, a place where “if something happens to oneof our own, the entire community pulls together.”Those reciprocal relationships could create culturally sustaining partnerships.
“The education system must reimagine itself
to be a space where the capacity to be, to create,
to innovate takes place,” Grim says. “That you see
rural areas as the places of opportunity.”
Already, Johnson has seen big wins thanks todetermined advocacy in the Delta: state-funded
pre-K, better-quality sex education, improved
after-school programs.
The communities don’t need grit, advocates say;they need an equitable investment.
“How we can marry economic policy and education policy in ways that create equitable, sustainable rural communities is really critical,” Tieken
says. This means decoupling school funding fromproperty taxes; investing in “grow-your-own” programs for teachers, including alternative pathways
to certification; fighting for curricular standards
that include local histories; and fixing inadequate
infrastructure.
In that vision, rural schools in the South canaccomplish their promise: to become wrap-around,full-service schools—to become affirming spaces
informed by the communities that surround them.
It’s the vision many Black educators pioneeredin the Delta decades ago. And if part of learning
history is about charting paths forward, the storyof resilience already resides between Mississippi’s
parallel rivers. And the soil is fertile for change.
Collins is an author and journalist and a former
senior writer for Learning for Justice.

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_The Promise of Rural Schools_539336.indd 42

4/3/22 2:23 PM

From
Slavery
To School
Discipline
A Continuumof Control

Envisioning schoolsthat affirm and protect
Black students means
reckoning with along history of racist
punishment—and thepathology that fuels it.

BY ANOA CHANGAILLUSTRATION BY
EDEL RODRIGUEZS P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_From Slavery to School Discipline_539747.indd 43

43

4/4/22 5:51 PM

SHORTLY BEFORE MY son turned 15, he was expelled

for the remainder of his ninth grade year, after
already having served a two-week suspension formarijuana possession. What presented as poor
judgment and youthful defiance masked a longer battle with pervasive depression and suicidal
thoughts that would take another year to surface.
Yet, at every step of the way, the ninth grade
administrator failed to follow through with promised interventions. It was easier to suspend andexpel. During his expulsion hearing, I suggested
he do more volunteer work and put forth a plan forcounseling in addition to the two-week suspension
he’d already served—pulling mainly from alternatives in the district’s student code of conduct.
Despite expulsion being optional for a first
offense, the hearing officer decided it was the only
way my son could learn his lesson. While I knew
about the school-to-prison pipeline and racial disparities in school discipline, it was still shocking
to watch it unfold.
Discipline Disparities and the Continuum ofWhite Supremacy and Slavery
Leslie Jones, a senior staff attorney with theSouthern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Criminal
Justice Reform practice group, sees a throughlinefrom slavery to current approaches to school discipline. Jones said that the treatment of Blackchildren and other children of color is by design,operating within a long history of systems thatdevalue the importance of investing in them.
“It was at one point illegal for Black and
Brown children to even learn how to read,” Jones
explains. “And now that we have made progress insome areas, it’s like we have to find other ways to
exclude, other ways to marginalize.”
Attitudes toward Black children have been
shaped in a society socialized to believe Blackbehavior requires punitive measures and control. Understanding how to address the ongoing44

disparities in student discipline requires a recognition of what Jones describes as “the continuum
in the legacy of white supremacy and a continuinglegacy of slavery.”Part of breaking that continuum includes thework of groups like the Alliance for Educational
Justice (AEJ), a coalition of intergenerational andyouth-led organizations advocating for a holistic
approach to school discipline.
Jonathan Stith, national director for the AEJ,
recalls a young organizer who described schools as
needing mood detectors instead of metal detectors.
“At the root of the vision is young people wantto radically transform what safety looks like—what discipline looks like—to a more fair andequitable system that really has community andcare at its heart versus incarceration, pushout andpunishment,” Stith says.
Drawing the connection between the treatment of enslaved people and modern school discipline, Stith points to the book Educating for
Insurgency: The Roles of Young People in Schools of
Poverty by Jay Gillen, a Baltimore-based educatorand facilitator with the Baltimore Algebra Project.
“Look at the age range of runaway Africans andthe connection between police and slave patrols,”
Stith says. “Historically, Black youth running away,
being chased by slave patrols—the same slave
patrols now follow young people into schools.”
According to Gillen’s research, an estimated
75% of enslaved people who ran away were
between the ages of 13 and 29. He draws a comparison between students in impoverished schools
and enslaved people challenging parallel systemsof political control.
Pulling on his own decades of experience,
Gillen writes that “well-run schools, like well-run
plantations, are places where the ‘consequences’for violating requirements are swift and certain.”In the school setting, this translates to anemphasis on domination and control, which

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_From Slavery to School Discipline_539747.indd 44

4/4/22 9:53 AM

disproportionately is focused on the actions ofBlack children and teens.
The “Pathology of Punishment and Control”
The fear and systemic devaluation of Black people,
originating during slavery, has carried through tosubsequent interactions and systems, including
school discipline.
Nearly 10 years after the U.S. Department of
Education first released data on school-basedarrests and law enforcement referrals, there’s
no doubt that Black students are being exposed
to undue harm. Example after example abounds.
In 2015, viral videos showed a school resource
officer throw and drag a South Carolina high school
student out of her math classroom for “being disruptive.” A classmate, Niya Kenny, was later arrested
for encouraging other classmates to record the violent encounter and yelling at the officer to stop. The
teacher had called the officer because the first student allegedly had refused to hand in her cell phone.
Kenny was arrested for “disturbing a school.”

An October 2021 report from Education Week
found that Black children and teens comprised
about 75% of the disorderly conduct referrals
across South Carolina between August 3, 2015, andJuly 30, 2020.
Disorderly conduct charges and even corporal punishment persist with large disparities
between Black children and their white counterparts. As documented by the 2019 SPLC report
The Striking Outlier, a range of negative consequences can result from corporal punishment,
including physical injury, increased absenteeism, behavioral and mental health challenges, anddamaged relationships.
A study published in the journal Social
Problems in 2021 found a possible correlation
between a school’s disproportionate use of corporal punishment on Black students and theUnited States’ history of racial terror: This practice is more likely to occur in counties with histories of lynching. And it does not correspond toBlack students’ behavior.

