Resources Related to Current Events
April 2-May 2, 2022: Ramadan
Book Bans
- ALA: "State of America's Libraries Special Report: Pandemic Year Two"Includes annual censorship data, such as the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021 (p. 10).
- NPR: "A Texas Lawmaker Is Targeting 850 Books That He Says Could Make Students Feel Uneasy"Includes the list of 850 challenged books.
Residential Schools
June 19, 2021: Juneteenth
Juneteenth by
Juneteenth is the grandfather of allholidays for Black TexansFrom its spontaneous beginning on June 19, 1865, as slaves in Galveston, Texas, reacted to the delayed news of the Emancipation Proclamation, the holiday has spread nationwide among Black Americans. It is small gatherings on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, to immense crowds in Buffalo, New York. This ethnic holiday includes the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, retelling of legends about how it got its name, parades, parties, and family reunions.Join the author and photographer as they traveled to experience this celebration of freedom in various spots around the United States.
Call Number: TERC - juv 394 BRAISBN: 9780525652229Publication Date: 1998-04-01
Juneteenth by
A basic overview of Juneteenth for emergent readers. Color photographs reflect the short, easy-to-understand sentences that improve vocabulary and comprehension.
Call Number: TERC - juv 394 NELISBN: 9780761350279Publication Date: 2009-08-01
- All Different Now by Angela Johnson; E. B. Lewis (illustrator) In 1865, members of a family start their day as slaves, working in a Texas cotton field, and end it celebrating their freedom on what came to be known as Juneteenth.
- Juneteenth by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson; Drew Nelson; Mark Schroder (illustrator) Learn about how freedom came to the slaves in June 1865.
- Learning for Justice: Teaching Juneteenth The history of Juneteenth acknowledges hard history while also empowering students to be advocates for change.
- National Geographic: "Juneteenth is the Newest Federal Holiday. Here's What it Celebrates." Observed on June 19, the holiday commemorates the end of slavery in Texas—which wasn't until two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
- National Museum of African American History & Culture: Juneteenth Celebration of Resilience Juneteenth is a time to gather as a family, reflect on the past and look to the future. Discover ways to celebrate this African American cultural tradition of music, food and freedom.
- NYT: "Five Ways to Learn About Juneteenth" Via photographs, recipes, art, a podcast interview and more, students use The Times to explore the history, traditions and significance of the holiday.
- PBS: "Juneteenth Jamboree" Our show illuminates the significance of the Juneteenth holiday and shares stories about black culture and history. Join us for a look back at some of our highlights from past episodes.
Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial 2021
- 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission “The projects of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission will educate Oklahomans and Americans about the Race Massacre and its impact on the state and Nation; remember its victims and survivors; and create an environment conducive to fostering sustainable entrepreneurship and heritage tourism within the Greenwood District specifically, and North Tulsa generally."
- Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District by Hannibal B. Johnson Early in the twentieth century, the black community in Tulsa- the "Greenwood District"- became a nationally renowned entrepreneurial center. Frequently referred to as "The Black Wall Street of America," the Greenwood District attracted pioneers from all over America who sought new opportunities and fresh challenges. Legal segregation forced blacks to do business among themselves. The Greenwood district prospered as dollars circulated within the black community. But fear and jealousy swelled in the greater Tulsa community. The alleged assault of a white woman by a black man triggered unprecedented civil unrest. The worst riot in American history, the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 destroyed people, property, hopes, and dreams. Hundreds of people died or were injured. Property damage ran into the millions. The Greenwood District burned to the ground. Ever courageous, the Greenwood District pioneers rebuilt and better than ever. By 1942, some 242 businesses called the Greenwood district home. Having experienced decline in the '60s, '70s, and early '80s, the area is now poised for yet another renaissance. Black Wall Street speaks to the triumph of the human spirit.
