Trying to make sense of recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia is difficult and confusing enough as a teacher. But imagine how your students feel. Perhaps they know very little about the history leading up to this moment. Quite possibly they feel they have done nothing to cause this situation and have very little power to do anything about it.
Here is a list of resources that will help your students make sense of the current situation and the history leading up to it. If you aren’t sure whether or not your classroom is the appropriate place to have these talks, consider that school is where many of our attitudes and ideas about our shared history and future as a country are formed. Even if you don’t know where to start, you can be confident that it is possible to move towards a hopeful and empowered place with your kids.
To look at the big picture and provide some historical background:
Freire Project
This is a global community of educators and educators that work for justice around the world using the work of Paulo Freire as a foundation.
Rethinking Schools
Rethinking schools is a great resource for research, fresh perspectives, lesson plans and teaching materials.
The Southern Poverty Law Center
The SPLC publishes Teaching Tolerance and reports on hate groups throughout the country. They also have useful teaching and learning materials.
The Civil War
This is a compelling PBS series by filmmaker Ken Burns. The website has a wealth of teaching and classroom support materials too.
Curriculum resources available from other sites:
Readings on the History of Hate in America
Source: JSTOR
#Charlottesville Curriculum
Source: ShareMyLesson
Resources for Educators to Use in the Wake of Charlottesville
Source: NPR
To examine Confederate history and symbols:
These sources examine the history of Confederate statues and other symbols and why they provoke such polarizing reactions.
The Legacy of Confederate Symbols
Source: The Atlantic
The Stubborn Persistence of Confederate Monuments
Source: The Atlantic
The Complicated History of the Confederate Flag
Source: PBS Learning Media
Why Confederate Monuments are Coming Down
Source: PBS News Hour
To look at the role of protest and activism:
The following links explore the role of protest in shaping history as well as the who, what and why of current protests around the country.
Eleven Times When Americans Have Marched in Protest on Washington
Source: Smithsonian Magazine
SPLC Releases Campus Guide to Countering ‘Alt-Right’
Source: Teaching Tolerance
Refusing Racism: White Allies and the Struggle for Civil Rights
Source: Zinn Education Project
About Black Lives Matter
Source: BlackLivesMatter.com
Black Lives Matter is Not a Hate Group
Source: Time Magazine
Knowing Our History to Build a Brighter Future: Books to Help Kids Understand the Fight for Racial Equality
Source: Brightly
To learn more about KKK and other hate groups:
These links provide more information about groups that are identified as Hate Groups as well as how and where they operate.
Ku Klux Klan
Source: Southern Poverty Law Center
The SPLC’s List of Hate Groups
Source: CNN
The Geography of Hate
Source: The Atlantic
To give students hope:
And finally, even though the things that are happening right now may seem bleak and frightening, it is our job as teachers to give our students tools for change.
Poems of Protest, Resistance and Empowerment
Source: Poetry Foundation
Obama’s Speech to Schoolchildren: ‘You Make Your Own Future’
Source: CNN Politics
50 Tips & Tricks For an Inclusive Classroom
Source: WeAreTeachers
What resources are you using to talk about the events in Charlottesville? Please share in the comments.