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_From Slavery to School Discipline_539747.indd 45

45

4/4/22 9:54 AM

“We know that Black students are no more
likely to ‘misbehave’ than their white peers,”
says Tyler Whittenberg, deputy director of
Opportunity to Learn at the Advancement
Project. “But they are more likely to be suspended,arrested and referred to law enforcement.”
Whittenberg says the difference in treatment
experienced by Black students is directly tied to
the legacy of Jim Crow and slavery.
“It starts with this idea that Black students inparticular need to be controlled and dominated;otherwise, they will not act right.”
He describes a “pathology of punishment andcontrol,” subjugating youth to a system that will
prepare them to enter the criminal justice systemeither as juveniles or as adults. Interacting with
police in schools increases those possibilities.
A collaboration among several groups, including the Advancement Project and the Alliance for
Educational Justice, the report We Came to Learn:
A Call to Action for Police-Free Schools outlines
the history of police in schools and contextualizes the disparate treatment for students who do
not have access to supportive services or staff likesocial workers or school counselors. An estimated
1.6 million students attend schools with police
officers but no counselors.
As highlighted by the report, police presencein schools coincides with early efforts at school
integration ramping up during the civil rights era.
In many ways, policing in schools has followed asimilar approach to policing Black neighborhoods.
Broken windows policing inspired broken windows discipline.
The situation becomes even more daunting
when school districts collect sensitive student
information and share it with local law enforcement for the purpose of tracking instead of helping students. Bacardi Jackson, interim deputy
legal director for the Children’s Rights practicegroup at the SPLC, gave the example of a program utilized by the Pasco County School Districtin Florida.
According to Jackson, it was discovered thatthe school district shared sensitive student information with law enforcement, which in turn created a secret list to track hundreds of children
and their families. In spring 2021, the PASCO

46

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_From Slavery to School Discipline_539747.indd 46

4/4/22 9:55 AM

Coalition—dedicated to ending this practice—
demanded the school district discontinue its “datasharing” agreement and participation in this predictive policing.
She describes this program and secret list as
resembling a real-life Minority Report, referringto the movie in which police predict crimes andarrest people before the crimes happen.
Jackson says that, based on the information
available in the database, it isn’t just tied to student behavior. In some instances, students areentered into this list based on grades or having to
be institutionalized due to mental health issues—or even if they have witnessed domestic violence.
“They are being criminalized for those things
that they may not have any control over or thatsuggest they need help,” Jackson says. “Andinstead, we are throwing police at them.”
Barriers to Changing Approaches
in School Discipline
The belief that police keep schools safe is itself abarrier to reapproaching school discipline—eventhough that belief is not supported by evidence.
According to We Came to Learn, the presenceof school police exploded between 1997 and 2013,
more than doubling from 9,400 to 20,000. Since
the Columbine shooting in 1999, responses toschool shootings from all levels of government
have led to increased funding for school-based
police, putting an undue burden on Black and
Brown students.
But adding more police to schools has unfortunately not kept students and staff safe; it has only
contributed to further criminalizing marginalized groups.
In The Cost of School Policing, ACLU of Florida,in collaboration with several organizations,
examines the impact of police in Florida schools
after the passage of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School Public Safety Act. “The presence of law enforcement in schools was related toincreases in the number of behavioral incidents
reported to the state, the number of such incidents reported to law enforcement, and student
arrests,” the report reads.
Another challenge teachers and administrators
must deal with is personal bias, of which many of

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_From Slavery to School Discipline_539747.indd 47

47

4/4/22 10:43 AM

“IT WAS AT ONE POINT ILLEGAL
them may not even be aware. Jackson pointed to a 2016 Yale
study of teachers that found teachers often focused on Black
students generally and Black boys specifically when looking forbad behavior.
“It’s an unprecedented time,” Jackson says, “but we need
the teachers to teach courage, and we need them to havecourage because they are on the front lines of what is happening in a public education.”
Tackling implicit bias and other issues of equity has
become even more challenging with recent attacks on progressive reforms in public schools. Under the guise of attacking a scholarly legal framework, critical race theory, school
districts and state legislatures have begun adopting policies
targeting efforts to address historic inequities in public education and the treatment of Black children.
We certainly need courage to turn the tide.
Embracing Disciplinary Alternatives
As much as we need courageous educators in this moment,
alternative disciplinary approaches are readily available. A
former eighth-grade social studies teacher, Whittenberg says
Black students and other students of color deserve the same
patience, empathy and innovation as their white counterparts on a consistent basis.
“There’s nothing in the literature that says exclusionary discipline, suspension and expulsion works to change
behavior,” explains Whittenberg. “Yet, we continue to do
the same practices.”
But educators don’t have to, and there are resources that
can help teachers resolve issues in ways that address behaviors and positively affect child development.
In Learning for Justice’s “The Foundations of Restorative
Justice,” experts tout practices such as restorative inquiry,
restorative conferencing and restorative circles as less punitive ways to resolve conflicts in school—“a more communal,collaborative system of communication, expectation-setting
and accountability.” But just as importantly, those experts
hope educators first build communities of trust. A culturally
sustaining space with authentic relationships, they say, is anecessary precursor to eradicating harmful discipline practices and the biases that fuel them.
Those authentic relationships must extend from the surrounding community to the classroom, experts say. At thecommunity level, that may look like increasing authentic family engagement (through practices like home visits and moreaccessible communication) to build trust. At the classroom
level, according to LFJ’s Reframing Classroom Management,that may look like learning to understand how behaviors

48

FOR BLACK AND BROWN CHILDRENTO EVEN LEARN HOW TO READ.
AND NOW THAT WE HAVE MADE
PROGRESS IN SOME AREAS, IT’S
LIKE WE HAVE TO FIND OTHER
WAYS TO EXCLUDE, OTHER WAYS
TO MARGINALIZE.”—LESLIE JONES
signal needs; finding proactive strategies that help students
feel classroom-ready and resilient; and creating spaces wherestudents can make mistakes and learn from them.
Individual practices, however, cannot overcome deeply
embedded policies with built-in biases. To the extent possible, teachers should support efforts to address inherently
harmful systems.
“The first thing is that [we’ve] got to get rid of all ofthese systems,” Stith says. “We can’t just continue to overlay stuff on top of a system that actually really needs to be
dismantled.”
Whittenberg sees the ideal situation as creating an educational environment that supports a liberatory frameworkthat allows for children to be unapologetically Black whileproviding a high-quality education.
“You can’t have a space like that,” Whittenberg says, “ifyou are being heavy-handed with discipline to the point oftrying to alter one’s creativity, alter one’s self-expression andnot allow the child to be vulnerable, get creative and explore
their own boundaries.”
Creating space for Black children and young adults to feel
supported and free to explore possibilities leads to brighter
opportunities. Treating Black children, like my son, withcompassion and care gives them tools to build for the future.
It is past time we end the remnants of slavery and approaches
to Black children that treat them like a problem to be controlled instead of people to nurture.
Anoa Changa is a southern-based movement journalist andretired attorney. She hosts the podcast The Way with Anoa.

