tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34521734006324518152024-03-16T10:09:38.527-07:00Christopher Martell on Social Studies and EducationChristopher Martell on Social Studies and EducationChristopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-4828633588230249562023-06-04T17:23:00.018-07:002023-07-03T13:19:16.809-07:00Teaching About Affirmative Action<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTid8alRCPWEJog9eQNwQ2jkwdHdzd6zJhYhSNbP6i7dBH0OcUv2NZzL4MBu1pcvPZTbiNEQPw3t7iMg8sEOJ58qmev11Auzm8JwbEnRkpqWzT8C27o16el8OVetTkEiWb9aXPth6Aw6QWvGBC8rA0L8h35jeKfmQE0Hg0hamYIr6aqprpALb3hLpH/s760/AffirmativeAction.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="760" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTid8alRCPWEJog9eQNwQ2jkwdHdzd6zJhYhSNbP6i7dBH0OcUv2NZzL4MBu1pcvPZTbiNEQPw3t7iMg8sEOJ58qmev11Auzm8JwbEnRkpqWzT8C27o16el8OVetTkEiWb9aXPth6Aw6QWvGBC8rA0L8h35jeKfmQE0Hg0hamYIr6aqprpALb3hLpH/s320/AffirmativeAction.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><i>Above: Supporters of Affirmative Action outside of the Supreme Court in October 2022.</i><p></p><p>Despite a <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/565628-62-percent-of-americans-favor-affirmative-action-programs/" target="_blank">majority of Americans</a> <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/majority-americans-favor-affirmative-action-colleges-rcna86853" target="_blank">supporting the use of race in university admissions</a> (<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/02/25/most-americans-say-colleges-should-not-consider-race-or-ethnicity-in-admissions/" target="_blank">although asking the question differently effects the results</a>), it is very likely in the coming days that the U.S. Supreme Court <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/opponents-supporters-of-affirmative-action-face-off/" target="_blank">will rule that university affirmative action programs are unconstitutional</a> (UPDATE: On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court reversed decades of precedent and ruled that <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/29/1181138066/affirmative-action-supreme-court-decision" target="_blank">affirmative action in college admissions was unconstitutional</a>; this also led many to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-affirmative-action-legacy-college-admissions-5d6f34a13045752c6a37db67c66c7d63" target="_blank">question the long-standing practice of legacy admissions</a> <a href="https://apnews.com/article/legacy-admissions-affirmative-action-colleges-4a4e1191274e91e695e0631ff5156875" target="_blank">in U.S. universities</a>). This follows a trend of the conservative-majority Supreme Court undoing decades of civil rights legal precedents, including <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn" target="_blank">abortion rights</a> (<a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/19-1392" target="_blank">Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization</a>), <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/us/supreme-court-ruling.html" target="_blank">voting rights</a> (<a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/12-96" target="_blank">Shelby County v. Holder</a>), as well as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/07/17/supreme-court-church-state-religion-coach/" target="_blank">separation of church and state</a> (<a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2017/16-111" target="_blank">Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission</a>; <span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/20-1088" target="_blank">Carson v. Makin</a>, <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/21-418" target="_blank">Kennedy v. Bremerton School District</a>; <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/20-1800" target="_blank">Shurtleff v. Boston</a>) </span></span>in the United States. </p><p>This post is meant to help teach students about the history of affirmative action, the current debate over affirmative action, and help students contemplate the inquiry question: <i><b>How should we address the racial disadvantages embedded in our educational systems? </b></i></p><p>This issue is not only incredibly important to discuss with students, and especially high schools students who are often preparing to apply to college, but since educational access is a major <a href="https://gpseducation.oecd.org/revieweducationpolicies/#!node=41761&filter=all" target="_blank">determinant of life outcomes</a>, it is an important issue for equity more broadly in American society. <br /></p><p><b>Racial Segregation and the Civil Rights Acts </b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdo4Yd57XNG4-Q0BOOSVL-BOqkXJmZsLFB232WDr8JgE0_gQsjcyNHA4b4dWvBSEFSEmrtUCvBjfO01uUWDF15zzXsM7c_BEdyYi22caaIqXfAeZ89kJ1v3m_YIuqZCX0uPDZ2nnULWgyX89Gr1ONt8t2iKH6n5AEjxZbKfPsN6AWPMS6AedstEyqU/s3000/2014714232618_728.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2483" data-original-width="3000" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdo4Yd57XNG4-Q0BOOSVL-BOqkXJmZsLFB232WDr8JgE0_gQsjcyNHA4b4dWvBSEFSEmrtUCvBjfO01uUWDF15zzXsM7c_BEdyYi22caaIqXfAeZ89kJ1v3m_YIuqZCX0uPDZ2nnULWgyX89Gr1ONt8t2iKH6n5AEjxZbKfPsN6AWPMS6AedstEyqU/s320/2014714232618_728.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>Above: Black students attend a de jure racially segregated school in Summerton, S.C. (1954).</i><br /><p></p><p>The United States was established as an independent nation in 1783 with a legalized race-based slave system and with people of color and women not having equal citizenship rights to white men, which caused widespread racial and gender inequality. After the <a href="https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/who-freed-the-slaves/" target="_blank">Civil War</a> and <a href="https://www.zinnedproject.org/if-we-knew-our-history/when-black-lives-mattered/" target="_blank">Reconstruction</a>, racial and gender discrimination persisted and the social and economic gaps between white men and people of color and women continued to widen. While there were some eras of expanding racial and gender equality, including some civil rights cases in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (such as Tape v. Hurley and Méndez v. Westminster), <a href="https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/woman-suffrage" target="_blank">women's suffrage</a>, and during the <a href="https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/great-depression-and-world-war-ii-1929-1945/franklin-delano-roosevelt-and-the-new-deal/" target="_blank">New Deal</a> (including <a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/fdr-racial-discrimination-1942" target="_blank">anti-discrimination executive orders</a>), it was not until Brown v. Board of Education that the government had a constitutional obligation to prevent racial discrimination. Soon laws, such as the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act" target="_blank">Civil Rights Act</a> and the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act" target="_blank">Voting Rights Act</a> would follow and extend these protections based on gender, national origin, and other social identities. <b><br /></b></p><p><a href="https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-segregation.html" target="_blank">History of Discrimination and Racial Segregation Before Brown v. Board of Education (Library of Congress)</a></p><p><a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/05/before-brown-v-education-there-was-tape-v-hurley/" target="_blank">Tape v. Hurley </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2014/05/before-brown-v-board-of-education-there-was-mendez-v-westminster/" target="_blank">Méndez v. Westminister </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/emmett-brown-v-board-education/" target="_blank">Brown v. Board of Education (PBS American Experience) </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.oah.org/tah/issues/2017/february/the-troubled-history-of-american-education-after-the-brown-decision/" target="_blank">After Brown v. Board of Education (Organization of American Historians)</a></p><p><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/to-fight-for-civil-rights-lyndon-b-johnson-settled-for-the-middle-ground-180981482/" target="_blank">1957 Civil Rights Acts</a></p><p><a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act" target="_blank">Civil Rights Act of 1964</a></p><p><a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act" target="_blank">Voting Rights Act of 1965</a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3333" target="_blank">Great Society and Racial Equality </a><br /></p><p><b>History of Affirmative Action and Re-Segregation of the United States<br /></b></p><p>"Affirmative action" was a term first used in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_10925" target="_blank">Executive Order 10925</a> signed by John F. Kennedy in regard to preventing racial discrimination in the hiring of government contractors. Under the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the program became one of his signature civil rights initiatives. In the 1960s and 70s, affirmative action programs expanded in employment and education for both people of color and women (<a href="https://time.com/4884132/affirmative-action-civil-rights-white-women/" target="_blank">white women have been the largest beneficiary of affirmative action</a>). While primarily government programs, private employers and academic institutions have also adopted affirmative action policies. Yet, since the 1990s, racial segregation in U.S. <a href="https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/new-national-study-finds-increasing-school-segregation" target="_blank">schools</a>, <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/workplace-diversity-.aspx" target="_blank">workforce</a>, and <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/essay/homeownership-racial-segregation-and-policies-for-racial-wealth-equity/" target="_blank">housing</a> has increased. <br /></p><p><a href="https://www.aaaed.org/aaaed/History_of_Affirmative_Action.asp" target="_blank">Affirmative Action Timeline (The American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity)<br /></a></p><p><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/learn-origins-term-affirmative-action-180959531/" target="_blank">History of Affirmative Action (Smithsonian Magazine)</a><br /></p><p><a href="https://clintonwhitehouse3.archives.gov/WH/EOP/OP/html/aa/aa02.html" target="_blank">History of Affirmative Action (Clinton White House Archive) </a></p><p><a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-return-of-school-segregation-in-eight-charts/" target="_blank">The Return of School Segregation (PBS Frontline)</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/resegregation-america-ncna801446" target="_blank">The Re-Segregation of the United States (NBC News) </a><br /></p><p><b>Court Challenges to Affirmative Action<br /></b></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BR6NEEVBrbFa7tRJ7epYBDwcdXVbRizSaUQAZNdwnpKFmT88wPkP-FXftx6xymdByzo9BuUHeVW4fTX7boElM0z95o4fh5aySB_GOfRkBZmwrWVok2om9HILQEXHbQYgW9pbiglW4id1NqC3bGr-bCK1k5U5NfAdzWRU79psxepuklf6U3dQIJlj/s3012/221026101844-04-bakke-supreme-court-case.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1996" data-original-width="3012" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BR6NEEVBrbFa7tRJ7epYBDwcdXVbRizSaUQAZNdwnpKFmT88wPkP-FXftx6xymdByzo9BuUHeVW4fTX7boElM0z95o4fh5aySB_GOfRkBZmwrWVok2om9HILQEXHbQYgW9pbiglW4id1NqC3bGr-bCK1k5U5NfAdzWRU79psxepuklf6U3dQIJlj/s320/221026101844-04-bakke-supreme-court-case.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Above: Demonstrators in Washington, D.C. in 1977 protest the potential decision against affirmative action in the Bakke case.<br /></i></span></b><p></p><p>Starting in the 1970s, there were <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/11/01/1132935433/supreme-court-affirmative-action-history-harvard-admissions-university-carolina" target="_blank">a series of conservative legal challenges to affirmative action programs</a>. They have made claims that race should not be a consideration in employment and especially not a consideration in school and college admissions (and <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/06/affirmative-action-never-had-a-chance.html" target="_blank">labeling it as a form of "reverse discrimination,"</a> where there is evidence it <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1185226895/heres-what-happened-when-affirmative-action-ended-at-california-public-colleges" target="_blank">instead "leveled the playing field</a>."). Simultaneously, affirmative action programs <a href="https://www.bostonfed.org/-/media/Documents/nerr/section3b.pdf" target="_blank">increased social and economic opportunities for people of color and women</a>. Meanwhile, many groups have defended the practice as a means to ensuring fairness in educational and employment opportunities.<b><br /></b></p><p><a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1979/76-811" target="_blank">University of California v. Bakke</a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/20/us/affirmative-action-voided-at-public-school.html" target="_blank">Wessmann v. Boston School Committee </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2002/02-241" target="_blank">Grutter v. Bollinger</a>/<a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2002/02-516" target="_blank">Gratz v. Bollinger</a><a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/11-345" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p><a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/11-345" target="_blank">Fisher v. The University of Texas</a></p><p><a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2022/21-707" target="_blank">Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina</a>/<span><a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2022/20-1199" target="_blank">Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College</a></span></p><p><span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/10/31/1132980262/supreme-court-affirmative-action-harvard-unc" target="_blank">Supreme Court's Hostility to Affirmative Action (National Public Radio) </a></span></p><p><span><a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2023/0405/Meet-the-man-trying-to-end-affirmative-action " target="_blank">Meet the Man Trying to End Affirmative Action</a> (Christian Science Monitor)<br /></span></p><p><b>Commentaries and Fact Sheets on Affirmative Action</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABBWKV8ltH7yYiDGUCsiEmyVgFtifGTQkArzVLlF8uiZ3fcqj8jL00-tXK5w-AN-MrAcUI_araZC7UCtg7mZ_OxRc0cx2GyG4t7vUq4Bdi87CDTUM2GKPPA_kbgd1eJMwGrF0jf4GeoDQvhEC3r6jm6mdQcWFwZFohElafPXw4uLuCS-pVrbL9_YC/s640/FT_14.04.23_collegeRace_enrollTrend-640-2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="640" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABBWKV8ltH7yYiDGUCsiEmyVgFtifGTQkArzVLlF8uiZ3fcqj8jL00-tXK5w-AN-MrAcUI_araZC7UCtg7mZ_OxRc0cx2GyG4t7vUq4Bdi87CDTUM2GKPPA_kbgd1eJMwGrF0jf4GeoDQvhEC3r6jm6mdQcWFwZFohElafPXw4uLuCS-pVrbL9_YC/s320/FT_14.04.23_collegeRace_enrollTrend-640-2.png" width="320" /></a></div><i>Above: College Enrollment by Race (PEW Research Center).</i><br /><p></p><p>Below are a series of affirmative action fact sheets and commentaries presenting different perspectives on the topic. <b><br /></b></p><p><a href="https://www.aclu.org/other/myths-and-facts-about-affirmative-action" target="_blank">ACLU Affirmative Action Fact Sheet </a></p><p><a href="https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/publication/affirmative-action-facts" target="_blank">Asian Americans Advancing Justice Fact Sheet </a></p><p><a href="https://civilrights.org/edfund/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/AffirmativeActionFactSheet.pdf" target="_blank">The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Fact Sheet </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/01/20/have-we-outgrown-the-need-for-affirmative-action" target="_blank">The Changing Meaning of Affirmative Action - The New Yorker</a></p><p><a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/5-reasons-support-affirmative-action-college-admissions/" target="_blank">5 Reasons to Keep Affirmative Action - Center for American Progress </a></p><p><a href="https://www.afj.org/article/a-monumental-threat-to-racial-equality-the-supreme-court-affirmative-action-cases/" target="_blank">A Monumental Threat to Racial Equality: The Supreme Court Affirmative Action Cases - Alliance for Justice </a></p><p><a href="https://stanfordmag.org/contents/the-case-against-affirmative-action" target="_blank">Argument Against Affirmative Action - Stanford Magazine </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://time.com/6225372/edward-blum-affirmative-action-supreme-court-interview/" target="_blank">Edward Blum Interview - Time Magazine</a><br /></p>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-47367664259435011112023-02-26T11:14:00.114-08:002023-03-06T16:11:07.237-08:00Teaching Book Bans in the Past and Present<i></i><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ls7qV2B6Z2DDHh5Qp-_ZcZ9QXgdo7Ho8unXI1sBOIMLNtmcqn7cSaEKgO0blOQ56mFGdQXR-w8eJaI2cjRrqFQUay8gBQOHH8E0GC5vFFI7QDZdbvub3WWFWDUGwh0iOjEyGQJXkUd9UDw0fvy7Row8I37r2X0L5zn0W0B1SVffULfyRttK0ydGY/s3600/BookBans.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1890" data-original-width="3600" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ls7qV2B6Z2DDHh5Qp-_ZcZ9QXgdo7Ho8unXI1sBOIMLNtmcqn7cSaEKgO0blOQ56mFGdQXR-w8eJaI2cjRrqFQUay8gBQOHH8E0GC5vFFI7QDZdbvub3WWFWDUGwh0iOjEyGQJXkUd9UDw0fvy7Row8I37r2X0L5zn0W0B1SVffULfyRttK0ydGY/w400-h210/BookBans.png" width="400" /></a></i><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"> <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>Above: A list of book bans by state (<a href="https://pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books-in-schools/" target="_blank">PEN America</a>). <span style="font-weight: 400;">There are bans in 138 school districts in
32 states that represent 5,049 schools with nearly 4 million students.</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">What is going on with all these states and schools banning books? </span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">How can teachers use this as a "teachable moment" and educate students about the long history of censorship inside and outside schools?</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">There is a <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-book-burning-printing-press-internet-archives-180964697/" target="_blank">long history</a> of humans banning or destroying books that they find objectionable. Of course, one of the most infamous acts of book burning included those of the <a href="https://www.ushmm.org/collections/bibliography/1933-book-burnings" target="_blank">Nazis during their rise to power</a> in the 1930s. Similarly, segregationists during the modern Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s attempted to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4309483" target="_blank">ban books from local libraries and schools</a>. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Sadly, we again face <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/30/books/book-ban-us-schools.html" target="_blank">attempts to censor what people, and especially students, read</a>. A number of conservative states in the U.S. have passed laws that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2022/06/09/rise-book-bans-explained/" target="_blank">curtail what books can be included in schools</a> and many school boards have banned books from their school libraries. These laws have largely targeted books related to <a href="https://www.naacpldf.org/critical-race-theory-banned-books/" target="_blank">race</a>, <a href="https://pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books-in-schools/" target="_blank">sexual orientation</a>, and <a href="https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/as-extremists-push-book-bans-across-the-country-25-000-students-educators-and-parents-will-participate-in-national-day-of-reading-by-hrcs-welcoming-schools-program-uplifting-transgender-and-non-binary-stories" target="_blank">transgender people</a> (and are part of a <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-the-push-for-parents-rights-means-for-schools/2023/02" target="_blank">concerted effort by conservatives to control the content taught in schools</a>). In response, educators and community members have been challenging these laws. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">This blog post is to help social studies teachers contextualize these book bans through lessons for their students on the history of book bans.<br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ClbWOqrB1fkTje_zc1wsm63B6HIJMNiS9Sh0QXBmFxxFGG5Y3bI922AkKjSPx3qEPOkJwoPnXIDds0T6fAzTHlIRhNOnQsBI_tEeCEihcNDlFQTG0eA5-YXEaEmvqE3F8FmDM1B6dno11y0CAxxLS4UL1Pm23ek5hPplN-FXjQC8DvHMDwJW6I8J/s559/BookBurning.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="559" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ClbWOqrB1fkTje_zc1wsm63B6HIJMNiS9Sh0QXBmFxxFGG5Y3bI922AkKjSPx3qEPOkJwoPnXIDds0T6fAzTHlIRhNOnQsBI_tEeCEihcNDlFQTG0eA5-YXEaEmvqE3F8FmDM1B6dno11y0CAxxLS4UL1Pm23ek5hPplN-FXjQC8DvHMDwJW6I8J/s320/BookBurning.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></i></span></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">Above: Book burning depicted in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicles. Below: (Left) The 1817 Wartburg
Festival in Germany, where anti-nationalist writings were burned. (Right) Segregationists in the 20th century often supported bans and burnings related to books about racial justice or written by authors of color. </span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBhLjXbRqnUzuyr_HRXlv1invR3C-r-51NRiLfQZoXTW52_b0TjsqY3G5t8PklXIqYdFE_6xfqEQW_ZMZkemHzOmVHMReIk1USUHwcYhTtYg8sh3RC7a0Y3B6Zf01NarkFrJUK-G03tW32zCKuHw_NDjadrtrlu1jcKaMZtrXriiDoUHxRvToz68z/s600/Segregationists.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="620" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfZSKNmmbw24OCBFvryjZ7C6sA6jBwXAfSAx0FdhLmv_hznGVUTBdP39RvZKugVAYP0poaFV0IvV1s73xS1z2Wx8j8VzpCJKhtiKPuSHSgyOm7nqz-nQwEGJn1MdSa8yvgSzRD4D4tXKAp7A_SibX0S--CqI0bryqZ39t7lgNDGyX0EgLVc5HHzvA/w237-h158/Wartburg%20Festival.jpg" width="237" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="600" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBhLjXbRqnUzuyr_HRXlv1invR3C-r-51NRiLfQZoXTW52_b0TjsqY3G5t8PklXIqYdFE_6xfqEQW_ZMZkemHzOmVHMReIk1USUHwcYhTtYg8sh3RC7a0Y3B6Zf01NarkFrJUK-G03tW32zCKuHw_NDjadrtrlu1jcKaMZtrXriiDoUHxRvToz68z/w201-h160/Segregationists.jpeg" width="201" /></a></span></i></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><br /></span></i></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>Book Bans Spread from Europe to the Americas <br /></b></span></p><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">As long as there have been books, there have been attempts by people to ban or destroy them</span><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">. There were <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3499551-the-long-history-of-book-burning/" target="_blank">incidences of book burnings in ancient Rome, </a></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3499551-the-long-history-of-book-burning/" target="_blank">Egypt,</a><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3499551-the-long-history-of-book-burning/" target="_blank"> and China</a>. There were <a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2014/07/burn-books-middle-ages/" target="_blank">at least 200 book burnings during the Medieval period in Europe</a>.
