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It was Black History Month. I was working with children and youth in an after-school program in the Clarksdale housing projects in Louisville, Ky. Spike Lee's film Malcolm X had just been released. I sat around a table with a group of teenagers discussing Alex Haley’s Autobiography of Malcolm X and James Cone’s Martin & Malcolm & America.

Bayard Rustin’s participation in the civil rights movement enshrined his place in the history of the 20th century, and his life’s work has become newly relevant during a time when LGBTQ rights are at the forefront of the American conscience.

Every year, teachers find themselves at the center of banned-book debates, wondering how to teach meaningful literature in chilled atmospheres.

Some educators think these widely-used teaching activities may do as much harm as good — at least in anti-bias learning.