Dear Morningside Center friends,

We send warm wishes to you, your students, co-workers, friends, and family in these difficult times. Below, we provide some guidelines for addressing the coronavirus in our classrooms, share reflections on the Black Lives Matter at School symposium, and invite you to our upcoming AFT webinar.

Reflections on the Black Lives Matter at School Early Childhood symposium

I have never been one to focus on Black History Month, as I was raised in a family that believes Black history is AMERICAN history and that it is all day, every day. The same for Women’s History Month. 

And yet, this time of year is always significant for me. While I began developing a political consciousness in childhood, I was in my twenties when I dug deep into what is often referred to as Black Feminist Thought: the work and writings of Audre Lorde, Barbara Smith, Angela Davis, bell hooks, Gloria Anzaldua – all foremothers of the concept that Kimberle Crenshaw would later coin as “intersectionality.”

Read more of Cassie Schwerner's blog. And while you're at it, check out Bank Street's write up as well!

Young people need a supportive, caring, and constructive environment where they can learn about, discuss, and share their feelings about the coronavirus. Here are some strategies for shaping the conversation.

Six suggestions for how to facilitate a circle without passing a talking piece from person to person. 

Also, see our previous three lessons.

"Education and justice are democracy's only life insurance." - Nannie Helen Burroughs