Traditionally, book burnings have been mostly symbolic acts to further the cause of banning books. With the invention of the printing press and books being more readily available, book bans increased. For example, during the Reformation, <a href="https://libguides.unm.edu/blog/what-not-to-read-book-censorship-in-early-modern-europe" target="_blank">Pope Paul IV banned books</a> by authors
guilty of heresy against the Catholic Church, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, Henry
VIII, and others. The first book banning in what became the United
States was likely <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/americas-first-banned-book" target="_blank">in 1637 at Manet (now Quincy) in Massachusetts Bay Colony</a> and continued through much of the 17th and 18th centuries.<br /></span></span></p></div><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>Book Bans to Prevent Increasing Justice and Freedom<br /></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEEYCdsDyRjT0FpztXg4GarUHv9q6gyBgzXQlznv6We_p2paHxyQYzim6qY6dXOXym7EXFb7WDntjaUQ6AW9tDhAV9R2Ub_sjxMKv0YSTR1jd7CJxeq98alzQhWh_g_1_Vl0_BP-sTx1ZQKc-B0xfak8uVlxazNX8Z7QXj-iKVm3PIbdU9Gbu1fqhc/s1389/Uncle%20Tomes%20Cabin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1389" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEEYCdsDyRjT0FpztXg4GarUHv9q6gyBgzXQlznv6We_p2paHxyQYzim6qY6dXOXym7EXFb7WDntjaUQ6AW9tDhAV9R2Ub_sjxMKv0YSTR1jd7CJxeq98alzQhWh_g_1_Vl0_BP-sTx1ZQKc-B0xfak8uVlxazNX8Z7QXj-iKVm3PIbdU9Gbu1fqhc/s320/Uncle%20Tomes%20Cabin.jpg" width="184" /></a></span></div><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>Above: Anti-slavery book Uncle Tom's Cabin was banned and even burned in many places before the Civil War. </i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">In the 19th and 20th centuries, as more people facing oppression demanded their rights, book bans increased in the United States. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/09/the-history-of-book-bans-and-their-changing-targets-in-the-us" target="_blank">Anti-slavery books were banned</a> in many locations throughout the United States in the 19th century, and especially in slave states. For instance, Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> was publicly burned by slaveholders. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/09/the-history-of-book-bans-and-their-changing-targets-in-the-us" target="_blank">Free Black minister Sam Greenwas was sentenced to 10 years</a> in a Maryland penitentiary for owning a copy of the
book. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">After the Civil War, with the passage of the Comstock Act (1873), <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/09/the-history-of-book-bans-and-their-changing-targets-in-the-us" target="_blank">possession or mailing of "obscene" or "immoral" texts became illegal</a>; these laws often targeted queer people and women, as they included articles about sexuality and birth control. In Boston (where I live), the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/09/the-history-of-book-bans-and-their-changing-targets-in-the-us" target="_blank">New England Watch and Ward Society</a> was created in 1879 to push for the banning of books throughout in the area (it helped give the rise to the phrase "banned in Boston"); to their dismay, some publishers specifically chose to publish their books in the city in the hopes that it would get banned and raise publicity. During the anti-communism hysteria of the early 1950s, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/09/the-history-of-book-bans-and-their-changing-targets-in-the-us" target="_blank">communities banned numerous books including <i>Huckleberry Finn</i>, <i>The Catcher in the Rye</i>, and <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i></a>. <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">In the 1950s and 60s, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the anti-war movement, and the sexual revolution, schools became the front link for book bans. The <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/2019/04/twisted-sources-how-confederate-propaganda-ended-souths-schoolbooks" target="_blank">United Daughters of the Confederacy waged successful campaigns to ban textbooks</a> that were not sympathetic to the Confederacy (<a href="https://www.theroot.com/we-found-the-textbooks-of-senators-who-oppose-the-1619-1846832317" target="_blank">here is an excellent story from The Root showing how many current congressmen used those textbooks</a>). Those opposed to the Civil Rights Movement banned books <a href="https://www.aclum.org/en/banned-books-black-authors" target="_blank">about racial justice</a> and <a href="https://counterarchive.hosting.nyu.edu/exhibits/show/book-banning-by-governments/censorship-during-the-civil-ri" target="_blank">written from Black perspectives</a> (something that started decades earlier, including the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2023/02/miseducation-of-negro-book-black-history-ap-african-american-studies/673045/" target="_blank">banning of Carter G. Woodson's work</a>). They also burned books, including the plea for racial equality <a href="https://www.currentargus.com/story/opinion/columnists/2022/08/04/centuries-of-book-bans-havent-discouraged-desire-to-read/65389776007/" target="_blank">"We Sing for America" by Marion Cuthbert</a>. Meanwhile, segregationists also <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4309483" target="_blank">prevented Black people from borrowing books from public libraries</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6gLdjgfR4FvWQ3XoFrzD8sOF_fxbgGSJnQ34QXALsrXziXb1BPiqTGSJmmuJIOl-BsA_VkVhQE579493WiLQT-hLd9gXeF8X26nU76Cj8Zo7YtS9DWrvx-IQcT2UyOyGCscvrOwM0IlFnLlNNZquGnjEXUHyF9kTVxZHYcc2siQQDmN8AOJL1_WZu/s636/BookBurning.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="636" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6gLdjgfR4FvWQ3XoFrzD8sOF_fxbgGSJnQ34QXALsrXziXb1BPiqTGSJmmuJIOl-BsA_VkVhQE579493WiLQT-hLd9gXeF8X26nU76Cj8Zo7YtS9DWrvx-IQcT2UyOyGCscvrOwM0IlFnLlNNZquGnjEXUHyF9kTVxZHYcc2siQQDmN8AOJL1_WZu/w202-h177/BookBurning.jpg" width="202" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDi_OiSrIdPdE4v89sNKYDVe2kARMz5vkoEpEr7dH6mDysP-WaWbm-SjdbGSeJM3nxp3Q3YSOf-TUaem_yppXhPsJpWwsETafcDMq0yG689V-Yu0hgByg0TU6wedNWccQYi3Ah03LMYfqEn6_XWXIizfHBbKbXNzDksEwEcI9Tx3OrA5U0Kzqd-Eb6/w234-h175/ManateeBooks.jpeg" width="234" /></a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>Above: (Right) A comic book and magazine burning in 1949 at St. Mary's High School in <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">Cape
Girardeau, Missouri. (Left) Elementary teachers cover bookshelves in
2023 after Manatee County School District officials direct them to
remove all books that have not been approved by a specialist to ensure
they do not violate a new <a href="https://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-9557/dps-2022-83.pdf">Florida state law</a>
that censors the content of school books. </span></i><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Schools (and school-aged children) have often been the target of book bans and burnings. Due to their perceived innocence, book bans that are framed as "protecting children" often face less resistance from communities. Yet, these book bans have often targeted books that are actually uplifting to students of color and queer students</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">or <a href="https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/10-books-politicians-dont-want-you-to-read" target="_blank">help students understand issues related to race, sexual orientation, or gender</a>.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">During this period, there were also several important federal and Supreme Court cases that prohibited school officials from removing books from school libraries (<a href="https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1539/minarcini-v-strongsville-city-school-district-6th-circuit" target="_blank">Minarcini v. Strongsville City School District</a> and <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1981/80-2043" target="_blank">Island Trees School District v. Pico</a>) or preventing student journalists from reporting on controversial topics (<a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1981/80-2043" target="_blank">Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier</a>). Much of these rulings we based on a <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/01/09/specials/joyce-court.html" target="_blank">1933 Supreme Court ruling that struck down bans of the James Joyce book "Ulysses."</a> Yet, there have continued to be so many contested books in school libraries that <a href="https://bannedbooksweek.org/about/" target="_blank">librarians have established the annual "Banned Book Week."</a><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBF3xO5FhZaL9H2a8oKG65MuSrS66UCwdpSv78j4sv_iDBkrzW7KFLeuSlCJt_H8OupxAsMhXh4lDSFsALyPFw7eBnqhiNkPAmtohBjp7xH7iLxBZCJlrMuB9lwySMDbI1MN7SDQ9yISAmUXIeNWGHcvnCXgL3W3v6OIZHJfJ7RMZDT-0bXYbMM9yT/s680/BookBurning.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="680" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBF3xO5FhZaL9H2a8oKG65MuSrS66UCwdpSv78j4sv_iDBkrzW7KFLeuSlCJt_H8OupxAsMhXh4lDSFsALyPFw7eBnqhiNkPAmtohBjp7xH7iLxBZCJlrMuB9lwySMDbI1MN7SDQ9yISAmUXIeNWGHcvnCXgL3W3v6OIZHJfJ7RMZDT-0bXYbMM9yT/s320/BookBurning.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>Above: A book burning in 2022 <a href="https://observer.com/2022/02/book-banning-is-increasing-across-the-united-states-a-book-burning-in-tennessee/" target="_blank">held by a conservative Christian pastor in Tennessee</a>. <br /></i></span><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>Book Bans Today </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Book bans and burnings <a href="https://bookriot.com/book-censorship-around-the-world/" target="_blank">are not unique to the United States</a>, but they have made a comeback in recent years. The nonprofit organization PEN America found that 1,586 book bans targeting 1,145 unique books had occurred in 2022. <a href="https://www.naacpldf.org/critical-race-theory-banned-books/" target="_blank">So-called "divisive concept" or anti-Critical Race Theory laws have give new tools to conservative politicians to remove books related to racial justice or queer peoples' experiences</a>.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-the-push-for-parents-rights-means-for-schools/2023/02" target="_blank">Moms for Liberty</a>, a <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/dark-money/basics" target="_blank">dark money</a> funded <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Astroturf" target="_blank">astroturf group</a>, has been one of the groups <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/moms-liberty/moms-liberty-hiding-behind-these-front-groups-they-gut-public-school-libraries" target="_blank">leading the charge</a> to ban books at the <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/166373/moms-liberty-schools-nightmare-midterms" target="_blank">district and state levels</a> (while also <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/critical-race-theory/moms-liberty-placing-right-wing-propaganda-public-school-libraries-while" target="_blank">strategically placing conservative political propaganda in some of those same school libraries</a> and <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/book-banning-curriculum-restrictions-and-the-politicization-of-u-s-schools/" target="_blank">generally lobbying against public education</a>). A similar campaign is under way from other <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/National_Association_of_Scholars" target="_blank">conservative political organizations</a> to <a href="https://www.salon.com/2022/07/08/rights-new-social-studies-plan-vows-to-fight-crt-wokeness-and-the-overthrow-of-america/" target="_blank">influence history and civics curriculum around conservative political ideologies</a>. <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">An important aspect to
book bans or burnings is that <a href="https://www.currentargus.com/story/opinion/columnists/2022/08/04/centuries-of-book-bans-havent-discouraged-desire-to-read/65389776007/" target="_blank">they usually do not work</a> (yet, they do sometimes have a <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/book-banning-curriculum-restrictions-and-the-politicization-of-u-s-schools/" target="_blank">silencing effect</a> in the short term-and there should be a concern that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/03/06/slavery-was-wrong-5-other-things-educators-wont-teach-anymore/" target="_blank">these bans may be different</a>). Ultimately, they
may encourage more people to read a banned or burned book, especially in
the digital age, where it is much easier to get access to reading
materials. For example, an <a href="https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/03/08/howard-zinn-books-ban-arkansas" target="_blank">Arkansas lawmaker tried to ban Howard Zinn's <i>A Peoples History of the United States</i></a>, and it likely led to <a href="https://www.zinnedproject.org/about/impact/ar_phpoursin2/" target="_blank">more students reading the book</a>. After some school districts <a href="https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/stamped-co-author-activist-ibram-x-kendi-book-ban-sarasota/67-7248cfd6-e66b-4646-b824-6061be7d9d2b" target="_blank">attempted to ban "Stamped" by Ibram Kendi and Jason Reynolds</a>, <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/83776-print-units-jump-at-the-end-of-june.html" target="_blank">book sales skyrocketed</a>. <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Below are several editorials and campaigns against book bans. Have students read these various perspectives as they consider the potential harm caused by book bans. <br /></span></p><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">"The Real Reason North Dakota Is Going After Books and Librarians" by Taylor Brorby (New York Times) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/opinion/libraries-sex-books-north-dakota.html " target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/opinion/libraries-sex-books-north-dakota.html</a> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">"How to Beat a Book Ban: Students, Parents and Librarians Fight Back" by Adam Gabbatt (The Guardian)<span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/20/us-book-bans-fight-school-library">https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/20/us-book-bans-fight-school-librar</a></span></span></p><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">"How To Fight Book Bans and Challenges: An Anti-Censorship Tool Kit" by Kelly Jensen (Book Riot) <a href="https://bookriot.com/how-to-fight-book-bans-and-challenges/">https://bookriot.com/how-to-fight-book-bans-and-challenges/</a></span></p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">"Unite Against Book Bans Campaign" by the American Library Association <a href="https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/">https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/</a></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>Inquiry Questions to Consider Asking Students:</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Finally, here are a set of inquiry questions that teachers might ask students about book bans (and burnings) in the past and present<i>. </i><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">To
help students answer these questions, teachers can use the above linked
sources from the post: <br /></span></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>How should we remember the history of book bans and burnings? <br /></i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>Using examples from history, what are some effective ways that students and parents organized to stop book bans?</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>Are current book bans in states like Florida or Texas constitutional? Do they cause harm to students?</i><br /></span></li></ul><br />Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-42198095435745231942022-08-23T18:24:00.068-07:002024-02-23T21:09:31.054-08:00Teaching About Japanese American Incarceration<p>In 1942, the United States government unjustly incarcerated over 120,000 Japanese Americans. Anti-Asian American racism and fear of economic competition with white-owned farms and businesses have been widely documented as the main causes. Traditionally, Japanese American incarceration has been told through the U.S. government's narrative. Students study from textbooks, government documents, and even photographs and films that the government created to portray a "sanitized" version of what happened. I hope this post can support teachers in telling a different story that centers Japanese Americans, their voices, and their experiences. I start by telling the story of my in-laws, who were incarcerated as children, followed by a discussion of incarceration language, a document-based lesson plan, and additional resources. </p><p>We need the teaching of history to better humanize the experiences of
people in the past. Moreover, we need to center the experiences of
people who experienced difficult events of the past, rather than those
who caused the difficult events. In the case of incarceration, we need to center the
Japanese American community in how we remember what happened, rather
than the U.S. government who did the incarceration; too often, Japanese
American incarceration is told through the perspective of the U.S.
government, the media who was complicit, and white Americans'
unsubstantiated fears, and not Japanese Americans who resisted, survived, and persevered despite such difficult conditions. <br /></p><p><b>My Family-in-Law's Story</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHyky5mZlUQ9DhHw4-nj7Lf3bgxi7V0mmUPsKsWe8WM3ICMjD73_7_UJWnt6HJ7QP37_wB66341rZIyPPtr1G8qgei-nF3BvKvXknAQldODNvEadbK3_LIOw_y91X-_cQi9AyPJyAKsOPH40CEjt60s1ZXSvmeaJe-pR2AsfCFa9jsQCXDrVBLc1Z/s979/Nakai4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1996" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03VvqdvCQ8NgF22dNudpd38RUOJ7RmJ0A9yi_Bg8kUMyOgRJkvhUgsWwddWmS3KKguQFaAUzhGfwzKZILRZP5Tp6opJCZfe9re7JMekF5Blj3tDfFu8XxQK9xm8dUPnJ9pIeHp2RM8A12BS7Q29LrIUctIkiB0Bk_RriFo6FK2NtVjyMWzrpXYFS6/s320/Hashimotos.jpg" width="231" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="658" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHyky5mZlUQ9DhHw4-nj7Lf3bgxi7V0mmUPsKsWe8WM3ICMjD73_7_UJWnt6HJ7QP37_wB66341rZIyPPtr1G8qgei-nF3BvKvXknAQldODNvEadbK3_LIOw_y91X-_cQi9AyPJyAKsOPH40CEjt60s1ZXSvmeaJe-pR2AsfCFa9jsQCXDrVBLc1Z/s320/Nakai4.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><i>Above: (Right) The Hashimoto family in a picture taken at Tule Lake Segregation Center in Newell, California. (Left) The Nakai family in a picture taken in Berkeley, California at a house where they lived with several other family members after being released from Tule Lake. </i><br /><p>In this case, Japanese American incarceration is a personal topic for my family and it is important that I begin this post by telling their story. My father-in-law was incarcerated when he was 3 years old (above left is a picture from Tule Lake around the time of his family's release; Frank is on the right) and my mother-in-law was born at Tule Lake (above right is a picture from about a year after her family's release; Daphne is on the left). Growing up, my wife would hear occasional stories from her grandparents and parents about life in "camp" (there is a great amount of sadness and anger about the incarceration, so many Japanese Americans rarely share their stories). Since my daughters were little, they have also known that their grandparents were in prison camps as children and routinely ask them questions about it. They know the importance of never forgetting what happened. A few years ago, when they learned that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/09/trump-administration-family-separation-policy-immigration/670604/" target="_blank">migrant children were being imprisoned at the southern U.S. border</a> (see the <a href="https://tsuruforsolidarity.org/" target="_blank">Tsuru for Solidarity</a> movement), they demanded that we do everything we could to help stop it (because it was similar to their grandparents' experiences). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nEbx42ClBiFDKMCY9Te3vBPCMbi1j2W2vMLY_EmunZ5rlE8aVY7jsdLMM_a6T7h7SHZssJZGZDOkIw9mdpRDJqcjbhSrkC8wQ3nRZSHqHg0IUtw2LGo5vG2sI4jfe4PslNrou9I35A_TnLodWwRi-QrQ_b1-OhSjgqiT9MORzXF2DSFtMqh_9A3J/s4032/IMG_0636.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nEbx42ClBiFDKMCY9Te3vBPCMbi1j2W2vMLY_EmunZ5rlE8aVY7jsdLMM_a6T7h7SHZssJZGZDOkIw9mdpRDJqcjbhSrkC8wQ3nRZSHqHg0IUtw2LGo5vG2sI4jfe4PslNrou9I35A_TnLodWwRi-QrQ_b1-OhSjgqiT9MORzXF2DSFtMqh_9A3J/s320/IMG_0636.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><i>Above: My family attending a 2018 protest in Boston to stop the detention of migrant children and forced family separation. This is an on-going problem that <a href="https://www.pressenza.com/2021/07/fort-bliss-and-biden-administration-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/" target="_blank">has not ended under the Biden administration</a>. </i><br /><p></p><p>My in-laws and their families have heartbreaking, but also remarkable, stories. Daphne Nakai's grandmother and grandfather immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1800s. They would migrate back-and-forth to Japan a couple times likely for work and personal reasons. They would eventually settle in San Francisco. In the early 1920s, Daphne's father Steve (who was one years old) moved to Japan with his mother and siblings. His father would stay behind to work and send the family money. Tragically, he would die in a car accident in San José. As a teenager, Steve would return to the U.S. in 1938 and he was living in Berkeley, where he was a servant to a wealthy white family. When the word came that the U.S. government was "evacuating" Japanese Americans from the West Coast, he moved with his fiancé and her family to Lodi in the Central Valley to avoid it (Lodi is also where they would get married, so they would not be separated during their imprisonment). They would eventually be incarcerated at Rohwer in Arkansas. </p><p>Frank Hashimoto's grandfather and grandmother immigrated to the United States in
the early 1900s (after the war, they would open what we think may have
been the first Japanese market in Alameda, California; see below). Due to restrictive Asian immigration laws, Frank's grandfather took a ship to Mexico and crossed the U.S. border with a group of about 30 other Japanese men at Eagle Pass, Texas (where there were fewer immigration restrictions at the time). He then made his way from there to Southern California and eventually would settle in the Bay Area. His children were <a href="https://ddr.densho.org/browse/topics/45/" target="_blank">kibei,</a> meaning that they were sent back to Japan for their education. When
Frank was born, his father had returned to the U.S. and was teaching at a Japanese language school
for farmer's children in Pescadero, California (see below). My father-in-law was named Franklin by his parents, after Franklin Roosevelt, because before moving to Pescadero, his family was able to secure public housing through the New Deal. However, since the time of his incarceration, he has only gone by the name of Frank, as it was FDR who signed the <a href="https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Executive_Order_9066/" target="_blank">Executive Order 9066</a> that imprisoned him and his family. As World War II broke out, the Hashimotos moved back to the East Bay to be closer to family members. They were eventually imprisoned at Topaz in Utah. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="949" data-original-width="1631" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Kpf4dzlnESK3FYsKayOc9AnLk6p6V-ZuqvXZGQmLxTTzo_nDkRiGKvdTsrQ1WwK0nt5NCRa5ZOls8_UbDTh59fJBZBiE2cXKFZRe-sfZQSLQQP1W8aTAuAbJbZs-BdnaMtGeup_2I-52uLPxh4B2AAMQyB95kkou9z_7LOkM1VioNQooTjW3eP8-/s320/Pescadero1.jpg" width="320" /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYMkPNY2TN72itXxxH0qMOdS90y2YFDjgZnXlpn1jwB0BjSCGdvjjGYNZpzjxYvIB2CgD4pIriGaVHFewfUok69kxomUFqk_3NaW_eBt980B3QO13oiWVNPJoMbfxYOhMMuj8RvKUcTb1WW5uY2e5tLDhOzTY07eLCrTelJMo6ld6MbPD3UJ5JvlQ/s960/HashimotoFoods.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYMkPNY2TN72itXxxH0qMOdS90y2YFDjgZnXlpn1jwB0BjSCGdvjjGYNZpzjxYvIB2CgD4pIriGaVHFewfUok69kxomUFqk_3NaW_eBt980B3QO13oiWVNPJoMbfxYOhMMuj8RvKUcTb1WW5uY2e5tLDhOzTY07eLCrTelJMo6ld6MbPD3UJ5JvlQ/s320/HashimotoFoods.jpg" width="320" /> </a> <br /></div><p></p><p><i>Above: (Bottom) The Japanese School in Pescadero, California. </i><i>(Top) Hashimoto Foods in Alameda, California.</i></p><p>Japanese Americans found numerous ways to resist their incarceration. People like <a href="https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Fred_Korematsu/" target="_blank">Fred Korematsu</a>, <a href="https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Gordon_Hirabayashi/" target="_blank">Gordon Hirabayashi</a>, <a href="https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Mitsuye_Endo/" target="_blank">Mitsuye Endo</a>, and <a href="https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Minoru_Yasui/" target="_blank">Min Yasui</a> used the legal system (sadly, they and others were denied their rights through the decision in <a href="https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Korematsu_v._United_States/" target="_blank">Korematsu v. the United States</a>). Others protested through attempting to move eastward, engage in <a href="https://densho.org/catalyst/beyond-the-big-four/" target="_blank">civil disobedience</a> and <a href="https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Draft_resistance">draft resistance</a>. For example, <a href="https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a5711/internment-revisited/" target="_blank">Frank's future sister-in-law's family would famously hang a "I Am An American" sign outside their Oakland grocery store</a> (see below), which they were forced to sell due to incarceration. Some Japanese Americans were able to find non-Japanese American accomplices who would "hold onto" their homes, stores, or land while they were incarcerated (yet, others lost their property to dishonest people or unfair selling prices). <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzs0DskX7CKBGQ-D4MyV80EptvptS7gQu_KZK1mO3zcwlYdSek0DxjUAjNlilnJXL-sF7fVISlDVgAcGWPUJTWVMTNiyvtmT9Gw2Dn2rORnS7JKKbrkvkAyGiw9XtePv7dCuaXMRDa-kYf9W6OtXiO_YjSKwNyDO3yMW2omWPTEmZB8UpYj-oR7ga/s768/IAmAnAmerican.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzs0DskX7CKBGQ-D4MyV80EptvptS7gQu_KZK1mO3zcwlYdSek0DxjUAjNlilnJXL-sF7fVISlDVgAcGWPUJTWVMTNiyvtmT9Gw2Dn2rORnS7JKKbrkvkAyGiw9XtePv7dCuaXMRDa-kYf9W6OtXiO_YjSKwNyDO3yMW2omWPTEmZB8UpYj-oR7ga/s320/IAmAnAmerican.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>Above: Owned by the Masuda family, the Wanto Shokai grocery store was located
in downtown Oakland. Tetsuo Masuda, a graduate of UC Berkeley, took over
the business after his sisters, Mineko and Yoshiko, were sent to camp. Tetsuo created the “I Am an American” sign in 1943. The
remaining family members moved to Fresno County, hoping they would not