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_From Slavery to School Discipline_539747.indd 48

4/6/22 5:08 PM

Partners in Honest Teaching

Looking for support and solidarity in teaching honest history? Partner with a museum.
BY JEY EHRENHALT ILLUSTRATION BY ERIN ROBINSON
FOR EDUCATORS TEACHING the truth
about race and racism in the UnitedStates, these are precarious times.
As educators, students, caregivers
and community members, we are all
encountering a reality in which calculating legislators, special interest
groups and some misinformed individuals want to eradicate racial justiceeducation. As of December 15, 2021,
according to an Education Week analysis, 29 states introduced bills to restrict
teaching critical race theory or limit
discussions of race, and 13 states successfully adopted the bans through legislation or other means. For many educators across the country, it is no longer
safe to teach the truth.

“Now that schools are adopting[critical race theory bans] into administrative codes, school boards are
passing resolutions, there’s this punitive umbrella that comes with it,” says
Tafeni English, director of the Civil
Rights Memorial Center (CRMC) at
the Southern Poverty Law Center.
English works closely with educators

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_Partners in Honest Teaching_537752.indd 49

49

4/6/22 5:10 PM

figures’ personal narratives, specificoral histories and artistic creations.
This fusion allows the fullest range ofhistorical facts possible. Classroom
educators set the stage, and museums
use artifacts to bring history to life.
“If the narratives don’t truly comealive,” says English, “we run the risk of
not teaching true history. ... We moveback to telling those stories through theeyes of the oppressor.”
When educators put their heads
together, they can use their collective
brainpower to include a greater diversity of narratives in history curricula.
When they work in isolation, however,more stories may be overlooked.
Dave Serio, curator of education at
the Arab American National Museum(AANM), says he barely heard anything
about the Arab world as a student. “The
only time I learned about it was possibly in history class,” he remembers. “It
was usually ‘us versus them.’ It was usually in some type of political component
where the U.S. was the good guy and theArab countries were the bad guy.”
Most school districts don’t teachArab American studies, Serio says,leaving the Arab American story “verymuch out of most curricula.”
The AANM uses artifacts to promote open dialogue about the difficult
truths of the Arab American community’s history in the U.S. In 2017, Serio andhis team coordinated an exhibit called“THEM,” exploring artifacts and images

Diversifying the Narrative
When museum and classroom educators work in tandem, students undertake a sophisticated investigation into
both the breadth and depth of U.S. history. Classroom educators provide thehistorical context, secondary sources
and some primary texts needed tounderstand the material. Supported bythis wide-ranging backdrop, museum
educators can narrow in on individual

No educator can accurately
map out the whole landscapeof our history alone. We are allstronger when we traverse theterrain together.

50

from the early 20th century onward that“reflect and encourage separation, hateand violence and foster prejudice anddiscrimination,” according to the exhibit’s description. The Jim Crow Museumof Racist Memorabilia contributed partof their collections, and Serio and his
team added Arab American components. Museum educators used objects
in the installation as a springboard forcommunity dialogue.
Staff host conversations in the museum’s library, a comfortable, relaxedatmosphere outside of the classroom.
Interacting with the historical artifacts
helped students add personal reflection
to critical inquiry, as students openly
shared stories of times they had felt
bullied, targeted or treated as “other.”
The AANM also presents historical
documents, oral histories and artifacts
to preserve the contributions of Arab
Americans and celebrate the community’s rich cultural history.
While many educators seek to be
inclusive, it can be difficult to tackle
everything. By partnering with experts at
a museum, educators can collaborate totell the truth about who is missing fromthe history books and why. And for students with shared identities and experiences, witnessing primary sources atsites like these can provide a lifeline ina sea of archival erasure and omission.
“There are many examples of beautiful moments and special parts ofevery culture, things that inspire and

LECIA BROOKS

and school groups who visit the CRMC
daily. “Educators—even the most courageous ones—will have that pause of,‘OK, wait, is this going against some
type of resolution or administrativecode?’ ‘Could [there] possibly be abacklash?’ ‘What is the safest way?’”
These restrictions trigger justifiable
fears of retaliation for so many teachers. For others, these limitations compound the strain of pre-existing ones,
like district expectations or insufficient
time in a school day.
“There are realities like testing andcurricula and standards that lead you
down certain paths,” says Jasmine Page,
former classroom educator and now theeducation and interpretation manager
at the National Center for Civil and
Human Rights in Atlanta. “Educators
do such amazing work, but they do it insuch a constraint of time. Whether thatbe one day or the school year, it’s hard to
tackle everything at once.”
Museum staff have a message forclassroom educators: You do nothave to face this struggle alone. Many
museum sites make intentional spacefor school communities to learn about
racial, gender and other histories andengage openly about it. Museum educators grow and learn from this public
collaboration in equal measure.
“Museum educators have such animportant role to play in the community,” Page says, “and schools are such
pillars of the community. So the partnership is so important.”

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Partners in Honest Teaching_537752.indd 50

4/3/22 2:37 PM

LECIA BROOKS

empower us today,” says Ariel Moon,
lead education specialist for Early
Childhood Programs at the National
Museum of African American History
and Culture (NMAAHC). “There aresome things for every racial identity tolearn about and feel like, ‘This makes
me feel affirmed to be me.’ And if you
cut that out, every child will be startingfrom scratch in their journey towards
thinking, ‘I’m worth something. I matter. I can make a difference.’”
When these inclusive cultural
examples are overlooked, students
may learn that their cultural histories
are either invisible or do not matterenough to be shared.
Engaging Honestly About Raceand Racism
In school classroom and museum
spaces, skilled educators seek out

open conversations about race andracism across lines of difference.
Rather than going it alone, they consider this work the collective responsibility of a shared community. These
educators forge partnerships to continually learn from and grow with others. They make productive dialogue a
reality that expands beyond the wallsof either institution.
While museum educators often
spend just a few hours with students in
informal, open-ended settings, classroom educators take months to create
tight-knit communities in more formalized environments. Joining thiscarefully nurtured learning community, museum educators can directly
delve into candid conversations about
race in their limited time with students. When cultivated over time, thiscooperative framework can become aStudents from Montgomery Public Schools visit
the Civil Rights Memorial Center on Martin
Luther King Jr. Day in 2022.

public model for how a whole community can engage in racial truth-telling.
For some educators, constructing
this community model is a personal first.
Many–particularly white–educators
did not practice talking about race andracial history as young people. Whileeducators of color may be very familiar with talking about race, for some,discussing it across lines of difference
feels less familiar. This lack of familiarity can breed dangerous consequences
for everyone. Adults may default to shying away from the topic altogether at theexpense of their students’ learning.
“A lot of times teachers, educators,
caregivers and families, they are notcoming out of a space in which theyS P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_Partners in Honest Teaching_537752.indd 51

51

4/3/22 2:37 PM

Visitors tour the Arab American National
Museum (above) and visitors tour the National
Museum of African American History andCulture (below).

