Black Minds Matter When It Comes to Mental Health, Black Youth Are Often Ignored

Anti-LGBTQ Hate Toni Morrison American Slavery Protect Your Students Display Our New Poster Tell a More Complete Story TEACHING

ISSUE 63 | FALL 2019 TOLERANCETOLERANCE.ORG Black Minds Matter When it comes to mental health, black youth are often ignored. Here’s what you can do about it. FREE WHAT CAN TOLERANCE. ORG DO FOR YOU? LEARNING PLANS GRADES K-12

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DEPARTMENTS 5 Perspectives 7 Letters to the Editor 9 Ask Teaching Tolerance 11 Why I Teach 19 Before Ayesha al-Shabazz could become 26 a 7-year-old’s superhero, she had to make a very human connection.

13 Down the Hall Teacher librarian Julia Torres helps students and educators alike reimagine the role of books. 15 PD Café It’s time to reclaim “diversity” as a vital practice, not a buzz word. We’re here to help you do it. 59 Staff Picks Our book and film reviews can help you keep your practice fresh and informed. 62 Story Corner 64 One World 38 49

on the cover As politicans and policymakers place long-overdue focus on the mental health of black children, educators and school leaders must ask themselves how they’re supporting the children in their care.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALLEANNA HARRIS

2 TEACHING TOLERANCE ALL ARTICLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR EDUCATIONAL USE AT TOLERANCE.ORG/MAGAZINE. Online Exclusive! Watch this story come to life with our video. t-t.site/songs-of-zion

FEATURES 19 Black Educators, Black Students, Stonewall Jackson School In more than 100 U.S. schools, 38 A Truer Sense of black educators and students see Our National Identity Confederate names on their walls, Historian Ned Blackhawk explains why we jerseys and diplomas. That’s a problem. must understand Indigenous enslavement 34 to fully understand American history. 26 23 #USvsHate In the face of bigotry, student voices 41 Kindness Isn’t Enough and art can offer a welcoming antidote. Teaching kindness is a staple of elementary practice, but that isn’t 26 They Didn’t Back Down the same as teaching justice. Florida educators were targeted for standing up for LGBTQ students. 44 Black Minds Matter Here’s how they stood strong. Black children 5 to 12 years old are twice as likely to die by suicide as their white peers. 31 A uthors of Their Own Stories This crisis calls for a new approach. When these students wanted to see themselves in the books they 49 I Wish I Had Known read, their teachers helped them do The new Teaching Tolerance Advisory something about it. Board shares the lessons they’ve learned over their careers—and a hopeful message. 34 Teaching Hard History From the Beginning 52 The Right to Not Bear Arms Children should learn about American Politicians say arming teachers will make slavery starting in Kindergarten—and schools safer, but educators disagree. starting with Indigenous enslavement. 49 52 55 The Thinking Is the Work Two Boston teachers created a blueprint for helping educators examine bias. In doing so, they laid a foundation for change.

LOOK INSIDE! ∞ Celebrate the life and legacy of Toni Morrison with our new poster.

FALL 2019 3 TEACHING TOLERANCE

DIRECTOR Maureen B. Costello CREATIVE DIRECTOR Russell Estes DEPUTY DIRECTOR Hoyt J. Phillips III SENIOR CREATIVE LEADS Michelle Leland, Scott Phillips, Kristina Turner MANAGING EDITOR Monita K. Bell DESIGNERS Shannon Anderson, Hillary Andrews, Cierra Brinson, Sunny Paulk, Alex Trott SENIOR WRITER Cory Collins DESIGN ASSOCIATE Angela Greer ASSOCIATE EDITOR Julia Delacroix STAFF WRITER Coshandra Dillard PRODUCTION NEW MEDIA ASSOCIATE Colin Campbell PURCHASING PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Kimberly Weaver MARKETING COORDINATOR Lindsey Shelton EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Anya Malley CONTRIBUTORS 211 Photography, Ayesha al-Shabazz, Shannon Anderson, Carlos Basabe, Taylor PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Val Brown Callery, Kelly Canby, Kristie Eiland, Gregg Suzanne Ferguson, Alleanna Harris, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINERS Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn, Kimberly Burkhalter Monica Jorge, Jenn Liv, Yulong Lli, Libby March, Lauryn Mascareñaz, Lorraine Nam, Zachariah Ohora, Lily Padula, Andrea Pippins, Dorothy H. Price, Matt Saunders, PROGRAM ASSOCIATE Gabriel A. Smith Carolyn Sewell, Peter Strain, Julia Torres, Rodney Trice, Bret Turner, Adrienne van PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Madison Coleman der Valk, Zoe van Dijk, Carl Wiens

TEACHING AND LEARNING SPECIALIST Jonathan Tobin TEACHING AND LEARNING FELLOWS Christina Noyes, Ericka Smith SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INTERIM PRESIDENT & CEO Karen Baynes-Dunning SCHOOL-BASED PROGRAMMING AND GRANTS MANAGER Jey Ehrenhalt CHIEF WORKPLACE TRANSFORMATION OFFICER Lecia Brooks

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ADVISORY BOARD Geneviève Debose Akinnagbe, Mayra Almaraz, Lhisa Almashy, Julie Bradley, Hayley Breden, Tracy Castro-Gill, Kevin Cordi, Rebecca Coven, Toni Rose Deanon, Kari Deswood, Marian Dingle, Kim Estelle, Barbie Garayúa Tudryn, Maribel Gonzales, Kishanna Laurie Harley, Angela Hartman, Michelle Higgins, Stephanie Jones, Averill Kelley, Liz Kleinrock, Danna Lomax, Charlie McGeehan, Amy Melik, Veronica Menefee, Henry Cody Miller, Matilda Morrison, Alicia Oglesby, Alice Owolabi- Mitchell, Sonal Patel, Celeste Payne, Jamilah Pitts, Natalie Pough, Marvin Reed, Kinette Richards, Frances Weaver, Bria Wright

SPLC BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bryan Fair (Chair), Bennett Grau (Vice Chair), Pam Horowitz, Marsha Levick, Will Little, Howard Mandell, James McElroy, Lida Orzeck, Elden Rosenthal, Ellen Sudow, Joseph J. Levin Jr. (Emeritus)

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Teaching Tolerance is mailed twice and released online three times a year at no charge to educators. It is published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit legal and education organization. For permission to reprint articles, email us at [email protected]. For media inquiries, email Ashley Levett at [email protected].

THE MISSION OF TEACHING TOLERANCE IS TO HELP TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS EDUCATE CHILDREN AND YOUTH TO BE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN A DIVERSE DEMOCRACY.

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E H Printed with inks containing 27.3% renewable resources L I S B M A L A C G Y A C ZI RE NE IS 100% Perspectives “I get angry about things, then go on and work.” — Toni Morrison

IT’S SEPTEMBER 2019. Exactly 40 years ago, I Coshandra Dillard, is about changing the stood nervously behind a lectern with a roll way we see black youth so that educators book open to 125 carefully handwritten names. can support them in getting the mental I was preparing to meet my first-ever students. health care they need despite glaring I didn’t think about teaching the 1980 pres- disparities in access to care. We’re also idential election. In the spring I could teach featuring stories about people in schools about the primaries, and I looked forward to who are standing up in the face of injus- it. Nor did I think about the Census scheduled tice, despite the risks. In this issue, for for the coming April. My mother had worked example, Cory Collins profiles educa- proudly as a Census taker when I was a child tors who stood up for their LGBTQ stu- and told us it was an important civic duty. In dents when a powerful hate group tar- 1980, I filled out the form for my own house- geted their school. Ayesha al-Shabazz hold for the first time. I was a little excited explains how to work for change with about that, too. second-graders, and Dillard also shows how teachers are organizing to resist Now, few educators can be so blasé. If they do, it will be at a great cost. Most laws calling for them to be armed. The 2016 presidential campaign students get their largest dose of civics TT is working to change what our became an ongoing reality TV show, during presidential election years, and students learn about slavery, and we’ve and classroom discussions mutated they get—at most—four of these between just introduced a few new resources, into political cage fights, challenging kindergarten and high school gradua- including a K–5 framework, to our educators in ways they’d never seen tion. What happens to democracy if they Teaching Hard History initiative. I before. Most teachers I know are brac- miss two of those elections, just because hope you’ll take a look at what’s new ing for another rough year. that year’s campaign is closer to a natu- and think about ways to incorporate it In the past, educators readily taught ral disaster than to a national civic event? into your own practice. about the Census to explain the process And what happens to the very idea of In 2016, we wrote two reports detail- and generate some excitement about equal representation if students don’t ing how presidential politics was show- being counted. They understood the learn about the Census at least once ing up as hate and bias incidents in economic and political benefits of ensur- while they’re in school and recognize schools. In the spring of this year, we ing a full count and saw little downside. how important it is to ensuring that issued a report, Hate at School, that This year, many will question whether their voices and interests matter? painted a vivid picture of the harass- they can, in good conscience, encour- This summer the 31 members of our ment and hostility too many students age students and families to participate. Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board still encounter at school—a place that In 2016, many teachers we surveyed convened in Montgomery. While they should be promoting their well-be- told us they would skip teaching about were here, they worked in groups to ing, not their maltreatment. School the election that year. Not only did the respond to the prompt “I wish I had leaders bear the greatest responsibil- campaign rhetoric make immigrant known …” and generated messages for ity for school climate, but our new ini- students anxious; it also made parti- educators new to the profession. tiative USvsHate lifts the voices of stu- sans unusually combative. Worse, while Me? I’m glad I didn’t know 40 years dents fighting against hate in their own educators were prepared to teach about ago how tough being a teacher would schools. We think nothing is as power- the process and the issues, few had les- become. But I will still offer some ful to young people as knowing that sons ready to tackle sexual harassment, advice: Stand strong, find your allies, their voices matter. name-calling and Twitter storms. This and do what is brave. Stay strong and remember why you year, how many will opt again to avoid We’ll be here with strategies to help chose this profession. We’ll be here all the negative consequences and teach you recognize and stand up to injus- when you need us. neither the election nor the Census? tice. Our cover story, by TT Staff Writer —Maureen Costello

@Tolerance_org teachingtolerance.org @teaching_tolerance FALL 2019 5 DO YOU HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR A PROJECT? DON’T JUST THINK IT—DO IT!

APPLY TODAY! SOCIAL JUSTICE WHO IS ELIGIBLE? EDUCATOR GRANTS Educators who work in U.S.- Educators know best how to build empathy, develop based K–12 schools, alternative positive identities and promote critical thinking about schools, school districts, and injustice. Our grants fund creative classroom, school therapeutic or juvenile justice and district-level initiatives to make schools safe, just facilities may apply. and equitable places for all students to learn. TEACHING TOLERANCE To apply, review the guidelines and complete the online EDUCATOR GRANTS application at tolerance.org/grants. Applications are RANGE FROM considered on a rolling basis. $500 - $10,000

6 TEACHING TOLERANCE VISIT TOLERANCE.ORG/GRANTS AND SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION TODAY! LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 7 ASK TEACHING TOLERANCE 9 ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT 10 & 12 WHY I TEACH 11 DOWN THE HALL 13 STUDENT READS 14 FREE STUFF 14

Reader Reactions In our online Summer issue, we shared a Q&A with Robin DiAngelo, author of the bestselling White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, that received a lot of attention online. If you’d like to read the feature for yourself—or watch the accompanying video—visit t-t. site/white-fragility. White Fragility is one powerful read. If you haven’t read it, read it. It’s like a shot of espresso—straight, powerful and to the point. Check out this inter- view with author Robin DiAngelo. @bgarayuat VIA TWITTER

Social class. Everything isn’t about race. There is a history of racism. There are also white people who live under bridges in cardboard boxes and eat out of dumpsters. SOCIAL CLASS. Acquaint yourself with the concept. –Chris Underwood VIA FACEBOOK

We’re always glad to hear SHARING TEACHING I’m a college professor. ON-DEMAND WEBINARS from the Teaching Tolerance TOLERANCE Even though TT’s resources Just finished the webinar community—in person, [TT] is a great resource are geared primarily to from @Tolerance_org on online and even in the rare, for teachers, especially to K–12 teachers, its materi- #AAPIHM [Asian American occasional paper letter. We share with other educa- als also work very well in and Pacific Islander Heritage appreciate your feedback, tors and colleagues who the college classroom. Its Month]! It was so amaz- and we hope you’ll let us may or may not have edu- discussion of race—par- ing! I will definitely be creat- know your thoughts! cation or background ticularly whiteness and ing more culturally relevant knowledge in cultural and privilege—are extremely resources for teachers. I can’t racial issues and topics. useful in my first- and sec- wait. Thank you so much Thank you. ond-year courses. [Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn] –Chris Lynne –Rebecca Saulsbury and [Jonathan Tobin] for VIA FACEBOOK Bravard your facilitation. #AAPI VIA FACEBOOK –@TheBlackApple VIA TWITTER

@Tolerance_org teachingtolerance.org @teaching_tolerance FALL 2019 7 SOCIAL JUSTICE 101 enlighten and teach our chil- Having attended SO many dren. I can’t think of a better professional learning way to change the way it was opportunities, it is clear to to present day values. me that this is one of the –Meg Scata best (if not THE best). I VIA EMAIL cannot wait to share what I’ve learned with my stu- IS “QUEER” OK TO SAY? dents and faculty. I also I speak here as a student: can’t wait to practice in my Queer is a very important own life. THANK YOU for word for me. It helped me the tools, resources, sup- when I was still closeted port, EVERYTHING you do and didn’t really under- for educators. What a pow- stand my identity. I knew erful day of learning. I wasn’t straight, and not –Anonymous Participant even bisexual—queer fit TEACHING TOLERANCE WORKSHOP, me just fine at that point PHILADELPHIA in my life. It felt good, it Editor’s note: Want to know embodied how I felt about when TT will be coming to a myself in a positive and town near you? Learn more freeing way. It helped me about our open-enrollment to feel safe within my own workshops at tolerance.org/ skin until I could finally workshops. WHEN SCHOOLS Wilder, and others and the say I was a lesbian. ... I CAUSE TRAUMA rejection of their validity as hope my two cents are DIGITAL LITERACY This made me think hard writers of their times. ... valuable to those who Thank you for The Mind about some of the practices needed to know. Online podcast. Episode 3, I have failed to question, As with any literary work –caadam “Did You Google It?” was and it challenges me to be a which has stood the test of VIA TEACHING TOLERANCE really powerful. I think better teacher. Thank you time, there are bound to be MAGAZINE ONLINE many teachers and students for this! cultural anomalies which are woefully unaware of and –@syringa_x cause us to cringe. Rather TELL US WHAT YOU THINK! unprepared for the bias that VIA TWITTER than “throwing the baby is rampant on the internet, out with the bath water,” Have an opinion about something you including Google search. We are doing things in our let us, as educators, engage see in Teaching Tolerance magazine or There is definitely a need to schools that hurt kids. Let’s in those conversations on our website? Email us at editor better recognize and under- talk honestly together, not to about race, bigotry, chang- @tolerance.org with the subject line stand internet bias, espe- induce shame, but to create ing values, etc. Let us use a “Letter to the Editor.” Or mail a letter cially its effects on students. helpful change. We can make teachable moment, instead to 400 Washington Ave., Thanks for helping edu- a big difference, especially of throwing it away, to Montgomery, AL 36104. cators navigate these very when we work together col- challenging topics. lectively. Let’s do this!

–Jack Ganse –Jen Alexander AWESOME INSTA VIA EMAIL VIA FACEBOOK In response to our Spring 2019 cover story, “Equity, Period.” Editor’s note: Download IT’S TIME TO TALK our podcasts The Mind ABOUT DR. SEUSS Thank you so much for addressing this issue. It Online, Queer America and I am disgusted by the recent is one that I wish would be addressed in every Teaching Hard History: analysis of Dr. Seuss, the Health class in middle and high school. American Slavery at toler- Little House on the Prairie ance.org/podcasts. series by Laura Ingalls @LUEVANOSRUTH VIA INSTAGRAM

8 TEACHING TOLERANCE ILLUSTRATION BY MATT SAUNDERS Ask Teaching Tolerance to describe the relationship of power between dominant and non-dominant cultures. Ultimately, we should follow the lead and respect the needs and wants of the people whose culture is being accessed by those outside of their cultural group.

What is anti-racist curriculum? The terms “anti-bias” and “anti-racist” are often used interchangeably. However, clarifying and understanding the difference between these curricular models and their practices is critical to creating an equitable learning environment for all stu- What are my rights and responsibilities as an dents. Anti-bias curriculum educator confronting racism in my school? helps students recognize, Q: understand and accept race, class, gender and other differences. Anti-racist curric- At a minimum, our role as take this intentional risk. In dynamic in which members ulum invites both educators educators is to provide stu- our guide Speak Up at School, of a dominant culture take and students into a practice dents with adequate edu- we offer tools to support this elements from a culture of of disrupting white suprem- cational opportunities in a necessary practice, including people who have been sys- acy and structural oppres- healthy learning environ- tips for working within chal- tematically oppressed by sion in their classroom, ment. We are responsible for lenging power dynamics. that dominant group.” In school and community. A creating a classroom envi- the classroom, educators quote attributed to aboli- ronment that is conducive to What is cultural and students can utilize tionist scholar Angela Davis the learning needs of all stu- appropriation? resources such as the PBS summarizes the importance dents. To allow all students The use of the term “cul- Origin of Everything episode of anti-racist curriculum: a safer environment, we are tural appropriation” began on cultural appropriation “In a racist society, it is not responsible for interrupt- in the late 1970s in academic to discuss and understand enough to be non-racist; we ing racist speech, practices discussions of colonial- what is and isn’t cultural must be anti-racist.” Anti- and policies in our class- ism and Western imperial- appropriation. Additionally, racist education equips edu- rooms and school commu- ism. Contemporary uses of self-reflective guiding ques- cators and students with the nities. While teachers have this phrase often pull from tions can support a nuanced necessary tools to transform the right and responsibil- this historical critique of and thoughtful understand- the conditions and outcomes ity to discuss and address colonial power and oppres- ing of the cultural appropri- in their community. learning conditions, there sion of the Global South, ation power dynamic. For are potential risks to practic- but what is and isn’t cul- example, does the dominant ing accountability with our tural appropriation can vary culture receive praise for an ASK TEACHING TOLERANCE! students. Some educators depending on the context. A element of culture while the Need the kind of advice fear or experience admin- helpful starting place comes non-dominant culture is vil- and expertise only Teaching istrative or family backlash from Everyday Feminism, lainized or discredited for it? Tolerance can provide? Email when confronting racism. which states that cultural Cultural appropriation is an us at [email protected] with TT encourages educators to appropriation is a “power evolving and expansive term “Ask TT” in the subject line.

ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREA PIPPINS FALL 2019 9 ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT

Check out some of our most talked-about posts. Search for these headlines at tolerance.org. q

Teaching Juneteenth BY COSHANDRA DILLARD

Intersectional Identitites: Do ARTICLE 3.21.19 // RACE & ETHNICITY Educators Empower or Oppress? BY MARYAM ASENUGA What Is the Model Minority Myth? q BY SARAH-SOONLING BLACKBURN Teaching First- The myth of the model minority is based in stereotypes. It perpetuates a narra- Graders About Microaggressions tive in which Asian American children are whiz kids or musical geniuses. Within BY BRET TURNER the myth of the model minority, Tiger Moms force children to work harder and be better than everyone else, while nerdy, effeminate dads hold prestigious—but not q leadership—positions in STEM industries like medicine and accounting. Arthur’s Gay Teacher This myth characterizes Asian Americans as a polite, law-abiding group who and Other Stories have achieved a higher level of success than the general population through some Schools Won’t Tell BY CORY COLLINS combination of innate talent and pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps immigrant striving...... While most people agree that negative stereotypes of Asian Americans are DID YOU KNOW? harmful, some still question the harm of the model minority myth. What could be DID YOU KNOW? so bad about being part of a group that’s seen as being successful? Sixty percent of Boston’s schools are “intensely segregated,” as And a reader replied... predominantly black Make [Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn’s] analysis of the harm perpetuated by the racist and Latinx students Model Minority Myth your must-read this weekend. (...looking forward to sharing this make up at least with the #AsAm Ss club at my school—thanks, Sarah!). 90 percent of seats. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: Twenty years ago, that number was t-t.site/model-minority only 42 percent. — The Boston Globe

10 TEACHING TOLERANCE ILLUSTRATION BY JENN LIV Why I Teach Ayesha al-Shabazz teaches second grade at Southview Elementary School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Believing Change Is Possible

They say a picture is worth a thousand assisting in the evolution of some of Fourteen years of experience told words. Elementary school teachers get my more challenging students, like the me that this child was suffering. I had tons of them from students. But let’s one who drew me as a superhero. to find the root of her behavior. So, I face it: Most of them end up getting Imagine being told to “shut the f--- met with her mom and voiced my con- chucked into “file 13”—the final rest- up” by a 7-year-old. Imagine having to cerns. She didn’t seem surprised but ing place for students’ notes and draw- empty your entire classroom because said she’d talk to her daughter. Then ings. But a few years ago, a student one student won’t stop throwing linking I asked about the child’s father. With gave me a picture that hangs above my cubes, pencils and chairs—tearing up in a slow, deep breath and downcast desk to this day. It is the cutest pic- minutes what took you days to organize eyes, she told the heartbreaking story ture of me drawn as a “Super Teacher.” and decorate. Needless to say, I spent of her domestic abuse. My student’s Underneath, she wrote the words “I more than a few nights stressed, and to father was now in jail, and my student love you. Your a hero.” But the spelling be honest, I even questioned my future had witnessed everything. It all made doesn’t bother me. I kept this particu- in education more than once. But sense now. This baby had seen and lar picture because it’s a reminder that this wasn’t my first rodeo, I reminded heard way too much. It became my this job isn’t about me. It’s about these myself. God placed me in this profes- mission to help her heal. children. It symbolizes overcoming sion to not only educate minds but also So I worked on building a better obstacles, finding hidden strength and to heal broken spirits, so I pushed on. relationship with her and equipping

SHARE YOUR Story What motivates you to get up each morning and serve students in our nation’s schools? We want to hear from you. Send your 600-word submission for the “Why I Teach” column to [email protected].

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTIE EILAND FALL 2019 11 her with tools she needed. Every day ARTICLE 3.26.19 // BULLYING & BIAS I pulled her aside and told her how much I loved and cared about her, Equity Work Should Start that I’d never give up on her. I asked about her likes, dislikes and interests and worked those into lessons when I From the Top could. She loved frogs, so I had a friend BY LAURYN MASCAREÑAZ, RODNEY TRICE bring some in as we learned about life cycles. She was often my special We believe that equity work is non-negotiable and must be part of the helper, and I showered her with praise DNA of any school or district. It doesn’t matter whether we call it equity; at the slightest signs of cooperation or diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); or another title. As leaders, we must changed behavior. I used lots of visual all commit to this work. We must face the reality that we are in an ongoing and verbal cues to help prepare her fight to disrupt inequity wherever it exists. for transitions. For example, she had In our district, we accomplish this by setting the conditions that a visual schedule and sticker chart encourage and inspire other educators to lead equity work: intentionally to help her own her behaviors. We creating opportunities for new learning around equity challenges, chang- used emojis and drawings when she ing attitudes and mindsets regarding equity challenges, and partnering shut down verbally. That evolved into with students and families who are closest to the opportunity gaps. using guided breathing techniques Equity leadership is among the most challenging work educators can and meditation to calm down. I reas- engage in. Years of experience, advanced degrees and professional affilia- sured her that “it’s OK to feel angry,” tions don’t prepare someone to dismantle inequities in our and whenever she felt she was getting schools or society. ... To lead diversity, equity and inclusion upset, she could sit in the “chill zone.” work, we must be strategic and focused on our pursuits of Journaling and frequent visits to the systemic change. Focusing on large-scale school and dis- school’s counselor helped her commu- trict inequities can be exhausting and stressful, but we have nicate and get along with others, too. to keep this in mind: We are fortunate enough to have the It took time and it wasn’t easy, opportunity to work every day for all our students. but she soon began to transform into someone who used her words instead of throwing chairs. She took self-reg- ulated timeouts instead of screaming and fighting, and she drew pictures of And a reader replied... me as a superhero instead of cursing To be effective, leaders have to truly believe that anti-racism and equity at me. Students like this have taught work are fundamental to achieving social, emotional and academic me that change is possible, even in goals. And those beliefs must spark action. the most difficult cases. I persevere in READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE hopes of changing the world, one child at a time. It’s this belief and these suc- t-t.site/equity-work cess stories that continue to drive me and give my life meaning.

DID YOU KNOW? DID YOU KNOW?

Black and Latinx children and young Like districts nationwide, Boston Both the National Education Associ- adults are about half as likely as their Public Schools faces a significant ation and the American Federation of white peers to receive outpatient “diversity gap.” In the 2016–17 school Teachers have consistently opposed mental health care. year, 62 percent of the district’s allowing guns in schools, stating it — International Journal of Health Services educators were white, compared with would pose an unnecessary risk to 14 percent of students. law enforcement, students and the —Boston Public Schools school community. — The Associated Press

12 TEACHING TOLERANCE Down the Hall Reimagining Texts

As a teacher librarian, Julia Torres collects and shares resources, develops and leads professional development for educators, collaborates with teachers, encourages student litera- cies and advocates for school libraries.

How did you become a teacher librarian? I am an English teacher serving as a librarian, which is very different from someone who has a master’s degree in library science. We had no library on campus for several years, so, to meet my students’ needs, I developed a classroom library that was really strong and robust with diverse titles to pique their interest. In time, kids from different classes would come into my classroom to borrow books. I then started to get grants to inject more life into my classroom library through the addition of more (and better) titles. Julia Torres is a teacher librarian in Denver Public One day, a friend from district Schools and a co-founder of #Disrupt Texts, which library services came to visit my class- aims to create “a more inclusive, representative and room and was impressed with what she equitable language arts curriculum.” saw. In short, my dedication and passion for matching students with just the right books came to their attention. It was revealed to me eventually that many people within the district, together with community members, culturally diverse texts. However, protagonists who are people of color, had been working hard behind the that means different things to differ- that are written by white authors scenes to get our library back. So, it was ent people. For some folks, it’s going to unless I know the author, their process natural that I would be asked to be the mean buying any book with a child of and background. I’ve read too many teacher librarian on campus. I already color on the cover in order to have the books where authors don’t have lan- knew the conditions under which our appearance of “representation.” For guage or other details right because students and staff were operating. some, it’s going to mean buying any- they’re writing from outside a cul- thing that was positively reviewed by ture or specific lived reality. The fact What are your recommendations for educators of color. For others, that’s that someone has researched a specific building a classroom library? going to mean buying exclusively identity extensively does not mean you I think we build libraries through #OwnVoices texts. ... know what it is to live in that skin. We the lens of our own experience. So I personally do not want texts in are doing our students an injustice if we right now it’s very trendy and popu- my library that are written about don’t think that they can identify the lar for teachers to build libraries with the lives of people of color, featuring details that are missing or incorrect.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY 211 PHOTOGRAPHY FALL 2019 13 first Bell

All teachers are pressed for time. I and librarian, to assign something bet- Student Reads get it. But this is not work that can be ter? Because the response that I was The Teaching Hard History Text done quickly or passed off to someone getting from the students, whether it’s Library includes more than 100 else. It is past time for us to become because of my teaching or because of student texts aligned with the Key accustomed to asking ourselves how the book, didn’t work.” I see this as an Concepts of the Teaching Hard we are going to advocate for the inclu- incredible opportunity for teachers and History frameworks. Each includes sion of a text if it has been selected sim- librarians to work together, leveraging a set of text-dependent questions. ply on the basis that it’s from a text list. the strengths of people in both roles to Meet Frederick Douglass (K–2) think in new ways and transform the In “Meet Frederick Douglass,” stu- How is your work as a teacher librar- way we think about what texts are wor- dents learn about Douglass’s amaz- ian different from that of a teacher? thy of academic study. ing journey from slavery to free- A lot of my work is helping folks under- dom and how he committed his life stand how to do the work of disrup- What’s the best part of your work? to fighting for the liberty of others. tion or reimagining. I prefer to call it The best part of my day is to book-talk t-t.site/frederick-douglass reimagining these days. #DisruptTexts books to kids. I basically sell without Nat Turner, Freedom Fighter (3–5) is a movement I’m a part of, a the exchange of money. If there is an Students discover how Nat co-founder with Tricia Ebarvia, Lorena exchange, it’s love for books and the Turner used code to lead other Germán and Dr. Kim Parker. I’m very development of a relationship with enslaved people during a rebel- proud of the work that has been done words, language, art. I sell books to lion in Southampton County, through that organization and move- kids all day, and I’m one of millions Virginia, in “Nat Turner, ment because the community has of librarians around the country that Freedom Fighter.” changed the way people think and the does that. I’m honored to be able to t-t.site/nat-turner actions they take regarding text selec- link arms with them because I feel like The North Star Tea Party (6–8) tion and curriculum implementation. that’s the best job in the world. When I By reading the poem “The In addition to participating in online see a child book-talking the book that North Star Tea Party,” students communities and conversations that they just finished reading to another gain an understanding of how push thinking and practice, we have to kid, that’s a heart-opening experience. some enslaved families followed consider ways we can reimagine how to It’s so exciting when a book written the North Star and navigated do work within whatever context we are by an author that represents voices that the Underground Railroad to in, because there is something that can have been marginalized, underrepre- freedom. t-t.site/north-star be done in wherever we are, and from sented [or] discounted finds its way into Letter to Reverend Samson any role in which we might be serving. the hands of one of my students and Occum (1774) (9–12) What has been really great is that lately, they feel seen. Let me tell you: There is Enslaved poet Phillis Wheatley teachers have started to come to me no child thirsty for reading like one who discusses slavery and civil and and say, “I’m not feeling this book that has been denied the simple pleasures of religious liberties in her letter I’ve been told by the district I have to a beautiful, culturally responsive, well- to Mohegan minister Samson use. So what are my choices? How can run library for as many years as our kids Occum. t-t.site/samson-occum we collaborate, language arts teacher have been denied.

To experience a “museum Rights. Respect. Although it is geared toward The STEM Role Models without walls,” visit the Responsibility (3Rs) is a parents, this podcast from poster set was crafted by FREE STUFF! Learning Together site K–12 curriculum providing NPR is beneficial for educa- various illustrators. The from the Smithsonian honest sexual health infor- tors looking to answer stu- colorful posters, show- These web resources support Asian Pacific American mation for all youth. With dents’ toughest questions. casing famous women in and supplement anti-bias Center. The center brings lessons on good commu- Child development experts STEM like Dr. Hayat Sindi education—at no cost! art, history and cul- nication, safety in rela- from Sesame Street dis- and Mae Jemison, are ture to students through tionships, and growth and cuss topics like magic, race available to download and resources like an interac- development, 3Rs strives and death on Parenting: print in eight languages. tive Culture Lab Playbook to create health equity Difficult Conversations. t-t.site/stem-posters and much more. for all. t-t.site/difficult- t-t.site/apa t-t.site/3rs-curriculum conversations

14 TEACHING TOLERANCE PD CAFÉ OFFERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES PD CAFÉ TO COMPLETE ALONE OR WITH COLLEAGUES.

DIVERSITY

Digging Deep Into the Social Justice Standards

The Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards are the anchor These standards are divided into four domains: Identity, standards and learning outcomes created to guide teachers in Diversity, Justice and Action. In a series that began in the Spring curriculum development and to make schools more just, equi- 2019 issue of Teaching Tolerance, PD Café will walk through each table and safe. Our standards are designed to be used alongside domain to help you understand and apply each to your practice state and Common Core State Standards in all content areas to so that students have the skills they need to make their schools reduce prejudice and bias and advocate for collective action. and communities safe places for all.

ILLUSTRATION BY YULONG LLI FALL 2019 15 PD CAFÉ

Practicing Diversity

Diversity is a beautiful thing. It should be explored and celebrated in classrooms. After we have come to better understand our indi- Understanding Diversity vidual identities, we can begin to examine the ways in which they do and do not overlap with others’ identities and lived experienc- What is Diversity? es. There are many ways, large and small, to introduce concepts • The condition of having or being composed of around diversity into your classroom and make it a welcoming different elements; variety, especially the inclusion of place for all students. One strategy, focused on honoring student different types of people (as people of different races experience, is featured in our publication Critical Practices for or cultures) in a group or organization. Anti-bias Education, available online at tolerance.org. It’s import- Webster’s Dictionary ant to create a classroom culture that values students’ lives and identities by creating a space that’s open, avoids stereotypes and lets students define their own identities. Critical Practices features strategies for making this happen, such as using texts that reflect the demographics of your classroom and sharing personal stories. Another way to look at diversity with your students is to facilitate discussions about it. The way language is used in your classroom is an important component in how students will discuss not just curriculum and content but their experiences and relationships. Looking more closely at our critical practices around classroom culture, you’ll find five common characteristics of a classroom based on shared inquiry and dialogue: listening, respect, humility, voice and trust. Humility is critical when learning about diversity because it pushes us to recognize that our own ideas and opinions are only part of the story and that other people may have access to pieces of the puzzle that we don’t know about. For more activities related to language and sharing lived experiences, you can also check out our online professional development module “Unpacking Diversity” at tolerance.org.

Exploring Diversity

Classroom Activity Students should share either as a class or in small groups about When discussing diversity with students, a good starting place can the outside and inside of their boxes. After sharing, have students be having them share their own identities so they can affirm who answer the following questions: they are while also hearing about the differences in the identities of their peers. A great way to do this is through having students • What did you learn about your classmates that you did not create identity boxes. know before they shared? • What do you have in common with your classmates? Have each student bring a shoebox (or box of similar size) to • How are you different from your classmates? How are they school, and have extra boxes available for students who may need different from each other? them. Students should decorate the outside of their box with • Did you learn anything about them that might affect how you images, words or phrases that represent their culture and commu- interact with or treat them? Why? nity. Examples can include things like “French ancestry,” “family of musicians” or “first-generation American citizen.” Inside the box The great thing about this activity is that even if you teach in a should be four or five objects that they feel have shaped them and fairly homogenous environment, students will still find diversity represent their unique background and experiences. If an object is in the lived experiences of their peers. Consider making a box too large to fit in the box, they can put a picture or description of for yourself and sharing with students to model before having the object and its significance inside the box. students make their own boxes.

16 TEACHING TOLERANCE Diversity Standards

Anchor Standards 6–10 of the Social Justice Standards 6. Students will express comfort with people who are both similar to and different from them and engage respectfully with all people. 7. Students will develop language and knowledge to accurately and respectfully describe how people (including themselves) are both similar to and different from each other and others in their identity groups. 8. Students will respectfully express curiosity about the history and lived experiences of others and will exchange ideas and beliefs in an open-minded way. 9. Students will respond to diversity by building empathy, respect, understanding and connection. 10. Students will examine diversity in social, cultural, political and historical contexts rather than in ways that are superficial or oversimplified. Scenario #1 As children are funneling into her classroom on a Monday morning, Ms. Franklin overhears a conversation between two students: “What did you do last weekend?” Kevin asks Lisa. “My moms took me to the zoo!” Lisa replies. “You have two moms? Do you call both of them Mom?” “I call them Mama Kendra and Mama Sam,” Lisa says. • Think about Kevin and Lisa’s story. Which of the five Diversity anchor standards are demonstrated? • What do we know about Kevin’s understanding of the diversity around him, based on this exchange with Lisa? Scenario #2 Ms. Ramirez has divided her class into small groups for a map- Jonah has a lot to share with our group. It’s important for us to ping activity. As the students are gathering to begin work, she all work together. You shouldn’t think that his physical disability overhears one student, Joao, tell the others that he doesn’t want makes him a less important member of our group.” Jonah, a classmate who uses a wheelchair, in his group. Just as Ms. Ramirez is about to intervene and facilitate a discussion with Joao Think about Joao’s story. Which of the five Diversity anchor stan- and the rest of the group, she hears another student say, “Joao, dards are demonstrated?

10th-Grade ELA Essential Questions D.8: How did the lived experience of Starr Carter in The Hate U Give shape her perspective on race in America? Why did her white One final way to incorporate the Diversity standards into your friends have a different perspective? Were her friends justified in classroom practice is through writing essential questions for your seeing things differently? units of study. Below are two examples from different content areas. Sample Answer: Students can discuss how Starr and her friends had Sixth-Grade U.S. History different experiences because of race and socioeconomic status and how D.10: How was the experience of westward expansion different for these experiences shaped their world-views. They can also debate the jus- white people, people of color and Indigenous peoples? tification for those different perspectives based on the environments that Sample Answer: Students can explore how things like power, priv- different characters experienced and moved through on a daily basis. ilege, socioeconomic status and colonialism had different effects on Now you try! Write an essential question based on one of the five particular people or groups during the period of westward expansion in Diversity standards for your grade level and content area. the United States.

FALL 2019 17 You can’t tell the story of the United States without talking about lynching.

RECOMMENDED FOR GRADES 9–12 AN OUTRAGE A FILM BY HANNAH AYERS AND LANCE WARREN

For decades following the Civil War, racial VIEWER’S GUIDE NOW AVAILABLE terror reigned over the United States, Download the accompanying viewer’s claiming thousands of black lives. Lynching— guide for activities and lessons that support an extralegal system of social control—left teaching about this difficult subject matter. in its wake a pain that still lingers. Help your students understand how this terrible OUR 33-MINUTE DOCUMENTARY, AN OUTRAGE, IS AVAILABLE TO SCHOOLS EXCLUSIVELY legacy affects individuals, communities and THROUGH TEACHING TOLERANCE. institutions today.

AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING ONLY AT TOLERANCE.ORG/OUTRAGE-FILM Black Educators, Black Students, Stonewall Jackson School one of these does not belong.