be evacuated. The whole family would eventually be incarcerated at Gila River in Arizona.</i><p>All of my wife's grandparents were what are referred to as "<a href="https://encyclopedia.densho.org/No-no%20boys/" target="_blank">No-nos</a>," meaning when the government forced them to complete a <a href="https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Loyalty_questionnaire/" target="_blank">loyalty questionnaire</a> in 1943, they answered "no" to questions 27 and 28 (asking about their willingness to serve in combat and renounce loyalty to the Emperor of Japan). As a result of their answers to those questions, the Nakai and Hashimoto families were moved to <a href="https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Tule_Lake/" target="_blank">Tule Lake Segregation Center</a> in California. For many years after incarceration, families who answered "no-no" were stigmatized for not being loyal to the United States. However, today, some in the Japanese American community have elevated their stories as the resisters of incarceration. Since they were seen as the most disloyal by the U.S. government, many families (including the Hashimotos and Nakais) were not released from camp until 1946. Both families struggled to find work after camp. The also faced redlining and racist housing discrimination in the Bay Area (similar to the experiences of African American and Latinos at the time). Incarceration also effected people's health during and after camp; 1,862 people died from medical problems while in the concentration camps and at least 7 were killed by guards. For example, my mother-in-law's brother Dennis would acquire tuberculosis at Tule Lake and
spent several years at a sanitarium after the family's release (about 1 in 10 deaths in the prison camps were a result of tuberculosis). </p><p><b>Language </b><br /></p><p>The language that we use when we teach Japanese American incarceration is important. <a href="https://densho.org/terminology/" target="_blank">As Densho states</a>, "government officials and military leaders used euphemisms to describe their punitive and unjust actions against people of Japanese ancestry in the United States. ... Today, these decades-old euphemisms persist in textbooks, news sources, and other platforms—meaning that most Americans learn about this history through a distorted lens that diminishes the harsh realities of Japanese American WWII incarceration." Below, I have <u>underlined</u> the terms that many Japanese American organizations prefer be used.<br /></p><p><u>Japanese Americans</u> vs. Japanese: </p><p>During World War II and after, Japanese Americans were routinely referred to as the Japanese (or worse by racial epithets) to "other" them and to imply that they were not "Americans" but foreigners in their own country. Moreover, 2/3rds of those incarcerated held American citizenship and the remaining were Americans by choice. For these reasons, it is important to describe those who were incarcerated as Japanese Americans.<br /></p><p><u>Incarceration</u> vs. internment: </p><p>Internment, as Densho describes, is the legally permissible, but ethically and morally questionable, practice of imprisoning "enemy aliens" during wartime. This term is misleading, as a majority of those people incarcerated were American citizens and the term of internment has long been part of falsely justifying their incarceration as "enemy aliens." A more appropriate term would be "incarceration," which means to confine in a prison. Moreover, internment has an underlying suggestion that Japanese Americans were likely to commit espionage, sabotage, or other acts against the Unites States. Which is false, as there is <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/historyinternment.htm" target="_blank">no credible evidence of Japanese Americans engaging in sabotage or espionage during the war</a>.<br /></p><p><u>Forced removal</u> vs. relocation: </p><p>The U.S. government preferred to use relocation to describe Japanese Americans' forced removal (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja5o5deardA" target="_blank">see this propaganda film</a>), because it implied it was for their own good (such as an evacuation during a natural disaster. Forced removal better describes how Japanese Americans were taken from their homes against their wills.</p><p><u></u></p><p><u>Concentration camps/prison camps</u> vs. internment camps/relocation centers: <br /></p><p>During the period, the government used the terms relocation centers and concentration camps to describe the incarceration of Japanese Americans (There are documents showing that <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fdr-called-them-concentration-camps-why-terminology_b_58a7f3b6e4b026a89a7a2b73" target="_blank">FDR himself used the term concentration camps</a>). After the war, internment camp became a standard academic term to describe the prison camps (see above problems with the use of internment). As Densho states, the "use of 'concentration camp' is intended to accurately describe what
Japanese Americans were subjected to during WWII, and is not meant to
undermine the experiences of Holocaust survivors or to conflate these
two histories in any way." Moreover, Holocaust scholars themselves often distinguish "concentration camps," where people were held, from "death camps" or "extermination camps," where Jewish people and others were systematically murdered.<br /></p><p><b>A Lesson Plan</b><br /></p><p>Based on a lesson that I used when I taught high school history, below you will find an activity that I use as a teacher educator today working with future teachers. While it includes several important government documents from the perspectives of white people, it attempts to highight how Japanese Americans experienced and resisted their incarceration. It also shows how Japanese Americans sustained their culture in camp. I have included it in PDF and Word, so teachers can edit the documents to best work for their students.<br /></p><p>PDF: <a href="http://www.christophercmartell.com/JapaneseAmericanIncarcerationActivity.pdf " target="_blank">http://www.christophercmartell.com/JapaneseAmericanIncarcerationActivity.pdf </a><br /></p><p>Word: <a href="http://www.christophercmartell.com/JapaneseAmericanIncarcerationActivity.docx">http://www.christophercmartell.com/JapaneseAmericanIncarcerationActivity.docx</a><br /></p><p><b>Additional Resources</b></p><p>Below is a list of excellent resources that center Japanese Americans within incarceration. Most are created and maintained by Japanese American organizations. </p><p><a href="https://densho.org/" target="_blank">Densho: <span aria-level="2" class="RES9jf q8U8x" role="heading">The Japanese American Legacy Project</span></a> (Primary and Secondary Sources) </p><p><a href="https://densho.org/learn/introduction/a-community-grows/" target="_blank">Densho: WWII Incarceration</a> (Storyboard)<br /></p><p><a href="https://resisters.com/we-hereby-refuse/" target="_blank">We Hereby Refuse</a> (Graphic Novel)</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI4NoVWq87M" target="_blank">TedEd Talk: Ugly History: Japanese American Incarceration Camps</a> (Short Film) <br /></p><p><a href="https://vimeo.com/ondemand/unfinishedbusiness" target="_blank">Unfinished Business</a> (Film)</p><p><a href="http://www.resistanceattulelake.com/" target="_blank">Resistance at Tule Lake</a> (Film)</p><p><a href="https://www.children-of-the-camps.org" target="_blank">Children of the Camps</a> (Film) <br /></p><p><a href="https://www.janm.org/" target="_blank">Japanese American National Museum</a> (Museum; Includes Online Exhibits)</p><p><a href="https://www.californiamuseum.org/uprooted-japanese-americans-during-wwii" target="_blank">Uprooted!</a> (Museum Exhibit) <br /></p><p><a href="https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/gaman" target="_blank">The Art of Gaman Exhibit</a> (Art) <br /></p><p><a href="http://www.suyamaproject.org/center.php" target="_blank">The Suyama Resisters Project</a> (Primary and Secondary Sources)</p><p><a href="https://www.kcet.org/news-community/how-japanese-american-incarceration-was-entangled-with-indigenous-dispossession" target="_blank">KQED: Japanese American Incarceration and Indigenous Dispossession</a> (Article and Map) </p><p><a href="https://www.facinghistory.org/explore-facing-historys-educator-resources-japanese-american-incarceration" target="_blank">Facing History: Japanese American Incarceration</a> (Resources)<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.docsteach.org/activities/teacher/japanese-american-incarceration-during-world-war-ii" target="_blank">National Archives: Japanese American Incarceration</a> (Documents)<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.icp.org/exhibitions/then-they-came-for-me-incarceration-of-japanese-americans-during-world-war-ii" target="_blank">Then They Came for Me</a> (Photographs)<br /></p>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-66118777835367859442021-10-09T08:59:00.066-07:002024-01-30T11:08:07.759-08:00It's Time for a Return to an Elected Boston School Committee<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOfYcTWR-rXxtVZWiX9R2pQOzYK5CYz6KIWtDyyhbNiLhNd-R-ZHEfVLWuICw6IG8DcztMB1kS6QFlvrOpUiN2XZz05qlGU8VceLF9q5JRdUE_MiYISEliMYXxTEEpktd1hXL94Ep6NQ/s1024/ElecttheBSC.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOfYcTWR-rXxtVZWiX9R2pQOzYK5CYz6KIWtDyyhbNiLhNd-R-ZHEfVLWuICw6IG8DcztMB1kS6QFlvrOpUiN2XZz05qlGU8VceLF9q5JRdUE_MiYISEliMYXxTEEpktd1hXL94Ep6NQ/s320/ElecttheBSC.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQM9nLvtR49h8ia8khtHylHYGzw4gYG3jw0a1oATIYu0bUzb0vODSst3_dnlXQtxszjZBdNZXpZYDC_9sennYuNm4__52qoH_cofN_yHEeK5nYPzEi1DKdbR4xDc5_WYBl5pVYcVfZ4CA/s4032/IMG_0471.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQM9nLvtR49h8ia8khtHylHYGzw4gYG3jw0a1oATIYu0bUzb0vODSst3_dnlXQtxszjZBdNZXpZYDC_9sennYuNm4__52qoH_cofN_yHEeK5nYPzEi1DKdbR4xDc5_WYBl5pVYcVfZ4CA/s320/IMG_0471.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"></span><p></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">As
a <a href="https://www.bostonpublicschools.o" target="_blank">Boston Public Schools (BPS)</a> parent, <a href="http://www.citywideparentcouncil.org/" target="_blank">Citywide Parent Council (CPC)</a> Representative, educator (former social studies teacher and <a href="https://www.umb.edu/faculty_staff/list/christopher_c_martell" target="_blank">current teacher educator</a>), and Dorchester
resident, I've <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2013/02/28/partially-elected-boston-school-committee" target="_blank">long advocated</a> for an elected school committee. I am not alone, as many parents (like my colleague on the CPC <a href="https://digboston.com/guest-opinion-vote-for-an-elected-boston-school-committee/?fbclid=IwAR0oKIwxOxWQeQ6KXBP5Mc3oVYB4jjq4ZbWU4wntWU0XD9aEu9PMZNrc3hc" target="_blank">Suleiko Soto</a> and fellow Dorchester parent <a href="https://www.dotnews.com/2021/editor-it-s-time-city-bring-back-elected-school-committee" target="_blank">Matthew Shochat</a>), <a href="https://schoolyardnews.com/students-ramp-up-the-pressure-for-a-vote-on-the-school-committee-34d3a2faaa35" target="_blank">students</a>, and </span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">former elected school committee members (such as <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/education/2021/09/01/racial-justice-the-effort-to-bring-back-an-elected-boston-school-committee?fbclid=IwAR2-sPUocjGVOMqfRvNU9QBpSCMWp_iWp0StQzEdVShALWkhQNb8B1I8t-w" target="_blank">Jean McGuire</a>) </span>have been demanding this for years. This movement has culminated in a <a href="https://www.baystatebanner.com/2021/08/16/arroyo-mejia-advance-home-rule-petition-for-elected-school-committee/" target="_blank">ballot question this fall</a>, asking the residents to <a href="https://electthebsc.org/" target="_blank">vote on returning to an elected school committee</a> here in Boston.<br /></span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">Boston is
the only municipality in Massachusetts without an elected school committee <a href="https://www.edweek.org/education/governor-signs-bill-abolishing-boston-school-committee/1991/07" target="_blank">due to a home rule petition and bill passed by the state legislature in 1991</a>. Of course, many people remember the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-boston-busing-crisis-was-never-intended-to-work/474264/" target="_blank">Boston Busing Crisis</a> of the mid-1970s, which was a situation made worse by the actions of the all-white school committee at the time </span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">(<a href="https://blackstonian.org/2016/01/video-eyes-on-the-prize-boston-episode/" target="_blank">I recommend watching this</a> or <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2014/06/20/boston-busing-ruling-anniversary" target="_blank">reading this</a>, which provide an excellent background)</span>. However, the move to a mayoral appointed Boston School Committee had nothing to do with the busing crisis and it did not occur until about 15 years later. In fact, in the early 1990s, it was <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/education/2021/09/01/racial-justice-the-effort-to-bring-back-an-elected-boston-school-committee?fbclid=IwAR2-sPUocjGVOMqfRvNU9QBpSCMWp_iWp0StQzEdVShALWkhQNb8B1I8t-w" target="_blank">parents of color who were the strongest opponents</a> to an appointed school committee (including Black political leaders </span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/10/education/era-but-not-tension-ends-for-boston-school-panel.html" target="_blank">John D. O'Bryant</a>, <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/education/2021/09/01/racial-justice-the-effort-to-bring-back-an-elected-boston-school-committee?fbclid=IwAR2-sPUocjGVOMqfRvNU9QBpSCMWp_iWp0StQzEdVShALWkhQNb8B1I8t-w" target="_blank">Charles Yancey, and Bruce Bolling</a>). In contrast, a</span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"> <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/education/2021/09/01/racial-justice-the-effort-to-bring-back-an-elected-boston-school-committee?fbclid=IwAR2-sPUocjGVOMqfRvNU9QBpSCMWp_iWp0StQzEdVShALWkhQNb8B1I8t-w" target="_blank">white parent-led door-to-door campaign in favor of the mayor having control</a> was effective and</span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"> </span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">the measure <a href="https://www.edweek.org/education/boston-voters-endorse-mayors-plan-to-shift-to-an-appointed-school-board/1989/11" target="_blank">narrowly passed in a non-binding referendum</a>. </span></span></span></p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">Yet, in the years since, the appointed school committee has not been the panacea that its supporters claimed it would be. There was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/06/us/frustration-in-boston-over-its-schools.html" target="_blank">turmoil in the early years</a>, unpopular decisions in the 90s and early 2000s (see <a href="https://www.baystatebanner.com/2021/05/12/twenty-years-of-disruption-in-bostons-public-schools/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/15/menino_backs_superintendent_urges_broad_overhauls/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://btu.org/boston-school-committee-votes-unanimously-to-close-or-merge-12-schools/" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.baystatebanner.com/2020/09/02/segregation-on-rise-in-massachusetts-schools/" target="_blank">here</a>), years of <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/10/31/boston-school-committee-voted-unanimously-on-111-agenda-items/" target="_blank">unanimous</a> <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/07/10/boston-school-committee-voted-unanimously-on-95-of-99-items-in-last-year-and-a-half/" target="_blank">votes</a> based on the <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2019/01/04/regina-robinson-not-reappointed-to-boston-school-committee-after-controversial-vote" target="_blank">mayor's wishes</a>, and several problematic recent decisions and incidents (see </span></span></span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><a href="https://www.citizensforpublicschools.org/our-focus/boston-eyes-unified-enrollment-system/" target="_blank">here</a>, </span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><a href="https://www.citizensforpublicschools.org/the-fight-for-boston-public-schools/mattapan-fights-to-save-elementary-school/" target="_blank">here</a>,</span></span></span> </span></span></span> <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/05/25/boston-parents-urge-school-system-dump-food-contractor/1VVB1iCZUgNjTjVmVmTz8J/story.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/12/19/boston-school-committee-vote-wednesday-night-school-closures/sjw4AbVnNzVcdJ7efkMMtO/story.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://schoolyardnews.com/white-privilege-reigns-on-the-boston-school-committee-94d31e83dfa3" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/10/22/loconto-mocking-resigns" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.baystatebanner.com/2021/03/10/bps-students-charge-nonprofit-with-abuse/" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/09/08/metro/boston-public-schools-orders-tents-schools-after-teachers-parents-complain-about-lack-outdoor-meals/" target="_blank">here</a>). </span></span>The community may already understand the importance of this issue, as there seems to be widespread support among both </span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><a href="https://www.baystatebanner.com/2021/01/06/poll-boston-voters-overwhelmingly-support-elected-school-committee/" target="_blank">voters</a></span></span></span> and </span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><a href="https://www.dotnews.com/2021/many-council-hopefuls-support-return-elected-school-committee" target="_blank">city council candidates</a></span>. Even former mayor <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/commentary/2021/02/11/without-mayor-walsh-does-anyone-support-his-appointed-boston-school-committee" target="_blank">Ray Flynn, who pushed for the change, expressed regrets</a> only a few years later.</span><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIap6JbpK_ptAfuONqxyqJq6w7yF0PgGKCge38K3HcUpAIg_cexeo-eQHhE8QrOsxghRIUJtllb1XaafDHJjKbQPZv-KD1i2N3b5zopkKTIGwZvj16wlrx64giFX7KNMTlOJUyW-nEnAc/s1500/350%252B1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIap6JbpK_ptAfuONqxyqJq6w7yF0PgGKCge38K3HcUpAIg_cexeo-eQHhE8QrOsxghRIUJtllb1XaafDHJjKbQPZv-KD1i2N3b5zopkKTIGwZvj16wlrx64giFX7KNMTlOJUyW-nEnAc/s320/350%252B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><i>Above: Boston is the <u>only</u> municipality in Massachusetts without an elected school committee.</i></span><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">To be honest, any structure has disadvantages and it would be naïve to think changing the structure alone would inherently produce more equitable
access for students to high-quality learning (related, I am also concerned about the amount of <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/dark-money/basics" target="_blank">dark money</a> flowing into </span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/10/29/dark-money-just-keeps-on-coming-in-school-board-races/" target="_blank">school committee races</a></span> nationwide). Regardless of structure, the reality is that educational equity comes
from district leadership, the work of teachers and administrators, and
funding choices made by the city and state. </span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">To be fair, Boston has made important educational improvements over the past few decades, including making <a href="https://www.boston.com/news/schools/2021/07/14/school-committee-socioeconomic-background-exam-schools/" target="_blank">the city's exam schools</a> (<a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/03/05/boston-exam-school-admissions-history" target="_blank">see also here</a>) </span></span></span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">more equitable for students of color</span></span></span>, <a href="https://www.boston.gov/news/15-million-investment-universal-pre-k-guarantee-equitable-access-free-high-quality-pre-k-all" target="_blank">dramatically expanding the number preschool seats</a>, and <a href="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/making-grade-americas-cities-assessing-student-achievement-urban-districts" target="_blank">having increases in its students' scores on national standardized tests</a>. But these changes have come <u><i>despite</i></u> not having an elected school committee, rather than because of having an appointed one. It is likely those changes would have happened regardless; Boston <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/us/two-decades-of-change-have-boston-sparkling.html" target="_blank">has significantly changed</a> in many ways (including the <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/bioflash/2015/11/boston-is-now-the-fifth-richest-city-in-america.html" target="_blank">city's wealth</a>) since the 1990s. Moreover, the Boston City Council is the </span></span></span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><a href="https://www.baystatebanner.com/2020/01/08/bostons-most-diverse-city-council-ever-is-sworn-in/" target="_blank">most diverse in its history</a>, and structures can be put in place to ensure that an elected school committee would similarly represent the diversity of our city. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPE_ly_e4K4zIvX4g_ce50j5KiC6akz5cXct1c1eTcCadhlDUVukj3qlr_bxUl1Xk1JQHjGMyXe6lgXRqDg68usB7ejzxwjSYqtuf8o7Ltn-6wcxCS7Ho93UHXwqhju0iUS-lT6SALVEk/s1226/Mc%252BGuire.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1226" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPE_ly_e4K4zIvX4g_ce50j5KiC6akz5cXct1c1eTcCadhlDUVukj3qlr_bxUl1Xk1JQHjGMyXe6lgXRqDg68usB7ejzxwjSYqtuf8o7Ltn-6wcxCS7Ho93UHXwqhju0iUS-lT6SALVEk/s320/Mc%252BGuire.png" width="320" /></a></div><i>Above: Jean McGuire was the first African American woman to be elected to the Boston School Committee. She opposed ending the elected school committee and supports its return. </i><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><i>Read her thoughts <a href="https://schoolyardnews.com/should-boston-elect-its-school-committee-2783e80947d5" target="_blank">here</a>.</i><br /></span><p></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">There is a long history of democratically elected school committees in Massachusetts. Boston voters <a href="https://www.baystatebanner.com/2021/08/16/arroyo-mejia-advance-home-rule-petition-for-elected-school-committee/" target="_blank">elected their first School Committee in 1789</a>. The Commonwealth mandated that each community <a href="https://www.iasb.com/IASB/media/Documents/HistoricPoliticalRoleBoards.pdf" target="_blank">elect its school committee</a> in 1826 (during the era of <a href="https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2883&context=theses" target="_blank">Horace Mann</a>'s education reforms). Since then, school committees</span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"> have served as </span>citizen oversight of our public schools. For me, this
is an issue of democracy, equity, and racial justice. If the other 350 municipalities have elected
school committees in Massachusetts, so should the one where I live, especially since this is a city where people of color are the majority and 85% of our students are students of color. Since 1991, Boston's residents have been disenfranchised on this aspect of democracy. For this reason alone, we should restore an elected school committee.<br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQ34MpBrrNrnSAKUPKZepmprzjyJjJskIFXEkT4Ud5lhTJzvWbsZK4E9vW243ml6duyATjRwNAJkggzfdyAXQF-6H8kTCdMAuQWf0WDjY8Y90J4ONtLVjQj1B4mtuIS9nIXR5sznj3hY/s1434/Ludlow+High.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1434" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQ34MpBrrNrnSAKUPKZepmprzjyJjJskIFXEkT4Ud5lhTJzvWbsZK4E9vW243ml6duyATjRwNAJkggzfdyAXQF-6H8kTCdMAuQWf0WDjY8Y90J4ONtLVjQj1B4mtuIS9nIXR5sznj3hY/s320/Ludlow+High.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjckt8vPKv-i9y8s5_wCeWSuAiJ2qFwfv175lBhyphenhyphenuQMUYKYoV2vgnA0fQgk5ur5NPdt1ePESq1Wg2uH1Lhcf5gIlhSUgi-r1GFvpbDnycD64jdXQZfDvFalst1_oezpjM8Mcvb2K0QYFA/s1000/Framingham+High.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="1000" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjckt8vPKv-i9y8s5_wCeWSuAiJ2qFwfv175lBhyphenhyphenuQMUYKYoV2vgnA0fQgk5ur5NPdt1ePESq1Wg2uH1Lhcf5gIlhSUgi-r1GFvpbDnycD64jdXQZfDvFalst1_oezpjM8Mcvb2K0QYFA/s320/Framingham+High.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></i><p></p><p><i>Ludlow High School (above; what it looked like in the 1990s) had not had any major reservations since it was built in <a href="https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:bk129110w" target="_blank">1962</a>. As a high school student, I worked with my peers to influence the elected School Committee and Board of Selectmen to change that. As a teacher and union member in the Framingham Public Schools (below), I witnessed how the elected school committee was often responsive to parents and voters in the community.</i><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><br /></span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">M</span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">y support for <a href="https://electthebsc.org/" target="_blank">Yes on Question 3</a> is also based on my experiences</span> living and working in three different Massachusetts communities. I have seen stark differences between communities with </span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">elected and unelected school committees.</span> I grew up in <a href="http://www.ludlow.ma.us/home.htm" target="_blank">Ludlow</a>, which is a suburb of Springfield. When I was in high school, our school building was in great disrepair. My classmates and I</span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"> witnessed members of the Board of Selectman make clear that they wanted
to keep property taxes low and would not support borrowing to make