52

middle school, respectively, in State
College, Pennsylvania, when students
in their classes asked to learn more
about the complexities of social justice. To respond, they collaborated on
a combined elective called “Bridging
Divides: Exploring Diversity and Social
Justice.” Students spent the first part ofthe co-taught class investigating issuesof division, discrimination and inequality through deliberative conversations
and civic action.
As white educators, McGarry andSquier felt nagged by persistent discomfort with leading the class. To
de-center their whiteness and practiceFinding a Museum Ally
While museums and historic sites
offer profound collaborative possibilities, it’s important to know which
partnerships to prioritize. Not all
museums have openly embraced anhonest retelling of our nation’s history. Many, however, are undergoinga sea change. For example, in 2018,
Thomas Jefferson’s historic home,
Monticello, added exhibits about the

ARAB AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM; RANDY DUCHAINE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

were taught how to talk about thesethings, or they were not acclimatedto how to speak and confront thethings they were seeing,” says Candra
Flanagan, director of the Teaching and
Learning Unit of NMAAHC’s education
department. “A lot of adults don’t havethe muscle built up to talk about it. So[now] they’re in their classroom and it’s
not the easiest thing for them to do, or
it’s not necessarily something that evencomes to their mind.”Museum educators may encounterthe same mental barriers.
Lorraine McGarry and Virginia
Squier were teaching high school andcultural humility, they teamed up withseasoned educators at civil rights historic sites in the Deep South. They
guided their students in a forum
about racial justice with students
from Birmingham in the basement of
16th Street Baptist Church. Museum
educators with content expertiseand lived experience taught students
and teachers alike about the historyof racial injustice and the civil rights
movement. Their initial immersion
in classroom learning inspired students to start conversations with tour
guides and community members. This
respectful, personal engagement benefited all involved.
At the museums, students listened
as African American museum educators who had lived through the history
told their own stories. In turn, Squierand McGarry saw their Black students
resonate with their guides. “Students—
especially students who felt like they
didn’t have teachers in State College
who had experienced what they’d experienced in terms of racial justice—felt
this affirmation,” McGarry remembers.
“There was this feeling of, ‘Someone
gets what I’m going through.’”

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Partners in Honest Teaching_537752.indd 52

4/3/22 2:37 PM

ARAB AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM; RANDY DUCHAINE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

400 individuals Jefferson enslaved
there, including one on Sally Hemings,
the woman he kept in bondage whobore at least six of his children.
James Madison’s plantation house,
Montpelier, now highlights oral histories, artifacts and letters from thedescendants of those he enslaved andfeatures a film about the enduring legacy of slavery in the United States. It’s
crucial to partner with a space that is
willing to present all the facts.
Since its opening in 2016, theNational Museum for African
American History and Culture hascommitted to telling what historian
John Hope Franklin called “the unvarnished truth.” Anna Hindley, director of NMAAHC’s Early Childhood
Education Initiative, says the explicit
value placed on reckoning with racial
history has been “baked into the museum’s DNA” since its inception.
When searching for a museum educator partner, it may be beneficial tovisit the museum anonymously first.
A preliminary tour can offer information about the institution and provide
a feel for its professional community.
In the article “Preserving a More
Honest History,” former Learning
for Justice Senior Writer Cory Collins
recommends looking for tour guides
and staff who are both knowledgeable and open-minded. “A good staff
will be responsive and adapt tours andeducational experiences based on theneeds of the educator and their students,” he writes.
Look for a willingness on the partof the institution and its staff members to honestly address racism andthe truth of the past. A museum’s exhibits should feature inclusive content
that leaves no significant stories—nomatter how painful—untold. Prudent
museum partners will honor accurate racial histories by humanizing theexperiences of oppressed peoples. They

may interweave their personal narratives, oral histories and artifacts into
exhibits. Seek out a willingness frommuseum staff to embrace discomfort,
Collins advises, and a clear connection
between the past and the present.
Solidarity Equals Strength
Collaboration between schools andmuseums is key to advancing truthfuleducation within both spheres. Allied
educators understand the advantagesof communicating openly about raceand racism—and doing it together.
They grasp how our collective future
depends on it. When we don’t attend torace or racism in our past, says Hindley,
students are “left to put together theirown cognitive puzzle in this dissonancebetween what we [as educators] say andwhat this culture actually lives.”
Educators in classroom andmuseum sites alike share the responsibility of teaching students how tothink for themselves by engaging

with accurate sources and narratives. Shying away from the truth
about our past, Hindley says, dishonors children as learners who naturally
notice and observe the world aroundthem. Equipping students with comprehensive knowledge and evidenceof what has happened in the past supports them in countering injustice inthe future.
No educator can accurately map
out the whole landscape of our history
alone. We are all stronger when we traverse the terrain together.
“We’re all constantly doing thework,” NMAAHC’s Flanagan says. “We
don’t see ourselves as experts coming
to the educators to bring them along to
our level. We are alongside them, andwe want to say, ‘Let’s link arms and do
the work.’”
Ehrenhalt is the program manager
for school partnerships with Learning
for Justice.

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_Partners in Honest Teaching_537752.indd 53

53

4/3/22 2:37 PM

PHOTO CREDIT GOES HERE

54

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Teaching the Past to Improve the Future.indd 54

4/3/22 2:57 PM

TEACHING THE PAST TO
IMPROVE THE FUTURE
Despite a range of opposition, educators are committed to teachinghonest history in their classrooms—and students are eager to learn.
BY COSHANDRA DILLARD
LAST FALL IN Southlake, Texas, a Carroll

PHOTO CREDIT GOES HERE

Independent School District (ISD)
school administrator provided baffling guidance to a group of teachers
following the passage of a state law banning the teaching of critical race theory (CRT). Heard in a secret recording,she tells the teachers to present multiple viewpoints on contentious subjects
and specifically names the Holocaust.
“Make sure that if you have a bookon the Holocaust that you have onethat has an opposing…that has otherperspectives,” the administrator says.
There are audible gasps. One
teacher asks, “How do you opposethe Holocaust?”
An author of the Texas bill subsequently argued that school administrators misrepresented what is in the newlaw. Regardless, the law’s language—andthat of other bills introduced across thenation—is restrictive and can hinder
teachers from effectively teaching lessons on race, history and current events.
Some consider Southlake “groundzero” for today’s discourse about how
race and history are taught.
During the summer of 2020, Carroll
ISD officials created a cultural competency action plan to address racism andimprove culture at its schools. Parents
and an organized political group
opposed the plan, citing concerns
about divisiveness and indoctrination.
Around the same time, political figures

