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Teaching children empathy that leads to justice means much more than teaching kindness. Adults—educators, parents and caregivers—who support young learners have the opportunity to create “culture[s] of justice” in which empathy and justice are the priority. These LFJ resources feature strategies that educators, parents and caregivers can use to actively engage little learners as they develop age-appropriate skills and understanding that will lead them forward in the pursuit of justice.

Social justice education is crucial right now to develop the next generation of responsible decision-makers. This week’s resources from the Fall 2023 Learning for Justice magazine explain the importance of educating children early and in age-appropriate ways about their identities and key concepts about race. And they point out the significance of learning about honest history, in the classroom and in communities, as we reckon with the past to build a more just future.

This Black History Month, we’re encouraging educators to recognize and teach that Black history includes narratives that don’t focus solely on trauma. While it’s imperative to teach about the realities of racial oppression, it’s just as important to engage students with the many ways Black people have consistently and powerfully resisted white supremacy. For the next week, we’ll be sharing some of our favorite resources for celebrating Black liberation movements.

Young Black organizers who confront oppressive systems have always been met with violence—educators can look at the uprisings of Freedom Summer in 1964 and those in Minneapolis in 2020 for evidence. Despite the pushback they face, Black activists’ work leads to changes in laws and culture. Use these resources to teach about Freedom Summer and highlight how Black people have asserted their agency in efforts to effect policy change in the United States.

This weekend, thousands of people from across the country will assemble on the National Mall to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The event is a rededication of the 1960s movement while also capturing the urgency of today’s commitment to fight for Black lives amidst a global pandemic and a year marked by police violence. Use these resources to help students draw connections between the marches for justice—and the vital roles of young people—then and now.

This Media Literacy Week, it’s more important than ever to ensure your students are informed digital citizens. As Election Day approaches, your students are encountering plenty of online information about issues that affect them and their communities. Our digital literacy resources can help you teach them to evaluate and check sources for bias, interrupt hate speech, and critically analyze and discuss online information about the election.

As activists across the country push back against policies and legislation restricting the vote, we take time this week to honor those who have come before us in the fight for voting rights. We hope these resources, all of which celebrate the incredible contributions of the late Congressman John Lewis, help you learn and teach about voting rights—and encourage action for a more accessible democracy for us all.

On May 31, 1921, white supremacist terrorists attacked the Greenwood community in Oklahoma, killing up to 300 Black residents and burning over 1,000 homes. We don’t know the exact number: For too long, the history of this and other acts of racist terror across the United States were intentionally kept quiet. We urge you to teach the truth about Tulsa and other hard histories. These resources can help.