renovations. As a result, students in town formed a movement to pursue change. Many seniors were 18 and we voted as a block to elect pro-renovation candidates to the board of selectman and school committee. This led to changes in leadership, and the town would later approve a multi-million dollar renovation of the building. </span></span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">My next experience was as a teacher and union member in the <a href="https://www.framingham.k12.ma.us/" target="_blank">Framingham Public Schools</a>, where I was a high school history and government teacher for eight years. For two of those years, I served as the Political Education Chair for the <a href="https://framingham.massteacher.org/" target="_blank">Framingham Teachers Association</a>. In that role, I led protests related to stalled contract negotiations and a campaign to reduce class size. While we did not always see eye-to-eye with school committee members, I knew each of the members and they would almost always respond to and work with the teachers union (the district eventually settled our contract and added language about reviewing class size yearly). More importantly, in our conversations, they would often cite the concerns of parents and voters in how they made the decisions, as that is who they were ultimately accountable to. </span></span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">Meanwhile, I was raising my family in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston without an elected school committee. As someone with a child about to enter school, I deeply opposed the changes that were proposed to </span></span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">the district's school assignment process</span></span>, which would move from a large number of choices within three zones to a home-based system that would result in parents having fewer choices (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/education/no-division-required-in-this-school-problem.html" target="_blank">based on an algorithm</a> that <a href="https://www.npr.org/2016/09/12/493654950/weapons-of-math-destruction-outlines-dangers-of-relying-on-data-analytics" target="_blank">proclaimed to be race-neutral</a>). Along with many </span></span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><a href="https://patch.com/massachusetts/westroxbury/bp--more-answers-needed-regarding-boston-school-assiga2d424c78e" target="_blank">others</a></span></span></span></span>, I knew that these changes would negatively impact Black and Latinx families the most, but would also make the districts' schools more segregated. I wrote letters opposing the plan with no reply from school committee members, attended community meetings, testified at hearings, and met with fellow parents. I closely examined the work of <a href="https://questparents.org/" target="_blank">Quality Education for Every Student</a>, who had <a href="https://bostonschoolchoice.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/quest-position-paper-and-appendices.pdf" target="_blank">similar concerns</a>. We then all watched as the <a href="https://patch.com/massachusetts/westroxbury/bp--boston-public-schools-new-assigntment-plan" target="_blank">unelected school committee unanimously approved</a> the change despite protests (</span></span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><a href="https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/file/2020/05/Janey%20-%20BPS%20C3-4%20-%20Home-Based%20Assignment%20Plan.pdf" target="_blank">several</a> <a href="https://cecr.ed.psu.edu/sites/default/files/Demography_Report_FINAL_7.24.20.pdf" target="_blank">studies</a> <a href="https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/12991704/Levinson%20Ethics%20of%20Pandering%20TRE%20FINAL%202%20.pdf?sequence=1" target="_blank">have</a> <a href="https://schoolyardnews.com/an-explosive-report-on-the-home-based-assignment-plan-272dcc1eb9f" target="_blank">shown</a> <a href="https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/07/19/boston-school-assignment" target="_blank">that</a> <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/08/04/boston-schools-are-becoming-resegregated/brwPhLuupRzkOtSa9Gi6nL/story.html" target="_blank">our suspicions</a> were correct</span></span> and the district has experienced increased segregation as a result). </span></span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">After my daughter entered BPS, I was motivated to run to be the Citywide Parent Council representative for her school (the CPC is the umbrella organization for all of parent councils in the district and the </span></span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">officially recognized voice of all BPS parents). As a CPC rep., I saw again and again how us parents were relatively united on most issues (from changing the food services vendor to stopping schools from being closed and demanding tents for outdoor lunch during a global pandemic), but the school committee often hesitated to respond or outright voted against our stances. Moreover, we were almost never visited by school committee members, with the exception of a couple years ago when the chair came to </span></span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">lecture us on his preferred agenda</span></span> (where he made clear that the appointed school committee <a href="elected School Committee could achieve the same level of harmony and balance that the current appointed model does" target="_blank">provided "harmony" and that he was a "city finance guy, not an education guy."</a>). My time as a CPC rep. has been five years of feeling voiceless and powerless (and I think most of my fellow CPC reps. would agree). In contrast, whenever I called or e-mailed my district or at-large city councilors, I have always received replies within days. Several city councilors have visited the Citywide Parent Council to work with us on various BPS and education-related issues. In fact, my daughters' school <a href="https://www.dotnews.com/columns/2019/let-s-add-sixth-grade-kenny-school" target="_blank">was not approved to expand to include a 6th grade</a>, which would have had a devastating effect on our school community (especially since many secondary schools in Boston begin at grade 7 and parents had for years been left struggling to find school options for one year; we would routinely have a large exodus of students to K-8 schools in 4th grade for this reason). We wrote letters to and protested at school committee meetings. However, it was not until parents in our community reached out to our city councilors and they became involved, that we finally were given a meeting with the superintendent's office and received word that <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/11/14/east-boston-sixth-grade-elementary-schools-buildbps" target="_blank">our school would get its needed expansion</a>. <br /></span></span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">While an elected school committee will not solve all of our educational problems in Boston, it can only help add a level of accountability through the return to democracy. Democracy is messy, but it is the best form of government we have. This is true for the Boston School Committee, as well.<br /></span></span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">The time is now for us to return to an elected school committee in Boston.</span></span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa ht8s03o8 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"></span></p>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-46705044596259105292021-09-27T12:45:00.106-07:002021-12-15T16:43:10.018-08:00Teaching Using Critical Family Histories<p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/injustice-japanese-americans-internment-camps-resonates-strongly-180961422/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF8hxk_5Muc_Qf_19McFYw7tnKykABxrrVlin6-zImv5rx_jHZ5fW8VcoJtMjAYn2dOKDP4OuOFBIqCsIjYQr-3EBiJEJQHaA3gT8GpswLgTfw4rv02aVj3FfiCtMY6OxrbHH-QBzzOh4/s320/Ancestry1.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8TRC1yEw3c9uZtcqWbZ2Nu9wkBfiyO9-GKZQ4ofB63VPk_5WGduhZHEkYHqqfrFshJvj2-P-bID1iG37gojaNctLeepHFZkVNkdwgyObKRLuRnlXXn0SdeAX4kHQnMXZo-v9y3g-BKw/s970/Ancestry2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="970" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8TRC1yEw3c9uZtcqWbZ2Nu9wkBfiyO9-GKZQ4ofB63VPk_5WGduhZHEkYHqqfrFshJvj2-P-bID1iG37gojaNctLeepHFZkVNkdwgyObKRLuRnlXXn0SdeAX4kHQnMXZo-v9y3g-BKw/s320/Ancestry2.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br /></p><p><i>Above: <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy" target="_blank">Genealogical research</a> has become a popular past time for some people, but, done with a critical lens, it also offers an important way to understand social power and privilege leading to a more accurate understanding of the present for students. </i><br /></p><p>Most historians know that senior citizens love doing genealogy. Over the years, I have visited many libraries and archives that hold state and national records to do research, and I have always been impressed at how many folks in retirement are there scouring Census and municipal wedding records trying to know more about who they are and where their families come from. With the recent popularity of DNA ancestry kits, more middle aged and young adults are getting also involved in researching their family's past (related, here is an article on how DNA ancestry tests <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/12/02/asians-blacks-latinos-genealogical-tests-dont-tell-full-story/2132681002/" target="_blank">work better for white people</a>). This has been made even easier in recent years with more records becoming digitized and many can now be easily accessed from the comfort of one's home. <br /></p><p>However, in <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Teaching_History_for_Justice/nXkSEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0" target="_blank">my recent book</a> with Kaylene Stevens on teaching history for justice, we suggest that ancestor research, especially when it involves <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15210960.2012.646640" target="_blank">critical historical analysis</a>, can be a powerful tool for younger people to also engage in history. More importantly, when used in the classroom, it can help make history more relevant to their lives and helps students understand a more complex and honest story of their family's past.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gcU3FwrQOm6JcOKgFvG3WuA2G2XiKMgehuleYNTYlXVRDTKiZGYIS2mxH-tkENPTpodej5mot2lHSnj62si1CWWqwPnycuSkt2VcHMWGj9IcZOFnii-YvglErFN5QbZAdZXrc1jmLDI/s900/Genealogy+Books.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gcU3FwrQOm6JcOKgFvG3WuA2G2XiKMgehuleYNTYlXVRDTKiZGYIS2mxH-tkENPTpodej5mot2lHSnj62si1CWWqwPnycuSkt2VcHMWGj9IcZOFnii-YvglErFN5QbZAdZXrc1jmLDI/s320/Genealogy+Books.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>Above: Many people have long been interested in researching their family histories and there are many books to help. There are many resources for white genealogists, but it is often harder to find resources for <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/ethnic-heritage" target="_blank">people of color's ancestors</a>. <a href="https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/african-american-history-genealogy/" target="_blank">Blackpast</a> has a nice set of resources for African American genealogy. The <a href="https://narf.org/nill/resources/roots.html" target="_blank">National Indian Law Library</a> lists these resources for Native genealogy. <a href="https://www.familytreemagazine.com/heritage/central-south-american/hispanic-latino-genealogy-websites/" target="_blank">Family Tree Magazine</a> lists these resources for Latinx genealogy. <a href="https://www.christinesleeter.org/locating-east-asian-family-roots" target="_blank">Christine Sleeter</a> has compiled these resources for Asian American genealogy.</i><br /><p></p><p><b>What are Critical Family Histories?</b></p><p>As <a href="https://www.christinesleeter.org/critical-family-history" target="_blank">Christine Sleeter</a> described it, critical family history is a tool for understanding how one's family history relates to larger social power relationships and cultures (here is a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/genealogy/special_issues/critical" target="_blank">special issue</a> of the journal Genealogy on it). While her work focuses primarily on its use by white people, I would like to describe how it can benefit all students within the history classroom (it also can be <a href="https://www.christinesleeter.org/critical-family-history-a-way-around-prohibitions-on-teaching" target="_blank">a way to get around prohibitions on teaching race and racism</a> that have <a href="http://christophermartell.blogspot.com/2021/06/sick-of-legislators-banning-critical.html" target="_blank">emerged recently</a> in politically conservative states).</p><p>For white students, critical family histories can serve as a place to consider how their families may have struggled and achieved accomplishments overtime, but also how systems were in place to ensure their success and accumulation of wealth and social stability. Sleeter wrote, "White people, especially those of middle class status and above, tend to think of ourselves and our stories in individualistic terms. But since who we are involves not just the work of individuals, but also how individuals’ lives were shaped by local culture and power relationships across generations, ... this illuminates the social contexts of family lives, and that would help to unearth memories we have lost." </p><p>For students of color, critical family histories can serve as a place to understand how their family's stories have been shaped by the realities of oppression, but in a way that uplifts by providing examples of resistance, survival/survivance, and accomplishment. It can help explain to students why ancestors made certain choices (sometimes forced), and allows students to draw connections between their family's past and their present. It is important for teachers to also be mindful that the only times that students of color often learn their histories is when topics involve their ancestors' oppression (Black students often only see their ancestors in the curriculum through enslavement and segregation. Indigenous students see their ancestors through white colonization. Asian American students see their ancestors through Japanese incarceration during World War II or poor treatment during the building of the Transcontinental railroad. Latinx students see their ancestors through undocumented immigration in the past half-century). The point of critical family histories is to not only teach about historical oppression, but also fill in the gaps of perseverance and success between those difficult moments. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sMxNTfspiYWS_NoU7kUkwOp8Byo6viPb0C4TLlxBx6JO-XsdHB-wrGhT-zkhHnUrItRZGwOZQ4EKnewGXU27TCWs8Oa3dF-dkrG6KuA3kpVqUyQ4A2fQBaFcX1um3ZRILuVvie2CHAo/s1200/Great+Hall.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="1200" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sMxNTfspiYWS_NoU7kUkwOp8Byo6viPb0C4TLlxBx6JO-XsdHB-wrGhT-zkhHnUrItRZGwOZQ4EKnewGXU27TCWs8Oa3dF-dkrG6KuA3kpVqUyQ4A2fQBaFcX1um3ZRILuVvie2CHAo/s320/Great+Hall.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRaFzlnXhmxZ1r2RQicvqZFHZoNR4myJ7T2ZdH8F1b14HDHuwlg9NHAl1_3XyNN4Cto2dwEx8OgEeDKc1WHvJr1o-pSabSB4h3rjPSIgXBapQGfBUOtcQK1A8uVZcvwEDR77b1UxSEMw/s768/Sharecropping.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRaFzlnXhmxZ1r2RQicvqZFHZoNR4myJ7T2ZdH8F1b14HDHuwlg9NHAl1_3XyNN4Cto2dwEx8OgEeDKc1WHvJr1o-pSabSB4h3rjPSIgXBapQGfBUOtcQK1A8uVZcvwEDR77b1UxSEMw/s320/Sharecropping.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><i>Above:
Images from the same historical periods of European immigrants entering
the U.S. at Ellis Island and African Americans working as sharecroppers
on what were formerly plantations of enslaved people. Rarely do white people
think about how their ancestors' immigrant experience related to
sharecroppers' lives during that same era. Understanding these and other
groups' interrelated historical experiences is at the heart of critical
family history.</i><p>Usually when people construct family trees, they locate as much information as possible about their ancestors without thinking much about historical context or social structures. Like any family tree project, critical family histories begin with the individual and starts working background, collecting information, drawing connections, and tracing family histories. However, unlike traditional family histories, each step of the process must also involve a contextualizing of ancestors' experiences with the events and social structures of the time. </p><p>For instance, if a white student is researching about their grandparents who were born after World War II, it is essential that they look at the social policies and practices at the time. For instance, if they learn that their family moved from an inner city to a suburb in the 1950s, it is important to also examine local redlining practices (here is a <a href="https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=5/39.1/-94.58" target="_blank">great website that maps the inequity of redlining</a>) and describe how it may have played a role in giving certain groups advantages over others. When a student is researching their great grandparents who immigrated from Europe, they should also examine the impact of the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1924-law-slammed-door-immigrants-and-politicians-who-pushed-it-back-open-180974910/" target="_blank">1924 and 1965 Immigration Acts</a>, and how first created the concept of so-called "illegal immigration" and that Europeans arriving before it, came with relatively few restrictions (and it dramatically restricted immigration from Asia, Latin America, and Africa).</p><p></p><p></p><p><b>Critical Family History Questions and Process</b><br /></p><p>When engaging in critical family histories, Christine Sleeter suggests students should be guided by the following questions: </p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Who else (what other groups) was around? </li><li>What were the power relationships among groups? </li><li>How were these relationships maintained or challenged over time? </li><li>What does all this have to do with our lives now?</li></ul><p>She also offers <a href="https://www.christinesleeter.org/use-this-blog" target="_blank">a process</a> for helping engage in critical family histories, which involves several steps:</p><p>Step 1 is to expose students to critical frameworks (such as the <a href="https://www.christinesleeter.org/historical-context-questions" target="_blank">Historical Context Questions Framework</a> and the <a href="https://www.christinesleeter.org/hidden-four-ps" target="_blank">Hidden 4 P's of Immigration</a>), so they better understand how power dynamics and social structures operate. I recommend reading books on how concepts of race, <a href="https://www.raceforward.org/videos/systemic-racism" target="_blank">racism</a>, and <a href="https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race/topics/whiteness" target="_blank">whiteness</a> have changed over time and led to certain groups gaining power and privilege over time (<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Stamped_from_the_Beginning.html?id=e_3cCgAAQBAJ" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_People_s_History_of_the_United_States/9-FtlblxbLgC?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/America_for_Americans.html?id=rI2LDwAAQBAJ" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Black_Women_s_History_of_the_United_St.html?id=sNSQDwAAQBAJ" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/An_African_American_and_Latinx_History_o.html?id=phCJDQAAQBAJ" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Racism.html?id=S7tKCAAAQBAJ" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Whiteness_of_a_Different_Color.html?id=37jtAAAAMAAJ" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Working_Toward_Whiteness.html?id=K3HT3ffiexcC" target="_blank">here</a> are few excellent books to excerpt).</p><p>Step 2 is to have students engage in <a href="https://edsitement.neh.gov/teachers-guides/oral-history-educational-experience" target="_blank">oral history interviews</a> with their relatives. Have them ask family members to bring old photos, records, letters, artifacts, etc. This will often help students begin creating a list of "clues" that need further researching. Students may want to make digital scans of these items, so they can preserve them for themselves and family members. Also, realize that some students may be adopted or may not have much information on their families for a host of different reasons. I suggest giving those students different options for the project (especially if looking into their family history may cause duress or harm), including working with a classmate on their family history or researching the family of a famous person. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsf38p2hTJnpRkBrF1gRXnUECeMBu5lFthZKgNS7e4KxrgDTd1Bmd7RTUtC-Jq6bd8iSXH2YZqCqlUMFr_c8nFKvYE7rxf73PVqTh9XlHs6G5McG6T4E-vgo20aoFSjCOhAlEEe5i30Y/s800/Tree.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="800" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsf38p2hTJnpRkBrF1gRXnUECeMBu5lFthZKgNS7e4KxrgDTd1Bmd7RTUtC-Jq6bd8iSXH2YZqCqlUMFr_c8nFKvYE7rxf73PVqTh9XlHs6G5McG6T4E-vgo20aoFSjCOhAlEEe5i30Y/s320/Tree.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Step 3 is to have students take whatever relevant evidence that they have received about their family's
past and then construct a family tree. There are a few good websites
that can help students manage family trees and some offer some free access to certain
records and documents (<a href="https://www.ancestry.com/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.familysearch.com" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.myheritage.com/" target="_blank">here</a>
are some popular ones; some websites are run by religious groups or share family trees with other members-so you will want to
let your students and their parents know that, so they can think about confidentiality). <br /></p><p>Step 4 is to begin searching <a href="https://www.pbs.org/destinationamerica/res_genealogy.html" target="_blank">vital records</a> to learn more about the people in the family tree (it would be helpful for students to get from family members as many names, birth and death dates, and home locations of relatives as possible). Birth, marriage, death, and immigration records often reveal additional information about relatives and events. In this step, students often uncover more members of the family tree by
finding connections in the public records (the Census can be especially
helpful as it shows who is living in the same household and includes
the names of family members and shows their relationship). Here are some <a href="https://www.christinesleeter.org/census-data" target="_blank">great places</a> to gain free access to individual records: <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/census/online-resources">U.S.</a> (more <a href="https://www.census.gov/history/www/genealogy/decennial_census_records/census_records_2.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://ourpublicrecords.org/the-ultimate-guide-to-census-records/" target="_blank">here</a>), <a href="https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/Pages/census.aspx" target="_blank">Canadian</a>, and <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1307314" target="_blank">Mexican</a> Census Records, <a href="http://vm154.lib.berkeley.edu:3001/searchcase/search" target="_blank">West Coast</a> and <a href="https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/" target="_blank">Ellis Island Immigration Records</a>, <a href="https://www.census.gov/history/www/genealogy/decennial_census_records/censuses_of_american_indians.html" target="_blank">American Indian Federal Records</a>, <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/slavery-records-civil.html" target="_blank">Federal Slavery Records</a>, <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/freedmens-bureau" target="_blank">Federal Freedman Bureau Records</a>, <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/japanese-americans/internment-intro">Japanese American Relocation Records</a>, <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/chinese-americans/guide" target="_blank">Chinese Immigration National Archives Guides</a>, <a href="https://www.jewishgen.org/" target="_blank">Jewish Global Records</a>, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/" target="_blank">Grave Records</a>, <a href="https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/oltitles.html" target="_blank">Newspaper Archives</a> (also <a href="https://newspaperarchive.com" target="_blank">here</a>), <a href="https://www.publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/Land-Records-and-Deeds.htm" target="_blank">Land and Deed Records</a>, <a href="https://glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx" target="_blank">Bureau of Land Management Records</a>, or even putting ancestors names in Google or other search engines (this may reveal unconventional family documents or stories). Many communities also have <a href="https://www.preservationdirectory.com/preservationorganizationsresources/organizationcategories.aspx" target="_blank">historical societies</a> that can help locate information or documents.<br /></p><p></p><p>Step 5 is to search for additional resources that give context to the students' ancestors' experiences. This is the most important step, as it is what adds the "critical" to family history. I suggest before proceeding to this step that teachers explicitly teach about some important oppression-related historical concepts that may arise as students research their ancestors, including <span class="HALYaf XQINac R21Rlc KKjvXb" id="tabEventDetails" role="tabpanel">settler-colonialism, slavery,
segregation/redlining/employment and education discrimination, anti-immigration policy, and the role of race and class in military drafts.</span> This would also be an important place to have students research major events of their ethnic/racial communities. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDI0VYjrk6p9Aj_hH4JmVo96D-NBMXSQlaipFRVQDasG-408zSA8FX4WHyXp1izUhyf59LzBwyoFq734rkD-QaNyIBgd0r8q4dcfx3EnzoN4uky6f5CThXSyZYb2aU35PngEHS9y_JLJ8/s979/Nakai4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="658" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDI0VYjrk6p9Aj_hH4JmVo96D-NBMXSQlaipFRVQDasG-408zSA8FX4WHyXp1izUhyf59LzBwyoFq734rkD-QaNyIBgd0r8q4dcfx3EnzoN4uky6f5CThXSyZYb2aU35PngEHS9y_JLJ8/s320/Nakai4.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9v38JCeJvchPrOwl-OKWS8qUEmnvnRzOo8b4GGmrdlCL2BjTbBoDS1iBwGeVCxJCD-SS45-NtwFWi_7upMcS3hE2cVmd6GW_U6QFCFX-9TV1L5RVTskr58Q-xYL4dc1Vpw3g2abd3f8/s300/Salinas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="300" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9v38JCeJvchPrOwl-OKWS8qUEmnvnRzOo8b4GGmrdlCL2BjTbBoDS1iBwGeVCxJCD-SS45-NtwFWi_7upMcS3hE2cVmd6GW_U6QFCFX-9TV1L5RVTskr58Q-xYL4dc1Vpw3g2abd3f8/s0/Salinas.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><i>Above: The Nakai family, who were Japanese Americans living in Berkeley, California in the 1940s (top; my mother-in-law is the child on the bottom left) and the Salinas family who were <a href="https://info.umkc.edu/latinxkc/essays/spring-2017/mexican-immigration-family/" target="_blank">Mexican Americans </a>living in Kansas City, Missouri in the 1980s (bottom).</i><p>For instance, if a student is Japanese American, it would be important for them to learn about Japanese American incarceration during World War II (they may or may not have learned about it from their family, as many Japanese Americans are still <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/injustice-japanese-americans-internment-camps-resonates-strongly-180961422/" target="_blank">unable to share</a> about their experience), which was an event that impacted the entire community, even if certain members were not imprisoned by the government. However, it would also be important for the students to research other <a href="https://densho.org/" target="_blank">important components of the Japanese American experience</a> (and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/the-long-history-of-racism-against-asian-americans-in-the-u-s" target="_blank">Asian American experience more broadly</a>), such as <a href="https://www.aiisf.org/history" target="_blank">Angel Island</a>, <a href="https://pluralism.org/asians-and-asian-exclusion" target="_blank">Asian exclusion acts</a>, <a href="https://qz.com/1201502/japanese-internment-camps-during-world-war-ii-are-a-lesson-in-the-scary-economics-of-racial-resentment/" target="_blank">discrimination of Japanese American farmers</a>, <a href="https://ddr.densho.org/browse/topics/45/" target="_blank">kibei or returning for education in Japan</a>, <a href="https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/japanese/rebuilding-a-community/" target="_blank">survival of Japanese American communities</a> and creation of the <a href="https://www.janm.org/" target="_blank">Japanese American National Museum</a>, <span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc"><a href="https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Immigration_Act_of_1952/" target="_blank">Immigration Act of 1952</a>, </span></span>and <a href="https://www.berkeleyside.org/2018/09/20/redlining-the-history-of-berkeleys-segregated-neighborhoods" target="_blank">redlining housing practices</a>), but this should be done in tandem with the students asking about the experiences of other ethnic/racial and social groups groups during those same periods (for instance, how did other Asian American, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and white people experience World War II? What aspects were similar or different for Japanese Americans?). Be sure to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00377996.2019.1600463" target="_blank">avoid essentializing experiences</a>. For example, teachers will often problematically teach the experiences of a group as a monolith. For example, there has been no one Latinx experience in U.S. history-for each group, it varies based on ancestors' country of origin, geography, and period. <br /></p><p>Step 6 is to have the students "go public" with their critical family history findings. This can be done by having students create a report or presentation on their family emphasizing the critical and contextual findings. I recommend that white teachers first model this by sharing their own family histories modeling how to discuss the role of privilege or power in their own family stories. Teachers of color may want to pair with a white colleague sharing their stories together to help white students see how historical experiences often contrast based on race. The purpose of sharing is not to have everyone find oppression in their stories, but rather provide a more honest and complex contextualization of family histories. It is important that teachers continually ask students to return back to those critical frameworks as their lenses, which will help them see their families' histories within a larger and more complex social context.</p><p><span><span><span><span><span>If done well, critical history projects can be incredibly powerful for students. They can evoke a sense of pride in students