FALL 2019 19 ILLUSTRATION BY CARLOS BASABE BY GREGG SUZANNE FERGUSON

MY HEART SANK a little and my stomach period, I interviewed 17 black educa- unleashed on black people for four cen- churned every time I entered Stonewall tors who had worked in schools from turies. By not conceding this vast dis- Jackson Middle School for work—this Harlem to the hollers of Appalachia, proportion, our educational systems campus in the heart of the black com- and from Atlanta to San Francisco. are tacitly endorsing the white suprem- munity on the west side of Charleston, For them, schools named to memo- acist agenda that sustained American West Virginia. As I entered each day, I rialize Confederates are inextrica- slavery and continues to deprive stu- glanced at the walls of the great foyer bly tied to both historical and revived dents and educators of the respect and for artifacts of the school’s name- white supremacy movements across dignity they deserve. sake, Stonewall Jackson (or his claim the globe—and they anchor these rac- to fame), and saw nothing that would ist ideals into the daily environments Confederate-named explain to the community who he and consciousness of the communities Schools and Symbolic Capital was or why the school is named after these teachers serve. Because most public schools are the hubs him. Although excited to work with Educational leadership programs of their communities, not only for edu- urban Appalachian youth—I call us stress our ethical responsibility to cational engagement but also civic and “Urbalachians”—as a descendant of interrogate the systems, organizational political activity, they are a sacred pub- enslaved people, I could not quell my frameworks and leadership theories by lic trust where Americans become social- visceral reaction upon walking into that which we make decisions for our stu- ized and develop their sense of belonging, school, going to a sporting event or pass- dents. The systems and theories that identity and purpose. In essence, public ing its curbside marquee, which empha- gave rise to the Confederate-named schools hold immense symbolic capital. sized “Respect and Responsibility.” schools that so many of our students Symbolic capital, a term coined by As a critically thinking African attend reveal inherent contradic- sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, is the dis- American teacher, the question for me tions between those theories and our tinction and status that names bring to became “Respect for whom and respon- responsibilities to students. The nam- places and the people associated with sibility for what?” From that perspec- ing of these schools was part of a cam- them. But symbolic capital can simulta- tive, what I had learned about the Civil paign by the United Daughters of the neously function as symbolic violence— War and its competing armies could not Confederacy to recast the Civil War also coined by Bourdieu—for stake- justify valorizing the Confederates in narrative as the “Lost Cause” (espe- holders who remember the context of general, much less forcing black stu- cially in Southern schools), margin- a place name differently, as is the case dents and black teachers to sanctify the alize black history and resist the civil with Confederate namesakes for those names of Confederate heroes in more rights movement. in black communities. The educators in than 100 American public schools. The black educators in the study the study saw Confederate names as a That is why I recently conducted were gracious enough to acknowledge symbolic trifecta for white supremacy. a study through Marshall University the trauma that white Americans expe- These names amplify racial inequities that illustrates the tension black edu- rienced during the Civil War for four in society, the opportunity gap for black cators across the country grapple with years. But they also acknowledged and Latinx populations, and the white when confronting vestiges of white a broader, national failure to recog- privilege that allows many educators to supremacy disguised as nostalgia. In nize the terror and multigenerational remain oblivious to the suffering of stu- three focus groups over a two-week trauma that American norms and laws dents and colleagues of color.

20 TEACHING TOLERANCE More to the point, the study be removed, but it’s ingrained in the revealed that black educators were system,” he said. “As a black man in disturbed by schools named for America, we know what’s happening. Renaming Schools: Confederates: “I think a school named It’s no surprise to us as a people. We see after a Confederate could only be used it every day: shootings, nobody getting Success Stories and as a negative role model for black stu- convicted. This is the country we live Possibilities dents—or any student for that matter— in. ... This is the system we’re a part of.” of what not to do,” said one participant. In October 2017, a Falls Church, University of Tennessee cultural and Coping With the Symbolic Violence Virginia, high school named for historical geographer Derek Alderman of Confederate-named Schools Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart builds on Bourdieu’s work to engage From my discussions with these edu- over 60 years ago had its name with “regional symbolic capital.” In cators, developing pride in all of their changed to Justice High School his 2008 essay “Place, Naming and the students—especially those of color— after a long local battle led by stu- Interpretation of Cultural Landscapes,” is a cornerstone of their teaching dents and actor Julianne Moore, he explains that names evoke powerful philosophy, and schools named for who had attended the school under images and connotations that contrib- Confederates deprive them of that its former name. The price tag to ute to a sense of place in geography, opportunity. One participant pointed change uniforms and signage was history and society. They even reflect out the disconnect between the princi- in the hundreds of thousands, larger social disputes about who has ples of these namesakes and what edu- money raised mostly by families the authority to create, define, interpret cators hope to instill in their students: and private donors. But for the stu- and represent collective pasts through “White supremacists and Confederates dents, the name change gave them place. While Confederate-named were aligned with racist ideals—for oth- a priceless boost in pride. schools exist around the United States, ers being less than them and hate for Cost-saving measures taken they are most certainly meant to evoke others that aren’t their race. Their ide- by other schools include rebrand- images of a particular place and time. als can’t be incorporated into school- ing, such as the Robert E. Lee High Again, the simultaneous symbolic wide programs like [other role mod- School in Texas, which used the capital and violence associated with els].” Another educator noted the name as an acronym: Legacy of these namesakes trouble black educa- impact of a lifelong affiliation with one Educational Excellence (L.E.E.). tors who must work in them each day. of these schools for educators and stu- This change allowed the school to One educator in the study noted the dents. “I don’t want my Teacher of the continue using its uniforms and irony of these public memorials: “What Year Award to have my name tied with newly turfed field. Other schools I don’t understand about Stonewall, a white supremacist,” the participant have changed names to more suit- [and others] in the Confederacy, is since reflected. “Just think of all the African able honorees, like an Oklahoma they lost the war, how can their flags be American student diplomas under the elementary school did in renaming put up in a country in which they lost?” banner of a Confederate for a lifetime.” Lee Elementary after philanthropist For this educator, teaching lessons on This lack of perception in our edu- Adelaide Lee. the Confederacy’s pro-slavery stance cational systems allows the symbolic Students at Stonewall Jackson and secession from the United States violence of these schools to usurp Middle School in West Virginia at a school named for a Confederate opportunities for all our teachers and have used the moniker “The Wall” hero created a moral dilemma. communities, but especially those of as resistance, and in an ongo- For another teacher, these name- black people, to promote Confederate ing local debate, some suggest sakes clearly speak to the idea of the namesakes as valuable symbolic capital retaining the abbreviation SJMS symbolic trifecta that arose from the that instills national and cultural pride for a new generation as the Social study: that these public school names in their students. Justice Middle School. highlight society’s racial inequities and Many black educators, like myself, the white privilege that allows these contend with not only our own direct memorials to remain in place. “They experiences of racism but also the sto- were Confederates and they weren’t ries of our enslaved ancestors conveyed fighting for us. ... I think they should by family griots at our kitchen tables.

FALL 2019 21 “I don’t want our kids to go through what we went through. ... I don’t think this generation needs to bear that burden.”

We use a variety of mechanisms to equity programs within the American exposed to how harsh and insensitively downplay the symbolic violence of public educational system and sends they’re being treated. I don’t think this schools named for Confederates so confusing messages to all students generation needs to bear that burden or that we can serve our communities. and educators about who is worthy of even ponder on that. So, in my opinion, We emphasize “the greater good,” celebration in our country. And while we need to just wipe the names out with for example, that comes from all stu- the participants expressed their own no explanation.” dents learning from diverse role mod- struggles with the ironies of teach- els. “If it’s not us, who?” one educator ing in these spaces, some questioned Why Renaming noted. “That’s why I felt when I went to whether black students would be These Schools Matters Stonewall Jackson, I could push up the served well by discussing these con- With over 27,000 black students and kids: give ’em motivation. ... That’s why tradictions in class. hundreds of thousands of others we do what we do. We want to push our It’s important to note that stu- attending schools that pose symbolic people up. It is what it is—God’s gonna dents at colleges and universities violence through their names, would take care of us.” across the country have led demon- awakening them to what these peo- Others may ignore or minimize the strations against the sanctioning of ple actually represented in American harm in order to get the job—and get white supremacy in building names history undermine the work we do in the job done. “You don’t go in when on their campuses. But, for some of schools to unite around common moral you get interviewed for a job and say, the study participants, the idea of values? As educators, we have a delicate ‘Oh no, I can’t work at Robert E. Lee rectifying the naming problem in balance to strike. Some localities, such ’cause it’s named after a Confederate our K–12 public schools through stu- as the Houston Independent School general,’” one teacher explained. “You dent-centered approaches raised con- District, have decided to rename all say, ‘What days do I get paid? The cerns about the effects on black chil- Confederate-named schools to reflect 10th and the 25th.’ I show up. I do my dren, whose youth may leave them our more inclusive society. Others, such thing. ... The only thing for you to do is more vulnerable than those in col- as the Fairfax County Public School regroup as the teacher. But you’re the lege. Some educators felt that making District in Virginia, have addressed grown person and you took the job, an issue of this symbolic violence with the issue only as community members took the training. Take the money. students who may already have dis- have raised concerns, voting to change Straighten out your act and do the best trust of our American agencies (like the name of J.E.B. Stuart High School, you can.” law enforcement) may be more dam- for example, while retaining Robert E. The overwhelming majority of the aging than beneficial. Lee High School. educators in the study were forced to Although admitting the potential Whatever the approach, we must accommodate the mental and emo- benefits of developing critical think- raise our voices against the ongoing tional effects of working in these ing and civic engagement by raising symbolic violence that these schools spaces—what many of us know as racial this topic with students, one educator inflict on black students and educa- microaggressions—as part of their work stressed that they might not be enough tors. We have a responsibility as educa- experiences. One participant observed, to mitigate the potential disruptions tors and leaders to give our students the “[In] particular, as a black public ser- to learning and wellness. “When my most respectful environment possible. vant, that assignment at a school named cousin and I went to schools named A war was already fought and settled after a Confederate in my county is one after Confederates in the ’80s, we would to ensure that, wasn’t it? of only a handful where you can impact have kicked butt if we heard them say the lives of black students in a black [the n-word] but didn’t know what Ferguson, a K–12 counselor and univer- community. ... It’s humiliating.” ‘the Dukes of Hazzard flag’ stood for or sity lecturer, is the president of Mothers The study suggests that the con- who our school was named for. ... I felt of Diversity America and a member tinued existence of white suprema- betrayed [when I found out],” he said. of the Marshall University Graduate cist and Confederate names on public “I don’t want our kids to go through Humanities Program’s West Virginia schools counteracts social justice and what we went through in terms of being Activist Archives Project.

22 TEACHING TOLERANCE A new program lifts the voices of students fighting hate in their communities.

BY ADRIENNE VAN DER VALK ILLUSTRATION BY SHANNON ANDERSON

FALL 2019 23 WALKING THROUGH THE HALLS of Bonita Vista High School in issues of our society rather than pre- tend the world doesn’t exist.” Chula Vista, California, it’s clear the school and its students have a mes- Kalie Espinoza, a veteran 10th-grade English and International Baccalaureate sage to send: Hate has no place here. ¶ The classroom windows and teacher at Bonita Vista, was part of the development team that piloted bulletin boards display posters with slogans like “Stand strong for #USvsHate. Like many of her fellow educators, Espinoza had seen a spike in others” and “Humanity is bigger than borders.” Students’ binders anti-immigrant hostility after the 2016 election and felt a growing sense of hope- and water bottles are plastered with stickers declaring, “When you lessness after the deadly Unite the Right riot in Charlottesville, Virginia. Chula fight for equality, fight for everyone.” Vista is part of the San Diego metropol- itan area that sits at the border between It’s not just the tone that distin- forth their perspective and proactively the United States and Mexico. Seventy guishes these posters and stickers message against hate.” percent of her students are Latinx. from typical hallway decor; although “This is an initiative that invites stu- “We’ve had students chanting in the they are professionally produced, the dent voice,” says Pollock, who led the hallways, ‘Build a wall!’ We’ve had stu- artwork was made by students. These design of the #USvsHate pilot in col- dents make comments in classes, in inspiring words aren’t being forced on laboration with San Diego educators, passing,” Espinoza says. “I’d had a cou- kids by adults. They are messages to UC San Diego doctoral student Mariko ple of years to get familiar with the com- young people from young people. Cavey and CREATE Digital Specialist munity before the election, and seeing A few years ago, these messages Minhtuyen Mai. “Kids are given an that uptick … was really disappointing.” weren’t visible at Bonita Vista. They later invitation to message and speak their Espinoza was one of 10 educators appeared as part of a multi-district cur- perspective. Teachers are being invited from across three San Diego school dis- ricular intervention called #USvsHate, into a collective effort to work on the tricts originally recruited to co-cre- which originated out of the UC San Diego ate #USvsHate with Pollock and other Center for Research on Educational members of the CREATE team. The Equity, Assessment and Teaching goal: Support teachers and students in Excellence (CREATE). Mica Pollock, a resisting hate—at school and beyond—by professor at UCSD and the director of offering an easy-to-implement curricular CREATE, describes #USvsHate as “a vehicle for young people to engage the issues of our time and to publicly put

Want to bring #USvsHate to your classroom, school or district? Stay tuned! Teaching Tolerance will be launching this initiative nationally in 2020.

24 TEACHING TOLERANCE option that resulted in authentic, shar- part was the opportunity for students to Art (and Competition!) able, student-driven work. have their messages and artwork repro- The intervention consisted of duced and to know that students across as Inspiration four steps: multiple districts would see it and vote on Posters and stickers weren’t the only Select and teach anti-hate lessons their work as part of the contest. media through which students commu- based on local needs. “I definitely found students become nicated their anti-hate messages. As Ask students to create anti-hate more empowered,” Espinoza says. the project grew—eventually expanding messages based on their learning. “They were so excited with their work; to educators in more than a dozen dis- Share the messages across the they were very proud of it and happy to tricts—so did the opportunities for stu- school and publicly. have other people see it, and they were dents to make, share, view and vote on Extend the learning by asking, shocked when they went to the web- different forms of art. “What’s next?” site and were like, ‘Oh, my work’s on the “I had a student do a seven-min- The team launched a website to website?’ [It] was a really cool thing to ute-long spoken word this year, and every support the project. It houses the les- see them celebrate that.” single one of my classes wanted to hear it. son portal, the professional develop- Over the course of the pilot, Espinoza I’ve had students who have made videos, ment (PD) resources, and a platform and Leka both observed their students who have written speeches, who have for teachers to share students’ artwork becoming more thoughtful in their dis- written poems. Some of the schools have and even enter it in a messaging con- cussion of identity and less inclined to done performance art or a comic book,” test. Contest winners and finalists are make insensitive jokes or comments. In says Kalie Espinoza, adding that, from a shared online, and a subset of messages interviews and surveys throughout the curricular point of view, the expanded are produced as free posters and stick- pilot, students, too, reported their atti- options allowed her to teach about how ers for participating classrooms. tudes changing. One 10th-grade student to match message to medium. “It was Patrick Leka of San Diego High said about observing their peers’ work, such a quality piece of learning alongside School joined the #USvsHate pilot as “It makes you think, ‘When someone the social justice aspect of it.” a relatively new teacher without much was working on this, what were they Sarah Peterson and Kim Douillard are experience discussing racism and other thinking? Why were they doing this?’” the regional directors for the California types of bigotry with students. He Said another, “Seeing it physically in Reading and Literature Project and San decided to start with an anti-bullying the classroom, especially because [the] Diego Area Writing Project, respec- lesson he felt confident he could imple- poster is right in front of me every day, tively. They both encouraged teach- ment, then gradually move into more you can just have that reminder of how ers in their networks to participate in the challenging topics as he gained more to be more open-minded to certain top- pilot, witnessing firsthand the power of knowledge, in part by accessing the PD ics, especially if they cause controversy.” the contest and how voting on messages materials on the #USvsHate website. For Leka, participating in #USvsHate extended the opportunity for students to “Once you get your toe in the water, it didn’t just engage his students and use their voices. allows you to feel comfortable exploring improve his school culture; he says it “[Teachers] heard about it, they had other areas that are really important to made him a more courageous teacher. tons [of] examples, the kids had started your students,” says Leka, who teaches “It’s something that now I’m plan- seeing lots of images by voting, and they ninth- and 10th-grade English and AVID. ning on doing every year for the rest were telling each other about it. It was “The most exciting thing for me was just of my career,” he says. “I’m planning a pretty neat to see,” Peterson says. “I’m to know and feel from [students] that unit right now for the novel Night, and I just thinking of a video of a teacher that I we’re doing something that is a direct, went right to the #USvsHate website to work with in my network. When her stu- real-world connection for them.” find things that tie into what’s going on dents won, it was as if they won the lot- Espinoza agrees that the success of today with antisemitism and how can I tery. She took a video of them learning #USvsHate is fundamentally tied to stu- talk to my students about that. It’s some- that they won—they were screaming.” dent engagement. Part of that success thing that I don’t necessarily have expe- That teacher later reported to was due to the lessons she chose—activ- rience with myself, but I now feel more Peterson that winning the #USvsHate ities and readings about refugees, immi- prepared to talk about it.” messaging contest had been a turning gration and other topics that directly point for her classroom. affect her students’ lives (all aligned to the van der Valk is a former Teaching “I hope for more kids to be screaming Common Core, the Teaching Tolerance Tolerance staff member and currently and excited and pumped to share their Social Justice Standards and her dis- serves as the communications director messages and read the messages of their trict’s instructional standards). Another for the Center for Genetics and Society. peers around the nation,” she says.