ILLUSTRATION BY FELIPE VARGAS

demonized critical race theory—a strategy in response to the summer’s racialreckoning. And it gave opponents ofCarroll ISD’s DEI plans new language
to explain their irritation.
Since then, campaigns to influenceschool board elections, ban books on
race, prohibit teaching uncomfortablehistories and disrupt attempts to adopt
DEI programs have been successful
across the country.
Just five miles southwest ofSouthlake, James Whitfield, Ed.D., lost
his job as a principal—the first Black
principal—at Colleyville Heritage HighSchool. He worked to create a more
inclusive school environment while astorm was brewing up the road.
“We know over the course of history, anytime there’s progress made,there’s going to be a level of backlashthat comes into play,” Whitfield says.
“[Groups have] been disrupting publicschools for a long time, just with otherissues. Now, it’s just CRT. So this is what
they came with to disrupt this movement towards unity and a true reckoning and healing in that community.”
An honest retelling of United States
history includes events and experiencesof all people who shaped it. To challenge
the traditional narrative—one steeped
in white supremacy and American
exceptionalism—is to challenge power.
Hence, the agitation we’re witnessing
around what teachers teach and how.

But teachers are using this momentto have honest, critical class discussions. While caught in the middle ofhostile political discourse, they recognize this as an effort to simply upholdthe status quo. And we know what’s atstake when we uphold the status quo.
What’s at Stake?
We already know that textbooks andstate standards fail to provide comprehensive coverage of American slavery, the modern civil rights movement
and other histories involving oppression and resistance. A 2020 CBS News
analysis found that seven states don’t
explicitly include slavery in their standards. Eight states don’t name the civilrights movement, and 16 identify states’
rights as one cause of the Civil War.
Other histories are also trivialized. According to a 2015 study by

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_Teaching the Past to Improve the Future.indd 55

55

4/3/22 2:57 PM

Pennsylvania State University researchers, curricula about Indigenous histories
tend to be white-centric and cover only
pre-1900 events. Only 20 states requirelearning about the Holocaust, according to the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum. And in 2021, Illinois
became the first state to require theteaching of Asian American history.
What happens when students can’t
contextualize an accurate retelling of
history? Historians and educators warn
us that history will repeat itself. As withprevious eras, we are now witnessing
the regression of equitable policies,
a rollback of civil rights and backlash
against people who protest and demanda better society for all.
Truth, Empathy
and Making Connections
No matter what is happening aroundthem, though, most students just wantto know the truth. They crave it. And in
spite of today’s sociopolitical climate,

56

many teachers are still committing to
do right by their students.
“What usually happens when students learn something that challenges
an existing narrative that they’ve beentaught [is] they have questions andthey wonder why they didn’t learn
that sooner,” says Dallas, Texas, history teacher Jania Hoover, Ed.D. Shesays parents are piqued, too.
Hoover, a Black woman, has madeit her life’s work to help young people connect the past and present. She’staught U.S. history and a number ofother subjects at public schools andnow teaches African American and
Native American history at a predominately white private school. She’s notafraid to tell the truth about history.
“I became a teacher because I had
issues with how Black people weretalked about in traditional American
history narratives,” Hoover says. “So
that’s literally my purpose for becoming a teacher. And of course, you get ina classroom and you learn way more
about the whole system. But this manufactured [CRT] crisis-slash-controversy
just makes it even more proof that I’mright. That I’m on the side that’s good.”
In her current job, administrators
have pushed back on her approach toteaching history. “I was prepared forthis because I was getting challenged
and criticized for teaching too muchabout Black people, too much aboutslavery,” she recounts.
In Birmingham, Alabama, highschool economics teacher Disney
Weaver helps his students, most ofwhom are Black, think critically about
how suburban communities developedaround them. Beyond race-based economic opportunity, he addresses issues
such as gender pay disparity. Weaver, awhite man, says these discussions canbe uncomfortable for some students—
yet still necessary for understanding
economic principles.
“I’ve said to my principal and others
that each day my objective is to commit treason against white economic
opportunity and to expose the way inwhich white business leaders have notjust disenfranchised but have limited
the economic opportunity of African
American entrepreneurs and neighborhoods,” he says.
He adds, “I [see] room for growth forme to make the connection that I’m notjust telling you the hard history to discourage, but it’s to empower my students for a better future.”Discussions about painful eventsand uncomfortable truths from diverse
perspectives not only prepare students
to create a better future; it helps thembuild empathy, too.
“And if you’re empathizing, then you
might advocate for some of these policies that might challenge some of these
existing power structures,” Hoover says.
Teaching an honest history also
uplifts people’s humanity through stories of resistance, which are often omitted from textbooks or unexplored incurricula. Rejecting a white-centric

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Teaching the Past to Improve the Future.indd 56

4/3/22 2:57 PM

narrative provides students with aclearer picture of the past. For example, emphasizing Indigenous peoples’
fights to stop colonization and elevating Black people’s organizing power
tell a fuller, more human story. Startingwith local history is one way to find anddiscuss humanizing stories.
Uplifting Local History
Teachers can’t teach what they don’t
know. That’s why it’s critical they learn
the history of their communities.
Teaching eighth-grade world history in Jefferson County, Alabama,
Nefertari Yancie, Ph.D., understands
the importance of local history. When
she taught in Birmingham City Schools,
she made sure her students visited local
museums and landmarks to help themlearn about the civil rights movement.
“If we don’t show them what their
history is, who they’ve derived from—and I’m not just talking about Black students, I’m talking about all of them—
then they’re not going to realize where
they’re going and what they can do in
the future,” Yancie says.
In parts of Florida, some teachers
are diving into uncomfortable local history, with political support and at othertimes without it. In 2021, Florida lawmakers banned teaching “critical racetheory” but had previously passed alaw requiring schools to teach aboutthe Holocaust, the Ocoee Massacre andother historical events.
“The museums have already developed lesson plans and activities toteach the Ocoee Massacre and whatcaused it and the ramifications of it
for local museums in that area,” says
Bernadette Kelley-Brown, Ph.D., anassociate professor at Florida A&M
University who serves on the Florida
African American History Task Force.
“And they have been supported by the
Florida legislature and the governor’s
office. So on paper, it says one thing,but in the support of agencies who areresponsible, it says that there is anotherwhole conversation.”“ We have somedark and ugly
moments in
our history
that we have toreckon with, but
discomfort’s OK.
Discomfort iswhere often wefind the most
growth.”JAMES WHITFIELD