(including white students) by learning of all that their ancestors did
(much of it positive), but also adds important context and reveals power
dynamics, making it more truthful and helping students understand how the structures that governed their ancestor's experiences influence their lives today and in many ways continue in the current day.</span> </span></span></span></span></p><p><b>Example: My Own Critical Family History</b> <br /></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76U73wazovOvVLB8IQzWHRfAa5MGSqAwex0IXEXFMD9hwBqKdzQ9c1VMi5w2nWXsxEOScMK1F45dSIoyr4ja17qBk1_2-XAuK6t2JQnlSE-tD0uoADQ3KY5_GAZnA1aEfZphWQJs_db4/s2710/Photograph.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="2710" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76U73wazovOvVLB8IQzWHRfAa5MGSqAwex0IXEXFMD9hwBqKdzQ9c1VMi5w2nWXsxEOScMK1F45dSIoyr4ja17qBk1_2-XAuK6t2JQnlSE-tD0uoADQ3KY5_GAZnA1aEfZphWQJs_db4/w640-h274/Photograph.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></div><p></p><p><i>Above: (Left) My great grandfather (with hat; as a child standing
behind his tenement in Holyoke, Mass.), whose family immigrated from
Québec in Canada and (Right) my great grandmother (on right, in an
family portrait taken in Chicopee, Mass.), whose family immigrated from
Galicia in Poland.</i></p><p><span>As
a white person with ancestors from French Canada and Poland, I was long told that my ancestors struggled as a result
of their
difficult choices to immigrate to the U.S. (which is certainly true in many ways), but engaging
in critical
family history helped me understand how my family also enjoyed certain advantages and privileges that influenced my opportunities in the present.<br /></span></p><p><span>My great grandparents were French Canadian immigrants who took trains from Montréal, Québec to <a href="http://www.terrastories.com/holyoke/french-canadians.html" target="_blank">Holyoke, Massachusetts</a> in the 1890s (my great grandfather actually grew up in a tenement building right next to the train station). Like many farmers in Québec, my ancestors struggled during a major economic depression in the mid- to late-1800s and made the same choice as 900,000 other French Canadians who <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Canadian_Americans" target="_blank">moved to New England</a> to work in the factories (as well as logging and farming industries). <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Franco-Americans_in_Holyoke,_Massachusetts" target="_blank">Holyoke was a paper mill town</a> where they found dangerous and low paying jobs and <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/french-canadian-immigrants-struck-fear-into-new-england-communities-180972951/" target="_blank">faced discrimination from the Anglo and Irish populations</a> that had already settled there.<br /></span></p><p><span>However, that is only part of their story (and might have been the only one revealed, if my family history only focused on my ancestor's experience without a larger social context). When I traced my family history through Québec genealogy records, I found that the first Martel (</span><span><span><span>My
family lore said that my great grandfather changed the spelling of our
last name to avoid debts, which I was able to partially confirm through various
records) was a person named <a href="https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~bobmartell/genealogy/HonoreMartel.htm" target="_blank">Honoré Martel</a>. He was a soldier in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carignan-Sali%C3%A8res_Regiment" target="_blank">French Army</a> from Paris who fought in the Caribbean and Canada. He would marry Marguerite Lamirault, a woman from Paris who came with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Daughters" target="_blank">filles du roy</a> or King's daughters (a program created by Louis XIV to ensure a long-term French settlement in Canada). This was the first evidence that I had that my </span></span>French Canadian ancestors
benefited from systems that privileged white people. My 8th great grandfather had participated in the killing and taking of land of Indigenous people, including the Abenaki, Atikamekw, Huron-Wendats, Mohawk, and others. My 8th great grandmother came as part of a settler-colonial project to permanently inhabit those same peoples' land. </span><span><span>This was a
troubling part of my family's past, something I needed to directly confront as
my part in a settler-colonial system that still exists and that I still
benefit from today. <br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0xvmJq54py3TxHQQfEgLI7Yc3d5Xc-bJ0ZVdw3HjZ2ilC6Fkg_EB8bUXJFP0CRKX2LqSuRj1qQZaA7_BSXRzJ4HfrOxyJMFLUwuOzoh2ic7Y3oxv2SUpjWFvLNvO141pTqkzkPA-H1MA/s2048/Redline+Holyoke.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1239" data-original-width="2048" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0xvmJq54py3TxHQQfEgLI7Yc3d5Xc-bJ0ZVdw3HjZ2ilC6Fkg_EB8bUXJFP0CRKX2LqSuRj1qQZaA7_BSXRzJ4HfrOxyJMFLUwuOzoh2ic7Y3oxv2SUpjWFvLNvO141pTqkzkPA-H1MA/w640-h389/Redline+Holyoke.png" width="640" /></a></div><i>Above: A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining" target="_blank">FOLC</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america" target="_blank">redlining</a> map showing where my great grandfather grew up in Holyoke and then moved to a farm in Ludlow.</i><p><span><span>Fast forward to the 20th century. My great grandfather Donat Lapointe lived with his family in a part of "The Flats" of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyoke,_Massachusetts" target="_blank">Holyoke</a> called Frenchville. Most of his neighbors were French Canadian immigrants who work in the factories there. They attended a francophone Catholic Church called <a href="http://www.holyokecanaltour.org/special-topics/neighborhoods-in-holyoke/precious-blood-church/" target="_blank">L'Église-du-Précieux-Sang</a> (Precious Blood Church). They played in the back lot of their tenement (the only picture that we have of his childhood is of him with siblings and cousins there). However, French Canadians began moving out of Holyoke in large numbers in the 1920s. </span></span><span><span><span><span>After getting married, my great grandfather bought a farm in the neighboring town of Ludlow, where French Canadians created their own new church called <a href="https://lostnewengland.com/2015/05/saint-john-the-baptist-church-ludlow-mass/" target="_blank">Église-Saint-Jean-Baptiste</a> (Saint John the Baptist Church). In fact, by the New Deal, the area that my grandfather had grown up in was <a href="https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=12/42.18/-72.679&city=holyoke-chicopee-ma" target="_blank">redlined</a> in a process where the map was literally colored red which meant "hazardous." As the French Canadians moved out, </span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span>Polish, Greek, Russian, and Italian immigrants moved into the area. In the 1950s, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Puerto_Ricans_in_Holyoke,_Massachusetts" target="_blank">Puerto Rican migrants settled in that same area</a>. This was another troubling aspect of my family's history, as they participated in the "white flight" of the era. In this process, </span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span><span>my family benefited from a system of whiteness that
allowed them to own a house and land after one generation, where Black
and Latinx residents were essentially redlined from their suburb of
Springfield, Massachusetts. Additionally, with the movement of white people to the suburbs, places like Holyoke were given less government resources to maintain and improve their communities. Highways, like Interstate 91, 291, and 391 were built through Holyoke and Springfield (dividing neighborhoods), so people like my great grandfather (who by the 1950s worked at a Westinghouse Factory in Springfield in addition to maintaining their farm) could drive to work from the suburbs. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>This same story repeated for my Polish ancestors, who fled poverty in Galicia in the early 1900s and immigrated directly to Ludlow where they worked in factories. While the work conditions were poor (they may have participated in the <a href="https://weneverforget.org/tag/ludlow-ma-textile-strike-of-1909-1910/" target="_blank">1909-1910 Ludlow Strike led by Polish immigrants</a>), the factories generally practiced employment discrimination against the area's African American population. Much like my French Canadian relatives, they benefited from changing definitions of whiteness and owned land and had stable employment within a generation. Moreover, my Polish grandparents were able to help establish a Polish Catholic Church in Ludlow, where they were able to preserve their religion, culture, and language (Polish is still spoken there), and no one accused them of being disloyal to the United States (unlike my <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/Life-and-death-Anti-Japanese-order-devastated-10954192.php" target="_blank">wife's family's experience</a> when they formed Japanese American communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, as it resulted in a very different treatment by white people in the area). <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p></p><p><b><span><span>Example: My Former Students and Critical Family Histories</span></span></b></p><p><b><span><span></span></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJ1FwY7gTxV9wMHPZk6Jb7_pnMRQWJVI-wlEtLlwdDZgTNcm7DV5omvNu6YODCwqk4GYOUKZf3f2cZ73wjVOA72pJnrholxAXK5WyaoATJXPapEoJqZUwQsniG5YXBfoni1Ah7Tu29eg/s1920/AR-306019787.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1671" data-original-width="1920" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJ1FwY7gTxV9wMHPZk6Jb7_pnMRQWJVI-wlEtLlwdDZgTNcm7DV5omvNu6YODCwqk4GYOUKZf3f2cZ73wjVOA72pJnrholxAXK5WyaoATJXPapEoJqZUwQsniG5YXBfoni1Ah7Tu29eg/w400-h349/AR-306019787.jpg" width="400" /></a><i> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Above: Students from Framingham High School at graduation.</i><b><span><span> <br /></span></span></b></div><p><span><span><span></span></span></span></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i></i></div><p><span><span><span>As
a former teacher in the Framingham Public Schools, which is an
<a href="http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/04/25/framingham_remembers_immigrants_of_long_ago/" target="_blank">immigrant</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framingham,_Massachusetts" target="_blank">community just west of Boston</a> (that has a very similar New England factory town story to Holyoke), I would have my students
interview their family members and research their family's immigration, forced migration, or Indigenous histories.
White students were fascinated to learn most families came before 1924
without restriction, which troubled the "my family came here legally"
narrative. Many traced their roots to the mass Irish, Italian, or Eastern European Jewish immigrants to the area in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Others were descendants of the first white people to settle in the town in the 1700s, or the smaller African American community that developed in the late 1700s and early 1800s, with a few students' parents being members of the Nipmuc or Wamponoag tribes. Many of my students' families had <a href="https://www.immigrationresearch.org/system/files/Latinos_in_Massachusetts_Selected_Areas--_Framingham.pdf" target="_blank">migrated from Puerto Rico</a> to work in the town's farms in the 1950s and 60s. The most recent wave of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/the-brazilian-immigrants-who-saved-a-dying-mill-town/432078/" target="_blank">immigrants came from</a> <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.2050-411X.2003.tb00894.x" target="_blank">Brazil</a> in the 1980s and Central America and East Africa in the 2000s. For many, this project was their first time hearing of their families' struggles to come to New England.<br /></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Many of Latinx and Asian American students learned of the sacrifices
their parents made (sometimes forced to come undocumented) due to 1965
immigration changes (one student even learned that his family came here
in a container ship-risking his life). Puerto Rican students often heard stories of their families not being seated at local fancy restaurants along Route 9. Some African American students learned about their grandparents or great grandparents moves to the North during the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/long-lasting-legacy-great-migration-180960118/" target="_blank">Great Migration</a>, but also that they could <a href="https://www.jamaicaplainnews.com/2015/09/21/what-redlining-looks-like-city-lifevida-urban-takes-to-the-streets-to-outline-housing-discrimination/13749" target="_blank">only find housing in certain areas</a> just outside downtown. One student relayed a story that his father told him about being a stowaway on a container ship from Brazil, where he risked his life to come to the United States. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>White students would often learn about the sacrifices that their families made when they immigrated from Italy or Ireland. However, they also learned about how the town had long had racial divisions between the north side and south side (which was divided by two main highways, Route 9 and the Massachusetts Turnpike) due to <a href="https://www.bostonfairhousing.org/timeline/1920s1948-Restrictive-Covenants.html" target="_blank">racial covenants</a> and other racist housing policies and practices. Students who were descendants of the first settlers in Framingham learned how their ancestors participated in numerous acts of violence toward Native people. They learned that an important act of Native resistance, where often recorded in the town history through white narratives </span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>(such as the Nipmuc Uprising traditionally called the <a href="https://framinghamhistory.org/events/native-american-deed-eames-incident/" target="_blank">Eames Massacre</a> or the numerous acts of resistance by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantamous" target="_blank">Tantamous</a>)</span></span></span></span>. Students grappled with the ways that these events led to a town where their people benefited at the expense of others.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>For my students and myself, critical family histories helped us understand how we were advantaged and disadvantaged by different forms of oppression, how the complicated histories of how our ancestors experienced the world frame our present, and how we can use that knowledge in the future to seek more fair and just outcomes from everyone in our communities. As students continued to learn U.S. history through the remainder of the year, I saw how they know could imagine where their ancestors appeared within the historical periods that we were studying, but it helped give them lenses for understanding other peoples' ancestors experienced those same events.</span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></p>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-64289680680246249622021-07-31T16:59:00.099-07:002024-01-05T07:51:53.464-08:00Teaching About the Capitol Insurrection<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqv52oykgvMENL6pnqBOHWz57xHVeis2huZcmUxbKdlJEFNOC6gd-m0VgGZf1puXcUJc76voXSFruTZUYY54zt8N4XrAAjkWSr9qGV_qv1lSaN1hOalmQ5IcifkJ2L017CWq7wyMPsQE0/s780/Insurrection.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqv52oykgvMENL6pnqBOHWz57xHVeis2huZcmUxbKdlJEFNOC6gd-m0VgGZf1puXcUJc76voXSFruTZUYY54zt8N4XrAAjkWSr9qGV_qv1lSaN1hOalmQ5IcifkJ2L017CWq7wyMPsQE0/s320/Insurrection.jpg" width="320" /></a><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcB4DoxJL209Zoq37YJAczBjdeN2oZDisGTQ1uwrlHiUTzMgfhx9G4Ly_VeIlLYCSoY_QkPIOqIOlYkbzkESbAqGEyHzPxaolClSvJHmGlQlnBAy8FchX4vUZzlRyKrmfaATTVwJcKRGo/s2048/Insurrection1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcB4DoxJL209Zoq37YJAczBjdeN2oZDisGTQ1uwrlHiUTzMgfhx9G4Ly_VeIlLYCSoY_QkPIOqIOlYkbzkESbAqGEyHzPxaolClSvJHmGlQlnBAy8FchX4vUZzlRyKrmfaATTVwJcKRGo/s320/Insurrection1.jpeg" width="320" /></a> </i><br /></p><p></p><p><i>Above: Images from January 6, 2021, when a group of people participated in an organized insurrection of the U.S. Capitol with the goal of overturning the free and fair 2020 Presidential Election and ensure that Donald Trump remain in power.</i></p><p>I often use this blog to write about ways that social studies teachers can help their students connect past and present events in their classrooms. However, it has taken me over six months to write about teaching the Capitol Insurrection. While we all had to teach about the event in the days after it happened, I needed more time to reflect on the events of that day and have waited for more information to come out before writing about it. </p><p>With the hearings of the <a href="https://january6th.house.gov/" target="_blank">House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol</a> recently beginning, it seems like the right time to suggest approaches to teaching about it with students. With the start of the next school year quickly approaching, many teachers will need to address questions about the hearings from students.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzqDgDJNkndq9vZ8DDOIqGa6vgIOVcnk4J8LYRn2bEK84psAxCW7kHCdHp1mDKjxLlGiMUORKFlIdKyDCWcWEH4foW-Dq39qtslL71hyphenhypheneIh7eZpX1TKT8n_zdyc8Jst2z3R3Qp2NGDL0/s2048/StopTheSteal.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1431" data-original-width="2048" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzqDgDJNkndq9vZ8DDOIqGa6vgIOVcnk4J8LYRn2bEK84psAxCW7kHCdHp1mDKjxLlGiMUORKFlIdKyDCWcWEH4foW-Dq39qtslL71hyphenhypheneIh7eZpX1TKT8n_zdyc8Jst2z3R3Qp2NGDL0/s320/StopTheSteal.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlHdAF7BVp4cd31zcuRZnqvrkele0ABrHdOech3cfJvwxkCnnUtEsHtMQjr8Z_iMA072S7jTkMXRD9BpPYTAuHJ79V11aC-NKnVaLqYNVITZwjIdv5an6YBW84BlE4CuPHSqNC3AW7v1M/s1280/Insurrection2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlHdAF7BVp4cd31zcuRZnqvrkele0ABrHdOech3cfJvwxkCnnUtEsHtMQjr8Z_iMA072S7jTkMXRD9BpPYTAuHJ79V11aC-NKnVaLqYNVITZwjIdv5an6YBW84BlE4CuPHSqNC3AW7v1M/s320/Insurrection2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvz__wfa1iQJ1lQvlX9xG-eR7nzmQvKA8FTto4-oUJE9g_o3UdZSywIdNrsjvwAL1m962peVPkijJYrd2Vz15H3BdyzqtCGWRLJovBFGBYZWXsZewXz8WTU0icMkCP4F2bW9lrRxzV20/s2048/Insurrection3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1385" data-original-width="2048" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvz__wfa1iQJ1lQvlX9xG-eR7nzmQvKA8FTto4-oUJE9g_o3UdZSywIdNrsjvwAL1m962peVPkijJYrd2Vz15H3BdyzqtCGWRLJovBFGBYZWXsZewXz8WTU0icMkCP4F2bW9lrRxzV20/s320/Insurrection3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>Above: Trump speaks to a rally to "Stop the Steal" just before encouraging attendees to "</i><i>fight like hell." After forcing their way into the building, insurrectionists walk throughout the Capitol Building searching for members of Congress. </i><br /><p></p><p>For most Americans, the Capitol Insurrection was deeply troubling. It was the first time in the United State's history that a mob attempted to stop a peaceful transition of power after a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/barr-no-widespread-election-fraud-b1f1488796c9a98c4b1a9061a6c7f49d" target="_blank">free and fair presidential election</a> (What is a <a href="https://www.facinghistory.org/educator-resources/current-events/explainer/free-fair-elections" target="_blank">free and fair election</a>?). Even before the nation's Civil War in 1860, those who opposed Lincoln's election accepted the outcome (granted, many states would later secede from the Union). In fact, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/28/turnout-soared-in-2020-as-nearly-two-thirds-of-eligible-u-s-voters-cast-ballots-for-president/" target="_blank">a record number of Americans voted</a> in the 2020 Election with Joe Biden receiving <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/11/bidens-victory-another-example-of-how-electoral-college-wins-are-bigger-than-popular-vote-ones/" target="_blank">7 million more votes</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-270-electoral-college-vote-d429ef97af2bf574d16463384dc7cc1e" target="_blank">72 more electors</a> in the Electoral College, and while there have been numerous investigations, there have been <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/its-official-election-was-secure" target="_blank">no legitimate examples of wide-scale voter fraud</a> (however, Donald Trump had searched for ways to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53597975" target="_blank">delay the election</a>, <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/election-2020/ct-trump-geogia-votes-pressure-call-20210110-v6gw77bnibetfb4ssommdl7q3e-story.html" target="_blank">pressured state</a> <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-07-03/records-show-pressure-by-trump-allies-on-arizona-officials" target="_blank">election officials</a> to change results, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/05/us/politics/pence-trump-election.html" target="_blank">demanded the vice president to stop its certification</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-panel-justice-dept-documents-show-trump-pressed-overturn-2020-election-2021-06-15/" target="_blank">asked the Justice Department to intervene</a>, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernard-kerik-potus-trump-letter-seize-election-materials_n_61d11c38e4b0c7d8b8a4d1fd" target="_blank">considered plans to seize election materials or evoke martial law</a>, and would eventually <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2021/01/06/trump-vows-to-never-concede-unseat-republicans-who-break-with-him/?sh=33cfd5441493" target="_blank">refuse to concede</a> or <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/01/20/958905703/for-1st-time-in-150-years-outgoing-president-doesnt-attend-inauguration" target="_blank">attend the inauguration</a>; simultaneously, there was a <a href="https://time.com/5936036/secret-2020-election-campaign/" target="_blank">coalition working to prevent these attempts to thwart democracy</a>). <br /></p><p>Moreover, the lack of response by the federal government to pro-Trump insurrectionists <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/interactive/2021/blm-protest-capitol-riot-police-comparison/" target="_blank">in comparison to</a> the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/us/police-response-black-lives-matter-protest-us-capitol/index.html" target="_blank">excessive response</a> faced by largely peaceful <a href="https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/01/18/capitol-mob-black-lives-matter" target="_blank">Black Lives Matter protesters</a> in the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/01/867532070/trumps-unannounced-church-visit-angers-church-officials" target="_blank">prior summer</a> was concerning. Many students will likely point out that we have just experienced both <a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-timeline" target="_blank">a global pandemic</a> that disrupted our way of life and <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2020-12-07/us-saw-summer-of-black-lives-matter-protests-demanding-change" target="_blank">collective uprisings for racial justice</a> over the past year, which seem to partially explain why Donald Trump lost re-election (especially since he had the <a href="https://fortune.com/2021/01/18/trump-approval-rating-average-popularity/" target="_blank">lowest polling numbers of any president</a> in modern times). <br /></p><p><b>Difficult History and Avoiding False Balance</b><br /></p><p>In teaching the Capitol Insurrection, social studies teachers may fall into the trap of "<a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/trump-impeachment-journalism/" target="_blank">bothsidesism</a>," also known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_balance" target="_blank">false balance</a>. Especially in light of numerous speech silencing laws in conservative states aimed at teachers, and social studies teachers in particular, which include prohibiting the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-business-education-government-and-politics-905c354a805cec1785160cf21f04c7ec" target="_blank">teaching of race or racism</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/04/10/1091543359/15-states-dont-say-gay-anti-transgender-bills" target="_blank">sexual orientation and gender</a>, or <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/01/17/teachers-are-told-not-get-political-classroom-what-does-that-actually-mean/" target="_blank">bringing any political topics into the classroom</a>, they may be rightfully worried. Teachers may feel compelled to present the Capitol Insurrection as a two-sides debate to avoid upsetting students or parents (maybe even asking, "Were the insurrectionists justified in their riot?", as if they were the Patriots during the American Revolution). I strongly recommend against this for several reasons. It is important that students learn an honest examination of the events and what it means for the nation.</p><p>In fact, this is not a two-sides issue. Instead, a relatively small minority of Americans supported the Capitol Insurrection. The <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/03/18/large-majority-of-the-public-views-prosecution-of-capitol-rioters-as-very-important/" target="_blank">vast majority of Americans</a>
<a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/558918-poll-majority-say-jan-6-was-an-insurrection-but-are-divided-on-independent" target="_blank">think it was a riot or insurrection</a> and that the insurrectionists <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/03/18/large-majority-of-the-public-views-prosecution-of-capitol-rioters-as-very-important/" target="_blank">need to be prosecuted</a>. While this is certainly a political issue, it should not be