FALL 2019 25 They Didn’t Back Down How Pasco County Schools in Florida stood up for their LGBTQ students and against hate. BY CORY COLLINS ILLUSTRATION BY ZOË VAN DIJK

FOR 17 YEARS, the office of Jackie Jackson-Dean has featured a familiar ornament “I became concerned about my of welcome: a safe space sticker, adorned with stars, a rainbow motif and an implicit personal safety,” she says. She wondered message. ¶ “I want these kids to be able to come to school,” she says, “and feel like at if the people sending messages would find least one person here is safe to talk to.” ¶ Jackson-Dean serves as a school psychol- her address and show up at her home. ogist and the LGBTQ liaison for Pasco County Schools in Florida. As a registered But the sticker remains in her office. mental health counselor intern and member of the district’s crisis team, she knows As the threats increased, as the media better than most straight, cisgender allies what LGBTQ students face. She knows attention and scrutiny came crashing firsthand that safe spaces can be compromised. Shealso knows they can be reclaimed. in, Jackson-Dean held on to reminders When Pasco County’s LGBTQ- “I hope you die,” some said. “I hope of why she does the work. inclusive guidelines became news you get cancer.” “Kids would be better “When I would get letters from kids fodder in the fall of 2018, Jackson-Dean off if you were dead.” Eventually, she saying, ‘Thank you for standing up for suddenly became a target for those removed her contact information from me and who I am,’ I thought, OK, yes,” who opposed them. Strangers found the internet. She locked down her profiles. she says. “I can keep doing this, and I don’t her social media profiles, her personal She stopped reading comment sections. really care what these people are saying.” website and phone number. Hateful At home, the landline rang day and But these people had not arrived in messages rolled in. night. Jackson-Dean never answered. her inbox by chance. Jackson-Dean was

26 TEACHING TOLERANCE not picked at random by a movement School—located roughly 40 miles north- trans student, and Staver echoed claims that lost control. She was chosen. west of Tampa—as a caring and increas- that the teacher feared for his job. And at the root of that campaign was ingly diverse student community. Liberty Counsel also submit- Liberty Counsel. He never expected that his school ted public records requests to Pasco would end up at the center of a coor- County Schools. They wanted to see What Happened in Pasco County? dinated misinformation campaign emails and the best practices guide. According to Jackson-Dean, Pasco and the resulting media maelstrom. Simultaneously, they and their support- County Schools formed an LGBTQ Dahlin-Bracciale had spoken with ers probed Jackson-Dean’s profes- advisory group as early as 2013. It the transgender student about where sional and personal life. They pointed included school nurses, psychologists, they’d change when they signed up to details like her LGBTQ lending social workers and counselors. With for P.E. This was the first time a trans library as evidence of a biased agenda, everyone already shouldering full-time student at Chasco Middle requested despite the library being at her home responsibilities, they didn’t make much such access, but the district’s guidance and self-funded. headway changing policies or practices. was clear: Students had that right. Pressure came on all fronts. Liberty But the conversation had begun. Counsel threatened lawsuits unless Three years later, the district named the district rescinded certain LGBTQ- Jackson-Dean as their LGBTQ liaison, inclusive policies. The story stayed in offering one half-day a week to devote to “We are who we are, the news, constantly casting doubt on the work. She began fielding questions, Jackson-Dean’s credentials and how phone calls and emails from school lead- we’re proud of who to weigh the rights of queer students ers and educators across the district. against the wishes of unaccepting fami- The answers she found led Jackson- we are, and we’re lies. At school board meetings, Liberty Dean and a committee of educators to going to fight back Counsel supporters denounced and craft a districtwide best practices guide delegitimized trans students’ identities. for supporting LGBTQ students. The about this.” “We had a lot of students who were guide was reviewed by the superin- —JACKIE JACKSON-DEAN incredibly scared about the implications tendent’s staff and the school board’s of all of this,” says Jackson-Dean, who, attorney. It went into effect, at first, The P.E. teacher sought outside in her role as a psychologist, checked in with no incident. help, saying he believed his job to be with many LGBTQ kids as the contro- In the fall of 2018, the first in jeopardy. His call was answered versy unfolded. Trans kids across the rumblings of a controversy began. by Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit that district had been using restrooms and That September, Jackson-Dean professes to focus on cases of religious locker rooms that corresponded with received a phone call. District policy liberty in its pro bono litigation, policy their gender identity for years without did not require parents or guardians and education work. incident, she explains. be informed when students join clubs, Dahlin-Bracciale says he never Suddenly, that sense of security felt but a parent was concerned students suggested the P.E. teacher’s job was in tenuous. could attend Gay-Straight Alliance danger. In fact, the school arranged for (GSA) meetings without their parent other staff members to supervise the What Educators Need to Know About or guardian’s knowledge or consent. locker room. Liberty Counsel (and similar groups) Then, within two weeks, a P.E. “I felt like we also took care of the The Southern Poverty Law Center— teacher at Chasco Middle School in Port needs of the employee at that point,” Teaching Tolerance’s parent orga- Richey refused to supervise the boys’ Dahlin-Bracciale says. nization—lists Liberty Counsel as a locker room after class. He felt uncom- But the misleading narratives got designated hate group due to the rhet- fortable supervising a space where a repeated through Liberty Counsel’s oric it uses in justifying its lawsuits, trans boy might change clothes. Despite online articles, emails and podcasts. policy proposals and public stances. school leaders’ attempts to handle the Liberty Counsel’s version of events This includes linking gay and trans- issue internally, the story made news. spread to right-wing news sites. Then, on gender people to pedophilia and using “Everything kind of blew up after November 20, Fox News host Shannon pseudoscience to back up claims in that,” Jackson-Dean says. Bream invited Liberty Counsel’s favor of conversion therapy or against founder and chairman, Mat Staver, and comprehensive sex education. Principal Brandon Dahlin- the P.E. teacher to appear on her show. Liberty Counsel takes special inter- Bracciale describes Chasco Middle Both men repeatedly misgendered the est in schools, where they perceive

FALL 2019 27 LGBTQ-inclusive policies and LGBTQ The threat isn’t an empty one. In 2016, through dress or speech, or attending educators as threats to Christian chil- a federal court in Texas prohibited the dances with a same-gender date. drearing. They claim that parents have federal government from interpreting “Schools—from the district super- a constitutional right to know if their Title IX of the Education Amendments intendent down to the teachers—must children identify as LGBTQ; to prevent of 1972 to protect trans students from know and understand their duties and LGBTQ children from seeking commu- discrimination. An upcoming Supreme responsibilities under all laws, regula- nity or counseling related to their iden- Court decision could ultimately cement tions and policies,” Soto says. “That way, tity; to opt kids out of LGBTQ-inclusive this interpretation of federal law. While any inconsistencies between what the instruction; and to keep transgender the SPLC argues that current federal law is and what Liberty Counsel says students from sharing restrooms or law does protect trans people from the law is will be clear from the start.” changing spaces with their peers. gender discrimination, Soto says that But even if schools do not cave to “Liberty Counsel believes the schools should protect trans students, threats from Liberty Counsel and United States Constitution affords even if the courts conclude—or Liberty similar groups, other dangers remain. parents the right to prevent their chil- Counsel argues—that federal law does These letters often contain falsehoods dren—even LGBTQ children—from not require it. or discredited research. And repeated, ever learning the truth about LGBTQ “No matter how the Supreme misleading storylines have consequences. people and their lives,” explains Court interprets federal law, schools “Once Liberty Counsel decides to Diego Soto, a staff attorney for the and school districts can do more than write a letter of complaint or engage in SPLC’s LGBTQ Rights and Special what federal law requires them to do a lawsuit, it then continues to promote Litigation team. “That simply isn’t so. to protect LGBTQ students,” Soto says. harmful and dangerous pseudoscience The Constitution’s guarantees of free “Federal law sets a floor, not a ceiling.” about LGBTQ people through its briefs speech, free association and personal Soto also emphasizes that educators and letters and media that may be autonomy guarantee LGBTQ students should know LGBTQ students’ constitu- repeated through networks of parents the freedom to be LGBTQ at school tional rights. Just like their straight and and students,” says Heidi Beirich, without interference from parents, cisgender peers, LGBTQ students have director of the SPLC’s Intelligence teachers or administrators.” freedom of expression, speech, assem- Project. “And that then becomes part According to experts at the SPLC, bly and equal protection under the law. of a toxic environment.” there’s a pattern to Liberty Counsel’s This means that public schools cannot The letters also force schools to take engagement with schools. restrict them from forming GSAs or action. They must consult with attorneys. It often starts with a letter. Claiming affinity groups, expressing their identity Often, specific educators named in to operate on behalf of concerned the complaints are put under investi- parents or students, Liberty Counsel will gation and under the microscope. send a complaint to district or school “We’ve all seen how that works board leaders. Usually, these complaints LIBERTY COUNSEL on social media,” Beirich says. “Once target LGBTQ-inclusive school policies someone is targeted—whether the and practices, such as Pasco County’s SPLC-DESIGNATED HATE GROUP story about them is true or not—there allowing transgender students access Founded in 1989 is always the potential for a troll storm to bathrooms and locker rooms. Location: Orlando, Florida and harassment.” That letter often closes with a Ideology: Anti-LGBT It’s a reality that Jackson-Dean— demand. In the case of Pasco County, and other educators—have faced. And Liberty Counsel concluded with a Founded by conservative activists even if those educators emerge trium- threat cloaked as an offer: Mathew (“Mat”) Staver—an attorney phant, Beirich says, Liberty Counsel Liberty Counsel is prepared to assist and former dean at Liberty University has secured a foothold in the commu- the Pasco County School Board if it School of Law—and his wife Anita, nity. They will often follow up with new returns to a gender-appropriate and Liberty Counsel bills itself as a non- claims, more demands or complaints legal policy accommodating claims of profit litigation, education and policy that the investigation was flawed. “gender identity.” … organization that provides legal Having garnered media attention, they Please inform us by close of business counsel and pro bono assistance in will share and amplify talking points on Monday, October 1, 2018, whether the cases dealing with religious liberty, “the until local supporters can sustain the Pasco County School Board intends for sanctity of human life” and the family. pressure without their presence. Liberty Counsel to be an adversary or an “They may not have majority support, ally in the coming fight. but they are very well organized, and

28 TEACHING TOLERANCE they are able to take advantage of already-extant networks and a media ecosystem that amplifies the messag- “[The kids] count on me to feel safe ing,” Beirich explains. “And without sustained, organized pushback to and accepted, and cared for, and combat falsehoods and to provide positive, supportive messaging, the illusion loved. And that’s what I did.” will continue.” Of course, this isn’t just a Florida issue. —BRANDON DAHLIN-BRACCIALE Liberty Counsel’s methods are closely mirrored by other groups like the Child Protection League in Minnesota and Mass Resistance in Massachusetts. Beirich says imposed pro-LGBTQ messaging “My advice is: Stick with your support that countering them requires prepara- through classroom decoration and her group,” she says. “Make sure you have tion and steadfast support of targeted affiliation with GLSEN. your people who are going to fight with students and educators. “They pick a person that sort of you and fight back.” “Better-informed communities ... becomes the target—the face that they Much like Jackson-Dean, Riedas help disrupt the illusion that the groups can use,” she explains. also found strength in the actions of and their supporters are in a majority The district cleared Riedas of any supportive students. and can help communities provide wrongdoing. But the damage was The Monday following the phone support to students and faculty who done. She shut down her social media call that changed her life, Riedas found are LGBTQ,” she says. accounts as hateful comments and a poster on her desk. Students had writ- Otherwise, Beirich emphasizes, the threats poured in. A colleague screened ten, “We love and support you, Ms. onslaught can be too much. her emails and told her which were safe Riedas.” She framed it and keeps it up “The situation with Lora-Jane to open. She worried about her wife, in her classroom. Riedas demonstrates the kinds of who teaches in the same school. Her own safe space sticker, in a way. upheaval they can bring.” “All my students that year essentially got a new teacher with four weeks left of Resistance and Resilience in Pasco County Being “The Target” school because I was changed,” Riedas Students also played a role in chang- Lora-Jane Riedas remembers, most says, ruefully. “I was not myself. I was ing the narrative in Pasco County— viscerally, a physical reaction of fear. It going through hell. And they should not through the support of allied educators was April of 2017. She had just hung up have had to deal with any of it.” and through their own self-advocacy. the phone after receiving a call from her But ultimately, Riedas re-emerged “We had some kids who were living principal. The Riverview High School because her support proved as strong in fear,” Jackson-Dean says. “Then, I math teacher now faced a professional as her opposition. Hillsborough also saw something really powerful: standards investigation by Florida’s Classroom Teachers Association I saw a lot of kids come together and Hillsborough County School District. Executive Director Stephanie Baxter- actually feel empowered.” Riverview High’s GSA had organized Jenkins spoke to the press alongside Students wrote to the school board a GLSEN Day of Silence for the follow- Riedas to counter the misinformation. and the superintendent. They went ing day. Riedas—the co-chair of GLSEN’s GLSEN’s executive director, Eliza to school board meetings to tell their Tampa Bay chapter, a GSA advisor and Byard, called Riedas to offer support own stories. an out lesbian woman—would have to and spoke publicly on her behalf. Jackson-Dean says their message miss it. Liberty Counsel had sent a letter, “[Liberty Counsel] is used to having was clear: “We are who we are, we’re and Riedas was their focus. control of the narrative because the proud of who we are, and we’re going She refers to the contents of that process silences their target,” Riedas to fight back about this.” complaint letter as “twists and lies.” says. “I was not silent.” They didn’t fight alone. Families Liberty Counsel claimed she banned Neither were her allies. Riedas and peers joined the chorus of support. necklaces bearing the Christian cross; stresses the importance of this united Dahlin-Bracciale says most Chasco she says she asked students to remove front. She learned of the incident students “rallied around” the trans- rosaries because they violated the in Pasco County and reached out to gender boy targeted by the complaint. school’s dress code. Liberty Counsel Jackson-Dean. She offered her support And the district didn’t fold; it also claimed she inappropriately and that of the local GLSEN chapter. doubled down.

FALL 2019 29 Those who have faced Liberty Life After Liberty: Why the Work Is Vital Counsel’s ire say they cannot understate Every year, several school districts, EXCERPT FROM BEST PRACTICES FOR SERVING the importance of support from commu- including Pasco County, come together LGBTQ STUDENTS nity members beyond the school. to hold a statewide conference along- “We need them to not be silent,” side Equality Florida. They discuss their WHAT DO I DO IF… Riedas says. “It’s the silence that gives needs and the challenges facing LGBTQ THE COMMUNITY PUSHES BACK? [Liberty Counsel and its supporters] students. At this spring’s conference, Here are some basic tips for respond- permission to be loud.” one moment stood out to Palazzo as ing to backlash over LGBTQ-inclusive Jackson-Dean agrees. As the voices simple but profoundly important. practices. For more, see the Fall 2017 opposing LGBTQ-inclusive work got It was a panel discussion, and all four article “Teaching From the Bulls-eye.” louder, she emphasized the importance participating superintendents agreed of people voicing their support. that the work was courageous and— KNOW THE LANDSCAPE OF HATE. “I thought, our school district needs despite opposition—necessary because Be aware of local and national hate to hear, ‘Stay the course. ... You’re doing it was in their students’ best interests. groups that actively target schools what’s best for kids.’” The acknowledgment matters. It over LGBTQ-inclusive practices. The For Dahlin-Bracciale, that is what represents a sea change from when Alliance Defending Freedom and matters most. Palazzo started this work. And it comes Liberty Counsel sometimes offer free “It’s about doing what is best for at a moment when a lot of the data legal counsel to sue schools. Arm students,” he says. “When you look at about LGBTQ youth, such as suicidal yourself with information so you can the research, trans students are some of ideation and mental health concerns, counter their misleading messages. the most at-risk students that we have remain dire. In the superintendents’ in our schools. Implementing guide- responses—and in Pasco—she saw hope. FIND ALLIES IN YOUR COMMUNITY. lines that allow them to use facilities “I’ll never forget the words,” Palazzo Build relationships with local business that correspond to their gender iden- says. “I hope our districts … will look leaders, faith-based organizations, tity is just one way we can make them toward Pasco for doing the right thing sports teams or other groups that sup- feel accepted.” even in the face of great challenges.” port inclusivity and can show that sup- De Palazzo, director of Equality Doing the right thing comes up port in a public, influential way. Florida’s Safe Schools, says that shared again and again from educators who understanding is the key to Pasco have faced Liberty Counsel’s targeted SUPPORT THE TARGETS. County’s resilience. campaigns. If outside groups or online communi- “If Pasco did not do their legwork “None of the other stuff, none of the ties target particular students or stu- ahead of time, if Pasco did not have the other comments and the personal opin- dent groups, bring those students strength of Jackie Jackson-Dean’s good ions, have as big of an impact as know- together and give them an opportu- work, I’m sure that there could have ing you’re doing the best you can for all nity to express their feelings. Let them very possibly been caving,” Palazzo members of the LGBTQ community,” know you support them, even after says. As someone who works with Jackie-Jackson Dean says. the worst is over. Provide counsel- districts across the state to implement Dahlin-Bracciale explains it this ing and additional security if needed. best practices for serving LGBTQ way: “[The kids] count on me to feel Make sure public statements do not students, she stresses the importance safe and accepted, and cared for, and draw a false equivalency between the of creating buy-in before a controversy loved. And that’s what I did.” demands of hate groups and the needs arrives, finding a community of vocal For Jackson-Dean, doing the “best of LGBTQ students. support and ensuring district leaders she can” means returning to the office, have the education they need to stand even when pressure from the outside DO NOT LET MISINFORMATION up to misinformation. In Pasco, she threatens to break what she has built. GO UNCHECKED. says, that happened. The sticker on the wall is just a symbol. Outside groups may respond to the “The district stood solid,” Palazzo It’s the work that creates the space where implementation of best practices with explains. “There were a lot of meet- students can feel safe, seen or liberated. untrue accusations. Inform students ings that took place to ensure that the It’s resilience that reclaims that and families of misinformation and set district understood how important work as sacred. the record straight through your usual it was to take care of LGBTQ young channels of communication. people, and they did—and they did the Collins is the senior writer for Teaching right thing.” Tolerance. Authors of Their Own Stories A school survey of reading lists showed that course texts rarely reflected the identities of the school’s students, so these educators developed a program to change that.

WHEN CHILDREN’S AUTHOR Vanessa Brantley-Newton spoke about seeing her identity reflected in literature for the first time, her audience nodded in knowing agreement. Brantley-Newton was addressing elementary students at Tapestry Charter School in Buffalo, New York, as part of the school’s project “I Am the Author of My Own Story” and a Teaching Tolerance Educator Grant. Brantley-Newton described how, as a young person reading the classic picture book The Snowy Day, she felt a profound sense of validation and belonging. She eventually decided to pursue writing and illustrating children’s books full time. A simple moment of recognition had set the course of her entire career. Among the listeners that day was Leah White. A parent and teaching partner at Tapestry, she had come to learn more about representation in children’s literature. For White, the issue was personal. “It is very hard for us to find books that relate to our situation,” she says. Dontae, an 11-year-old Tapestry student, is White’s cousin. White’s mother was raising Dontae, but when she passed away in 2017, he came to live with White. She now has full custody as his legal caregiver.

BY JEY EHRENHALT PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIBBY MARCH FALL 2019 31 Kaylan Lelito worked with librarian Jennifer Chapman to acquire and create books that reflect families like Dontae and Leah White’s family.