Described by historian Paul Ortizas the “single bloodiest day in modern
American political history,” the Ocoee
Massacre happened when white mobs
killed Black residents and ran othersout of town on Election Day 1920. That
history is integral to students understanding their community today, as
they may wonder why the town was
all-white for decades.
Florida lawmakers codified teaching
African and African American history
into law in 1994, but Kelley-Brown says
the state isn’t doing enough to ensure
these lessons are integrated into the
U.S. history curriculum. Of the state’s
67 school districts, Kelley-Brown says
only 10 are faithful in their teaching ofAfrican and African American history.
The Florida African American
History Task Force is working to help
teachers implement lessons about the
Ocoee Massacre and other African
American histories in K-12 classrooms.
Ultimately, Florida educators have thegrounding to do this history justice andcan start locally.
Teachers Won’t Back Down
For many teachers, political pressure
won’t stand in the way of doing what’s
right: teaching within the guidelines ofstates’ standards and leading with historical facts backed by original documents.
“If my job fires me for telling thetruth, I don’t need to work there,”
Hoover says. “I’m just even more
focused on telling an honest history.
The kids are seeing and hearing thesecontroversies. … They’re dialed in.”
The National Education Association,
American Federation of Teachers
and the Chicago Teachers Union areamong the educator groups making
bold, public statements. They say they
won’t be bullied into not teaching thetruth about U.S. history. Many educators have signed the Pledge to Teach the
Truth, advanced by the Zinn Education
Project, to continue teaching criticalthinking skills and having necessary
conversations.

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_Teaching the Past to Improve the Future.indd 57

57

4/3/22 2:57 PM

In a joint statement from theAmerican Association of University
Professors, the American Historical
Association, the Association of American
Colleges & Universities, and PEN
America, they reject the restrictions
anti-CRT bills are placing on schools andnote that a white-washed history won’tchange the past or improve the future.
A total of at least 151 organizations
have signed onto the statement. It says,in part:“Knowledge of the past exists toserve the needs of the living. In the current context, this includes an honest
reckoning with all aspects of that past.
Americans of all ages deserve nothing less than a free and open exchange
about history and the forces that shape
our world today, an exchange thatshould take place inside the classroom
as well as in the public realm generally.”
Finding Support
Hoover says the first line of defense
against today’s dishonest history movement is school administrators.
“What happens in a lot of these cases
when parents complain [is the] administration folds,” Hoover says. “They needto trust their educators as professionals,

58

as people that have degrees in teaching.
And a lot of people have degrees in thecontent that they are teaching.”
Teachers committed to this work
don’t have to look any further than readily available resources to accurately teachhistory. It’s as simple as finding online
tools, such as Learning for Justice’s
Teaching Hard History resources.
“The information is there,” Hooversays. “Teaching Hard History, those key
concepts, those videos—they’re shortenough [that] you can just play them inyour class. … So you don’t have to create
these resources; you just have to findand use them.”
Hoover recommends that teachers who feel isolated align themselveswith other teachers who are passionate
about teaching honest history.
“Especially if you’re in some of theserural communities, it can feel likeyou’re swimming upstream,” Hooversays, “but there are people who arecommitted to doing this work.”
Hope for the Future
Former principal James Whitfieldrecognizes that we’re in the middle ofa typical American cycle. As he puts
it, the enlightenment of people yields

an inevitable backlash because “you’re
infringing on somebody’s privilege.”
He hadn’t heard of critical race theory until it was used to push him out ofa job. But he wants to learn more anddoesn’t see the theory as a bad thing.
Neither does Yancie.
“All CRT is saying is that, in America,
we have policies that are racist because
this country has an issue with race that
we have not settled,” Yancie says. “And
we have to talk about that. There’s no
way around it because our students live
that. It’s their reality. If we don’t talkabout it or where it came from, thenwe’re doing them a disservice.”
Whitfield says he’ll continue
anti-racism and truth-telling work witheducators. He is hopeful.
“ We have some dark and ugly
moments in our history that we haveto reckon with, but discomfort’s OK,”he says. “Discomfort is where often
we find the most growth. … I think thelarge majority of people are going totake this opportunity … and lean into
the discomfort that sometimes we haveto experience to have progress.”
Dillard is a senior writer for Learning
for Justice.

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Teaching the Past to Improve the Future.indd 58

4/3/22 2:57 PM

staff picks

What We’re Reading

Learning for Justice loves to read!
Check out a few of our favorite books
for diverse readers and educators!

Written by husband-and-wife team Jamiyl
and Tracy-Ann Samuels and illustrated by
Nidhom, The Sensationally Super Sandy
tells the story of a sibling struggling forattention from her parents who are busy
caring for her brother, who has autism. It’s
not until her parents carefully explain to her
what autism is that Sandy begins to understand their relationship. This compassion
extends to a classmate who is also autistic,
and Sandy works to educate her classmates—leading to a more inclusive andrespectful classroom environment.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLELEMENTARYSCHOOL
Fauja Singh Keeps Goingby Simran Jeet Singh andillustrated by Baljinder Kaur
MIDDLE AND
HIGH SCHOOL
Unspeakable: The Tulsa
Race Massacre
by Carole Boston
Weatherford andillustrated by Floyd Cooper
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENTYour Body Is Not an
Apology Workbook: Tools
for Living Radical Self-Loveby Sonya Renee Taylor“A heartwarming
story that expresses
the need to include
children withdisabilities in ourconversations on
inclusion and equity.”–Jaci Jones, LFJ Professional
Learning Facilitator

Adults and children will find it easy to cheer for Maxine Chen, thespunky protagonist in E.L. Shen’s debut work, The Comeback: A
Figure Skating Novel. In addition to juggling the challenges of middle school and the pressures of competitive ice skating, Maxine
has to attend classes with a student who bullies Maxine for her
Chinese heritage. By following Maxine’s journey, readers, too, canlearn how pride in yourself is the ultimate comeback. Note: This
book contains racist language and gestures, including a racial slur.
MIDDLE SCHOOL“This middle grade novel is relatable to anyone who
has struggled to love themselves fully when facedwith racism.”–Courtney Wai, LFJ Professional Learning Facilitator

George M. Johnson, an award-winning Black nonbinary writer who
identified as a boy in childhood, focuses on joy, adventure, misadventure, loyalty, betrayal, healing and love in their memoir, We
Are Not Broken. A tribute to their beloved grandmother who creates an expansive space for her four young grandsons to be free,Johnson also offers possibilities that would enable Black boys—andthe Black women who love and protect them—to live lives that areeven more free. Note: This book contains the n-word, homophobic
language and describes instances of sexual abuse.
HIGH SCHOOL“George M. Johnson superbly details their definitionof Black Boy Joy.”–Crystal L. Keels, LFJ Associate Editor

