In this excerpt from his memoir, Rodriguez provides a stirring recollection from his adolescence: the first time he experienced racism as a result of being an immigrant in America. As he says, the experience "stays with [him] like a foul odor."
Costumes and makeup aren’t the only markers for cultural appropriation. Dr. Neal Lester explains the prevalence of—and problems with—“figurative blackface.”
Sean McCollum gives an account of writer Julia Alvarez's move to the United States from the Dominican Republic as a young girl. Although Alvarez struggled to fit in in this unfamiliar place, she finally found a comfortable niche in her writing.
Sara Schmidt is a writer, homeschooling mom, artist, wife and activist from the St. Louis area. Sara has taught in various capacities, from a European at-risk program and college support services to American Red Cross service corps. She writes for the Institute for Democratic Education in America and is inspired by nonconformist teachers, guerrilla learning, free schools, peaceful revolution, living outside the box and above all, kids.
Hannah teaches high school social studies in the Greater Boston area. Specializing in post-Reconstruction American history and AP European history, Edsall pursues teaching history from multiple perspectives using primary sources and strives to make history relevant to her students. She is also the advisor for her school's social justice club, where she spends afternoons discussing prejudice, discrimination, politics and current events with over 20 students.