“We talk about unique families, how they never found books featuring fami- there aren’t a lot of books in the world lies like theirs. about them,” she says. “It would be “A lot of kids would National statistics tell a similar really nice to pick up a book and show like to see books story. While more than 50 percent of Dontae that even though our family is students in U.S. schools are children different, what brings us together is about families that of color, only 13 percent of children’s that we love each other. A lot of times books from the last 24 years contain our kids aren’t seeing these things.” are like them. If “multicultural characters, storylines or White wasn’t the only adult at [every book] has settings,” according to a 2018 study con- Tapestry considering the role of rep- ducted by the Cooperative Children’s resentation. As a reading specialist, the same storyline Book Center (CCBC). When the organi- TT grantee Kaylan Lelito watched the zation studied books published in 2018, stories that had long been taught at … they could feel they found more animal or nonhuman Tapestry fall flat with her students. invisible.” characters than people of color. “When I worked with students —Fourth-grade author And these numbers only measure from different backgrounds,” Lelito the presence or absence of represen- explains, “often they would say when tation—they don’t evaluate the qual- we were reading with them that they To further explore this dissonance, ity of books that feature characters weren’t really interested in the books, Lelito surveyed her students to find with underrepresented identities. that they didn’t see themselves.” out more about their reading expe- “Just because you have 300 books Students of color comprise 74 per- riences. The results were unsettling: about African Americans,” CCBC cent of Tapestry classrooms, but in an Roughly half of her students didn’t Director KT Horning says, “doesn’t inventory of their shared book room, see themselves reflected in the sto- mean all 300 of those are books you Lelito found that only 17 percent of ries they read. Forty-four percent said would recommend.” guided reading texts contained one or they never found books about a neigh- For Lelito, the surveys of Tapestry more characters of color. borhood like theirs, and 40 percent said students confirmed her suspicion:

32 TEACHING TOLERANCE “I don’t get to read about people like me.” —Third-grade author

Students didn’t see themselves in the off to a publisher, where they were stories they read. And, because of this anthologized in three collections. invisibility, they couldn’t relate. “The At a school community meeting, the stories,” she recalls, “weren’t impact- stories were shared with family and ful for them. We wanted to find more friends. Third-graders titled their books our students could see them- book Diary of a Third Grader; fourth- selves in, and we were having difficul- and fifth-graders followed suit. This Finding the ties doing that.” fall, copies of the texts will be made With the help of her TT grant, Lelito available for checkout in the library, Right Texts ordered a wide selection of books from as well as in all classrooms. KT Horning, director of the the children’s literature publisher Lee For the final step in the project, Cooperative Children’s Book & Low Books, focusing on texts featur- students wrote persuasive letters to Center, suggests three strategies ing characters with underrepresented major children’s book publishers, for honoring a diversity of student identities. But Lelito didn’t just want articulating their need for characters experiences in children’s books in to make better texts available to stu- and storylines that better reflect their your own school community. dents—she also wanted to create space experiences. “As educators of a very First, even if classroom teach- for them to tell their own stories. diverse population,” Lelito reflects, “it ers don’t have book budgets, After distributing the new books to is incredibly important for us to help school librarians often do. If your third-, fourth- and fifth-grade class- students realize that even at a very school has a librarian, you can ask rooms and the library, Lelito turned young age, they can have some con- them to purchase multiple copies to Tapestry’s librarian, Jennifer trol over how they are represented in of a particular book or ask them Chapman, for the second part of the the world around them.” to help with diversifying the col- project. Chapman worked with stu- “Dear Scholastic,” one third-grader lection. If you’re a teacher with a dents to explore concepts like voice, wrote, “I’m just a kid, and I have a dif- small book budget, you can add a flow and the sequence of storytelling. ferent heritage. I’m Muslim, and I don’t handful of high-quality books to Then she had them create their own get to read about people like me. Other the shelves. stories, with characters modeled after people should get a chance to read Second, consider quality before their own lives. “How does this reflect about different people, too. To me, quantity. Aim to purchase a sec- you?” she asked them. learning something new about others ond copy of a popular book fea- Writing their own stories reso- makes me feel like I can connect with turing underrepresented charac- nated particularly well with older ele- them and understand them.” ters before searching for another mentary students, who Chapman says Another student’s letter articu- new title. were developmentally best prepared lated the problem that led to the proj- Finally, think of your library to process the project’s significance. ect in the first place. “When someone as a living, breathing entity—one “The youngest of our readers, they’re reads a book,” he wrote, “they should that needs regular care and tend- just excited about getting a book,” she be able to say, ‘Hey! That person looks ing. “Just because a book has been says. But as kids age, they begin to like me!’ instead of reading a book and on your shelf for 10 years doesn’t pick up on the nuances of socializa- feeling bad about themselves because mean you have to keep it there. tion and difference. “At about third they look different. ... You should really go by quality as grade,” Chapman explains, “a little So I suggest that you write some much as possible,” Horning says. switch happens. They start to spend more diverse books.” more time actively looking for books that better reflect their lives.” Ehrenhalt is the school-based Once students finished their sto- programming and grants manager at ries, Chapman and Lelito sent them Teaching Tolerance.

FALL 2019 33 34 TEACHING TOLERANCE TEACHING HARD HISTORY FROM THE BEGINNING

New resources support educators committed to teaching our nation’s hard history of slavery— including Indigenous and African enslavement—in grades K–12.

BY JULIA DELACROIX ILLUSTRATION BY TAYLOR CALLERY

IN A CONVERSATION with Teaching framework, browse a library of pri- Board, working together for a year and Tolerance magazine last summer, mary texts, read instructional recom- a half to develop more resources and teacher Jordan Lanfair shared the mendations and examples of Inquiry recommendations for teaching about “great sense of betrayal” his eighth- Design Models, and listen to the popu- American slavery. And in August 2019, grade students felt when they studied lar Teaching Hard History podcast. Teaching Tolerance released a new edi- slavery in his class. The response he The response was overwhelming. tion of Teaching Hard History. described—“They’re like, ‘Why didn’t Educators weighed in from across the Expanded to support learning for I learn this before?’”—was almost iden- United States. They sent emails detail- students of all grades, the new edi- tical to the one teacher and librarian ing how they were using the framework tion offers guidance and resources Izzie Anderson heard from her sixth- or requesting a version for early grades. K–12 educators can use to lead stu- grade students. “They’re angry,” she They commented on articles about how dents through the history of slavery explained on the Teaching Hard History others taught slavery and tuned in for in the Americas, from the enslave- podcast, “wondering, ‘Why haven’t I webinars. They downloaded the pod- ment of Indigenous people that shaped learned this before?’” cast by the tens of thousands. They European colonies in the 16th century This is why Teaching Tolerance sent in praise and gratitude and rec- through the white supremacist legacy developed Teaching Hard History in ommendations for improvement. In still at work in the 21st. the first place—to support middle and one memorable Twitter thread, teach- high school educators who are commit- ers debated what might comprise the Starting Early ted to teaching this difficult truth. The STEM equivalent of “hard history”— The problem is not that young children project, which includes a suite of free and who among them might have the don’t know about slavery, says Teaching resources designed in collaboration courage to teach it. Hard History Advisory Board Chair with an advisory board of educators As feedback rolled in, Teaching Hasan Kwame Jeffries. “We do intro- and scholars, was launched in February Tolerance continued collaborating with duce our students to this material,” he 2018. Educators could download the the Teaching Hard History Advisory explains. “We mention slavery in the

FALL 2019 35 early grades. ... And we mention and of Teaching Hard History includes early American experience that is so introduce slave folk. [But] we don’t talk resources designed especially for central to the development of America about it—or them—in a way that would teachers of younger students. as a nation.” help our students understand the seri- For those concerned about walk- ousness of the institution.” ing the fine line between overloading Indigenous Enslavement Jeffries, a history professor at students and sugarcoating the truth, The new edition of Teaching Hard The Ohio State University, offers an the new framework for the elemen- History doesn’t just reach back example: a handout about George tary grades identifies age-appropriate, through grades; it also reaches back Washington that his third-grade daugh- essential knowledge about American through time. August 2019 was a crit- ter brought home from school. “It lists slavery, organized by grade band. For ical moment in this hard history: the all these ‘fun facts’ about him having no those unsure of where to start, the 400th anniversary of the first trade in teeth and owning pet rabbits. But it said resource is complemented by new enslaved Africans on land that would nothing about him owning people.” additions to the Teaching Hard History be the United States. But the history When slavery is taught in the early Text Library, written especially for of slavery here began well before that. grades as an afterthought or a footnote, K–5 readers. The framework itself also As Jeffries points out, the “global phe- Jeffries explains, students are set up includes concrete recommendations nomenon” of trade in enslaved peo- for misunderstanding. It’s not easy for for introducing these ideas to students. ple “begins not with the enslavement a young person to reframe their ideal The resource is organized themat- of African people. [It] begins with the of Washington-the-hero to include the ically, so elementary educators who enslavement of Indigenous people.” truth of Washington-the-enslaver. “If aren’t tasked with teaching American It’s a beginning left out of curricula these contradictions aren’t explained, history can still incorporate elements far too often. then what they do is just tune it out,” he of this history into their curricula. The As Teaching Hard History advisor says. “And then they’re never able to fun- idea, Jeffries says, is to give educators and Carleton College history professor damentally grasp what the issues are to be what they need to build a strong foun- Meredith McCoy explains, the systems able to make sense of the past—and then dation for students. “With almost every of slavery and colonialism were key ele- be able to make sense of the present.” other subject, we would scaffold edu- ments of a foundation that shapes our To better support educators in the cation,” he explains. “With math and nation today. crucial work of helping students under- science, we don’t wait. ... And it’s the “[The early colonists] set up their stand this history, the new edition same thing with teaching about this government, the governing system, on

36 TEACHING TOLERANCE top of territories that were still the ter- enslavement. Gokey, who also works ritories of other people. And then they as teacher services coordinator at the just never left,” she says. “They set up National Museum of the American all their infrastructure on top of this Indian, explains the need for addi- territory. And in order for that to hap- tional support when it comes to teach- WHAT’S IN THE pen, they needed the enslaved labor of ing Indigenous history. “One challenge African and Indigenous peoples.” we’ve found,” she says, “is that teach- FRAMEWORKS? Despite this foundation, the history ers often need to unlearn some of what of Indigenous slavery is rarely taught. they think they know about Native peo- Key Concepts McCoy notes that she never studied it ples as a starting point.” • The foundation of the in school, and Renée Gokey, another For educators unsure of where or frameworks. Ten ideas critical to advisory board member, says the same. how to undertake some of that work, understanding American slavery. The first step toward any under- season two of the Teaching Hard • Example | KC5: Enslaved standing, Gokey says, is “to really know History podcast is largely dedicated to people resisted the efforts of what happened ... [and] Teaching Hard the history of Indigenous enslavement. their enslavers to reduce them to History, the resources and the frame- In addition to historians, guests will commodities in both revolutionary work, will really help with that.” include preservationists, scholars and and everyday ways. activists who can help listeners see how “The United States has this history continues to affect us today. Essential Knowledge • The basic units of the K–5 built itself on this narrative “The study of the past is important for understanding what happened in framework. Twenty learning goals of Manifest Destiny. For the past,” Jeffries maintains, “but it’s that connect to the Key Concepts. Example | EK6: Students should equally important for understanding • that national mythology know that enslaved people tried what is happening in the present. So in to maintain their cultures while to work, school curricula order to understand, for example, the building new traditions that rhetoric of racism, the use of the racist act like Indigenous people continue to be important. no longer exist.” belief to explain disparities and ongoing discrimination is very much rooted Summary Objectives MEREDITH MCCOY in this history of slavery.” • The basic units of the 6–12 To support that understanding, framework. Twenty-two learning goals Because the history of Indigenous the new framework also offers rec- that build on Essential Knowledge to enslavement is inextricable from ommendations for ways educators support the Key Concepts. broader histories of American slav- can help students connect the history • Example | SO12: Students will ery and the United States itself, it is they’re learning to the world in which discuss the nature, persistence and woven throughout the K–12 resources. they’re living. And, as Gokey points out, impact of the spiritual beliefs and Elementary educators will find rec- these connections aren’t merely aca- cultures of enslaved people. ommendations for pushing conver- demic. She lists a few questions that sations about resistance beyond the Teaching Hard History might raise: “What Else Should Underground Railroad to include dis- “How might our descendants look back My Students Know?” cussions of how enslaved Africans and on us from the past? And how can we • An explanatory list included with— Indigenous people—and their descen- make our ancestors proud of our deci- and tailored to—each Essential dants—protected their cultures and sions today?” Reflecting on her own Knowledge or Summary Objective. traditions even in the most abject con- heritage and the histories of privilege ditions. Secondary teachers will find and oppression affecting her English, “How Can I Teach This?” primary source documents to help stu- Ukrainian and Eastern Shawnee ances- • A list of resources and teaching dents trace the relationships between tors, she clarifies. strategies included with—and the expansion of cotton plantations, “It’s a call to action, for us, I think. tailored to—each Essential the domestic trade in enslaved people And we can’t act if we don’t know our Knowledge or Summary Objective. and the Indian Removal Act of 1830. own history and ourselves first.” But the expanded framework and new texts aren’t the only new resources Delacroix is the associate editor for for teaching about Indigenous Teaching Tolerance.

FALL 2019 37 A Truer Sense of Our National Identity Historian Ned Blackhawk explains why we must do a better job learning and teaching about the history of Indigenous slavery.

BY MONITA K. BELL EDITED BY JULIA DELACROIX

38 TEACHING TOLERANCE NED BLACKHAWK is a professor of history and American studies at Yale University. A member of the Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone, he has worked at Yale to build the university’s Native American Cultural Center and serves as a faculty coordinator for the Yale Group for the Study of Native America.

In his book Violence Over the Land: teachers] ever talked about the history expand Spanish, French and English Indians and Empires in the Early of the region or its Native peoples. colonial realms. American West, Blackhawk traces his- Boston, Charleston, Santa Fe and tories of conflict between and among Given that many educators themselves Montreal not only held Indian cap- Native nations and European empires, may feel they lack a solid grounding in tives but also became sites of traffick- including the capture, enslavement and Indigenous histories, what’s a starting ing to other imperial realms. Some trade of enslaved Indigenous people point for understanding the history of scholars suggest that hundreds of thou- that was common along the Spanish Indigenous slavery in America? sands of Native peoples from across the frontier. This summer, Blackhawk As I have argued, [Indigenous slavery] Americas were also trafficked before answered questions from Teaching is largely an institution that emerged 1700 throughout the Atlantic world. ... Tolerance Managing Editor Monita out of the colonial encounter—par- In North America, European ships Bell about the often ignored history of ticularly after the establishment of began capturing Native peoples as Indigenous slavery in America, explain- Spanish colonial settlements in the early as the 1490s off the Northeastern ing why it’s so frequently mistaught— 1500s and 1600s. ... coastline; by the time of Puritan arrival and why we owe it to ourselves and our We are now living with the legacies over a century later, such captivity had students to learn and teach the truth. of these related histories of enslave- become commonplace. ... ment and colonization. And seeing There were 17 Spanish settlements What do you remember learning about the connections between them invites on Española in 1513, and Native peoples American Indian history in school alternate understandings of the nature there were forced into slavery. They during your K–12 years? What did you of race and power in American history. mined, harvested cotton and sugar and learn about Indigenous enslavement Indigenous peoples in the Americas died in large numbers. during that time? endured the burden of European colo- European slavery did eventually Growing up in the city, I attended nialism in unparalleled ways and forms. over time shift into low-land and trop- Detroit public schools and a Jesuit European enslavement [of Indigenous ical locations that became overwhelm- high school not too far from our neigh- people] was often an initial stage in the ingly tied to African slavery, but other borhood. I learned very little formally larger processes of land loss and inva- forms of Indigenous servitude, as well about American Indian history during sion that followed. as enslavement, continued across the this period, though I remember doing Americas through the 19th century. projects as a child at Cooke Elementary Most people tend to think of American I think it’s unhelpful to try to discon- about Indian history and culture for slavery fairly narrowly: in terms of nect these subjects and to see them iso- various school projects. I did well in black and white, 1619–1865, limited to lated from one another. both U.S. and A.P. European history the British colonies and then, later, the in high school but cannot remember antebellum South. How does an under- So how are scholars pushing back much formal instruction on the subject. standing of the history of Indigenous against these misconceptions? There are, for me, many ironies slavery shift those borders? Like many in my field, I’ve been work- about this. ... Detroit and Michigan were It is very hard to understand the extent, ing on a variety of projects that attempt formed out of deep histories of encoun- brutality and legacies of American slav- to further build the field of Native ter between Europeans and Native peo- ery if slavery remains synonymous with American history. I’m pretty far into a ples; the city both celebrates its early strictly African American history and book, currently titled The Rediscovery 18th-century founding and has count- peoples. In fact, before 1700, more of America: American Indians and less French and Native place names. Indigenous peoples were trafficked the Unmaking of U.S. History, which Even in a Jesuit school, with images of across North America than peoples of tries to bring together broad subjects French martyrs within it, few [of my African ancestry. Indian slavery helped within the field into a single-volume

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA JORGE FALL 2019 39 race and social development originated from earlier periods of history. Understanding the formation of colonial societies is necessary in order to begin re-centering their colonial legacies.

What can educators do to better teach these critical histories or even to undo the ways that this history has been mistaught for so long? There are many ways to remedy the pervasive erasure of Native peoples. Understanding that narratives of the past are inherently incomplete is a necessary beginning. interpretation. It tries to advance his lieutenants received over four dozen I believe that local and regional his- alternative approaches to rethinking slaves to help build his encomienda, to tories are effective ways of incorporat- American history, and is part of a field herd his animals, work his fields and ing Indian history into more familiar that offers essential perspectives for clean and cook in his home. One indi- pedagogical structures. Understanding remedying the misguided suggestions vidual, then, received collectively over not only the history of the original, about America and its past. ... 1,000 years of bonded Indigenous labor. Indigenous peoples of a particular These projects are familiar in the place but also the ongoing histories of sense that they are set in the past and This history is so important. How do Indigenous survival, adaptation and often across the Americas but are also you think educators might frame it ... resurgence offer effective measures deeply unfamiliar in their sugges- for students? against the hard sediment of previous tions and outcomes. Indian slavery is I generally find that students are inter- generations and paradigms. one of these fields that has now grown ested in expanding their understandings Showing films, inviting guest speak- into a particularly advanced area of of Native history, as are teachers with ers [and] doing more locally conscious study, and it doesn’t look anything like whom I often work in various summer research projects offer ways out of the more conventional understandings of programs. I believe there is a real hunger inadequate formations of the past. ... American slavery. for more accessible scholarly informa- It is hard to counteract the narratives Indian slavery is not, for example, tion about the early American world and of the past that we have received, espe- only a story of the American South. that many desire alternative approaches cially about the arrival of Europeans It isn’t a 19th-century story exclu- to rethinking the nation’s history. to North America. Celebrations of sively, and it usually involves a multi- I try to connect these earliest centu- European arrival not only have gone on plicity of imperial perspectives rather ries of Indian-imperial relations with now for generations in the K–12 school than occurring exclusively within more contemporary subjects, such as systems but also have equated American an Anglophone colonial or national federal Indian policy, and believe that history often exclusively with Europe. sphere. The Spanish conquest of the the past deeply informs the present. As we can see in our contemporary Caribbean, Mexico and subsequent political discourses, once American explorations into the Southeast and Will you talk more about this? How history becomes synonymous only Southwest now form essential begin- does that history manifest today? with Europeans and their descendants, nings for understanding the cataclys- Colonialism is a defining feature of then understandings of America and of mic ruptures brought by European American history, and we live with its Americans foreclose the heterogene- colonialism, in which Indigenous slav- legacies on a daily basis. Many, in fact, ity that both pervades our society and ery became one of the driving motiva- suggest that our contemporary envi- also defines it. tions for conquest as well as one of the ronmental challenges and climate crisis We lose, in such celebrations, a truer most profitable forms of colonization. originated with the capitalist transitions sense of our national identity. Following the Spanish conquest of that colonialism first established. Legal New Mexico, for example, the gover- doctrines, conceptions of property, the Bell is the managing editor of Teaching nor sentenced in 1599 over 500 Acoma exploitations of natural resources and Tolerance, and Delacroix is the pro- Pueblo Indians into servitude. One of [many of] the organizing notions about gram’s associate editor.