a partisan one (even if some politicians want to use it to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republican-trump-2022-midterms-election-falsehoods/2021/07/04/3a43438c-d36f-11eb-ae54-515e2f63d37d_story.html" target="_blank">mobilize voters</a>). If teachers are to present this through a "false balance," then they will leave students with the impression that Americans are evenly split on the event (granted, in the months since, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2021/01/07/conservative-media-capitol-breach-reaction-tucker-carlson-sean-hannity/" target="_blank">conservative media has downplayed the event</a>, we have seen a disturbing <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/06/americans-divided-insurrection-investigation-voter-fraud-polls.html" target="_blank">increase of support for the insurrectionists among Republican voters</a>, and right wing groups are planning a September D.C. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-12/rally-for-jailed-jan-6-rioters-prompts-capitol-security-concern" target="_blank">rally in support of the insurrection</a> and <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5gkkb/how-the-gop-is-turning-capitol-rioters-into-political-prisoners" target="_blank">portraying the insurrectionists as "political prisoners"</a>). </p><p>We do not present a false balance with other events in the past. For example, we should not ask students: "Were the Confederates justified in rebelling during the Civil War?" or "How could white supremacists have kept segregation laws?" I would argue that the Capitol Insurrection is no different. As the words in the Constitution state, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty." The Capitol Insurrection directly contradicted the purpose of the United States (It is also important to note that <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/the-legacy-of-racial-hatred-in-the-january-6-insurrection/" target="_blank">a good number of those who breached the Capitol</a> were <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-01-14/years-of-white-supremacy-threats-culminated-in-capitol-riots" target="_blank">white</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/us/names-of-rioters-capitol.html" target="_blank">supremacists</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/27/capitol-insurrection-white-supremacists-us-military" target="_blank">antisemites</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/insurrection-at-the-capitol/2021/01/19/958240531/members-of-right-wing-militias-extremist-groups-are-latest-charged-in-capitol-si" target="_blank">, </a><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/us/politics/confederate-flag-capitol.html" target="_blank">neo-Confederates</a>, <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/scaachikoul/capitol-dc-attempted-coup-riots-trump-charlottesville" target="_blank">neo-Nazis</a>, and <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/insurrection-at-the-capitol/2021/01/19/958240531/members-of-right-wing-militias-extremist-groups-are-latest-charged-in-capitol-si" target="_blank">right-wing extremists</a>; similar groups were also involved in the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/local/charlottesville-timeline/" target="_blank">"Unite the Right" rally</a> a few years earlier). <br /></p><p>Instead, I would suggest that teachers approach the Capitol Insurrection as "difficult history" or "hard history" in the present (or now, near past). Gross and Terra have argued that difficult histories "<a href="https://kappanonline.org/gross-what-makes-difficult-history-difficult/" target="_blank">present and surface fundamental disagreements over who we are and what values we hold</a>." They involve events that students (and everyone) may find troubling, because they conflict with the common <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=C-hcCAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=mind+as+action&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDlf7CpubfAhWum-AKHSDOBoMQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=mind%20as%20action&f=false" target="_blank">freedom-quest narrative template</a> often portrayed in U.S. history and illuminate dark and troubling aspects of human behavior. However, left unexamined, they also may contribute to future events that are equally troubling; citizens need to understand difficult or hard history, so they can prevent similar events in the future. <br /></p><p>Here are some helpful resources on teaching hard history in the past (similar advice would apply to current events or "developing" history).</p><p><a href="https://kappanonline.org/gross-what-makes-difficult-history-difficult/" target="_blank">What Makes History Difficult?</a> (Phi Delta Kappan) </p><p><a href="https://www.historymuseum.ca/wp-teachers-zone/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Teaching-Difficult-History-EN_Final.pdf" target="_blank">Tips for Teaching Difficult History</a> (Canadian Museum of History/<span class="VIiyi" lang="fr"><span class="JLqJ4b ChMk0b" data-language-for-alternatives="fr" data-language-to-translate-into="en" data-phrase-index="0"><span>Musée canadien de l'histoire</span></span></span>)</p><p><a href="https://www.splcenter.org/20180131/teaching-hard-history" target="_blank">Teaching Hard History</a> (Southern Poverty Law Center) <br /></p><p><a href="https://www.learningforjustice.org/podcasts/teaching-hard-history" target="_blank">Teaching Hard History Podcast</a> (Learning for Justice)</p><p><a href="https://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/ask-a-master-teacher/23901" target="_blank">Tackling Tough Topics</a> (Teachinghistory.org) <br /></p><p>Here are some helpful resources for teachers on teaching the Capitol Insurrection:</p><p><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/daily-videos/classroom-resource-dr-yohuru-williams-on-using-primary-sources-to-teach-the-capitol-riot/" target="_blank">Using History to Teach the Insurrection with Yohuru Williams</a> (Public Broadcasting Service's News Hour)</p><p><a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/how-to-teach-the-u-s-capitol-attack-dozens-of-resources-to-get-you-started/2021/01" target="_blank">How to Teach About the Capitol Riots</a> (EdWeek) </p><p><a href="https://www.learningforjustice.org/the-moment/january-7-2021-leading-conversations-after-the-insurrection-in-washington-dc" target="_blank">Leading Conversations About the Capitol Insurrection</a> (Learning for Justice) <br /></p><p><a href="https://www.facinghistory.org/educator-resources/current-events/resources-teaching-after-insurrection-us-capitol" target="_blank">Resources for Teaching the Capitol Insurrection</a> (Facing History and Ourselves) <br /></p><p><a href="https://www.icivics.org/news/blog-post/resources-for-teaching-about-capitol-riot?" target="_blank">Teaching About the Capitol Riots</a> (iCivics) <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ_A2yNNnIwmODpd5H5Rw1nmDY0bjhpe4IsPUd9GrP-AF0N1pQdqsCjeTQtaIUg_RbQ9DBo2NWJy41zLvn11cqmxI-1LhrzGOtPh6OsaT8Cua4HZcaVTEZQ5RFm_GTdI8TIEwZM24Q_7k/s2048/Insurrection5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ_A2yNNnIwmODpd5H5Rw1nmDY0bjhpe4IsPUd9GrP-AF0N1pQdqsCjeTQtaIUg_RbQ9DBo2NWJy41zLvn11cqmxI-1LhrzGOtPh6OsaT8Cua4HZcaVTEZQ5RFm_GTdI8TIEwZM24Q_7k/s320/Insurrection5.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqKemYuSV3E2vsLf2sdgROE7qO97eLn04xnCdgRJokZ15LmkdG_oZoitjYBp9ehE-8Rg6xhKbox2BUh7CLDfQOUfQai5-esGhCiWmyN9DHjQc9I_uS8AkJQwZuDssRohk7FHNuDp4zsE/s1400/Insurrection4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="1400" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqKemYuSV3E2vsLf2sdgROE7qO97eLn04xnCdgRJokZ15LmkdG_oZoitjYBp9ehE-8Rg6xhKbox2BUh7CLDfQOUfQai5-esGhCiWmyN9DHjQc9I_uS8AkJQwZuDssRohk7FHNuDp4zsE/s320/Insurrection4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><i>Above:
Members of Congress hide under desks and chairs in the Senate Chamber and law enforcement engages in a standoff with
insurrectionists at the door of the House of Representatives Chamber.</i><b> <br /></b><p><b>Inquiry Questions for the Capitol Insurrection</b> <br /></p><p>To help students understand the
complexity of what occurred during the Capitol Insurrection and what it means within the larger context of U.S. history, I would suggest asking the following
inquiry questions: <b>Why did a group of thousands of Americans refuse to
accept the outcome of a free and fair election and engage in an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol? What does this event
mean for our future as a nation?</b></p><p>Below I have compiled several overview
sources followed by several supporting sources grouped around four main
concepts: increasing support for authoritarianism, the media and political propaganda,
failures of federal security agencies, and the aftermath. Students
could use these sources in their explanation for how this event could have happened
and model ways that historians might explain these events to citizens
in the future.</p><p><b>Overview</b><br /></p><p>Here are some resources for introducing the event to students. They include timelines of events, histories of insurrections in the United States, and primary sources from the "Stop the Steal" rally beforehand and the Capitol Insurrection itself. <br /></p><p><i>NOTE: Some of the sources shows acts of violence and hate, and involve disturbing language, and may not be appropriate for younger students.</i></p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/05/1069977469/a-timeline-of-how-the-jan-6-attack-unfolded-including-who-said-what-and-when" target="_blank">Timeline of the January 6 Attack</a> (National Public Radio)<i> <br /></i></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/12/us/capitol-mob-timeline.html" target="_blank">Timeline of the Capitol Insurrection</a> (New York Times)</p><p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/11/trump-impeachment-trial-timeline-trump-actions-during-capitol-riot/6720727002/" target="_blank">Timeline of Donald Trump During Capitol Insurrection</a> (USA Today) <br /></p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-capitol-siege-riots-media-8000ce7db2b176c1be386d945be5fd6a" target="_blank">Capitol Insurrection Terminology</a> (Associated Press)</p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/13/yes-it-was-an-insurrection/" target="_blank">Capitol Insurrection Terminology</a> (Washington Post)</p><p><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons-plans/lesson-plan-insurrections-in-american-history-18th-19th-and-20th-centuries/" target="_blank">A History of American Insurrections</a> (Public Broadcasting Service's News Hour)<br /></p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/160962/living-tradition-black-insurrection" target="_blank">Differences Between Historical Black Resistance and Capitol Insurrection</a> (The New Republic)<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/10/trump-impeachement-stop-the-steal-speakers-467554" target="_blank">Speeches at the "Stop the Steal" Rally</a> (Politico)</p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/966396848/read-trumps-jan-6-speech-a-key-part-of-impeachment-trial" target="_blank">Transcript of Donald Trump's Speech at the "Stop the Steal" Rally</a> (National Public Radio)</p><p>Sources from the Capitol Insurrection <a href="https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book-sourcebook/foia/2021-01-13/capitol-riot-documents-you-should-read-part-1" target="_blank">Part 1</a>; <a href="https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/foia/2021-03-03/capitol-riot-documents-you-should-read-part-2" target="_blank">Part 2</a>; <a href="https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/foia/2021-05-04/capitol-riot-documents-you-should-read-part-3" target="_blank">Part 3</a> (George Washington University's National Security Archive) <br /></p><p><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/daily-videos/classroom-resource-insurrection-at-the-u-s-capitol/" target="_blank">Sources from the Capitol Insurrection</a> (Public Broadcasting Service's News Hour) </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/learning/teaching-resources-to-help-students-make-sense-of-the-rampage-at-the-capitol.html" target="_blank">Sources and Lesson Plans for the Capitol Insurrection</a> (New York Times) </p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/27/1019736664/jan-6-insurrection-hearing-police-nancy-pelosi-committee" target="_blank">Testimony of Capitol Police Officers at House Hearings</a> (National Public Radio) </p><p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/06/us/capitol-riot-paths-to-insurrection/" target="_blank">Interviews with Insurrectionists</a> (CNN) </p><p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020-elections-threats" target="_blank">Tracking Threats to a Free and Fair 2020 Election</a> (Politico) </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/08/us/politics/trump-second-impeachment-timeline.html" target="_blank">Timeline of Trump's Second Impeachment</a> (New York Times)</p><p><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/historians-on-the-unprecedented-chaos-in-congress" target="_blank">Historians Perspectives on the Capitol Insurrection</a> (National Geographic Magazine)</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Concept 1: Growing Support for Authoritarianism</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6_0rIwUKhY0GmOQMex5Qpy7OHfHJaYWxVvGhjGU5PtCXDjSgToJRKImE61X3VJB35l0A0CmbayOWiXPKkM0gYYaJgrlPo8bEc3xHn7n10HYNSCpXPM1lt_vtSl4IIAQXGzUAR1W3Qzs/s1456/MacWilliamsDissertation.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="1456" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6_0rIwUKhY0GmOQMex5Qpy7OHfHJaYWxVvGhjGU5PtCXDjSgToJRKImE61X3VJB35l0A0CmbayOWiXPKkM0gYYaJgrlPo8bEc3xHn7n10HYNSCpXPM1lt_vtSl4IIAQXGzUAR1W3Qzs/s320/MacWilliamsDissertation.png" width="320" /></a></div><i>Above:
A graph from Matthew MacWilliams's dissertation at UMass Amherst showing
the correlation between support for Donald Trump and authoritarianism
within South Carolina voters.</i><p>Perhaps a product of <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/12/17/in-a-politically-polarized-era-sharp-divides-in-both-partisan-coalitions/" target="_blank">increasing partisanship</a> (what some political scientists and sociologists call <a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8f7f70d97eed4249ad573ade02b3a9f8" target="_blank">tribalism</a>), Americans, and especially those with conservative political views, have a declining trust of democratic institutions (which threatens the Constitution itself). This decline has been occurring for sometime, the candidacy of Donald Trump may have played into those shifting views, and those changes share <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2017/10/16/globally-broad-support-for-representative-and-direct-democracy/" target="_blank">commonalities with other nations</a> that have <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2021/democracy-under-siege" target="_blank">experienced failed democracies</a>. Political scientists have been documenting this decline for sometime and below are several reports on these studies (for a good analysis of this, see <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/562246/how-democracies-die-by-steven-levitsky-and-daniel-ziblatt/" target="_blank">"How Democracies Die"</a> by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt). Some political scientists, including Matthew MacWilliams at University of Massachusetts Amherst (see graph above), have argued that Donald Trump offered for these Americans a "strong man" who would go against conventional democratic norms to achieve the policies that they demand. This increasing authoritarian view <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/opinion/trump-religion-authoritarianism.html" target="_blank">has been particularly strong</a> in a demographic that some political scientists and sociologist label as <a href="https://time.com/6052051/anti-democratic-threat-christian-nationalism/" target="_blank">Christian nationalists</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2018/05/10/450552/drivers-authoritarian-populism-united-states/" target="_blank">Authoritarian Populism in the United States </a>(Center for American Progress)<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/10/12/trump-voter-authoritarian-research/" target="_blank">Social Science Research on Support for Authoritarianism</a> (Washington Post)</p><p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/09/23/trump-america-authoritarianism-420681" target="_blank">Trump Supporters and Authoritarianism</a> (Politico)</p><p><a href="https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/10/29/america-authoritarian-threat-government-democracy" target="_blank">Authoritarianism and a Threat to U.S. Government</a> (WBUR) </p><p><a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/11/capitol-insurrection-trump-authoritarianism-psychology-innate-fear-envy-change-diversity-populism/" target="_blank">How to Live with Authoritarians</a> (Foreign Policy) <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Concept 2: The Media and Political Propaganda<br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEiWTKci56JnXhvKnVFB62-MFE_uHNbf2Cau5vLpdvNQAwOuuJLaUY5sidf4GhS8mFyoRHP4a1pkUWtLPcFKHiIRx-WrHEvunLdGoCl4yp_Wd474tOISwCYofnkSv7t91hjE-AdKcu3q4/s1150/TrustIn2020Election.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="1150" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEiWTKci56JnXhvKnVFB62-MFE_uHNbf2Cau5vLpdvNQAwOuuJLaUY5sidf4GhS8mFyoRHP4a1pkUWtLPcFKHiIRx-WrHEvunLdGoCl4yp_Wd474tOISwCYofnkSv7t91hjE-AdKcu3q4/s320/TrustIn2020Election.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><p><i>Above: Trust in the 2020 Election results was much lower for Republicans compared to Democrats well before election day. Rhetoric from Donald Trump and commentators on conservative news networks may have influenced this. </i><b><br /></b></p><p>Over the past 50 years, the U.S. media has become more partisan in how it presents information (others have <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2960.html" target="_blank">described it as less objective</a>). There is strong evidence that the commercial success of <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/gauging-the-role-of-fox-news-in-our-electoral-divide/" target="_blank">Fox News</a> and other partisan outlets has exacerbated this phenomenon. We also know that the news media has a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200512-how-the-news-changes-the-way-we-think-and-behave" target="_blank">major impact on people's psychology</a> and how they understand their world and make sense of current events.<b> </b>Many Americans are now able to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41288385?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents" target="_blank">choose news media that only conforms with their preexisting political beliefs</a> and ideologies. This leads to essentially a news "echo chamber" with little exposure to conflicting political opinions. Additionally, with more Americans getting their news from social media posts (that often include <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/05/09/how-misinformation-spreads-on-social-media-and-what-to-do-about-it/" target="_blank">misinformation</a>), these <a href="https://voxeu.org/article/misinformation-social-media" target="_blank">media echo chambers</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10584609.2021.1910887?journalCode=upcp20" target="_blank">are becoming more evident</a> (<a href="https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/is_social_media_driving_political_polarization" target="_blank">albeit in some subtle ways</a>). Moreover, Donald Trump's media behaviors (<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-online-misinformation-from-local-level-republicans-helped-fuel-the-capitol-riot" target="_blank">along with local-level Republican leaders</a>), including his ability to control news cycles and his use of social media, helped to spread not only encouragement for the insurrectionists, but misinformation that fueled their actions.</p><p><a href="https://news.mit.edu/2019/partisan-cable-news-0808" target="_blank">Cable News and Partisan Thinking</a> (MIT News) <br /></p><p><a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/10/network-propaganda-takes-a-closer-look-at-media-and-american-politics/">Impact of Media on Partisan Thinking</a> (Harvard Gazette)<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/74622/stopthesteal-timeline-of-social-media-and-extremist-activities-leading-to-1-6-insurrection/ " target="_blank">Social Media Influence on Capitol Insurrection</a> (Just Security)<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/capitol-mob-trump-supporters.html" target="_blank">Online Chatter Before January 6th</a> (New York Times) </p><p></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22221285/trump-online-capitol-riot-far-right-parler-twitter-facebook">How the Capitol Insurrection Was Planned Through Social Media</a> (Vox)<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/01/07/social-media-capitol-mob" target="_blank">Social Media's Role in the Capitol Insurrection</a> (WBUR)<b><br /></b></p><p><a href=" https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22217822/us-capitol-attack-trump-right-wing-media-misinformation" target="_blank">Misinformation, Trump, and the Capitol Insurrection</a> (Vox)<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/jun/30/misinformation-and-jan-6-insurrection-when-patriot/" target="_blank">Misinformation and the Capitol Insurrection</a> (Politico) <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Concept 3: Failure of Federal Security Agencies </b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSA0PHq7BvkpxWMJ6JbGlBVOO6ivjwMSGHi0DrfhA01g_zyP3FuHzW5jgB57Bf4o8rk3J9JCX_ry2nMI7anYkvVCC_QknYT7-PFbvW5z0K1BKqlzhjiP7S-TcJvBiZ6f9PtO1L1FwADv0/s1000/SoldiersCapitol.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSA0PHq7BvkpxWMJ6JbGlBVOO6ivjwMSGHi0DrfhA01g_zyP3FuHzW5jgB57Bf4o8rk3J9JCX_ry2nMI7anYkvVCC_QknYT7-PFbvW5z0K1BKqlzhjiP7S-TcJvBiZ6f9PtO1L1FwADv0/s320/SoldiersCapitol.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>Above: U.S. soldiers stationed at the Capitol Building after the insurrection and before the Inauguration of Joseph Biden.</i><b><br /></b><p></p><p>There was a substantial amount of <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/20/fbi-evidence-capitol-insurrection-plan-460836" target="_blank">planning and public chatter on social media</a> that were <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/01/it-was-much-worse-it-looked/617693/" target="_blank">clear warning signs</a> of what was to occur at the Capitol. Yet, the leadership of the <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2021/06/08/senate-report-details-capitol-police-failures-leading-up-to-jan-6/" target="_blank">Capitol Police</a>, <a href="https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/secret-service-dismissed-warning-signs-of-violence-at-capitol-before-january-6th/" target="_blank">Secret Service</a>, and other federal security agencies were not prepared for what was to come and officers were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/us/politics/capitol-police-riot-report.html" target="_blank">directed to not use more aggressive defense tactics</a>. Journalists and historians are still trying to understand why this security failure occurred, and we will learn more as investigations continue. However, there was an important <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-full-senate-investigation-details-security-breakdowns-surrounding-capitol-attack" target="_blank">bipartisan report released in June 2021</a>, which helps explains numerous bad decisions on the part of federal security agencies. <br /></p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/01/15/956842958/what-we-know-so-far-a-timeline-of-security-at-the-capitol-on-january-6" target="_blank">Capitol Security Response</a> (National Public Radio)</p><p><b> </b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/us/politics/capitol-riot-security.html" target="_blank">Summary of the Bipartisan Capitol Security Report</a> (New York Times) <b><br /></b></p><p><a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/03/10/what-security-lessons-did-we-learn-from-the-capitol-insurrection/" target="_blank">Security Lessons from the Capitol Insurrection</a> (Brookings)</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55575260" target="_blank">Visual Guide to the Insurrection</a> (British Broadcasting Corporation)</p><p><a href="https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2021/06/Jan-6-HSGAC-Rules-Report.pdf" target="_blank">Report on Capitol Security</a> (U.S. Senate) <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Concept 4: The Aftermath</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YDnWpW6yWsa0dteZTib15i35Dam9ZL8TNi3Ysj_Kw2YHRyfCFEWA1LZGq5B-aqJUhs0NZ2VrRyPN4-1E2F6mFFRKgZY7nvWtrTG1ef_G0xNntKR342jDZZy9ojLL_084bt56JMasLsk/s992/GOP+July+21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="992" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YDnWpW6yWsa0dteZTib15i35Dam9ZL8TNi3Ysj_Kw2YHRyfCFEWA1LZGq5B-aqJUhs0NZ2VrRyPN4-1E2F6mFFRKgZY7nvWtrTG1ef_G0xNntKR342jDZZy9ojLL_084bt56JMasLsk/s320/GOP+July+21.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>Above: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy appoints Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Jim Banks to the House Select Committee on the Attack on the Capitol on July 21, 2021. Both <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/21/1018850848/pelosi-rejects-2-gop-nominees-for-the-jan-6-panel-citing-integrity-of-the-probe" target="_blank">voted against certifying</a> the 2020 Election results in the hours after the siege and both committee appointees were later rejected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.</i><br /><p></p><p>As with many historical events, it is as important to study what happened <i>after</i> the Capitol Insurrection, as what happened <i>during</i> the Capitol Insurrection. In the immediate aftermath, Republican politicians (with <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-impeachment-trial-capitol-insurrection-b1801101.html" target="_blank">the stark exception</a> of Donald Trump) <a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-stormed-republican-1cf9847e5fe8582e41c892a0601340e0" target="_blank">generally had a somber tone</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/12/donald-trump-texas-impeachment-effort" target="_blank">blamed the president</a> for the Capitol Insurrection. However, over the past six months, there has been an intentional <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-michael-pence-donald-trump-election-2020-capitol-siege-549829098c84b9b8de3012673a104a4c" target="_blank">downplaying of the events</a> and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/mccarthy-opposes-bipartisan-commission-investigate-jan-6-capitol-attack-n1267743" target="_blank">stonewalling</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/21/nancy-pelosi-rejects-jim-jordan-and-jim-banks-for-house-select-committee-on-jan-6-capitol-invasion.html" target="_blank">Congressional</a> <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/21/politics/nancy-pelosi-rejects-republicans-from-committee/index.html" target="_blank">investigations</a> (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/politics/republicans-leaving-party.html" target="_blank">there has also been a slight decrease in registered Republican voters</a>, as well as <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/343976/quarterly-gap-party-affiliation-largest-2012.aspx" target="_blank">people describing themselves as Republicans</a>). The result of the Republican Party continuing to repeat "<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/19/politics/donald-trump-big-lie-explainer/index.html" target="_blank">the big lie</a>" that Donald Trump actually won the 2020 Election has had damaging effects in the months after the Capitol Insurrection, as it continues to divide Americans and prevents the nation from reckoning with the events of January 6th. Moreover, Republican state legislatures and governors have used "the big lie" to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/12/1015371195/the-right-to-vote-the-big-lie-and-what-it-did-to-voting-access" target="_blank">curtain people's voting rights</a> (in an attempt to <a href="https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/09/29/stacking-the-deck-how-the-gop-works-to-suppress-minority-voting/" target="_blank">give themselves</a> <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/advantage-gop/" target="_blank">unfair advantages</a> <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/07/gop-could-retake-the-house-in-2022-just-by-gerrymandering-four-southern-states/" target="_blank">in key states</a>), which will not only impact future elections, but may lead to many voters, and especially voters of color and low income voters, being disenfranchised.</p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/12/trumps-big-lie-was-bigger-than-just-stolen-election/" target="_blank">Trump's Big Lie Was Bigger Than the Election</a> (Washington Post) </p><p><a href="https://www.apsanet.org/Portals/54/statements/APSA%20Amended%20Statement%20on%20Capitol-final.pdf?ver=2021-01-11-145232-487" target="_blank">Statement on the Capitol Insurrection</a> (American Political Science Association)<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/01/13/trump-disinformation-campaign-led-to-capitol-coup-attempt-column/6639309002/" target="_blank">Five Years of Lies Led to the Capitol Insurrection</a> (USA Today) </p><p><a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/follow-money-behind-capitol-riot" target="_blank">Political Donors and the Capitol Insurrection</a> (Brennan Center)<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/07/us-capitol-riot-attack-on-democracy" target="_blank">The Big Lie and Voting Rights</a> (The Guardian) </p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republican-trump-2022-midterms-election-falsehoods/2021/07/04/3a43438c-d36f-11eb-ae54-515e2f63d37d_story.html" target="_blank">The Big Lie and Future Republican Candidates</a> (Washington Post)<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56287375" target="_blank">Voting Rights After the 2020 Election</a> (The Guardian)</p><p><a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-may-2021" target="_blank">Voting Laws Roundup</a> (The Brennan Center)</p><p><a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/07/09/did-trump-damage-american-democracy/" target="_blank">Did Trump Damage Democracy (No)?</a> (Brookings)<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-65818812795653416812021-06-11T10:41:00.074-07:002021-11-10T11:39:35.994-08:00Sick of Legislators Banning Critical Race Theory? Here's How to Fight Back! Teach Critical Race Theory.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jPlwEoL_blGepyRR8cpN3FoeMnwg7rOU6wEq7aJz5TSzL94gVz7xaFozSiz1B9HrlQQMhL2MwG6CiGb2-rm2EeE-34gKvR0Fx0gCHz3oE1DHSFw1NaKkeQxsiK_h1IDpTzdWweTRlUM/s1200/CRT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jPlwEoL_blGepyRR8cpN3FoeMnwg7rOU6wEq7aJz5TSzL94gVz7xaFozSiz1B9HrlQQMhL2MwG6CiGb2-rm2EeE-34gKvR0Fx0gCHz3oE1DHSFw1NaKkeQxsiK_h1IDpTzdWweTRlUM/s320/CRT.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"><b>Are you a history/social studies teacher (or teach any other subject area)? </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"><b>Did your state legislature just ban you from teaching Critical Race Theory (or anti-racism, 1619 Project, etc.)?</b> <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"><b>Are you tired of legislators telling you what and how to teach