S P R I N G 2 02 2 

LFJ 02_Staff Picks_541021.indd 59

59

4/3/22 3:14 PM

staff picks“These very personal stories
from disabled people will moveand transform you.”—Anya Malley, LFJ Associate Editor“A humanizing portrait
that cuts through thecallousness of national
debates with a strong
heart, like a swimmer
through water.”“Features an impressivearray of strategies andresources to help all
educators take real steps
toward undoing thedamage unconscious
racial bias inflicts on
students.”—Crystal L. Keels, LFJ Associate Editor—Cory Collins, Former LFJ Senior Writer—Monita K. Bell, Former LFJAssociate Director, Editorial

Aguon’s words flow
down the page
with magic, beautyand power.”—Anya Malley, LFJ
Associate Editor

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water requires spaceand honest conversation—and it is well worth
it. Written by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée
Watson and illustrated by Nikkolas Smith, the bookfeatures a young student who is assigned to trace
her family’s history and is distraught about notknowing those roots. Enter Grandma, who breaks
it down one powerfully crafted poem at a time.
She goes from ordinary people living, working andcreating joy, to the Middle Passage to Black Lives
Matter—and all the resistance, brilliance and life
in between. This book affirms that Black history
didn’t start with slavery and that “we will survive
because we have each other.”
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Obie Is Man Enough—a debut novel by acclaimed
advocate Schuyler Bailar, the first trans man tocompete on an NCAA Division I men’s team—follows Obie Chang as he navigates middle
school, swimming competitions and relationships

post-transition. This endearingly honest accountof Obie’s life—and how his inherited cultures intertwine to inform his resilience—offers a timely
own-voices text exploring what it means to be atrans athlete, to be a kid and to be a friend. Note:
This book presents the opportunity for discussionsof restorative practices in schools.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Julian Aguon, an Indigenous lawywer and writerfrom Guam, beautifully blends poetry and memoirin The Properties of Perpetual Light. Writing in partabout issues that he and other Indigenous peoples
face, Aguon incorporates conversations aroundcolonialism, climate change and family trauma. He
also peppers in nods to other writers he admires,like Arundhati Roy, Audre Lorde and Naomi Klein,
offering readers more words to live by.
HIGH SCHOOL"With a developmental view of our ability totackle racism, we recognize that complacency isthe enemy of improvement," Tracey A. Benson
and Sarah E. Fiarman write in Unconscious Bias in
Schools: A Developmental Approach to Exploring
Race and Racism. The authors urge school leaders to cultivate “cultures of bravery” wherein theadults serving students think of themselves aslearners engaged in ongoing processes addressing unconscious racial biases. The end goal: tocreate school cultures that engage and serve
every student.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

60

L E A R N I N G F O R J U S T I C E

LFJ 02_Staff Picks_541021.indd 60

4/6/22 5:13 PM

UPSTANDER PROJECT“A beautiful tool forbeing real about ourhistory, which our
young ones deserve.”“I know the next time I’m at an event and takea picture with someone, I won’t be moving mycane out of the shot,” writes Zipporah Arielle.
Visibility: It can be absolutely life changing.
In Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories From theTwenty-First Century, an anthology edited by Alice
Wong, more than 30 disabled authors tell their stories. Filled with emotional testimonies, essays, blog
posts and more, the writers explore what it means
to be disabled, offering strong representation andeducation for readers.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTBounty

What We’re Watching
Napo, an award-winning animated shortfrom Miralumo Films, showcases thehealing power of multigenerational connection. When an aging man sufferingwith advancing dementia moves into hisdaughter’s home, his grandson engages
creativity and compassion to provide
strength and joy for his mother’s ailing father. The mother then returns her
young son’s favor when the boy needs it
most. Devoid of dialogue, this special film
underscores the priceless attributes ofintergenerational care, concern and love.
(16 min.)
Available on YouTube

UPSTANDER PROJECTELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Ryan Cannon’s are you okay? reminds viewers to check in with others about theirmental health—and do the same for themselves. When Raquelle sees other students
bullying Noah, she brings it to the attention of a school counselor. Students thenbully Raquelle for “ratting out” the others. Weighed down by the social media
hate they’re receiving, Raquelle and Noah
are both feeling depressed. But something
wonderful happens when they rely on theirempathy skills and ask one another a simple
guiding question: “Are you okay?” (8 min.)
Available on YouTube
MIDDLE SCHOOL

Hindsight is a six-part docuseries thathighlights different communities grappling with the effects of COVID-19.
Created by filmmakers from various communities of color, each 10- to 15-minuteepisode details a moving story of isolation turned into resiliency and communitycare. For example, “We Stay in This House”
follows the lives of four mothers who must
become full-time caregivers for their families during the pandemic. Their stories
demonstrate the disproportionate impactof the pandemic on women of color, suchas the frequently cited statistic of womenforced to leave the workplace. These quick
snapshots work well to contextualize discussions of COVID-19. (82 min.)
Available on PBS
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLThe Netflix series High on the Hog: How
African American Cuisine Transformed
America perfectly illustrates Key Concept
9 of LFJ’s Teaching Hard History framework: “Enslaved and freed people worked
to maintain cultural traditions whilebuilding new ones that sustain communities and impact the larger world.” In thiscase, it’s all about food. Chef and author
Stephen Satterfield takes the viewer from
Benin to New York to Texas—and fromokra, yams and rice to brisket and, of

Dim the lights and get ready to learn
with these LFJ-approved films!

course, the whole hog. Chronicling theroots of these foods and cooking practices
uplifts not only Black people’s survival but
also their innovation, resistance to oppression and global impact. (47-58 min.)
Available on Netflix
HIGH SCHOOL AND PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

Original documents are central in theteaching of the most harrowing aspectsof U.S. colonial history, and Bounty hinges
upon this importance. Citizens of thePenobscot Nation revisit the moment inBoston when, in 1755, the grisly murder of
their ancestors is mandated by the colonial government. In this Upstander Project
film, Penobscot elders read the original proclamation and explain this sordid
past to their children. And despite brutal
efforts to erase their existence, they also
foreground their resilience and culturalpride. (9 min.)
Available on Vimeo
HIGH SCHOOL AND PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENTS P R I N G 2 02 2 