40 TEACHING TOLERANCE Kindness Isn’t Enough Teaching kindness is a staple of elementary education. But, as a veteran first-grade teacher explains, we need to teach students about justice as well.

BY BRET TURNER ILLUSTRATION BY KELLY CANBY

DR. SEUSS BOOKS have long been held up as parables. For to wonder, How could these racist ideas exist alongside such years, we’ve celebrated when Sam-I-Am’s persistence pays valuable lessons? Alongside such kindness? off and felt our hearts grow three sizes right along with the Educators, particularly elementary educators like me, are Grinch. But in February 2019, a groundbreaking study pin- good at talking and teaching about kindness. It’s at the core pointed in depth what people had been saying for years: of elementary pedagogy, after all: those lessons and teach- White supremacy lurks in the pages of many Seuss books. able moments related to being a good friend, being generous The foundation of the easy-to-spot morals of the stories and acting thoughtfully. But when being considerate, nice were disturbing depictions of people of color and racialized and friendly are all children learn about how to treat one nonhuman characters. The study led a number of educators another, we risk losing something fundamental.

FALL 2019 41 Young children are not only devel- risk and greater cost. It paints the false I’ve used a variety of programs oping a sense of morality; they are narrative that kindness is all we need that aim to increase emotional intel- developing a sense of who they are. to make social progress. And worse, it ligence, but they sometimes fall short This includes their race, gender, class suggests that kindness has already won. of truly honoring children’s feelings, and more. These identities have never In my classes, instead of whitewash- where they come from and how they’re been treated or represented equally in ing these heroes, I wanted to paint a treated. A just SEL curriculum honors our society, so when we teach about more detailed picture: They were flawed, differences and recognizes that emo- love, acceptance and kindness without human, ambitious, organized. Students tions don’t exist in a vacuum. It also addressing this inequity, we gloss over deserve fuller stories of King, Gandhi, accounts for the history of pathologiz- crucial differences in the ways our stu- Rigoberta Menchú and others who prac- ing emotional expression by women dents experience the world. ticed nonviolence while working for jus- and people of color and corrects for it. The harm done by long-term expo- tice. They deserve tales told with nuance One year, a student asked me, “Is it sure to injustice—to the kind of imag- and complexities so they can learn what OK for me to be really ticked off that all ery found in racist books, microag- our presidents have been men?” gressions and discrimination—calls I told her that yes, of course it was— for more than a simple understanding When being and she then wrote a long, furious letter of kindness. It demands that kindness to “the president’s house” demanding be interwoven with substantial notions considerate, nice change. When we teach young people of true justice. That’s why, in my first- that their feelings are valid, we are rec- grade classroom, my goal was to guide and friendly is ognizing that they are important too, students’ thinking in terms of real jus- all children learn and sometimes anger may well be the tice. I used a set of principles that went starting point in a fight for justice. beyond kindness and moved toward about how to treat “The letter isn’t very nice,” she told specific actions students could take to me as I read it, “but it’s what I feel.” counter bias and stereotypes and work one another, there for a more equitable future. Creating a Culture of Justice is much that we Moving away from simple kindness Building a More Just Curriculum and toward real justice begins with The first step was making space in my risk losing. building an identity-safe classroom: curriculum for the difficult realities of a place where everyone’s story is not systemic injustice. it really means to be an ally rather than a only recognized but honored, studied It’s easy, for example, to study the sanitized idol. Allowing students access and loved. This means moving beyond civil rights movement and cherry-pick to a fuller story helps them see that, even a curricular focus to make justice part quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King with healthy doses of love and compas- of a class’s daily culture. that focus on everyone getting along. sion, kindness alone rarely brings about In my elementary classes, I But we can also show students that change. Change requires a real under- attempted to do this in a wide vari- his famous speech imagining a world standing of what injustice looks like— ety of ways—and my students always where children are judged “by the con- and a plan to combat it. responded. Recently, I was working tent of their character” is also the one in But building a just curriculum isn’t with a small group of first-graders on a which he refuses half-measures toward only about teaching history in a respon- reading assignment; partway through equity, saying, “No, no, we are not sat- sible way. It’s also about ensuring that an old, dated book, the protagonist tells isfied. And we will not be satisfied until all of our students are represented in a friend he doesn’t want to play base- justice rolls down like waters and righ- our studies and that all are respected ball with her because she “throws like teousness like a mighty stream.” in our classrooms. Many schools make a girl.” Without hesitation, a student Focusing on the dream of an equi- use of social emotional learning (SEL) slammed his fist down on the page and table future without teaching the real- curricula. Audits of SEL curricula and bellowed, “Microaggression alert!” ity of an inequitable present ignores the practices can make sure that the end Every eye in the class turned to radical anti-racism work that King and result isn’t simply a more emotionally him. He was right, of course: This was his contemporaries undertook at great literate version of kindness. no mere unkindness. This slight was

42 TEACHING TOLERANCE rooted in identity and stereotypes. I injustice, which affects them all in dif- classmates” are more than pieces of recalled our earlier discussions about ferent ways. If I shirk the inclusion of a charter to hang on a wall—they’re microaggressions. Students had dis- justice in favor of a facile definition of daily reminders that kindness must cussed how that pain felt worse than being kind, I—intentionally or not— be paired with justice. other unkindness, how it was a differ- pave the way for students to believe In the end, as much as I planned ent kind of hurt that demanded a dif- they “shouldn’t see color” or find ways to incorporate justice alongside ferent kind of intervention. other ways to preserve their ignorance kindness in my classroom, the biggest We paused to discuss why this insult about marginalization, privilege and impact likely comes from the everyday might necessitate a different course of the often-complex reality of the world moments: the times a child is excluded action than a simple “sorry.” We role- we live in. for their gender, made fun of for their played the parts of—and brainstormed With that end in mind, I didn’t weight, told their accent sounds funny specific language for—the target (“I just encourage students to engage or that they’re a terrorist. Superficial actually like the way I throw” and with justice; I codified it. Like many notions of kindness and unkindness “Yes, I do: I’m a girl who throws”) and other teachers, I worked with chil- don’t suffice here—the response has to a bystander (“I’ll play catch with you. I dren to make rules and agreements at be specific, direct and sensitive. like how you throw and how kids of all the beginning of the year. Agreements Young people need language to genders throw”). like “Be kind,” “Make wise choices” combat microaggressions, and they We talked about the protagonist, and and “Respect all people” commonly also need to know that their teachers how he could apologize afterward: “I adorn classroom walls, but too often care about it. They need to know their think I said that because I heard some- they lack teeth. trusted adults will speak up, facilitate where that girls can’t throw well. But I Setting classroom agreements and engage. There’s nothing wrong know that’s not true, and I’m sorry.” In offers an opportunity to challenge with taking a moment to think, to say, looking for language that goes beyond our young ones to do more. We can “That didn’t feel right, and I need to the placations of typical apologies, stu- guide students toward true allyship circle back to this.” But there is some- dents were able to explore what justice by encouraging them to think carefully thing wrong with answering injustice might look like in action. about justice and our responsibility to with easy reassurances like, “We just What I tried to ensure in my class- it. What do we agree to do if one of us need to be kind to one another.” Even room—frequently, intentionally and is misgendered or called a slur? How if they can’t yet articulate why, our stu- with care—was a viable, usable under- will we react if one of us is excluded dents know that’s not enough. standing of justice. Young people need because of skin color, accent or body to know what is (and isn’t) equitable, shape? Heftier agreements like “Speak Turner is a writer and former elemen- inclusive and just so they can begin to up when we see microaggressions” and tary school teacher in the San Francisco wrestle with systemic and institutional “Fix the mistakes that really hurt our Bay Area.

FALL 2019 43 Black Minds Matter Interrupting school practices that disregard the mental health of black youth.

44 TEACHING TOLERANCE Black Minds Matter BY COSHANDRA DILLARD ILLUSTRATION BY ALLEANNA HARRIS

Interrupting school practices that disregard the mental health of black youth. MCKENZIE ADAMS AND MADDIE WHITSETT in April 2019. It aims to determine the children and families, schools, due to should still be here with us today. But reasons for the significant increase in having access to large numbers of chil- after being tormented at their respec- suicide, recommend ways to improve dren, are a practical way to meet a sig- tive schools last year, the two girls, both black children’s access to mental health nificant need.” 9 years old, died by suicide. According care and create solutions to better pro- Advocates agree that school admin- to the girls’ families, McKenzie was the tect and support them. istrators and educators must be part of victim of racist bullying, and Maddie Black people, including youth, are less this work. School faculty and staff are was taunted because she had ADHD. likely to receive adequate care for men- likely to notice signs and symptoms These two children represent the tal health issues for a number of reasons: that something is amiss and refer stu- human faces behind a disturbing study disparities in access to care, stigma about dents to the help they need. But schools published in JAMA Pediatrics in 2018: mental illness and lack of culturally often fail in this effort when it comes to Although the overall suicide rate for competent mental health practitioners. black students—and sometimes cause black youth is about 42 percent lower According to a study published in the even more harm. than for white youth, that number International Journal of Health Services, When black students exhibit nega- represents all young people under 17. black children are about half as likely tive behaviors or become withdrawn, While black teens between the ages of as white children to get men- educators often label them 13 and 17 are 50 percent less likely to tal health treatment. As as problems and subject die by suicide than white teens, the sui- the CBC task force, While black them to reactionary, cide rate for black children between the mental health experts teens between the ages zero-tolerance poli- ages of 5 and 12 is about twice as high as and policy mak- of 13 and 17 are 50 percent cies and other prac- that of their white peers. ers mull over ideas less likely to die by suicide than tices that dispro- The study, which analyzed data from to address this gap, white teens, the suicide rate for portionately affect 2001 through 2015, does not describe it’s also crucial that black children between the ages black students but reasons for the disparity, but it points schools devote sig- of 5 and 12 is about twice as don’t address the to the need for culturally informed nificant attention and high as that of their root causes of such interventions. In a 2015 study pub- space to mental health white peers. behavior. lished in JAMA Pediatrics, which ana- literacy and provide men- This harm manifests lyzed data from 1993 through 2012, tal health services in the form in a number of ways: adopt- researchers came to a troubling con- of counselors and psychologists. ing curriculum that isn’t culturally clusion: Because there was no signifi- responsive, lowering academic expec- cant change in the overall suicide rate Schools Must Fill the Gap tations, tracking black students into among youth, the fact that the suicide Because the racial disparities in mental remedial or special education classes rate had decreased among white chil- health access and treatment affect chil- and seeing black youth as older and less dren but increased among black children, schools necessarily play a major innocent than their white peers—a bias dren had been obscured. role in helping to mitigate those dispar- known as adultification. While youth advocates note that ities. This inequity “perfectly under- “Kids who don’t feel safe, engaged or these statistics are disturbing, they wel- scores schools as the de facto providers supported cannot show up in schools come the much-needed and long-over- of mental health services to students,” and demonstrate what they know and due conversation about the well-being says Charles Barrett, a school psycholo- have learned,” says David Johns, exec- of black children. This awareness of gist and multicultural committee chair utive director of the National Black suicidality among black youth is why for the National Association of School Justice Coalition, a civil rights orga- the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Psychologists (NASP). “Because sys- nization dedicated to empowering established an emergency Taskforce on temic issues related to race and pov- black LGBTQ and same-gender-lov- Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health erty disproportionately affect black ing communities. “In particular, those

FALL 2019 45 When teaching black students, consider these reminders: who have been terrorized by [educa- conversations about issues black youth tors’] indifference and our ignorance— face with a deficit mindset—treating Know your own story. Teacher educa- and the hate that is often birthed from black students, their families and com- tor Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz uses the phrase that—suffer and are suffocated.” munities as perpetually problem-rid- “Archeology of the Self” to describe We see this suffering play out regularly den despite the fact that these condi- how teachers should dig deep, peel back in news reports of egregious assaults on tions were forced on them. “We need to layers of themselves and think about black children’s dignity at school: A black invert that. Black feminists a long time how issues of race, class, religion and student is humiliated when made to clean ago talked about the reality that there are sexual identity live within. Recognize feces off a bathroom wall; a teacher rips signs, symbols and systems that work to that what is beneath these layers will the braids from a black girl’s head; groups make white privilege real and work to affect relationships with your students. of black kids are forced to act as enslaved preserve it and often make it invisible,” And if these issues go unexamined, people while their white classmates pre- Johns emphasizes. they may even cause harm. Teaching tend to trade them as property; black Johns notes that there is urgency requires more than academic study. students are turned away from school in the establishment of the CBC task Re-evaluate why you teach and be will- because they have dreadlocks or some force, which is expected to produce a ing to think beyond pedagogy to holisti- other “unacceptable” hairstyle. report with recommendations by the cally serve black students. Practice criti- These stressors are serious. And end of the year. cal humility and avoid speaking for black sometimes they rob children of their “The emergency in this context also students and their communities. lives, especially if they’re compounded signals that it’s not designed to be per- by underlying mental health issues. manent,” he explains. “This isn’t going Decolonize your curriculum. “I’m acknowledging that the world to be a standing caucus. We are work- Make historical literacy a priority. often doesn’t allow black people to sim- ing through the first quarter of next year Representation matters, but historically, ply be,” Johns says. “But it’s incredibly to accomplish as much as we can and to Eurocentric narratives and perspectives important for parents, family members plant seeds that will continue to bloom.” have been elevated in curricula. Instead, and educators to protect the ability for learn and teach full histories that accu- our babies just to be babies—to laugh, “We’re Still Healing” rately reflect a real, diverse world. to make mistakes, to color outside of Gabriel Bryant, coordinator for the lines, to create things with blocks Engaging Males of Color, a Philadelphia Be mindful. Recognize that some com- that don’t make sense to those of us youth initiative, sees firsthand how munities, particularly those that have who have forgotten how to dream. Too under- or undiagnosed mental health been historically marginalized, need often we snatch them from black kids in issues can add to the challenges black to heal. This certainly includes many ways that are unfair and undeserved.” students might have at school. of your black students’ communities. Johns leads a policy committee for “Oftentimes, there are added stress- Allow black children to just be, and a working group commissioned by the ors for young people when they don’t reject anti-black attitudes. CBC’s task force. He leverages his expe- feel that they have an outlet with which rience as a former kindergarten and to cope, with which to manage the Be a first responder. School and dis- third-grade teacher into policy work and grief, the loss, the anger, the sadness,” trict leaders play an important role activism. He spent a decade crafting fed- Bryant says. “And what happens is that here: You can ensure that your staff eral policy, from serving as a congressio- it’s compounded when that young per- become mental health literate and get nal fellow to directing the White House son recognizes that they also have just trained in “mental health first aid.” This Initiative on Educational Excellence a whole host of social determinants to knowledge is critical so they know what for African Americans under President navigate. That can be overwhelming.” resources to refer to when the need Barack Obama. His work has focused on He argues that these added stress- arises. Learn how one school district education and health care issues as they ors—the causes of that grief, loss, anger accomplished this in our Spring 2019 relate to children and families. and sadness—must be addressed before feature “Demystifying the Mind.” In his postgraduate work at Teachers there can be real change. Such stress- College, Columbia University, Johns ors include the effects of poverty, envi- See all of your students. Use an inter- describes how schools themselves are ronmental issues, living in a food des- sectional approach and recognize that sources of trauma for kids who are not ert and having disabilities. students may have identities that don’t white, cisgender or heterosexual. The growing awareness of men- conform to the dominant culture at Too often, he says, academic tal health concerns for black chil- your school. For example, be aware of researchers and policymakers approach dren doesn’t mean something new the vulnerability and risk of harm that black LGBTQ youth face inside and out- side46 the TEACHING classroom. TOLERANCE is happening. Educators and mental health advocates note that perhaps the “The world often doesn’t allow black people to increase in black youth suicidality may be coming to light now because previ- simply be. But it’s incredibly important for par- ously there wasn’t a collection of such ents, family members and educators to protect data specific to black children. “And in particular,” David Johns the ability for our babies just to be babies.” points out, “we have a lot of work to do to overcome the stigma that’s still associated with mental health, which communities—let’s say issues of abuse been verbally insulted, and just under is still seen in too many communities or incest or whatever—always seems to one-third had been threatened with as a ‘white people thing.’” get public media attention when it hap- physical violence. Charles Barrett encourages school pens to white families. Some of these Their stories resonate with Johns. psychologists and school counselors same ills have always been happening He advocates for and uplifts black to help black families understand how in our community and probably more LGBTQ youth who are rejected or dis- depression and anxiety look in children, so because of the vestiges of enslave- regarded by those around them. He which may be different from adults. ment and captivity in this country.” noticed such disregard while serving “Relatedly, school-based men- on a U.S. Senate committee. tal health professionals need to assist Invisible at Intersections “Whenever a group came to lobby us black families with accessing cultur- Nigel Shelby, a 15-year-old Alabama and they were concerned about issues ally responsive community-based student who “loved everybody,” his affecting black people or communities, resources—for example, counsel- mother, Camika Shelby, said, was con- they talked as if students in this context ing and therapy,” Barrett says. “And sistently targeted because of his sex- were all heterosexual,” he says. “There although it’s improving, school-based ual identity. His mother has said the were literally no queer possibilities at mental health professionals can also teen struggled with depression that, by all. And then, conversely, whenever work with black families to reduce the April of this year, had become unbear- groups like GLSEN or HRC or the Trevor stigma that is associated with mental able. His death by suicide is a painful Project lobbied us, they would talk as if health in the black community.” reminder that black LGBTQ youth are all LGBTQ [people] were white.” Trust has to be built, though. extremely vulnerable. Camika Shelby Johns says support for black LGBTQ “Whenever possible—and it’s not claims that school officials failed Nigel youth goes beyond ensuring their phys- always feasible—I think identifying other because they allegedly had knowledge ical safety. It also means teachers are black providers for families could be very that he planned to take his own life. intentional about creating environ- helpful,” Barrett says. “I think sometimes Nigel was also harmed by society’s ments that are inclusive of LGBTQ I’ve shared the same message that they’ve inability to respond to the ways sys- history and narratives and mindful heard from others, and it’s received better tems of oppression intersect. Black of exclusive or binary constructs that from someone who looks like you.” LGBTQ students are being bullied for ignore black LGBTQ students’ inter- Another aspect of that lack of trust just existing. They experience a multi- sectional identities. has to do with black communities’ his- plying effect of intersectional identities, torical and ongoing struggles for equal which creates physical, mental and emo- Using Critical Humility and rights. On top of that, some commu- tional harm from many different angles. Interrupting to Better Serve nities must also tackle issues that are For example, they are more likely to Black Students exacerbated by these inequities, such also experience economic insecurity, In her work at Teachers College, as violence, poverty and substance violence, harassment and religious intol- Columbia University, Sealey-Ruiz abuse. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, an associ- erance in addition to racial discrimina- teaches critical humility—a concept ate professor of English education with tion. LGBTQ youth are more than three coined by a group called the European- Teachers College, Columbia University, times more likely to attempt suicide American Collaborative Challenging says black people are often left out of than their straight classmates. Being Whiteness. They want white people critical conversations about these prob- black creates a greater risk. According to think about their whiteness and to lems that plague families of any race. to the Human Rights Campaign’s 2019 use their privilege to speak up and take “As black people, we’re still healing,” Black and African American LGBTQ action against inequity. From Sealey- she says. “We’ve been ignored for so Youth Report, over two-thirds of black Ruiz’s perspective, this approach long. The issues that have been in other LGBTQ respondents ages 13 to 17 had requires that teachers—particularly

