The following post was created by members of 楼凤天堂鈥檚 .
The members of 楼凤天堂鈥檚 Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias have felt an urgency since we each joined the committee to stand against racism and bias. We have been working on ways to encourage each member of 楼凤天堂 to speak out against the systemic and individual acts of racism that disenfranchise our students in and out of the classroom.
We know that racism exists in our classrooms and in our communities. We feel that silence on these issues is complicity in the systemic racism that has marred our educational system. We see no place for neutrality and urge each member of 楼凤天堂 to educate as many people as possible about the ways that systemic racism affects all of us in negative ways.
There is no apolitical classroom. English language arts teachers must examine the ways that racism has personally shaped their beliefs and must examine existing biases that feed systems of oppression. In light of the horrific events in this country that continue to unfold, and the latest terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia, we would like to share resources that we hope will encourage all 楼凤天堂 members to speak out against the racism and bias that have been a part of our nation鈥檚 fabric since the first immigrants disembarked from European ships.
Our Action Subcommittee has been working this year on creating classroom resources for teachers to use as statements of love and support. Printable classroom posters and bookmarks for 楼凤天堂 members will be available at the 2017 Annual Convention, as well as available for download after Convention. Until then, we offer this incomplete resource to help continue the daily work that is antiracism. Please share other resources in the comment box below.
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
鈥� on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1986
Resources for Working with White Students
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鈥淎 resource to support adults who are trying to talk about race with young children. The goals of these conversations are to dismantle the color-blind framework and prepare young people to work toward racial justice.鈥�
August 13, 2017, Washington Post article by Valerie Strauss
鈥淭he 2017-2018 school year is getting started, and teachers nationwide should expect students to want to discuss what happened in Charlottesville as well as other expressions of racial and religious hatred in the country.鈥�
Heinemann Dedicated to Teachers Blog
, , and talk about what racism looks like and how we can begin to break up the assumptions we make about racism.
On June 14, 2016, in response to the Orlando shootings, 楼凤天堂 began collecting teaching resources from its members that continue to build in relevance given the ongoing struggles and critical conversations taking place across the country.
鈥淩ace Forward’s mission is to build awareness, solutions, and leadership for racial justice by generating transformative ideas, information, and experiences.鈥� Check out their that explains systemic racism.
From Citizenship & Social Justice by Jon Greenberg
鈥淥ne positive to emerge from these difficult times is the wealth of resources now available for White Americans. Never have I seen so many ideas, options, and concrete steps to take action against racism.鈥�
From Black Perspectives by Justin Gomer and Christopher Petrella, July 27, 2017
鈥淥ne cannot begin to comprehend the relationship between race and racism without historical investigation. A historically-grounded anti-racist pedagogy, rather than a psychologically-oriented one, allows us to see US society 鈥榠n the act of inventing race.鈥欌��
This resource was contributed by Kristin Beers
Suggestions for using read aloud as an anti- bigotry tool with our youngest learners. This resource provides questions to prompt conversation, as well as a list of categorized titles that support this work.
Resources for Understanding White Supremacy
鈥淭he SPLC is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality.鈥�
鈥�Ten Ways to Fight Hate, which has been updated for 2017, sets out 10 principles for taking action, including how to respond to a hate rally that has targeted your town. It urges people not to engage white supremacists at their rallies. Instead, it offers tips for creating alternative rallies to promote peace, inclusion and justice.鈥�
Resources on anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial and distortion
鈥淭he Museum has developed . . . materials 听. . . to help today鈥檚 educators explore the pressures teachers felt under the Nazi regime, the range of decisions individuals made in the face of those pressures, and the relevance of this history now.鈥� (This rich resource includes a number of case studies you could use with your classes.)
Read their , which 鈥渆ncompasses both traditional and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism.鈥�
鈥淔ounded in 1913, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is our nation鈥檚 premier civil rights/human relations organization. We have a distinguished history of reminding the world just how tenuous civil rights are and we mobilize people to engage in reasonable discourse as together we find solutions to serve our diverse society.鈥� See their website鈥檚 extensive section as well as their of anti-Semitism.
鈥淒edicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides a compelling voice for education and action.鈥�
鈥淪tudents will watch testimonies from survivors of and witnesses to historical and contemporary antisemitism who describe the consequences of the bystander effect in their own lives. Students will construct a social media message for the #BeginsWithMe campaign that describes their own plan to counter bystander behavior.鈥�
鈥淎t a time of heightened political uncertainty and polarization, middle and high school teachers are in need of easy-to-use resources that encourage their students to grapple with some of the most difficult but important topics: hate, racism, intolerance and xenophobia. 鈥�100 Days to Inspire Respect鈥� provides educators with 100 thought-provoking resources that tackle these challenging topics and more.鈥�
The following book was recommended by听Jenny Cameron Paulsen
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
“By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany’s young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members.”
