February 2, 2021

Why We Need Black History Month—Especially This Year

Black History Month is here! And while we know anti-racist educators teach Black history year-round, we hope these resources will help you consider how you're framing the month this particular year. Learn more about the need for—and history behind—Black History Month, and get support for teaching Black history in a way that moves beyond trauma and embraces liberation and resistance.

History Moves With Us // Charles E. Cobb Jr. and Hasan Kwame Jeffries

Five Ways to Avoid Whitewashing the Civil Rights Movement // Coshandra Dillard

Designing Their Own Black Future // Jey Ehrenhalt
Madam Vice President Is a Woman of Color
The election of a biracial, Black, South Asian daughter of immigrant parents to the vice presidency is a historic moment for all of us—especially girls and women of color. TT Associate Editor Crystal L. Keels writes that educators should “acknowledge that the intersection of Harris’ multiple identities reflects the realities of many students across the country. This representation is historic and worthy of celebration.” 

Practicing Self-care Can Be Social Justice

Self-care is critical for all educators. But for BIPOC educators, it can be a first step toward self-sustaining, anti-racist practices in schools. Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board member Jamilah Pitts writes that educators—particularly Black women educators and other educators of color—can practice self-care and preservation as acts of resistance. Read the story here.

Honoring Black History: Laverne Cox Poster

Our One World poster series features quotes from diverse leaders, including this poster with a quote from actress Laverne Cox. Cox is a vocal advocate for the rights of Black and transgender people, and she’s known for making history on several levels, including being the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy in acting. Download this inspiring poster—and many more—for your classroom or virtual classroom!

Teaching Hard History Text: “Songs of Zion”

A story for readers in grades 3-5, “Songs of Zion” introduces Mary, an enslaved child. She and her mother go to church each Sunday, drawing strength and hope from the spirituals they sing together. Use this story to open conversations with young learners about the hard history of American slavery—and the resilience of enslaved people. This text includes a series of text-dependent questions and a video.

Check Out What We’re Reading

“A high school social studies teacher in Catoosa County, Georgia (a district near the Tennessee border that is represented in Congress by QAnon believer Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene), was this week forced to remove a post on the school’s online learning platform where he said there had been no evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election.” — BuzzFeed News

“If our educational response to the pandemic is more of the same tired approaches that we were already trying before the pandemic—pages of standards, longer school days, more and more and more assessment—it will fail, just as it was failing prior to the pandemic.” — Education Week

“Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks dominate the Civil Rights Movement chapters of elementary and high school textbooks and Black History Month celebrations. And yet much of what people learn about Mrs. Parks is narrow, distorted, or just plain wrong.” — The New York Times
Have a comment, question or idea for Teaching Tolerance? Drop us a line at [email protected].
Help us avoid the spam filter! Add [email protected] to your address book.
            
Copyright © 2021 Teaching Tolerance, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
400 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104
334-956-8200 | tolerance.org

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.