FALL 2019 47 white teachers in schools with pre- School as a Safe Haven dominately black students—interrupt Barrett says that while there is more the status quo of white supremacy, thus knowledge about mental health issues countering systems that contribute to concerning black youth, there isn’t black students’ diminishment at school. enough action. “But as you’re speaking up and tak- For example, we continue to see ing action, you have to be humble discipline practices that respond enough to make sure you’re not trying to subjective notions of disruptive to speak for those who are marginal- behavior, defiance and disrespect ized,” Sealey-Ruiz says. “It’s a perfect have not changed, despite evidence antidote to the white savior complex.” that restorative justice practices can A first step is to be mindful of the greatly reduce suspension and expul- recent black youth suicide data to avoid sion rates—approaches that dispro- placing labels on students who may be portionately affect black students suffering silently. This means refrain- She notes that knowledge about and potentially harm the trajectory ing from profiling or labeling black chil- black youth suicidality will help teach- of their lives. dren as problematic and re-evaluating ers and communities arm themselves After the mandatory implicit bias, discipline policies that disproportion- with tools to better support black stu- cultural awareness and cultural sen- ately affect them. dents. But they have to be honest with sitivity trainings for educators, there “That information needs to be in themselves first. must be a policy shift, and that has to schools where there is a predominance “Even if teachers don’t realize it, happen at the school board level. of black children,” Sealey-Ruiz says. subconsciously, they’re almost given “If those [policies] aren’t changed,” “Teachers need to be trained on what permission to treat children a certain Barrett says, “I think we’re still spin- to look for so that they can interrupt … way,” Sealey-Ruiz emphasizes. “So, ning our wheels talking about issues to be equipped with knowledge and to I think about the children who have but having the same outcome, because be able to interrupt their own think- immigrant experiences or the black our practices follow the policies that ing about that child, and then have children—the way that we’re portrayed they are designed to support. I think enough information to say, ‘Well, this in media and what’s stereotypically school psychologists and others that might be a signal that something else passed down around that. Teachers can speak to the need for more cultur- is going on.’” subconsciously hold those stories.” ally relevant policy could be an import- Interrupting also means being She insists that teacher educator ant next step in this process.” grounded in cultural responsive- programs and programs that produce Ultimately, it’s imperative that ness and rethinking pedagogy and the principals must have serious conversa- teachers reassess why they do this work aims of teaching. For Sealey-Ruiz, that tions about this work. and who they are serving. means interrupters should also raise She also encourages her students, “Too often, I’ve met teachers who the sociopolitical consciousness of who are pre-service teachers, to con- feel like it is the obligation of the stu- their students. sider how their own identities and dent to change themselves, to bend “Ultimately, it’s about liberation of conditioning interact with those of the and shift in order to show up in spaces the human spirit, liberating yourself children they teach. that aren’t designed for them,” Johns from the false lies of [white] superior- “I’m very open and honest with my says. “Unless teachers understand ity, and therefore creating liberating students about what it means to be a that it is our responsibility to do the spaces for black and brown children, for teacher,” she says. “I do that through work to make sure our classrooms and them to be their best selves in school.” reading, through conversations, but school communities are safe and invit- Teachers of color aren’t exempt my main method is what I call the ing and supportive of and reflective of from this deep work. Archeology of the Self. They have to do all of the parts of all of our students. “If you’re a person of color and you this deep digging about where issues of … If we can’t do that, then we’re not hold certain beliefs about your own peo- race and racism, homophobia, trans- doing enough. ple because you’ve been colonized to do phobia—all of these intersectional “If we’re unwilling to do that, then we so, unless you unpack that and release identities that children bring—they need to consider another profession.” that,” Sealey-Ruiz says, “that doesn’t have to really dig deep about how it just disappear because you decided to lives within them and how they under- Dillard is a staff writer for Teaching serve children who look like you.” stand it will impact their practice.” Tolerance.

48 TEACHING TOLERANCE PHOTO CREDIT GOES HERE BY BY reflect on harvested their own journeys and share some of the wisdom they’ve along the way. the Teaching Tolerance Board welcome educators new to the work of social justice, Advisory what they wish they’d known when theybegan. In this collaborative piece, the 36 members of justice educators. Theytalked about whatthey’d learned over yearsof doingthisworkand able role in the work of Teaching Tolerance. United States. Sharingtheirexpertise,ideas andtheirvoices withus, theyplay aninvalu offields,educators workinginarange oftheircareers andfromallcornersofthe atall stages three days oflearning, fellowship andplanning for theyear ahead.Our boardiscomposedof This summer, theTeaching Tolerance BoardgatheredinMontgomery, Advisory Alabama,for justice in schools. Our board advisory shares what they’ve learned they’ve as worked for ILLUSTRATION BY OHORA ZACHARIAH ILLUSTRATION BOARD ADVISORY TOLERANCE TEACHING THE During thisyear’s gathering,theytookthetimetosharetheirpersonalexperiencesassocial FALL 2019 FALL 49 - This is about the kids. Building community is survival.

I wish I had known this is about the kids. Constantly undoing the layers of my own internalized oppression even though I may never be completely free. That systems and institutions in this country are not made for How powerful I truly am to effect change within people of color to succeed. myself as well as my community. That internal conflict is where my magic happens. I wish I had known to trust my inner voice. Meet people where they are. Build coalitions. Journey together to mitigate the loneliness of leadership. That some of my actions replicate the oppression I seek That my voice and my perspective mattered. to end. That openly sharing my struggles does not make me weak or less than. That it’s essential for white teachers to have a full That I can work in a school and not be fired for understanding of this doing anti-racist work. country’s history of That this is about the kids. white supremacy White people may let me down, and and how they people who look like me may betray me. benefit from This work should not fall upon the whiteness. shoulders of marginalized people.

How many things would change, if not always the way I thought they would.

50 TEACHING TOLERANCE My power would multiply over the years with my experience, but I am still sometimes invisible. I wish I had known how to I wish I had known that teaching consists of a lot of meetings and paperwork that can make have fun. you forget your main purpose. That a snack and cold sparkling water is That behavior is communication. magical at 2 p.m. That I can and should leave work at school. That exhaustion is not a badge of honor, and I That passion need energy for my students. is not enough.

This is about the kids. Accountability means And that speaking up and owning my mistakes. patience is your friend and To minimize appropriation, hard to muster. to empower the voices of those of us who are systemically silenced, That this is about the kids. to find courage in the stories of resistance past. Our students watch us closely and model themselves after what we do—not what we say. The words of Audre Lorde: Act, speak, love, fight and organize accordingly, Caring for ourselves is not self-indulgence, so that kids can do the same. it is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare. I wish I had known this is about the kids.

FALL 2019 51 The Right to Not Bear Arms As lobbyists and lawmakers encourage more guns in schools, educators consider the threats these policies introduce to classrooms and communities.

BY COSHANDRA DILLARD ILLUSTRATION BY CARL WIENS

ASK A SCHOOL teacher if they want to guns in their classrooms. There are “When it got passed, we were obvi- be armed with a gun at school to pro- stipulations: School districts have to ously taken aback, as probably, I would tect their students, and you are likely approve it, and educators who volun- say, 95 percent of the staff was against to get, “No way” in response. teer for the program must complete a it,” says Jeff Foster, an AP government Despite opposition from educators, gun-safety course and undergo a psy- teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas lawmakers continue to insist that arm- chiatric evaluation and background High School. “Immediately, [our super- ing teachers is an effective way to pre- check. Even with those provisions, intendent] and the school board voted vent gun violence at school. Since the Florida educators aren’t happy with to not allow teachers to do it. So as deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman the prospect of some of their colleagues of now, the way the law is written in Douglas High School in Parkland, becoming default law enforcement offi- Florida, the county can deny the funds Florida, which claimed the lives of 17 cers and potentially harming one of for arming the teachers. So right now, people, lawmakers in state legislatures their students—or being heroes. we’re in no danger of getting armed at across the nation have introduced bills The new Florida law is a sore spot all at our school.” to arm school staff. for educators, particularly those who Students and families are anxious as In May 2019, Florida passed a new survived the Parkland shooting in well, and teacher organizations fore- law that would allow teachers to carry February 2018. see that arming teachers would create

52 TEACHING TOLERANCE outcomes opposite of stated inten- a shootout that would place more chil- There are just too many risks in tions—it would cause more harm. dren in danger.” arming educators that don’t sit well Time and time again, educators and with many of them. Marjory Stoneman community members are saying they Why Arming Educators Is a Bad Idea Douglas’s Foster, for example, has a lot don’t want this. Those who oppose arming teachers are of questions. And it’s not just a vocal minority. quick to point out real-life situations “Where would you store it?” he Several studies show that most teachers that help demonstrate the danger of asks. “Would you carry it off with you? don’t want to carry firearms at school. having guns on school campuses. Even Would you carry it on you? Would you Last year, a national poll released by with training and proper vetting, adults be responsible for protecting the floor? Teach Plus showed that 83 percent of carrying guns in school could have the What if that teacher lost his or her mind teachers don’t believe educators should opposite effect of protection. on a student and pulled a gun on a stu- be armed at school. dent, God forbid, in a non-shooting sit- In a statement, Teach Plus notes that uation, basically. Or what if a kid tack- they are concerned proposals to arm led a teacher and got the gun from the educators “will militarize our schools” teacher ... The scenarios are endless as and potentially yield harmful effects. Teachers to what could happen. So, I think the “Building a stronger school security majority of us, again, just aren’t that apparatus in our schools might further don’t want enamored with the idea.” exacerbate the school-to-prison pipe- In addition to mishaps that could line,” the statement reads. to be armed; lead to bodily harm, teachers also The National Parent Teacher worry that arming adults who might Association (PTA) does not support we want have an implicit bias toward students arming teachers, either. of color is too big a risk to take. Black “National PTA believes that all to teach. and brown students around the coun- efforts to address school safety must try have been vocal about their uneas- be locally determined, collaborative, —RANDI WEINGARTEN iness with armed teachers, an anxiety include input from all stakeholders that is heightened by the dispropor- (students, parents, families, teach- tionate policing of students of color ers, school leaders, public safety offi- in schools. cials, community members and deci- In the last five years, more than 70 Some adults view black boys as sion-makers), and take into account a incidents of guns being mishandled young as 10 as less innocent than their variety of factors, including the phys- in U.S. schools have been reported, white counterparts, according to a 2014 ical and psychological safety of stu- according to data compiled by Giffords study. Similarly, recent studies show dents,” says Leslie Boggs, National PTA Law Center, an organization that that black girls are also perceived as president, in a statement provided to explores policies and programs to older, leading to less nurturing and sup- Teaching Tolerance. reduce gun violence. The organization port. Black students are more likely to National Education Association tracks the use of guns in schools and be punished more severely than their President Lily Eskelsen García released records them in categories that include white counterparts for the same behav- a statement calling the arming of “discharged unintentionally” and “mis- iors. Biased perceptions, coupled with teachers “ill-conceived, preposterous, handled during discipline”—and “used deadly weapons, leaves students of and dangerous.” in times of personal stress or conflict.” color—and their families—concerned And American Federation of The center shares examples from about their safety. Teachers President Randi Weingarten around the country. In Alabama and wrote in a letter to President Donald California, for example, students were How’d We Get Here? Trump that schools should be “safe struck with bullet fragments after A school should be a safe haven, a place sanctuaries, not armed fortresses.” their teachers accidentally fired guns where students are free to learn instead She added, “The response we have in class. In Missouri, a pair of middle of worry about the threat of violence. heard is universal, most notably from school students stole the gun their But we know that gun violence on cam- educators who are gun owners, military teacher brought to school. And the pus is becoming a reality for some stu- veterans and National Rifle Association mishandling isn’t just from educators. dents today. members: Teachers don’t want to be In Florida, a school resource officer According to The Washington Post’s armed; we want to teach. Our first accidentally fired a shot while leaning database of school shootings, more instinct is to protect kids, not engage in against a cafeteria wall. than a quarter of a million students

FALL 2019 53 have been exposed to gun violence at didn’t keep him from working toward a school in the last 20 years. day when no more children would lose For In the two decades since the shoot- their lives to gun violence. ing at Columbine High School in Outside the classroom, Foster advo- Colorado, schools have become increas- cates tightening up gun laws in his Educators ingly hardened with metal detectors, state. He’s a committee member of Ban school resource officers and locked Assault Weapons Now, a group with Who Want gates. Lockdown and active shooter the goal of collecting signatures so drills are everyday parts of children’s Floridians can vote in 2020 to amend school experiences. their state constitution to ban the sale Safety And a lucrative industry has devel- of assault weapons. “Whatever I can do oped around school safety, from bul- along the way to aid in this rush to try to Without letproof whiteboards and backpacks change laws, I’m happy to do so,” he says. to armored classroom doors. Pro-gun Foster says his students’ courage advocates assert that placing guns in inspires him, and he believes this gen- Guns teachers’ hands when all else fails could eration will create lasting change for a save more lives. safer world. He recommends that other Ask questions about your teachers make their voices heard, too— school’s safety plan and Elevating Voices starting at the ballot. provide suggestions on how it Foster says it’s imperative to discuss “The best thing we can do is put can be improved. Work with gun violence and safety in schools with our votes behind what we believe in,” school officials if your school students—and it’s a good idea for teach- he says. “If the people want some- does not have a safety plan. ers to read up on local, state and federal thing, it’s up to us to vote those people gun laws and how they can advocate for out if they don’t want to listen to us. … with local, state and their students. Unfortunately—and I hate being over- Meet He argues that the very nature of dramatic—but they just don’t listen to federal decision-makers to teaching is political and that it’s up to us at all, at every level, every person, communicate what your educators to give students the tools to every party.” school needs to be a safe and make conscious decisions about issues National PTA members encourage supportive learning environment. that affect them now and that they’ll be local units to get behind students when Educators and families should responsible for as adults. they are speaking out on this issue. have seats at the table with the Before the shooting happened at his Boggs, the national organization’s pres- team that develops, implements school, had he led discussions about ident, says local PTAs can provide sup- and evaluates school safety access to assault weapons. Not all of his port and establish forums to listen to policies and procedures. students felt the same way about guns, their students’ concerns and causes. so he encouraged Socratic discussions in “They want and need to be heard,” Reach out to teacher class to explore different perspectives. she says. “They are the ones living in the advocacy organizations for And he’s watched with pride as some of current environment in schools, and it resources, such as the PTA’s his students have become publicly vocal is important that we learn from their guide at PTA.org/SchoolSafety. anti-gun violence activists over the experience and viewpoint.” last year. “Student-led activism against gun Host a school safety forum. Foster himself was thrown into violence has been an inspiration to all of Gather key stakeholders for the spotlight when a student, Emma us,” Boggs says. “National PTA is proud collaborative decision-making González, mentioned him in speeches of our youth, and we applaud their about the school’s safety plan. in the days following the shooting. With leadership on this issue. Their voices that mention came criticism and even are what is going to make the changes physical threats. needed to ensure students and everyone Encourage and support “It’s just incredible how far people feel safe, wherever they are.” student activism related to will go over such a hot-button issue, gun violence. obviously,” Foster says. But the flood Dillard is a staff writer for Teaching of anger toward him and his students Tolerance. SOURCE: NATIONAL PTA

54 TEACHING TOLERANCE The Thinking Is the Work Confronting implicit bias and systemic racism in schools is not easy. These two educators are using a model that can work in almost any school.

BY CORY COLLINS ILLUSTRATION BY LILY PADULA

RANDYL WILKERSON AND Alison Mann lens through which they saw their stu- for equity. The school is rated a Tier 1 had not even started the conversation dents, their work and their world. institution by Boston Public Schools’ before some of their colleagues had Wilkerson and Mann—who teach Quality Framework and has won awards questions—and concerns. Where was sixth grade and kindergarten, respec- for its innovation in environmental edu- this coming from? Did something hap- tively—were spearheading an initiative cation, after-school programs and anti- pen? What have I done wrong? that led to a schoolwide goal for profes- bias principles, including the Human Mann remembers wondering if sional development: identifying one’s Rights Campaign’s Seal of Excellence. some colleagues would push back—or own biases. But inside GPA, educators would worse, revolt. They were being asked Nestled into a single block of Boston’s come to recognize that even the best to confront lifelong preconceptions. Allston neighborhood, Gardner Pilot teachers are not immune from bias They were being asked to refocus the Academy (GPA) has a strong reputation and that the goal of equity requires