(especially when it comes to race and racism)? </b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"><b>Here is how you fight
back! <br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"><b>Start teaching Critical Race Theory.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span>You are probably asking: How do I do that? Isn't it a theory that is primarily used in academic scholarship and research? What would that look like in my classroom?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span>Well, it is actually easier than you think (and you might even already be doing it to some degree)! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span>Here is a brief primer on teaching with a Critical Race Theory (CRT) perspective for K-12 teachers.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozTMHAUIx8AS3UVZK_EuZK09h-P_F-vdorp8mMzDYJbcZyfr_l-4XivOJ4RQlwSQ_8kBubzodVpgeMR_fwmezC8u_N3JYl5GmnDQu8Nki85uPBnqr227bAxr7RyRKsttPY_VlaECPeaY/s1313/NoCRT.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozTMHAUIx8AS3UVZK_EuZK09h-P_F-vdorp8mMzDYJbcZyfr_l-4XivOJ4RQlwSQ_8kBubzodVpgeMR_fwmezC8u_N3JYl5GmnDQu8Nki85uPBnqr227bAxr7RyRKsttPY_VlaECPeaY/s320/NoCRT.png" width="320" /></a></b></span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><b>Wait, First Where Did This "Controversy" Come From? </b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the height of Black Live Matter Movement protests last summer, <a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/expert/christopher-f-rufo" target="_blank">Christopher Rufo</a><span>, a fellow at the conservative </span><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Manhattan_Institute_for_Policy_Research" target="_blank">Manhattan Institute</a><span>, began writing and making media appearances where he attacked Critical Race Theory by misrepresenting what it is and how it is used. This eventually led </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/05/910053496/trump-tells-agencies-to-end-trainings-on-white-privilege-and-critical-race-theor" target="_blank">Donald Trump to ban diversity seminars</a><span> in the federal government (</span><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2021/01/20/biden-executive-order-overturns-trump-diversity-training-ban/4236891001/" target="_blank">rescinded later by Joe Biden</a><span>). Next, conservative state legislators were coached by </span><a href="https://www.alec.org/" target="_blank">American Legislative Exchange Council</a><span> or ALEC (</span><a href="https://www.alec.org/article/reclaiming-education-and-the-american-dream-against-critical-theorys-onslaught/" target="_blank">see this video</a><span> from December 2020) to pass laws that would ban </span><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Critical_Race_Theory.html?id=lLXTyrlM59MC" target="_blank">Critical Race Theory</a><span>, the </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html" target="_blank">New York Times' 1619 Project</a><span>, and educational initiatives focused on race and racism, which has led to a </span><a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-critical-race-theory-and-why-is-it-under-attack/2021/05" target="_blank">widespread debate</a><span> in the press and social media (primed by </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2021/06/24/critical-race-theory-fox-news/" target="_blank">conservative media</a><span> and </span><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-anti-critical-race-theory-parents-are-also-gop-activists" target="_blank">conservative activists</a><span>).</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/557571-the-states-taking-steps-to-ban-critical-race-theory" target="_blank">Here are the states</a>
where <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/map-see-which-states-have-passed-critical-race-theory-bills-n1271215" target="_blank">laws have been passed or proposed</a> in 2021 (here is an <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/22525983/map-critical-race-theory-legislation-teaching-racism" target="_blank">interactive map</a>): Arizona, Arkansas,
Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New
Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span><span>and </span></span>Wisconsin. In
<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/06/10/state-approves-strict-teaching-standards-opposing-critical-race-theory/7621918002/" target="_blank">Florida</a>, the Board of Education has approved new standards that officials say would ban Critical Race Theory. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span>This is both <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/26/laws-against-teaching-critical-race-theory-college-are-unconstitutional/" target="_blank">unconstitutional</a> (and hopefully will be <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/05/gops-critical-race-theory-fixation-explained/618828/" target="_blank">dismissed</a> <a href="https://coloradonewsline.com/2021/06/12/teachers-come-under-pressure-as-politicians-parents-battle-over-critical-race-theory/" target="_blank">by the courts</a>) and an attempt to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/05/28/1000537206/teachers-laws-banning-critical-race-theory-are-leading-to-self-censorship" target="_blank">silence lessons on racism</a>.
In fact, we are already seeing a chilling effect with examples of
courses on race and racism being canceled or educators being fired or forced out of districts (see <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/05/29/oklahoma-critical-race-theory-ban/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/critical-race-theory-battles-are-driving-frustrated-exhausted-educators-out-n1273595" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/07/the-moral-panic-over-critical-race-theory-is-coming-for-a-north-carolina-teacher-of-the-year/" target="_blank">here</a>). </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span>It has also <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/06/teachers-across-the-country-are-protesting-laws-that-stop-them-from-talking-about-systemic-racism/" target="_blank">lead to protests</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/06/12/teachers-protest-laws-restricting-antiracism-lessons-in-school/" target="_blank">by teachers across the country</a> and </span></span>numerous education scholars have spoken out against it (see </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><a href="https://www.wortfm.org/whos-afraid-of-critical-race-theory/" target="_blank">here from Gloria Ladson-Billings</a>,</span></span> <a href="https://www.christinesleeter.org/critical-race-theory" target="_blank">here from Christine Sleeter</a>, <a href="https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/right-wing-legislators-are-trying-to-stop-us-from-teaching-for-racial-justice-we-refuse/" target="_blank">here from the Editors of Rethinking Schools</a>). It is also an attempt to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/06/02/1001055828/the-brewing-political-battle-over-critical-race-theory" target="_blank">mobilize voters</a> in upcoming elections (<a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/121627/war-soul-america-history-culture-wars-review" target="_blank">issues framed as "culture wars"</a> have long been a tool used in this way by conservative politicians). <br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span><b>What Is Critical Race Theory?</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span>Critical Race Theory was first developed in the 1970s and 1980s by legal scholars who were searching for a way to understand how race and oppression operated in the legal system. One of the first <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Faces_At_The_Bottom_Of_The_Well.html?id=5rLtAAAAMAAJ&source=kp_book_description" target="_blank">books</a> to capture Critical Race Theory was Derrick Bell's "Faces at the Bottom of the Well" in 1992. It was followed by Kimberlé Crenshaw, Neil Gotanda, and Gary Peller's </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Critical_Race_Theory.html?id=lLXTyrlM59MC" target="_blank">book</a> </span></span> in 1995 and other books since, including the 2001 <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Critical_Race_Theory.html?id=p-DInbMLvhgC" target="_blank">book</a> by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic. CRT was then brought from legal studies to many other academic areas, including education, social work, nursing, etc. The American Bar Association has a website explaining what Critical Race Theory is <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/civil-rights-reimagining-policing/a-lesson-on-critical-race-theory/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ff7O2kyPCNTFn9gRcjWjgBGDu4zcIRkLq9Ib3nJGroI9wwGioqDrsaxRzTT4M_OtzXIHPKVqQqCmsRHFAO_6QhLQvk1hS1cR6fTYAnLt31x_qgzg4n3jTup5ukaJU7cEfpG1YJhZLqQ/s1585/Mural_Austin.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1585" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ff7O2kyPCNTFn9gRcjWjgBGDu4zcIRkLq9Ib3nJGroI9wwGioqDrsaxRzTT4M_OtzXIHPKVqQqCmsRHFAO_6QhLQvk1hS1cR6fTYAnLt31x_qgzg4n3jTup5ukaJU7cEfpG1YJhZLqQ/s320/Mural_Austin.png" width="320" /></a></b></span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span><b>What Are the Main Tenets of Critical Race Theory?<br /></b><br />Gloria Ladson-Billings and William Tate are generally credited with applying Critical Race Theory to education. <a href="https://www.unco.edu/education-behavioral-sciences/pdf/TowardaCRTEduca.pdf" target="_blank">In their work</a>, they argued that CRT has three main assertions: <br /><br />1. Race continues to be a significant factor in determining inequity in the United States. <br /><br />2. U.S. society is based on property rights, rather than human rights. <br /><br />3. The intersection of race and property creates an analytic tool through which we can understand social and school inequity. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span>In its most basic sense, Critical Race Theory explains how racism was systematically built into U.S. society and that structural racism can be a lens for understanding issues of inequity in the past and present. To many people, especially those who have experienced racism, these tenets do not sound radical at all, but help explain many aspects of inequity in American life </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span>(in
fact, the term "Critical Race Theory" is not widely mentioned at the
K-12 level; so you could easily work against racism and teach about its tenets
without ever using the term)</span></span>.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span>Solórzano and Delgado Bernal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0042085901363002" target="_blank">in their 2001 article</a> elaborated on Critical Race Theory in education, describing it as including:<br /><br />1.
Centrality of race and racism—All CRT research within education must
centralize race and racism, including intersections with other forms of
subordination such as gender, class, and citizenship.<br /><br />2.
Challenging the dominant perspective—CRT research works to challenge
dominant narratives and re-center marginalized perspectives.<br /><br />3. Commitment to social justice—CRT research must always be motivated by a social justice agenda.<br /><br />4.
Valuing experiential knowledge—CRT builds on the oral traditions of
many indigenous communities of color around the world. CRT research
centers the narratives of people of color when attempting to understand
social inequality.<br /><br />5. Being interdisciplinary—CRT scholars
believe that the world is multidimensional, and similarly, research
about the world should reflect multiple perspectives </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span>Essentially, Critical Race Theory asks people to consider how racism has created a system that benefits some at the expense of others, which may be why certain people who benefit from this historical and enduring arrangement do not want students learning about it (then they might begin supporting policies that make the country more fair). </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTRnUVIjIuKISbGv_QHMMEgpXgfrbfRFdAzVesuvu9zWP7eLIJv1y9UUZ8hO7O2oCfKCbfLDyZUxNWpnucNpOqH_8uFtUpUvAApv8X9FdGnEsi_hrfTRZipYIsS6jreoC9TUjU1GqsxZg/s1472/Tobin.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTRnUVIjIuKISbGv_QHMMEgpXgfrbfRFdAzVesuvu9zWP7eLIJv1y9UUZ8hO7O2oCfKCbfLDyZUxNWpnucNpOqH_8uFtUpUvAApv8X9FdGnEsi_hrfTRZipYIsS6jreoC9TUjU1GqsxZg/s320/Tobin.png" width="320" /></a></span></div></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span><b>How Can a Social Studies Classroom Have a Critical Race Theory Perspective?</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">Social studies studies teachers can teach Critical Race Theory by ensuring their lessons do the following (even if you chose not to name the theory, because you worry about losing your job due to some recently passed state law):</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">1. Teach about race and racism regularly; ideally, in every unit and most lessons (and be sure to not only present people of color through incidences of oppression; teaching about race must emphasize agency, resistance, survival/survivance, and accomplishment). The key here is to teach about racism regularly (a core tenet of CRT is that racism has played a role in most past and present events; <u>it is not a problem of the past; it did not only occur in the past in isolated places or times)</u>. A CRT-oriented teacher will not only teach about racism when it seems most convenient in the curriculum (for instance, when a unit addresses slavery or Jim Crow laws). Instead, they will teach about the role that race and racism played in events that we often do not think about through racial lenses (i.e. American Revolution, the Roaring 20s, World War II).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">2. Center the narratives of indigenous people and people of color and other non-dominant groups in your lessons. They key is to not allow white narratives to tell the only story of the past or present. This may take time, as many teachers have been primarily exposed to white narratives of the past and present, and may need to dedicate time to finding counter-narratives. I often suggest to teachers to start by challenging themselves to include at least one source (i.e. document, image, oral tradition, audio) from indigenous people and people of color to every lesson. Next, challenge themselves to include multiple sources from indigenous people or people of color to every lesson. Then, challenge themselves to include multiple sources from the same group of indigenous people or people of color showing differing opinions, ideas, or experiences (what <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00377996.2019.1600463" target="_blank">Santiago and Castro</a> call anti-essentializing inquiries).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">3. Make sure most of the questions that you ask students, and encourage students to ask, are about justice and fairness. Justice is a core American principle; it was <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/preamble/" target="_blank">explicitly included in the first sentence of the Constitution</a>, even if we do not always uphold it. We often ask students all sorts of questions about the past and present in social studies. Those questions that help us better understand how we can make this a "more perfect Union" are the most important. For example, instead of asking "Were the Patriots justified in
rebelling during the American Revolution?", ask "Who benefited and who
did not benefit from outcomes of the American Revolution?"</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">By learning about the past and the present in a way that illuminates the role that racism has had in shaping society, students are able to better understand ways to make society more just. They can understand more about why some people have different lived experiences and opportunities than others. They can then start to imagine ways that society can be reshaped to make the United States live up to the words found in its founding documents. Is not that ultimately the goal of history/social studies education, and education more broadly? </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qCdjGc8AsoKCYv8JQRxUCzUeQQEhI6LJy2XS-BDWR0oPFiCXha7ZGQ5o-S7_EsJ4yd1dx3XixQJ1eFmeLrTjsW71NEDZ2fzPE8Hz8uTpNDkAHLj-QSdGAebudJo5iOmHUOIiuxtGYKE/s1280/BLM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qCdjGc8AsoKCYv8JQRxUCzUeQQEhI6LJy2XS-BDWR0oPFiCXha7ZGQ5o-S7_EsJ4yd1dx3XixQJ1eFmeLrTjsW71NEDZ2fzPE8Hz8uTpNDkAHLj-QSdGAebudJo5iOmHUOIiuxtGYKE/s320/BLM.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Further Reading </b><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">If you want to know more about Critical Race Theory, here are some books that I recommend:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Critical-Race-Theory-Perspectives-on-the-Social-Studies" target="_blank">Critical Race Theory Perspectives on the Social Studies</a> by Gloria Ladson-Billings </span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Doing-Race-in-Social-Studies" target="_blank">Doing Race in Social Studies: Critical Perspectives</a> by Prentice Chandler </span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Race-Lessons" target="_blank">Race Lessons Using Inquiry to Teach About Race in Social Studies</a> by Prentice Chandler and Todd Hawley </span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Perspectives-of-Black-Histories-in-Schools" target="_blank">Perspectives of Black Histories in Schools</a> by LaGarrett King </span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://bookshop.org/books/black-lives-matter-at-school-an-uprising-for-educational-justice/9781642592702" target="_blank">Black Lives Matter at School</a> by Denisha Jones and Jesse Hagopian</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Marking-the-Invisible" target="_blank">Marking the Invisible: Articulating Whiteness in Social Studies Education</a> by Sarah Shear and Andrea Hawkman<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.tcpress.com/teaching-history-for-justice-9780807764749" target="_blank">Teaching History for Justice</a> by Christopher Martell and Kaylene Stevens<br /></span></p>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-63896758080572623592021-03-16T13:24:00.544-07:002022-10-26T05:49:08.332-07:00Teaching About COVID-19 and Justice<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzxJUWDSaGSDwmzl1juJzpJhnvHez_L_bSS660CgRd3b11DKvsusIq_-DTYI8gun8j-HfiPghj4z9d3SjwtsfHVN6WJfEWlop-MKwWnnExazsGLtRkKhCBTLdmcDWmKo363Xkl0Qj2hk/s1486/NYC_COVID.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1486" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzxJUWDSaGSDwmzl1juJzpJhnvHez_L_bSS660CgRd3b11DKvsusIq_-DTYI8gun8j-HfiPghj4z9d3SjwtsfHVN6WJfEWlop-MKwWnnExazsGLtRkKhCBTLdmcDWmKo363Xkl0Qj2hk/w400-h225/NYC_COVID.png" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Above: People walk the streets of New York City in summer 2020.</i> <br /></div><p></p><p>In 2020, the world experienced the beginning of its worst pandemic since the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html" target="_blank">1918 Influenza Pandemic</a>, which a WHO panel would later find was <a href="https://www.wbur.org/npr/996284927/covid-19-was-a-preventable-disaster-who-ordered-report-states" target="_blank">generally preventable</a>. Many people experienced massive changes in their lives as a result. While <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus" target="_blank">COVID-19</a> is likely to be with us for the foreseeable future, at some point in the future, teachers will begin to discuss it as a historical event. At the writing of this, about 2.7 million people have died from the virus worldwide and that number will likely continue to rise for some time (especially with more variants of the virus emerging recently). [Update: As of October 2022, over <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2022-14.9-million-excess-deaths-were-associated-with-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-2020-and-2021" target="_blank">15 million</a> have died of COVID-19 globally and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/10/19/covid-deaths-us-race/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&fbclid=IwAR32EwDiVnPhI2vmKVML5_SM4fMUuDw4gHauejfCrPoggp3d4GfnTCsjiUg" target="_blank">over 1 million</a> in the United States.] Things are looking brighter, as <a href="https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker" target="_blank">several effective COVID-19 vaccines are now being administered globally</a>. However, most countries have only just begun to grapple with the social and economic impacts of the virus. </p><p>So what should we teach students about COVID-19? How can we learn from this historical moment? And, possibly the most important question, what was the role of injustice in people's experiences during the pandemic? These are questions that many social studies teachers are asking. This post is my take on how we should teach the pandemic. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhs6KEbGqjhka_FdeWvtJvLtYryZGt20AHQnxh5TiWHbo0Ry0_ve94LuCpxkY41y-FRoLpScZJ89EX0oWvy9E0IzJSDErbFlGgv0lJYSx0iSI6GZyt-f9Fbdrw8C6qyieL3FugbDaH42W-ZYSGbW-yCnXgd7UILmUkBBabI0RdOgsC_km6u1wR0ERQ7=s1378" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="1378" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhs6KEbGqjhka_FdeWvtJvLtYryZGt20AHQnxh5TiWHbo0Ry0_ve94LuCpxkY41y-FRoLpScZJ89EX0oWvy9E0IzJSDErbFlGgv0lJYSx0iSI6GZyt-f9Fbdrw8C6qyieL3FugbDaH42W-ZYSGbW-yCnXgd7UILmUkBBabI0RdOgsC_km6u1wR0ERQ7=w400-h190" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Above: Data from the United States on daily change in COVID-19 cases (UPDATED 3/13/22 to include March 2020-March 2022 data).</i><br /></div> </div><p>As a history educator, I worry that there will be too much focus on the reactions of politicians to the virus (as history is often framed around the decisions of powerful individuals), rather than the experience of everyday people, and how people from different groups and geographies experienced the pandemic in dramatically different ways. COVID-19 is really a global lesson about collective action and community care, and many people survived it despite, rather than because, leaders' choices. </p><p>It would be helpful if teachers asked students three broad inquiry
questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. I will pose each of these
questions and offer
some sources (some for U.S. history and some from world history) to help in students in their investigations. In some