- Death in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 by Scott Ellsworth Widely believed to be the most extreme incidence of white racial violence against African Americans in modern United States history, the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre resulted in the destruction of over one thousand black-owned businesses and homes as well as the murder of between fifty and three hundred black residents. Exhaustively researched and critically acclaimed, Scott Ellsworth's Death in a Promised Land is the definitive account of the Tulsa race riot and its aftermath, in which much of the history of the destruction and violence was covered up. It is the compelling story of racial ideologies, southwestern politics, and incendiary journalism, and of an embattled black community's struggle to hold onto its land and freedom. More than just the chronicle of one of the nation's most devastating racial pogroms, this critically acclaimed study of American race relations is, above all, a gripping story of terror and lawlessness, and of courage, heroism, and human perseverance.
- History Channel: Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre Executive produced by NBA superstar and philanthropist Russell Westbrook, and directed by Peabody and Emmy-Award® winning director Stanley Nelson (“Freedom Riders”) and Peabody and duPont-Award winner Marco Williams (“Two Towns of Jasper”), the documentary commemorates the 100th anniversary of the horrific Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history, and calls attention to the previously ignored but necessary repair of a town once devastated.
- NPR: Survivors Of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Share Eyewitness Accounts The day that a white mob came to Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Okla., Viola Fletcher was just 7 years old. During emotional testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Fletcher, who is now 107, recalled her memories of the two-day massacre that left hundreds of Black people dead. "I will never forget the violence of the white mob when we left our home. I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams," Fletcher told lawmakers. "I have lived through the massacre every day. Our country may forget this history, but I cannot."
- NYT: Teaching About the Tulsa Race Massacre In this lesson, students will explore a 3-D model of historical Greenwood — home of “Black Wall Street” — and then learn about how a white mob destroyed a prosperous Black community 100 years ago.
- Tulsa Schools: Inquiry-Driven Lesson Plans and Resources on the Tulsa Race Massacre To honor the Tulsa Race Massacre victims and their descendents we are pleased to share our lesson plans and resources. Thank you to the Greenwood Cultural Center for reviewing our curricular materials.
- Unspeakable: the Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford; Floyd Cooper (ill.) On May 31 and June 1, 1921, an armed mob looted homes and businesses as Black families fled. The police did nothing to protect Greenwood, and as many as three hundred African Americans were killed, most buried in unmarked graves. Thousands were left homeless. No official investigation occurred until seventy-five years later. Unspeakable helps young readers understand the events of the Tulsa, Oklahoma race massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation's history.
April 20, 2021: The Trial of Derek Chauvin
- Medium: The Chauvin Trial and High School: What Does All of This Say About the Future of American Democracy? Regardless of the demographics of your school community, high school educators across the nation should be preparing for the Chauvin verdict with student’s needs in mind. Waiting for the national reaction of the verdict to start the conversation in classrooms would be a missed learning opportunity.
- NYT: Lesson of the Day: How Teachers Are Exploring the Derek Chauvin Trial With Students In this lesson, students will learn how schools across the country are addressing the trial of the former police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd.
- PBS: Lesson Plan: How Derek Chauvin Trial Highlights Trauma of Police Brutality Derek Chauvin has been charged in the murder of George Floyd and the prosecution and defense are using two very different tactics to highlight their cases. This lesson plan has students analyze the facts of the Derek Chauvin trial as well as any potential stereotypes used in the case and the racial undertones thereof.
April 9-11, 2021: The Police Shooting of Daunte Wright and Police Stop of Lt. Caron Nazario
- NCTSN: Helping Youth after Community Trauma: Tips for Educators Traumatic events such as a natural disaster; school violence; accidents (e.g., gas explosions, arson, transportation accidents); traumatic death of an educator or peer can impact students’ learning, behavior, and relationships. Here are some reactions you might see and how you can help. Keep in mind, not all students will feel the same way.