FALL 2019 55 looking beyond accolades and num- “Why don’t we make it our first goal to of color receiving more IEPs than their bers. It requires looking within. figure out what the community needs?” classmates. They called for a closer look “It’ll take a lifetime, and then you So, in conjunction with the equi- at policies and curriculum. And a poten- still won’t learn everything you needed ty-focused management consulting tial starting point came up again and to learn,” says Erica Herman, the prin- firm Kingston Bay Group, Mann and again: Educators, families and parapro- cipal at GPA. “That complexity is what Wilkerson developed an audit to get fessionals alike wanted spaces where makes people really scared.” feedback on how the school was doing on they could talk about racism and bias. Mann and Wilkerson had leaned the equity front. They solicited the views Gardner Pilot Academy had commit- into the complexity. For educators not just of teachers but also of parapro- ted to equity and anti-bias PD years ago. conditioned to expect PD that delivers fessionals, students and families. But often, the success of each initiative concrete classroom practices, the goal “I think what was great about it was was determined by the varying availabil- inspired trepidation. that it wasn’t someone coming in and ity of funding and outside facilitators. “That was a big battle,” Wilkerson saying what we’re lacking and, ‘Here’s “Sometimes initiatives come and go says. “To say these are actually proac- what you need to do instead,’” Mann in a school and it’s a hot ticket for a year tive, definitive, culture-shifting conver- says. “It was truly from the commu- or two, and then it doesn’t remain,” sations that we want to have, not pre- nity: the community asking for our Principal Herman explains. “I think the scriptive or shame and blame.” strengths, our challenges and for us to work of becoming an anti-racist insti- Some educators doubted that a year- pull together.” tution is a long-term vision. It’s not a long PD centered on considering biases one- or two-year or three-year goal; it is could translate into tangible results. a continual, never-ending goal.” Others feared evaluation. Over time, Working toward that goal meant Wilkerson and Mann demonstrated starting with a story. their own thinking about biases to remove some of the hesitancy. [It’s] one of the only The Power of Narrative “What we had to reiterate time and opportunities where the Describing what the Gardner Pilot again is that thinking is the work,” Academy PD on bias looks like, Wilkerson says, “that thinking about community gets to say, Alison Mann says, “It’s very much your perceptions and these dialogues explicitly, “This is what about narrative.” that you’re having are work—because In conversations facilitated by now you can replicate these dialogues I’m experiencing at the Wilkerson and Mann, teachers dis- with your students. You can use it to school, this is what I see, cussed current events through the lens change your curriculum.” this is what I perceive, of the seven forms of bias described by researchers Myra and David Sadker: The Audit this is what I feel.” invisibility, stereotyping, imbalance/ The movement began with conversa- selectivity, unreality, fragmentation/ tions. Mann and Wilkerson attended isolation, linguistic bias and cosmetic Dialogues on Race and Ethnicity, a pro- bias. Wilkerson and Mann used them to gram of the YWCA. It brought in mul- frame the way media portray a story or tiple stakeholders from school and That community narrative, people, then connected those narratives business communities for facilitated Wilkerson says, was affirming. “We had to the experiences of students at GPA. discussions about race and bias. a lot of the same wants and needs,” she “And so we can start to unpack the Mann and Wilkerson immediately says. Focusing on audit participants’ bias that’s often associated with terms recognized that other members of stories rather than statistics allowed that our children are referred to, as in the school community needed access for a valuable glimpse into the experi- ‘immigrant,’ or ‘first-generation’ or to these conversations. But while ences of staff and students alike. ‘black,’” Wilkerson explains. Dialogues on Race and Ethnicity rep- “We decided that it’s OK that the For example, Wilkerson and Mann resented a great opportunity, the six equity audit is qualitative,” Wilkerson facilitated a discussion about peo- evening meetings were often late. For says. “Because that’s one of the only ple migrating from Central and South those who could not find childcare or opportunities where the community gets America to the U.S. border—people who worked late hours, opportunities to say, explicitly, ‘This is what I’m expe- who, at the time, were often referred for access were limited. So Mann and riencing at this school, this is what I see, to as “the migrant caravan” by media Wilkerson considered their options. this is what I perceive, this is what I feel.’” and politicians. Educators read news Instead of leaving with an answer, In the audit, participants named accounts that flattened the experiences Wilkerson says, they left the program the disparities they saw, such as boys of those immigrating. After cohort with a question:

56 TEACHING TOLERANCE and whole-staff discussions, they were assigned more humanizing texts for the following session. These texts often re-centered and empowered those with oppressed identities by having them tell their own stories. In this case, educators got to read and watch individual, first-person narratives of people seeking asylum or migrating. Unpacking narratives in this way helped illustrate the importance of understanding the contexts of history and systemic inequality, as well as the importance of uplifting individual voices rather than telling a single story. The PD covered many topics in its first year. Mann says the discussions were often exercises in perspective building. “It’s about who the narrative is told by, who gets to tell whose narrative,” she says. “It’s the concept of making people have multiple perspectives and not just relying on the one.” Herman has seen how unpacking this power of narrative has led to a broadened perspective among the staff. “To see our staff talking about really sometimes fall short in adapting to the emerged: to speak and listen from the difficult topics,” Herman says, “in ways educators in the room, who have spe- heart, to embrace discomfort and to be that are really challenging to engage in, cific needs and ideas. open to change. challenging to see, but understanding “Sometimes, outside expertise also Mann and Wilkerson model those why they are the way that they are—and comes with its own agenda or its lim- norms by showing their own vulnera- then being able to incorporate that into ited engagement and not a full under- bility. They say they have cried at times. practice—is really powerful.” standing of the context in which teach- Wilkerson remembers sharing her ini- ers and students and communities are tial ignorance about the experiences The Power of Leading From Within working,” explains Paul Tritter, the of people seeking refuge from south of Mann and Wilkerson are quick to stress director of professional learning at the the U.S. border. She explains that she that they engage in these discussions Boston Teachers Union. “So, to have the had to seek out knowledge about those along with their colleagues—not from leadership of the project being taken by experiences to build understanding and a podium or pulpit. teachers is, one, going to make it more become a more empathetic person. “We are facilitators, not experts,” effective, and, two, it’s empowering for And saying that out loud, she says, Mann explains. “So we’re learning too, the teachers themselves.” can help others recognize their own which is helping us to find the tools to This practice aligns with what biases, embrace the feelings that rec- help push [the] learning along.” Herman says is a new commitment to ognition evokes and move on toward It’s not just a common goal that internally driven PD at GPA. improvement. builds trust between the facilitators “How does a leader support lead- “I don’t cry on purpose, but it and teachers at GPA. It’s a common ers?” she asks. “Sometimes, it’s getting was still a model to say it’s OK to feel context. Mann says that context sep- out of the way. Sometimes, it’s allowing through this,” Wilkerson says. arates this experience from past work people to really take their ideas and go Since then, growth has manifested in with outside facilitators. and learn from those and take risks.” a number of ways. Wilkerson and Mann “Because we’re in the community note that people became more com- with everybody, we have a pulse on The Power of Demonstrating Thinking fortable sharing out. Disagreements what’s happening in the school,” she says. When Mann and Wilkerson had each that may once have caused fragility or Of course, many outside PD pro- small cohort of teachers create con- hurt in the person receiving pushback grams prove beneficial. But they versational norms, several themes became constructive.

FALL 2019 57 “It’s hard work,” Mann says. But paraprofessionals and teachers … it’s she stresses the endgame: “If I held a going to be empowering for everyone.” bias and didn’t know, and discover it, “It’s not a hierarchy,” Mann empha- it doesn’t mean I’m a bad teacher. It’s sizes. “We are doing this together.” about doing the work to uncover I’m Flattening the traditional hierar- holding that bias.” chy of PD and school decisions meant Creating space to do that work was a reckoning with who holds the power in necessary step if the goal was to one day a school like Gardner Pilot Academy. have these conversations about bias During the equity audit, participants inform changes in classroom practice. noted that teachers were more likely “We’re getting to that place of action to be white, while paraprofessionals in the curriculum next year,” Wilkerson were more likely to be people of color. says. “But this is such an import- “To not provide that place of voice ant foundation so that we’re ready to would kind of be reifying that power receive that and not be hurt.” difference,” Wilkerson says, “because then, they’re not participating in a con- Beyond the Teacher’s Lounge versation that affects them and impli- A more inclusive conversation will cates them as well.” also build on that foundation. Mann, This becomes particularly import- Wilkerson and Boston Public Schools ant when considering the student pop- Community Field Coordinator ulation of GPA: More than 80 percent Nicolasa Lopez have been awarded a are students of color, more than half grant from the Teacher Leadership face economic disadvantage and more Fund, supported by BPS and the Boston than half learned a first language other Teachers Union. It will help build the than English. Given the diverse range community’s capacity to do this work of individual stories among students, in tandem with educators and students. Wilkerson and Mann think it’s import- As with the audit, Mann and Wilkerson ant that they, too, have a say in how are measuring success by how far this their school serves them. can go beyond them. “I don’t understand how we can talk That means sharing the power to about being bias-free and not include facilitate—and seeing their experience the people we’re serving,” Mann says. and thinking encoded into practice. This school year, $15,000 from the The Outcomes Wilkerson says. “Just like caravan is a grant will help expand the work to When Wilkerson and Mann commit- big word that doesn’t actually narrate learning communities of paraprofes- ted to a qualitative equity audit, they for you the experience of any of the sionals, schoolwide staff, students and understood that the lived experiences people that are involved in the process.” family members. Each group will have of staff members, students and fami- The conversations at GPA have the opportunity to engage in conver- lies remained undervalued, given the illustrated the importance of lifting up sations about bias from their perspec- systemic privileging of quantitative these individual stories. And if thinking tives—and all facilitators from each data. But they also knew their project is the work, rethinking is the outcome. group will be paid, including students. would be met with a call to see out- Rethinking biases. Rethinking curricu- For Paul Tritter, this is a perfect appli- comes, to see how the PD changes test lum. Rethinking the stories educators cation of the Teacher Leadership Fund, scores or narrows opportunity gaps. tell and to whom they grant agency to created to support teacher-led projects “When I do an assessment, I can see shape their own stories. Rethinking how that empower marginalized students. if the student needs growth in reading they reached those conclusions and what “You can’t do any great school or math,” Mann explains. “But this it means for their practice going forward. improvement work—and especially is not something you’re going to see “Which is what we teach kids,” anti-racist work—without involving all change in right away—or is even quanti- Wilkerson says. “We want them to of the community,” he says. “In schools fiable. It’s qualitative, and that can feel demonstrate their thinking. where you have black and brown com- scary when we’re not, as a profession, “Why can’t we?” munities who often feel disenfran- measured that way.” chised in the schools, to engage the fam- “Quantitative data is often silenc- Collins is the senior writer for ilies, to engage the students, to engage ing because it’s that big number,” Teaching Tolerance.

58 TEACHING TOLERANCE staff picks

Teaching Tolerance loves to read! Check out a few of our favorite diverse books for diverse What We’re Reading readers and educators.

Written by sign language interpreter Lynne Kelly, Song for a Whale introduces “For any Iris, a mechanically inclined girl who, as student who the only deaf student at her school, fixes has felt lonely radios because she understands feeling like no one is listening. When she learns or unheard, about a whale who sings at a frequency this book will that makes it difficult to communicate, sing, and sign, she devises a plan to help him feel less to them.” alone. Her journey underscores the importance of empathetic communication, —Cory Collins community and representation for readers young and old alike. MIDDLE SCHOOL

The host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, began his life with his PROFESSIONAL most criminal act: his birth. As the son of a black Xhosa mother DEVELOPMENT and a white Swiss father, Noah’s existence violated the harsh White Kids: Growing segregation laws of apartheid South Africa. It’s Trevor Noah: Born Up with Privilege in a Crime (Adapted for Young Readers) uses humor and honesty to a Racially Divided contrast personal vignettes of Noah’s childhood with the history of America by Margaret injustice in his country. A. Hagerman MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL “As educational as it is powerful.” The 57 Bus: A True Story —Belle Briatico of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed In Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Their Lives by Dashka Conversations in the Classroom, educator Matthew R. Kay Slater provides a guide to creating a dialogic classroom in which students can have difficult conversations about race. Kay MIDDLE SCHOOL Modern HERstory: describes his teaching strategies and provides examples of his Stories of Women and successes—and failures—facilitating discussions about topics Nonbinary People such as cultural appropriation and the n-word, always trying to Rewriting History nudge his students past offering up facile proclamations and by Blair Imani toward wrestling with what he calls the “hard problems.” PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ELEMENTARY “A reminder to educators to not sidestep or oversimplify SCHOOL Mary Wears What She conversations about race, but to engage students in Wants by Keith Negley them as scholars with voices and experiences that are just as important as those of the adult in the classroom.” —Ericka Smith

FALL 2019 59 staff picks

“A sadly beautiful story of the last days of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his ongoing, peaceful work to battle injustice.” —Angela Hartman, Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board member

“This story will send students on an important exploration “This book can help us all of identity, assimilation, remember to ‘slow down and history and the diversity of pay attention to our bodies, “A gripping journey cultural and religious norms.” hearts and minds.’” —Coashandra Dillard —Monita K. Bell of self-love and liberation through the eyes of a young When it’s time for Henry’s class to turn in their The day before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin kindness projects, he’s got nothing! But why? Luther King Jr. was in Memphis lending Afro-Latina slam poet Turns out he doesn’t think he’s done anything peaceful support to 1,300 black men from the navigating complex kind in the past week, but his classmates show Memphis Department of Public Works. The spaces determined to him he couldn’t be more wrong. In Henry is Kind: Sanitation Strike of 1968 was born from a silence her.” A Story of Mindfulness, written by Linda Ryden combination of extremely low wages, dangerous —Gabriel Smith and illustrated by Shearry Malone, students not working conditions and the tragic deaths only get a sweet introduction to mindfulness but of two black sanitation workers caused by also a great reminder of the power of kindness. malfunctioning equipment. Poetry, prose and ELEMENTARY SCHOOL artwork knit together the story of Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation In author Ibi Zoboi’s debut, she presents a Strike of 1968 by Alice Faye Duncan and devastating, yet beautiful, young adult novel illustrator R. Gregory Christie. that combines mysticism and realism. American ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Street tells the story of teenage Haitian immigrant Fabiola Toussaint’s quest to reunite The Poet X tells the story of a young woman with her mother, who is detained by immigration coming to terms with her identity and place in officials. Be aware that Fabiola’s story also the world amid the backdrop of a vibrant Harlem includes frequent use of the n-word. Her neighborhood. X’s (short for Xiomara) journey of haphazard journey, which includes the help of self-discovery and self-love leads her to discover “These beautiful spiritual guides, leads readers through raw and her own personal liberation through the art of pieces of sequential emotional experiences that illuminate failed slam poetry. This National Book Award-winning art are powerful, systems, violence, the elusive American dream debut novel from Elizabeth Acevedo is a unique exciting, timeless and the tenderness of love. and skillful blend of short poems and novel and compelling.” HIGH SCHOOL writing resembling Xiomara’s diary of poetry and —Kate Shuster inner reflections on the struggles she confronts It’s hard to fathom packing 150 years of daily. X comes to terms with homophobia, Indigenous Canadian history into 10 stories misogyny, street harassment, religion and spread across fewer than 300 pages. This Place: abuse among other timely topics. Acevedo 150 Years Retold is a collection of tales in comic uses very accessible language that students use book style. However, this is more than a graphic themselves and presents struggles they might novel—it’s an extraordinary history text (with face within their own personal journeys and a dash of speculative fiction) that animates school communities. Educators and students obscured narratives and will enchant and alike will find tremendous value in this book. educate all ages. HIGH SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

60 TEACHING TOLERANCE Out of Many, One

Dim the lights and get ready to learn What We’re Watching with these TT-approved films!

When They See Us, the long-awaited “It was the honesty of my own experiences Out of Many, One documents the limited series from Ava DuVernay, that made room for me,” YA author often-unseen lives and sacrifices of humanizes the targets of racist policing Jason Reynolds muses in Dear, Dreamer. naturalized American citizens. This and prosecutorial discrimination through Interspersed with footage of students, the short documentary follows a group of brutally honest storytelling. In this telling of profile shares Reynolds’ love of the written immigrants as they prepare to take the the Central Park Five case, we learn how the word and makes a strong statement about naturalization test and reflect on what New York City police, court systems and the need for representation in children’s U.S. citizenship means to them. It quietly the media violently discriminated against literature. The short film is packed with shows the parallels between immigrants five black boys—Antron, Kevin, Yusef, vivid imagery and serves as part biography, of today and yesterday by examining the Raymond and Korey—and wrongfully part celebration and part inspiration. It hardships and sacrifices many face as they convicted them of a sexual assault that opens and closes with poetry, the work that work toward citizenship. The documentary sent them to prison for terms ranging pushed Reynolds to become an author, shows how its subjects are citizens in from six to 12 years. Color of Change’s and serves as a call to action for students— everything but name, many having built official discussion guide, available at to read, to write, to tell their stories and to entire lives, careers and families in the winningjustice.org, encourages viewers connect with others. (10 min.) United States before obtaining citizenship. to reflect on themes of anti-black racism, Out of Many, One tells a uniquely Available on Vimeo policing and incarceration. Viewers should informative story while reminding us of the t-t.site/dear-dreamer also be aware of the challenging, painful hope and promise of the United States. MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL and visceral depictions of state violence. (34 min.). (Four episodes, 64–88 min. each) Available on Netflix Available on Netflix StoryCorps’ Animations illustrate interviews t-t.site/many-one t-t.site/see-us that speak to the power of shared MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT conversation about a range of important topics. One short, “The Door She Opened,” tells the story of how a transgender In Triggerfish Animation Studios’ Belly Flop, teenager found acceptance while visiting an Penny is a young, fat girl of color who is aunt who allowed her to dress as her true very excited for her trip to the pool with her self in public. Another, “Common Ground,” grandmother. When she sees another child highlights a relationship of understanding impressing everyone with her effortlessly and love between a liberal woman and her elegant dives, Penny only grows more conservative father-in-law. StoryCorps’ confident in her own ability. Her journey Animations bring you back to the heart of offers children an important message of storytelling and human connection, while self-acceptance—and a model for finding also serving as a model for students starting it without tearing other people down. In the on projects interviewing members of their end, Penny makes a beautiful splash in her own families or communities. (2-3 min.) own way! (5 min.) Available at StoryCorps Available on Vimeo storycorps.org/animation t-t.site/belly-flop ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL

NETFLIX ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL FALL 2019 61 62 TEACHING TOLERANCE BY DOROTHY H. PRICE ILLUSTRATION BY LORRAINE NAM

MARY LOVED SUNDAY MORNINGS. She waited all week for Singing Sunday songs of worship and praise was how them to come. It was only her and Mama. enslaved people communicated with their creator. It lifted Mary didn’t know her father. He was sold to another plan- their spirits and allowed Mary and Mama to dream of a bet- tation in the South not long after she was born. Mary was ter day when they would be free. thankful Mama hadn’t been sold, too. Sunday mornings were Although American slavery lasted far too long and should special because enslaved people were given permission to have never existed at all, the spirituals Mary and Mama sang sing, pray and worship in their own unique way. centuries ago are still sung in African American churches Like many other enslaved people, Mary and Mama around the United States. Many forms of music created by believed a better day would come. Mama had a great voice African Americans are also used today to inspire people to and loved to sing. She passed that gift to Mary. Mama led fight against unfairness. most of the songs during church; Mary always joined in. Like Mary and Mama praying and singing songs of Zion all They sang spirituals like “Ain’t Got Time to Die,” “Nobody those years ago, Negro spirituals still bring a sense of comfort Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” and “Down by the Riverside.” to many African Americans. They serve as a reminder to never These songs and music were part of their oral heritage forget the past and always believe a better day will come. brought by the first enslaved people during the Middle Passage from Africa to America. Traditional African rhythms This text is part of the Teaching Hard History Text Library. and beats also helped enslaved people in the fields while they Watch the accompanying video at t-t.site/songs-of-zion. worked for hours and hours in the heat.

Questions for Readers RIGHT THERE (IN THE TEXT) Why were Sunday mornings special for Mary?

THINK AND SEARCH (IN THE TEXT) How did the Sunday songs encourage enslaved people like Mama and Mary?

AUTHOR AND ME (IN MY HEAD) Why did enslaved people draw on traditional storytelling, rhythms and beats for their music?

ON MY OWN (IN MY HEAD) What traditions have been passed down to me by my family or community?

FALL 2019 63 ONE WORLD tolerance.org GETTY IMAGES/ VALERIE MACON VALERIE GETTY IMAGES/

When Marley Dias was in the sixth grade, she got tired of never seeing herself in the books she read for school. So she founded #1000BlackGirlBooks, collected thousands of stories featuring black girls as main characters and donated them to schools. In 2018, she even published a book page to hang on a classroom wall. It is created with just that purpose in mind. Enjoy! with just that is created It wall. hang on a classroom page to of her own, Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You! At that time, the author and activist was World clip the One to educators encourage artists and participating Tolerance Teaching only 13 years old. ! TEACHING

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