Education Justice Now Archive

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.

This week, a Texas school district is making news for requiring a student to cut his locs before graduation. We’re heartened by how this student’s family and community are supporting him, but we must ask: How many other celebrations—and bodies—are still being regulated by discriminatory school policies? This is a conversation we should be having with students, colleagues and administrators. These resources can help.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., born January 15, 1929, became the most well known leader of the modern civil rights movement. But the truth of King’s legacy is often whitewashed and sanitized. On his birthday, MLK Day and year round, use these resources to provide students with a more complete, radical context of King's fight for justice—and discuss how his work still creates ripples today.

This week, the International Olympic Committee announced that political protests at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will be regulated. News coverage of the policy creates an opportunity to talk with students about voice, power and what it means to stand against injustice. These resources can help.  

As news breaks about increased tensions between the U.S. and Iran, your students may encounter Islamophobic comments or sentiments. These resources can help ensure that you’re ready to interrupt and address Islamophobia if it appears in your classroom or school—and that you’re ready to help students do the same.