- SAMHSA: Coping with Grief After Community Violence It is not uncommon for individuals and communities as a whole to experience grief reactions and anger after an incident of community violence. Grief is the normal response of sorrow, emotion, and confusion that comes from losing someone or something important to you. Most people will experience a natural occurrence of grief after the death of a loved one, but grief and anger can be the result of other types of losses. In situations of community violence, people may experience the loss of their sense of safety, their trust in those who live in their neighborhood, or their trust in local government. The trauma and grief of community violence can be experienced by all involved. This tip sheet contains information about some of the signs of grief and anger and provides useful information about how to cope with grief. In addition, the Helpful Resources section provides hotline numbers and treatment locators for those who may want further help.
- Learning for Justice: Let's Talk! Facilitating Critical Conversations with Students Educators play a crucial role in helping students talk openly about the historical roots and contemporary manifestations of social inequality and discrimination. Learning how to communicate about such topics as white privilege, police violence, economic inequality and mass incarceration requires practice, and facilitating critical conversations with students demands courage and skill. This guide offers classroom-ready strategies you can use to plan discussions and to facilitate these conversations with your students. We hope you find this guide useful and that you’ll share it with colleagues. And don’t forget to check out our related resources.
- NASP: Talking About Race and Privilege: Lesson Plan for Middle and High School Students Lesson Objectives: Define the concept of privilege; Identify and express examples of privilege in their lives or the world in which they live.
- TEDx: Beverly Daniel Tatum: "Is My Skin Brown Because I Drank Chocolate Milk?" When her 3-year-old son told her that a classmate told him that his skin was brown because he drank chocolate milk, Dr. Tatum, former president of Spelman College and a visiting scholar at Stanford’s Haas Center for Public Service, was surprised. As a clinical psychologist, she knew that preschool children often have questions about racial difference, but she had not anticipated such a question. But through conversations with her preschool son, followed by talking to teachers, colleagues and parents, she came to realize it is the things we don’t say and the matters we don’t discuss with our children that find their way into racist dialogue and thinking.’
- University of Michigan: Guidelines for Discussing Difficult or High-Stakes Topics The following guidelines can help instructors facilitate classroom discussion around controversial issues. Whatever the context, it is helpful to structure such discussions in a way that defines boundaries for the process and provides some degree of closure within the classroom. Such discussions are an especially important time to explicitly discuss expectations for respecting a range of perspectives and experiences in the room.
March 16, 2021: Atlanta, GA Shooting and Anti-Asian Violence
- The Color of Success: Asian Americans and the Origins of the Model Minority by Ellen D. Wu "The Color of Success tells of the astonishing transformation of Asians in the United States from the "yellow peril" to "model minorities"--Peoples distinct from the white majority but lauded as well-assimilated, upwardly mobile, and exemplars of traditional family values--in the middle decades of the twentieth century. As Ellen Wu shows, liberals argued for the acceptance of these immigrant communities into the national fold, charging that the failure of America to live in accordance with its democratic ideals endangered the country's aspirations to world leadership. Weaving together myriad perspectives, Wu provides an unprecedented view of racial reform and the contradictions of national belonging in the civil rights era. She highlights the contests for power and authority within Japanese and Chinese America alongside the designs of those external to these populations, including government officials, social scientists, journalists, and others. And she demonstrates that the invention of the model minority took place in multiple arenas, such as battles over zoot suiters leaving wartime internment camps, the juvenile delinquency panic of the 1950s, Hawaii statehood, and the African American freedom movement. Together, these illuminate the impact of foreign relations on the domestic racial order and how the nation accepted Asians as legitimate citizens while continuing to perceive them as indelible outsiders. By charting the emergence of the model minority stereotype, The Color of Success reveals that this far-reaching, politically charged process continues to have profound implications for how Americans understand race, opportunity, and nationhood"-- Provided by publisher.