LFJ 02_Staff Picks_541021.indd 61

61

4/3/22 3:14 PM

Tomorrow Night“SHHH, PACK QUIETLY. Just pretend with your little sister thatyou’re playing a game,” Mama said.
Mia is only 4 years old. I’m her 8-year-old sister, Bibi.
Mama always says I’m the boss when she’s away.
“I’m almost packed, Mama. Where are we going?”“We can’t talk about that here, Bibi. Someone might hear.”“What if someone hears, Mama?” I asked.
“Bibi, stop asking questions. Pack quickly.”
Mama said we were going to meet Daddy in a field a few
minutes from here. He lives on another plantation not far
away, but our enslavers never let us visit him. Mama said
they don’t care if we ever see Daddy.
Mr. and Mrs. Burns are awful. They make Mama work all
day and often at night. Sometimes I hear them yelling at her.
When they get real angry with her, the Burnses don’t allow
us to eat dinner. Mr. Burns hits Mama sometimes too. When
Mama comes home crying, I ask her why and she pretends
to stop. She doesn’t want me to know she’s sad.
Very late on the night after we packed, we took the few
things we had and left for the field where Daddy would
be waiting. Even though we didn’t have a lot, our things
were hard to carry. We were weak from starving for threedays now.
I could see sweat on Mama’s face. Soon we heard dogs
barking in the distance. Mama stopped us. “Stay very still,”
she whispered. Mama said Mr. and Mrs. Burns might havefound out we left. She worried that their dogs might follow
our scent and capture us. Mama said that if they or any otherenslavers caught us running away, they might punish us with62

LE ARNING FOR JUSTICELFJ 02_Story Corner_538151.indd 62

beatings, or worse. What could be worse? Living with them
was already the worst. After a few minutes, we couldn’t heardogs barking anymore. Mama said it was safe to walk.
It was very dark. At home, I use the lantern for light. Out
here, I had no idea which way to go.
“Mama, how do you know where to meet Daddy?” I asked.
“I have been planning our escape for a long time, Bibi.
Your daddy and I have been practicing this route formonths whenever we could sneak away from the plantation.
Remember when I would play our drum and we would sing?
That was my way of telling Daddy to meet me.”
My legs were tired and my shoulder hurt from carrying
our things. I wished Mama would carry me like she was Mia.
“We have to move faster and get to Daddy,” Mama said.
“We have to get far away before sunrise.”
Finally, we made it to where Daddy would meet us. We
waited for a long time. Daddy was supposed to show up
before daylight, but he never did. With the sun coming up,
Mama decided we should hide in a ditch in case people werelooking for us.
My stomach began to growl. Although we had food, Mama
said we couldn’t eat until nighttime. She worried that dogs
trained to track fugitives like us would smell our food.
When night came, we could finally eat. Then Mama told
us to take a nap while she went to look for Daddy.
“Be very still and silent,” Mama said. She kissed us before
she left. I was scared. Soon I heard someone running toward
us, fast. I put my arms tightly around Mia.
It was Mama. Breathing hard, she said she heard growling

BY PATTY JOHNSON ILLUSTRATION BY ALLEANNA HARRIS

4/4/22 5:53 PM

in the dark. She ran. Then a branch cut the side of her leg. She
sat on the ground, wiped the blood with her skirt and cried.
After a while, Mama said, “Don’t worry. He’ll show up. We
just have to wait a little longer.” But she seemed very sad.
An hour later, we saw Daddy walking toward us. We were
all so happy. Mia started to squeal when she saw him. Mamacovered Mia’s mouth and told her to quiet down. We hugged
each other and whispered to Daddy that we had missed himvery much.
We returned to the ditch to sleep a little. It seemed like
Mama woke us up right after we dozed off. She said we had
to keep moving.
Mama unfolded a piece of paper her friend, Sara, gave her
before we left. It was supposed to help us. Mama stared at
the paper.
“What does it say, Mama?” I asked. She shook her head.
“Mr. and Mrs. Burns did not allow me to learn how toread,” she said.
Daddy took the paper. He knew how to read, a little. Oneof the men who’d been enslaved with him had taught him. “Itsays it will take us six weeks to get to Canada, where we will
no longer be anyone’s legal property. No one will ever separate us again.” We picked up our things. And as we walked,
we talked about all the things we dreamed of doing when
we were free.
Note: This is an abridged version of “Tomorrow Night.”
The full version is available at learningforjustice.org in ourStudent Texts Library.

Questions for Readers
RIGHT THERE (IN THE TEXT)

Why are Bibi and her mother packing?
THINK AND SEARCH (IN THE TEXT)

Why was it important that Daddy knew how to read?
AUTHOR AND ME (IN MY HEAD)

What kinds of things do you think Bibi and her family imagined they would do when they finally arrived in Canada andwere free?
ON MY OWN (IN MY HEAD)

Bibi’s parents made a plan to keep their children safe eventhough it was dangerous to do so. Who is a person you knowor have learned about who has done brave things to help
people live better lives?

S P R I N G 2 02 2

LFJ 02_Story Corner_538151.indd 63

63

4/4/22 5:54 PM

Learning for Justice and participating artists encourage educators to clip the One World
page to hang on a classroom wall. It is created with just that purpose in mind. Enjoy!

learningforjustice.org

BETHANY YELLOWTAIL is the creator and CEO of B.Yellowtail, a fashion brand and artist collective✁

based in Los Angeles. A member of the Northern Cheyenne Nation who spent her early life in Montana on the
Crow Nation reservation, Yellowtail supports Native communities through collaborations with other Native
artists and her own Indigenous designs.

WIKIPEDIA

ONE WORLDLEARNING
FOR JUSTICE

ILLUSTRATION BY WINK AND WONDER

Lorem ipsum
LFJ 02_One World_550999.indd 64

4/6/22 5:18 PM

BLACK LIVES
MATTERAT SCHOOL

Black Lives Matter at School is a national
coalition organizing for racial justice in education.

In this era of mass incarceration, there isa school-to-prison-pipeline system thatis more invested in locking up youth thanunlocking their minds. That system uses
harsh discipline policies that push Black
students out of schools at disproportionate
rates, denies students the right to learn
about their own cultures, and whitewashes
the curriculum to exclude many of the
struggles and contributions of Black
people and other people of color.
That system is also pushing out Blackteachers from schools in cities aroundthe country. Educators in the Black Lives
Matter at School movement developed
these demands for the movement:

End “zero tolerance”
discipline and implement
restorative justice.
Hire more Black teachers.
Mandate Black history and ethnic
studies in K-12 curriculum.
Fund counselors, not cops.

LEARN MORE AT
BLACKLIVESMATTERATSCHOOL.COM

ILLUSTRATION BY CIERRA BRINSON

LFJ 01_IBC BLM at School Ad_521002.indd 65

8/20/21 4:59 PM

Non Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Southern Poverty
Law Center

LEARNING FOR JUSTICE
A PROJECT OF THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER

400 Washington Avenue • Montgomery, AL 36104

Get the latest news
from Learning for Justice
to your inbox!
Be the first to know about the latest
news and resources from Learning
for Justice when you sign up for our
weekly newsletter and email updates!
When you sign up, be sure to create
a free LFJ account to access our fullcollection of resources.

Sign up at:learningforjustice.org/Sign-Up-Spring22
LFJ 02_Back Cover Subscriber Ad_553074.indd 66

3/31/22 2:05 PM