Charlottesville鈥擲pecific Resources
鈥淭he Charlottesville Syllabus is a resource created by the Graduate Student Coalition for Liberation to be used to educate readers about the long history of white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia. With resources selected and summaries written by UVa graduate students, this abridged version of the Syllabus is organized into six sections that offer contemporary and archival primary and secondary sources (articles, books, responses, a documentary, databases) and a list of important terms for discussing white supremacy.鈥�
By Xian Franzinger Barrett, AlterNet
鈥淎s teachers, our job is not solely to pour mathematics, science, language arts or any other knowledge into the heads of our students. It is our duty to our profession, to our society and to the students to lovingly teach them to learn and grow as complete humans.鈥�
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August 12, 2017, Los Angeles Times article by Sonali Kohli
Mental health experts and parents discuss developmentally appropriate ways to address the issues raised over the weekend.
A growing list of resources posted by educators from around the country.
August 12, 2017, CNN article by Meg Wagner
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August 13, 2017, ABC News article by Michael Edison Hayden
Resources for Understanding Bias
鈥淭he People鈥檚 Institute believes that racism is the primary barrier preventing communities from building effective coalitions and overcoming institutionalized oppression and inequities. Through Undoing Racism庐/Community Organizing Workshops, technical assistance and consultations, The People鈥檚 Institute helps individuals, communities, organizations and institutions move beyond addressing the symptoms of racism to undoing the causes of racism so as to create a more just and equitable society.鈥�
鈥淚n this anti-fascist film produced by [the] US Military in the wake of WWII, the producers deconstruct the politically motivated social engineering of Germany by the Nazi regime.鈥�
鈥淭he Social Justice Standards are a road map for anti-bias education at every stage of K鈥�12 instruction. Comprised of anchor standards and age-appropriate learning outcomes, the Standards provide a common language and organizational structure educators can use to guide curriculum development and make schools more just and equitable.鈥�
The following 听resources were contributed by Susi Long on behalf of the Early Childhood Education Assembly
“The ECEA is honored to present a network of some of the country鈥檚 most respected professionals. They are experts in helping educators examine issues of race and racism in schools, childcare settings, and teacher education programs as they consider new possibilities for practice and policy. They consult widely, each with extensive experience in classrooms and with teachers, administrators, and preservice teachers.”
“Our intent is to continue building and expanding this collection but we offer it now as a beginning, in support of educators working to (a) deepen understandings about institutional and interpersonal racism and its manifestations in early childhood settings, (b) understand the depth and breadth of histories often left out of or听misrepresented in our teaching, and (c) apply new awareness to transforming practice and policy.”
Articles and Other Readings
“These [three] special themed issues [of 楼凤天堂 journals] explore and demonstrate not only the physical violence that Black and Brown children and youth and young Black girls encounter on a daily basis but also the symbolic and linguistic violence and the spirit-murder that are inflicted upon the lives and humanity of our children and youth of Color. In addition, all of these special issues provide the field with practical lessons and pedagogies for teaching in our current racialized and gendered context.” – Lamar Johnson and April Bell
- (a special issue of English Journal) Edited by April Baker-Bell, Tamara Butler,
and Lamar Johnson
“We come to this project bearing soul wounds and heavy hearts, anxiety and anger, tears and fire. We sifted through a series of events and melded our wounds into a project that could heal us, our families, our communities, and Black, Brown, and other marginalized youth affected by racial violence.” - (a special issue of English Journal) Edited by David Kirkland
“In the most basic sense, this issue is about acknowledging how Black textualities, like vulnerable Black bodies, are contested in American classrooms, complicated by competing interests that wrestle daily for an ethical place in the consciousness of English language arts. It is in English language arts classrooms, as this issue suggests, that Black textualities have the power to move our assumptions past beliefs that strip away the humanity of others. - (a special issue of English Education) Edited by Marcelle Haddix, Sherell McArthur, Gholnecsar Muhammad, Detra Price-Dennis, and Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
“We now must be urgent in interrogating hegemonic systems, English education practices, and educational policy to ask how we can experience a shift in the way we teach, talk about, and represent Black girls in school and society. In this way, English education becomes a site of possibility and disruption鈥攁 space to begin to ask these questions and respond.” –听Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