- The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee "The definitive history of Asian Americans by one of the nation's preeminent scholars on the subject. In the past fifty years, Asian Americans have helped change the face of America and are now the fastest growing group in the United States. But as award-winning historian Erika Lee reminds us, Asian Americans also have deep roots in the country. The Making of Asian America tells the little-known history of Asian Americans and their role in American life, from the arrival of the first Asians in the Americas to the present-day. An epic history of global journeys and new beginnings, this book shows how generations of Asian immigrants and their American-born descendants have made and remade Asian American life in the United States: sailors who came on the first trans-Pacific ships in the 1500s; indentured "coolies" who worked alongside African slaves in the Caribbean; and Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and South Asian immigrants who were recruited to work in the United States only to face massive racial discrimination, Asian exclusion laws, and for Japanese Americans, incarceration during World War II. Over the past fifty years, a new Asian America has emerged out of community activism and the arrival of new immigrants and refugees. No longer a "despised minority," Asian Americans are now held up as America's "model minorities" in ways that reveal the complicated role that race still plays in the United States. Published to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the United States' Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 that has remade our "nation of immigrants," this is a new and definitive history of Asian Americans. But more than that, it is a new way of understanding America itself, its complicated histories of race and immigration, and its place in the world today."--Publisher information.
- NEA: "Educators Take a Stand Against Coronavirus Racism" As reports of discrimination increase, educators are fighting misinformation with facts and protecting their most vulnerable students.
- PBS: "Asian Americans" Asian Americans is a five-hour film series that delivers a bold, fresh perspective on a history that matters today, more than ever. As America becomes more diverse, and more divided while facing unimaginable challenges, how do we move forward together? Told through intimate personal stories, the series will cast a new lens on U.S. history and the ongoing role that Asian Americans have played.
- Talk Story Talk Story: Sharing stories, sharing culture is a literacy program that reaches out to Asian Pacific American (APA) and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) children and their families. The program celebrates and explores their stories through books, oral traditions, and art to provide an interactive, enriching experience. Children and their families can connect to rich cultural activities through Talk Story in their homes, libraries, and communities. We welcome all ethnicities to customize Talk Story as needed for your community family literacy needs.
- Young, Proud, and Sung-jee: A Children's Book on Fighting Anti-Asian Racism During COVID-19 by Joyce Y. Lee; Emily Ku; Maggie Chen (Illustrator) This is a children's book on fighting anti-Asian racism during COVID-19. The purpose of this book is to provide an educational resource to help generate meaningful discussions between adults and children about anti-Asian racism. An incident involving anti-Asian racism is directly introduced in the story. Additional resources for parents and caregivers, as well as a list of child-friendly definitions of some "big words" are provided at the end of the book. A downloadable version of the book, along with translations in multiple languages, can be found at: www.youngproudsungjee.com
March 2, 2021: Read Across America Day
- "The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books" by Katie Ishizuka & Ramón Stephens Theodor Seuss Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, has sold over 650 million children’s books in seventeen languages and ninety-five countries (Wilkens, “Wildly Inventive”). Of the 650 million books, over 450 million have been sold in the twenty-seven years since Dr. Seuss died (Bukszpan). Bill Dreyer, Collections Curator for the Art of Dr. Seuss' touring exhibitions, told CBS News, “Dr. Seuss is more popular now than he as during his lifetime” (Reynolds). In spite of his first children’s book being published over eighty years ago in 1937, Seuss continues to be widely celebrated in American culture, homes, and classrooms as “the most popular children’s author in America” (Nel, “Dr. Seuss” 6). According to Herb Cheyette of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, “one out of every four children born in the United States receives as its first book a Dr. Seuss Book” (Nel, “Dr. Seuss” 3).
- Breakout EDU: "Read Across America" Digital Game Grab your books, find your spot, open your book and read a lot! Everyone is reading, everywhere we go, It’s a great day to read new authors, a great day to read and grow! From the east to the west, the north to the south, Reading great books is what it’s all about! But our ticket to read, has been locked away, We need to break it out, so we can read more today! Share what you know, your brain you will use, Work with your friends, and read the clues. It’s really not tough, you have what you need, To puzzle out the puzzles, and Breakout our Ticket to Read!
