Every child in the United States has a right to an equitable (fair and just) public education. With education currently under assault from the current administration, we all have a responsibility to advocate for inclusive public schools in which all children are supported.
In the current hostile learning environment created by censorship laws and policies aimed at prohibiting the teaching of honest history and further marginalizing LGBTQ+ students and educators, social justice education is essential. The Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards are designed to guide educators in developing inclusive curricula to make schools safer and more just and equitable. Comprised of four domains—identity, diversity, justice and action—the Social Justice Standards are intended for all content areas alongside state and Common Core standards.
Started by the Campaign for Youth Justice, October is Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM), a time to “raise awareness and inspire action on behalf of young people impacted by our criminal justice system.” These resources explain how the school-to-prison and school-to-deportation pipelines all too often begin in the classroom. And they offer ways educators can interrupt these systems.
Learning for Justice is a community education program of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) that cultivates and nurtures dialogue, learning, reflection and action from those most proximate to and impacted by injustices in the South. By centering learning to inform action for liberation and justice, LFJ will complement the SPLC’s work to increase power and capacity for multiracial, inclusive democracy.
Parents and caregivers are at the forefront in efforts to give children the foundation to build future inclusive societies. Nationally recognized anti-racist writer and educator Britt Hawthorne recommends starting early with children to create homes “rooted in justice, compassion and love.” These LFJ resources include recommendations for growing readers and their families that affirm identities, celebrate diversity and highlight justice because, as Hawthorne explains, “When we’re genuinely in and relating to our community, we’ll sense the injustices and justices of the world.”