From Facing History and Ourselves by Stacey Perlman
鈥淲inona Guo and Priya Vulchi started the student-run organization, CHOOSE, to overcome racism and inspire harmony through exposure, education, and empowerment. This led them to collaborate with Princeton University on The Classroom Index, a textbook devoted to racial literacy.鈥�
From a post on We Are Teachers by Michael Kokias
鈥淢any high school courses tend to be dominated by American lit, but these international books deserve your consideration too.鈥�
From The Nation by Rebecca Clarren
鈥淲hen the United States signed its treaties with the Indian tribes, stripping them of their land, it promised to provide public services鈥攊ncluding education鈥攖o tribal members in perpetuity. 鈥楩or too long, the federal leadership has failed to honor that sacred pledge, leaving generations of Native children behind,鈥� said Washington State Senator John McCoy, a citizen of the Tulalip tribe and a national leader in Native education reform. 鈥業nstitutionalized assimilation and racism remain embedded within our public schools.鈥欌��
This resource was contributed by Corinne Viglietta听
鈥溾�濃�揳 downloadable packet with 6 stand-alone lessons, 4 short scripts, 4 video clips, and 1 long list of more resources from Folger Shakespeare Library
The lessons were created by 10 excellent teachers, and designed to work in all kinds of classes with all kinds of students. These teachers are themselves people of different races, ethnicities, and religions, and they teach IB and AP, special needs, honors, and 鈥渞egular鈥� students in urban and suburban (mostly public) high schools in or near Washington, DC. These resources are also the product of CrossTalk, a yearlong community engagement project led by the Folger Shakespeare Library and funded by the 楼凤天堂 Endowment for the Humanities as part of their Humanities in the Public Square initiative. More info
This resource was contributed by Emily Salinas
“Race Forward’s Drop the I-Word campaign to eliminate use of the word 鈥渋llegal鈥� was launched in September 2010 as anti-immigrant sentiment and hate crimes against communities of color had increased. Although the Associated Press, USA Today, LA Times, and many other news outlets and journalist associations have dropped the i-word, this racial slur in still being used in the media and everyday language.”
This resource was contributed by听Melanie Gustafson
“We aim to bridge the gap between those two clicks by offering an exhibit that highlights the achievements of women from the 1940s to the present. This exhibit explores the power and complexity of gender consciousness in modern American life.”
These resources were contributed by Jodi Derkson
(middle school)
Free online teaching resources and tools, curriculum-颅based for grades 6, 7 and 8, to help students speak out against racism, antisemitism and intolerance.
(secondary school and college)
“Designed by curriculum experts, this program utilizes a wide variety of media to present compelling information on a history of human suffering, stemming from social injustice that is still a growing problem today. Explore thought-provoking issues with your students by accessing our lessons and resources on antisemitism, racism, discrimination and stereotyping.”
These resources were contributed by Nadia Kalman
“For contemporary global literature from Mexico, Russia, and other countries currently in the political discourse, along with multimedia contextual materials and teaching tools, teachers might try . Here鈥檚 a link to a on building inter-cultural empathy and understanding.”
Books for Teachers
by David E. Kirkland
by Michael Patrick MacDonald
by H. Samy Alim, Geneva Smitherman, foreword by Michael Eric Dyson
by Carl A. Grant, Keffrelyn D. Brown, and Anthony L. Brown
by Steven Alvarez
听edited by: Django Paris and H. Samy Alim
by Adam J. Banks听听听
by Christopher Emdin
by Bryan Stevenson
by Lisa Delpit
by Lisa Delpit
by Paulo Freire
by Ibram X. Kendi
by Geneva Smitherman
by Gloria Ladson-Billings
by Jason G. Irizarry
by Michelle Alexander
by Wes Moore
by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
by Melba Pattillo Beals
These additional book resources were contributed by Elaine Richardson
- by David Stovall
- by Aimee M. Cox
- by Carmen Kynard
These additional book resources were contributed by听Deborah Kelly
- 听by Patricia Collins.
- DVD documentary
- 听by Cathy O鈥橬eil
- by Laurie Cooper-Stoll
- 听by Monique Morris
- 听by Monique Morris
Books for Students
by Marilyn Nelson
by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
by Luis J. Rodriguez
by Gene Luen Yang
edited by Ilan Stavans
edited by Roberto Santiago
by Carolina Maria de Jesus
by Piri Thomas
by Junot D铆az
by Sonia Nazario
by Isabel Quintero
by Kekla Magoon
by Tony Medina
by Edwidge Danticat
听by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell
by Angie Thomas
by Sharon Flake
by Esmeralda Santiago
by G. Neri
Websites to Follow (for books for our students)
If you have resources you would like to add, please share them in the comment box below.