- CNN: "6 Dr. Seuss Books Won't Be Published Anymore Because They Portray People in 'Hurtful and Wrong' Ways Six Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published because they "portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong," the business that preserves the author's legacy said. The titles are: "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" "If I Ran the Zoo" "McElligot's Pool" "On Beyond Zebra!" "Scrambled Eggs Super!" "The Cat's Quizzer"
- Learning for Justice: "It's Time to Talk About Dr. Seuss" In light of a new study revealing stereotyped characters across Dr. Seuss’s children’s books, published just before Read Across America Day, how can educators engage older students in a critical discussion of this canonical author?
- NEA: "NEA's Read Across America Rebrands With New Mission" A new focus on books that tell children of color or of different gender identities that they belong in the world and the world belongs to them.
- NEA: Read Across America Let's read and grow together with 12 months of recommended books, authors, and teaching resources that promote diversity and inclusion.
- SLJ: "Is the Cat in the Hat Racist? Read Across America Shifts Away From Dr. Seuss and Toward Diverse Books" For 20 years, Read Across America has been synonymous with youngsters wearing red and white striped hats sitting down for story time on March 2, Dr. Seuss’s birthday. But this fall, the biggest national literacy awareness program, sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA), will be shifting its focus toward a year-round promotion of diverse children’s books. It’s a change resulting from both a heightened awareness of representation in kid lit, as well as growing scrutiny of racial imagery in the work of the beloved children’s book author. Katie Ishizuka has been analyzing Seuss’ body of work for the past year. Ishizuka [a cousin of Kathy Ishizuka, SLJ’s executive editor] and her husband, Ramon Stephens, founded the Conscious Kid Social Justice Library, a subscription service which sends its subscribers monthly shipments of titles featuring multicultural characters. Stephens is a Ph.D. student in education at the University of California at San Diego, home to the Theodor Seuss Geisel Library, where he first came across a collection of the cartoonist’s early work—World War II political cartoons, featuring slurs and racist drawings of Japanese Americans, portraying them as a danger to nation. Ishizuka, whose grandparents and other relatives were sent by the U.S. government to internment camps during World War II, was very upset. “My grandmother was fired from her job at Seattle schools [and] then incarcerated,” she says. “This had real impact on my personal family. Thinking about how widely beloved and celebrated Seuss is as an author was another blow.” In March 2016, Ishizuka wrote a piece on the website Blavity about Seuss’ anti-Japanese cartoons, along with work that used the N-word and depicted blacks at a slave auction or rendered to resemble monkeys. She also pointed out images portraying Middle Eastern men as camel-riding sultans and women as hyper-sexualized harem dwellers. But what Ishizuka found even more troubling were racist images hidden in plain sight in Seuss’s popular picture books. Ishizuka, who holds a Master’s degree in social work, conducted a critical race analysis of 50 children’s books by Seuss and found that 98 percent of the human characters were white, and only two percent were people of color.
January 21, 2021: The Inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
- NYT: Lesson of the Day: Amanda Gorman and "The Hill We Climb" In this lesson, students learn about the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history and consider her work as part of a tradition of occasional poetry.
- PBS: Lesson Plan: Discuss 22-year-old Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural Poem “The Hill We Climb” In this lesson, students examine the poetry of Amanda Gorman, who was chosen to read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021. Gorman’s poem will complement Biden’s message and themes of “unity.”
- WBUR: "Poet Amanda Gorman on Activism and Art in Times of Darkness" Amanda Gorman, the nation's first Youth Poet Laureate, is among them. The 22-year-old graduated from Harvard earlier this year and is using her talent to offer words of hope and understanding. Here & Now's Tonya Mosley speaks with Gorman about poetry as a tool for activism.
January 6, 2021: The Attack on the Capitol
- UNESCO: Teaching Respect for All Implementation Guide(Module 2 is Education.)