ways, I hope this post can serve as a "mix tape" of sources for teaching COVID-19.</p><p>Also, here are some general resources to help students understand the enormity of COVID-19...</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/coronavirus-maps.html" target="_blank">New York Times Domestic and Global COVID-19 Tracker</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-spread.html" target="_blank">New York Times "How the Virus Spread" Map</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/graphics/mapping-coronavirus-infections-across-the-globe" target="_blank">National Geographic COVID-19 Global Spread Maps </a></p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/30/822491838/coronavirus-world-map-tracking-the-spread-of-the-outbreak" target="_blank">NPR's Shifts in COVID-19 Over Time </a></p><p><a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA248-6.html" target="_blank">RAND Air Traffic Visualization Before the Global Pandemic </a><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfJw4_FynFRXeQHf95AR1p5ESLmodZZDRb6jpLoNKvNCyJ0WNJlnOe6Kj7E0bdHL45UVVGtNo9feAgbXBCN1n4UNRv-9tuEt4PSMcn-roSGAcNRPBVHI2vkV5jPxCEYGGF5FoTzig-Bo/s1280/outbreak-coronavirus-world-1024x506px.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfJw4_FynFRXeQHf95AR1p5ESLmodZZDRb6jpLoNKvNCyJ0WNJlnOe6Kj7E0bdHL45UVVGtNo9feAgbXBCN1n4UNRv-9tuEt4PSMcn-roSGAcNRPBVHI2vkV5jPxCEYGGF5FoTzig-Bo/w400-h225/outbreak-coronavirus-world-1024x506px.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Above: An image of the COVID-19 virus. </i><br /><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Question 1: </b> </span><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span class="JtukPc"><span style="font-size: large;">How could the response to COVID-19 have been different? </span><br /></span></b></p><p><b><span class="JtukPc"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoT56KBK3WU71IXvSsJgETrUU6mmSJ_C-vmPAl8BHz6po6DPN_Gw2emqAV55J1pDKmLrIeIagwCroTucVr1fbiDz2DUvLOHgAXiAB7FsulAKKNtXEmlXfccTRw7w-1yNxkbAQYti69HVg/s1194/PandemicGlobally.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="1194" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoT56KBK3WU71IXvSsJgETrUU6mmSJ_C-vmPAl8BHz6po6DPN_Gw2emqAV55J1pDKmLrIeIagwCroTucVr1fbiDz2DUvLOHgAXiAB7FsulAKKNtXEmlXfccTRw7w-1yNxkbAQYti69HVg/w400-h341/PandemicGlobally.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div><i>Above: The distribution of COVID-19 cases by region. Most of the cases have been concentrated in Europe and the Americas. Examining various nation's reactions can help explain why.</i><b><br /></b><p>As the COVID-19 pandemic begins to enter into a historical view, like many events, we may forget to ask if things could have been different. Often our positions from the future prevent us from seeing alternatives. However, the work of the historian is analysis, and we need to have our students analyze not only if the right decisions were made, but compare nation's responses, which can offer not only an understanding of what happened and why, but what we might do in the future when another pandemic occurs.</p><p><u><b>Group A Sources: A History of Past Pandemics </b></u><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/history-of-pandemics-deadliest/" target="_blank">https://www.visualcapitalist.com/history-of-pandemics-deadliest/ </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200325-covid-19-the-history-of-pandemics" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200325-covid-19-the-history-of-pandemics </a></p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/local/retropolis/coronavirus-deadliest-pandemics/" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/local/retropolis/coronavirus-deadliest-pandemics/ </a><br /></p><p><u><b>Group B Sources: International Comparisons of Government Responses to COVID-19</b></u><br /></p><p><a href="https://time.com/5851633/best-global-responses-covid-19/" target="_blank">https://time.com/5851633/best-global-responses-covid-19/</a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19" target="_blank">https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19</a></p><p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2020/08/27/most-approve-of-national-response-to-covid-19-in-14-advanced-economies/" target="_blank">https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2020/08/27/most-approve-of-national-response-to-covid-19-in-14-advanced-economies/ </a></p><p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03605-6" target="_blank">https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03605-6 </a><u><br /></u></p><p><u><b>Group C Sources: U.S. and European Reactions to COVID-19</b></u></p><p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/25/trump-coronavirus-national-security-council-149285" target="_blank">https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/25/trump-coronavirus-national-security-council-149285</a></p><p><a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22176191/covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-democrats-republicans-trump" target="_blank">https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22176191/covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-democrats-republicans-trump</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/09/coronavirus-american-failure/614191/" target="_blank">https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/09/coronavirus-american-failure/614191/</a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/10/us-coronavirus-response-donald-trump-health-policy" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/10/us-coronavirus-response-donald-trump-health-policy</a></p><p><a href="https://time.com/5861697/us-uk-failed-coronavirus-response/" target="_blank">https://time.com/5861697/us-uk-failed-coronavirus-response/ </a></p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/08/why-britain-failed-coronavirus-pandemic/615166/" target="_blank">https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/08/why-britain-failed-coronavirus-pandemic/615166/ </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/efdadd97-aef5-47f1-91de-fe02c41a470a" target="_blank">https://www.ft.com/content/efdadd97-aef5-47f1-91de-fe02c41a470a </a><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="JtukPc"> </span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="JtukPc">What did COVID-19 expose about modern society? </span></b></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMTOU7lJAlT75N0dZ3sR2MSRQB7BxRABYlU7jB8TxtrGIUylhyRz09XRets0Vu-FrxB_NgETBKEOePdZ3sBFMRmEYbUIr7TI-fOlibz3iAJKeKDkGHYXc9r79c7-BUlAgN8qau3HOF6M/s1200/https---cdn.cnn.com-cnnnext-dam-assets-200619123327-anti-lockdown-anti-mask-demonstrators-0515.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMTOU7lJAlT75N0dZ3sR2MSRQB7BxRABYlU7jB8TxtrGIUylhyRz09XRets0Vu-FrxB_NgETBKEOePdZ3sBFMRmEYbUIr7TI-fOlibz3iAJKeKDkGHYXc9r79c7-BUlAgN8qau3HOF6M/w400-h225/https---cdn.cnn.com-cnnnext-dam-assets-200619123327-anti-lockdown-anti-mask-demonstrators-0515.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Above: An anti-shutdown/anti-mask rally during the COVID-19 pandemic in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.</i><br /><span class="JtukPc"><br />There have been many pandemics in human history, with some being worse than others. In our modern times, we have seen three pandemics reach global proportions (i.e., 1918 Influenza, HIV/AIDS, and COVID-19), while others tended to be localized, albeit with serious impact (e.g., late 1950s avian flu in Asia, SARS, 2009 H1N1 pandemic, mid-2010s Ebola pandemic in West Africa). Why were some pandemics better controlled? Are there aspects to modern life that make it more difficult to control pandemics? What was the role in misinformation in the spread of the virus? Five key issues in understanding the role of modern life relate to individualism versus collectivism, capitalism and free markets, the de-funding of social services and health care, wealth inequality, and the spread of misinformation.<br /></span><p></p><span class="JtukPc"><u><b>Group D Sources: Individualism vs. Collectivism</b></u><br /></span><p><span class="JtukPc"><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://theconversation.com/are-individualistic-societies-worse-at-responding-to-pandemics-147386" target="_blank">https://theconversation.com/are-individualistic-societies-worse-at-responding-to-pandemics-147386 </a></span></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22179222/covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-individualism-collectivism" target="_blank"><span class="JtukPc">https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22179222/covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-individualism-collectivism</span></a></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/08/31/american-individualism-is-an-obstacle-to-wider-mask-wearing-in-the-us/" target="_blank"><span class="JtukPc">https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/08/31/american-individualism-is-an-obstacle-to-wider-mask-wearing-in-the-us/ </span></a></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/video/is-american-individualism-why-we-failed-to-contain-covid-19-91108421727" target="_blank"><span class="JtukPc">https://www.nbcnews.com/think/video/is-american-individualism-why-we-failed-to-contain-covid-19-91108421727 </span></a><br /></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><u><b>Group E Sources: Capitalism and Free Markets</b></u><br /></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/14/upshot/coronavirus-capitalism-vaccine.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/14/upshot/coronavirus-capitalism-vaccine.html </a></span></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://time.com/5922494/capitalism-covid-19/" target="_blank">https://time.com/5922494/capitalism-covid-19/ </a></span></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9e7b2630-2f67-4923-aa76-0f240a80a9b3" target="_blank">https://www.ft.com/content/9e7b2630-2f67-4923-aa76-0f240a80a9b3 </a></span></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/04/coronavirus-covid-19-crisis-capitalism-disaster" target="_blank">https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/04/coronavirus-covid-19-crisis-capitalism-disaster </a></span></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2020/05/26/greater-capitalism-how-the-pandemic-is-permanently-reshaping-our-economic-system-for-the-better/?sh=32fd597e71c1" target="_blank">https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2020/05/26/greater-capitalism-how-the-pandemic-is-permanently-reshaping-our-economic-system-for-the-better/?sh=32fd597e71c1 </a><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><u><b>Group F Sources: De-Funding Social Services and Privatized Health Care</b></u><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/06/23/the-social-safety-net-the-gaps-that-covid-19-spotlights/">https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/06/23/the-social-safety-net-the-gaps-that-covid-19-spotlights/</a></p><p><a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/comparing-six-health-care-systems-pandemic" target="_blank">https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/comparing-six-health-care-systems-pandemic </a></p><p><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/14/universal-healthcare-critical-covid-19-pandemic" target="_blank">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/14/universal-healthcare-critical-covid-19-pandemic </a></p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/157287/case-for-single-payer-coronavirus" target="_blank">https://newrepublic.com/article/157287/case-for-single-payer-coronavirus </a><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/medicare-for-all-coronavirus/2020/03/14/a41a9990-6273-11ea-8a8e-5c5336b32760_story.html" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/medicare-for-all-coronavirus/2020/03/14/a41a9990-6273-11ea-8a8e-5c5336b32760_story.html</a></p><p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-03-17/coronavirus-italy-shows-medicare-for-all-is-no-cure" target="_blank">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-03-17/coronavirus-italy-shows-medicare-for-all-is-no-cure </a><br /></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><b><u>Group G Sources: Wealth Inequality</u> </b><br /></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/business-daily/20210125-covid-19-crisis-is-worsening-economic-inequality-at-unprecedented-rate-oxfam-says" target="_blank">https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/business-daily/20210125-covid-19-crisis-is-worsening-economic-inequality-at-unprecedented-rate-oxfam-says</a><a href="goog_553564114"><br /></a></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/what-covid-19-can-mean-long-term-inequality-developing-countries" target="_blank">https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/what-covid-19-can-mean-long-term-inequality-developing-countries</a></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/08/16/902977077/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-is-deepening-economic-inequality-in-the-u-s" target="_blank">https://www.npr.org/2020/08/16/902977077/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-is-deepening-economic-inequality-in-the-u-s </a><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://fortune.com/2021/01/26/covid-income-inequality-global-economy-coronavirus-pandemic/" target="_blank">https://fortune.com/2021/01/26/covid-income-inequality-global-economy-coronavirus-pandemic/</a></p><p><u><b>Group H Sources: Misinformation About COVID-19</b></u><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-misinformation-is-killing-people1/" target="_blank">https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-misinformation-is-killing-people1/</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/guide-to-overcoming-coronavirus-misinformation-infodemic" target="_blank">https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/guide-to-overcoming-coronavirus-misinformation-infodemic </a></p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/02/09/963973675/who-is-fighting-false-covid-info-on-social-media-hows-that-going" target="_blank">https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/02/09/963973675/who-is-fighting-false-covid-info-on-social-media-hows-that-going </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-debunk-misinformation-about-covid-vaccines-and-masks/" target="_blank">https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-debunk-misinformation-about-covid-vaccines-and-masks/</a><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="JtukPc">What was the role of white supremacy in the COVID-19 pandemic? </span></b></span><br /></span></p><p><b><span class="JtukPc"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVY7nLFOornz-TE83-goKa-Kbzu20BYo8wyoHQBlAUPVGYXy3uPyQHj_WIEgEK-ET6N03omusyx5SvjxvSvFGkiIUhFpfqvlPeItYvxdDQVm0I-ihpM2GKvLCugLhmlsTv9r-ppIJeRaY/s1160/BostonCovid19.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1160" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVY7nLFOornz-TE83-goKa-Kbzu20BYo8wyoHQBlAUPVGYXy3uPyQHj_WIEgEK-ET6N03omusyx5SvjxvSvFGkiIUhFpfqvlPeItYvxdDQVm0I-ihpM2GKvLCugLhmlsTv9r-ppIJeRaY/w400-h234/BostonCovid19.png" width="400" /></a></b></div><p><i>Above: Two maps of Boston, Massachusetts, showing higher percentages of people of color and higher infection rates based on neighborhoods. Predominately Black and Latinx neighborhoods, such as Dorchester (my neighborhood), Roxbury, Mattapan, and Hyde Park had higher rates of COVID-19. Examining how race, class, and other factors impacted the spread and response of the virus can help students understand how not everyone had the same privilege to avoid exposure to the virus.</i></p><p><span class="JtukPc">This is the question that I fear will be least likely to be asked by teachers and students (yet it is most important), especially over time. The further we get away from this pandemic, the more the dominant white narratives of what happened will be told in the media, in textbooks, and elsewhere. Yet, the racial and geographic disparities that occurred during COVID-19 should not only be remember, but be centered the historical study of it. Four main ideas should help students understand the role of racism and white supremacy in the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) How have communities of color had a larger social burden during the pandemic? People of color in the United States, Canada, and Europe were often at higher-risk to exposure to COVID-19 through their employment and housing disparities. (2) How did white privilege help protect white people from the pandemic (and frame their pandemic experience)? </span><span class="JtukPc"><span class="JtukPc">White workers, especially white white-collar workers were much more likely to have the <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/rich-people-are-this-much-more-likely-to-socially-distance-themselves-and-wear-masks-than-low-income-folks-2020-06-15" target="_blank">flexibility to work from home</a>. Many white people live in suburban or rural areas and were more isolated from the initial spread of the virus</span></span><span class="JtukPc"><span class="JtukPc">. Further complicating this, white people were more likely to report <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40615-020-00941-1" target="_blank">not wearing masks</a>, while also receiving <a href="http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2020/11/deaths-from-covid-19-of-inpatients-by-race-and-ethnicity.html" target="_blank">better health care responses</a> when they did get the virus and <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/01/28/961703505/early-data-shows-striking-racial-disparities-in-whos-getting-the-covid-19-vaccin" target="_blank">more access to vaccines</a>. </span> (3) How did anti-Asian and anti-Asian American racism and violence spread during the pandemic? Many politicians used hateful terms targeting Chinese and Asian people. There were many <a href="https://stopaapihate.org/reportsreleases/" target="_blank">documented acts of individual or group violence</a> endangering Asian and American lives. </span><span class="JtukPc"><span class="JtukPc">COVID-19 brought back a long history of anti-Asian racism in the U.S. and globally. </span> (4) What was the role of COVID-19 in fostering racial justice movements and activism in the summer of 2020 and afterward? How did activists organize against hate and racism? <br /></span></p><p><b><u>Group I Sources: Impacts on Communities of Color</u> </b></p><p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/race-ethnicity.html" target="_blank">https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/race-ethnicity.html</a><br /></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-policymakers-can-ensure-covid-19-pandemic-doesnt-widen-racial-wealth-gap" target="_blank">https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-policymakers-can-ensure-covid-19-pandemic-doesnt-widen-racial-wealth-gap </a></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/12/pandemic-black-death-toll-racism/617460/" target="_blank">https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/12/pandemic-black-death-toll-racism/617460/ </a></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/04/23/483846/frontlines-work-home/" target="_blank">https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/04/23/483846/frontlines-work-home/</a></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-covid-19-affecting-black-and-latino-families-employment-and-financial-well-being" target="_blank">https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-covid-19-affecting-black-and-latino-families-employment-and-financial-well-being </a></span></p><p><u><b>Group J Sources: White Privilege and the Pandemic</b></u></p><p><a href="https://www.capradio.org/articles/2020/07/16/new-poll-suggests-white-residents-less-worried-about-covid-19-white-privilege-may-be-a-factor/" target="_blank">https://www.capradio.org/articles/2020/07/16/new-poll-suggests-white-residents-less-worried-about-covid-19-white-privilege-may-be-a-factor/</a></p><p><a href="https://www.axios.com/racial-divide-reopening-schools-coronavirus-a8c98eb3-bb4b-4d5f-a9c1-c2b5297782c2.html" target="_blank">https://www.axios.com/racial-divide-reopening-schools-coronavirus-a8c98eb3-bb4b-4d5f-a9c1-c2b5297782c2.html </a></p><p><a href="https://www.vox.com/first-person/2020/4/25/21234774/coronavirus-covid-19-protest-anti-lockdown" target="_blank">https://www.vox.com/first-person/2020/4/25/21234774/coronavirus-covid-19-protest-anti-lockdown </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/06/got-covid-19-trump-wants-bleach-for-others-and-the-best-treatment-for-himself" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/06/got-covid-19-trump-wants-bleach-for-others-and-the-best-treatment-for-himself</a></p><p><a href="https://www.kcet.org/shows/power-health/the-privilege-gap-and-our-response-to-the-covid-pandemic" target="_blank">https://www.kcet.org/shows/power-health/the-privilege-gap-and-our-response-to-the-covid-pandemic</a></p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/01/covid-vaccines-access-poor-rich-countries/" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/01/covid-vaccines-access-poor-rich-countries/ </a></p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/04/07/1091398423/u-s-life-expectancy-falls-for-2nd-year-in-a-row" target="_blank">https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/04/07/1091398423/u-s-life-expectancy-falls-for-2nd-year-in-a-row </a><br /></p><p><u><b>Group K Sources: Anti-Asian/Asian American Racism and Violence During COVID-19</b></u></p><p><a href="https://www.today.com/news/anti-asian-violence-history-anti-asian-racism-us-t210645" target="_blank">https://www.today.com/news/anti-asian-violence-history-anti-asian-racism-us-t210645</a></p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/10/975722882/the-rise-of-anti-asian-attacks-during-the-covid-19-pandemic" target="_blank">https://www.npr.org/2021/03/10/975722882/the-rise-of-anti-asian-attacks-during-the-covid-19-pandemic </a></p><p><a href="https://www.vox.com/22274325/asians-racism-coronavirus-oakland-san-francisco" target="_blank">https://www.vox.com/22274325/asians-racism-coronavirus-oakland-san-francisco </a></p><p><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/asian-american-community-battles-surge-in-hate-crimes-stirred-from-covid-19" target="_blank">https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/asian-american-community-battles-surge-in-hate-crimes-stirred-from-covid-19 </a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/12/covid-19-fueling-anti-asian-racism-and-xenophobia-worldwide" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/12/covid-19-fueling-anti-asian-racism-and-xenophobia-worldwide </a></p><p><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/will-travel-after-covid-still-be-fraught-for-asians" target="_blank">https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/will-travel-after-covid-still-be-fraught-for-asians</a></p><p><a href="https://time.com/5797836/coronavirus-racism-stereotypes-attacks/" target="_blank">https://time.com/5797836/coronavirus-racism-stereotypes-attacks/ </a><br /></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><u><b>Group L Sources: Racial Justice Movements, Black Lives Matter Protests, Asian American Solidarity, and COVID-19 </b></u><br /></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/05/how-coronavirus-pandemic-helped-floyd-protests-become-biggest-us-history/" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/05/how-coronavirus-pandemic-helped-floyd-protests-become-biggest-us-history/ </a></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/syndicated/new-study-details-black-lives-matter-protests-not-contribute-surge-covid-19-cases/" target="_blank">http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/syndicated/new-study-details-black-lives-matter-protests-not-contribute-surge-covid-19-cases/ </a><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/we-have-been-through-this-before-why-anti-asian-hate-crimes-are-rising-amid-coronavirus" target="_blank"><span class="JtukPc">https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/we-have-been-through-this-before-why-anti-asian-hate-crimes-are-rising-amid-coronavirus</span></a></p><p><span class="JtukPc"><a href="https://time.com/5851792/asian-americans-black-solidarity-history/" target="_blank">https://time.com/5851792/asian-americans-black-solidarity-history/ </a><br /></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc"> <br /></span></p><p><span class="JtukPc">All of these questions would lead to a deeper inquiry into re-imagining national and global systems. Students will be in the driver seat of thinking of ways to</span><span class="JtukPc"><span class="JtukPc"> build a more caring, collective, and anti-racist society that will prepare us for future domestic and global pandemics.</span></span></p>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-67474803619581591862020-12-10T10:11:00.001-08:002020-12-10T10:11:10.039-08:00Teaching History for Justice: Our New Book Is Available December 25th!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1t1OMUmEFqCz0av4vYLf6SnJV7B95Hmtk-TENUivf8E3pUHijDMteKrCrMcLfaCd0-8j1o0k4_BhcmSjxClT00H9EI4jj8XtUgaL-EXG3IHj8ad83qeY1xErg_k5I8I-WuOUwzP9K2GU/s600/9780807764749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="408" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1t1OMUmEFqCz0av4vYLf6SnJV7B95Hmtk-TENUivf8E3pUHijDMteKrCrMcLfaCd0-8j1o0k4_BhcmSjxClT00H9EI4jj8XtUgaL-EXG3IHj8ad83qeY1xErg_k5I8I-WuOUwzP9K2GU/s320/9780807764749.jpg" /></a></div> <p></p><p>I am excited to announce that this December 25th, <a href="https://www.bu.edu/wheelock/profile/kaylene-petrin-stevens/" target="_blank">Kaylene Stevens</a> and <a href="https://www.umb.edu/faculty_staff/list/christopher_c_martell" target="_blank">my</a> new book "<a href="https://www.tcpress.com/teaching-history-for-justice-9780807764749 " target="_blank">Teaching History for Justice: Centering Activism in Students' Study of the Past</a>" will be released from <a href="https://www.tcpress.com/" target="_blank">Teachers College Press</a>. We hope this book challenges the field to center justice in the teaching of history and offer practicing teachers several vignettes of what this type of pedagogy could look like in practice. We also co-wrote several chapters with four excellent classroom teachers and elementary teacher educators.<br /></p><p>You can order the book here: <a href="https://www.tcpress.com/teaching-history-for-justice-9780807764749" target="_blank">https://www.tcpress.com/teaching-history-for-justice-9780807764749 </a><br /></p><p>Here is the summary from the publisher:</p><div class="collapsible-content"><p>Learn how to enact justice-oriented
pedagogy and foster students’ critical engagement in today’s history
classroom. Over the past 2 decades, various scholars have rightfully
argued that we need to teach students to “think like a historian” or
“think like a democratic citizen.” In this book, the authors advocate
for cultivating activist thinking in the history classroom. Teachers can
use <em>Teaching History for Justice</em> to show students how activism
was used in the past to seek justice, how past social movements connect
to the present, and how democratic tools can be used to change society.
The first section examines the theoretical and research foundation for
“thinking like an activist” and outlines three related pedagogical
concepts: social inquiry, critical multiculturalism, and transformative
democratic citizenship. The second section presents vignettes based on
the authors’ studies of elementary, middle, and high school history
teachers who engage in justice-oriented teaching practices.</p><p><strong>Book Features:</strong></p><ul><li> Outlines key components of justice-oriented history pedagogy for the history and social studies K–12 classroom.</li><li> Advocates for students to develop “thinking like an activist” in their approach to studying the past.</li><li> Contains research-based vignettes of four imagined teachers,
providing examples of what teaching history for justice can look like in
practice.</li><li> Includes descriptions of typical units of study in the
discipline of history and how they can be reimagined to help students
learn about movements and social change.</li></ul><p><b>Chapters:</b></p><p>1. Centering Justice in Students’ Study of the Past 1<br /> Why Do We Need to Teach History for Justice? 2<br />Where Does Teaching History for Justice Originate? 8<br />How Do We Teach History for Justice? 11<br />Conclusion 15</p><p>2. Thinking Like an Activist 16<br /> Approaches to History Education 19<br />Types of Thinking in History 20<br />Using Activist Theories to Understand History 24<br />Thinking Like an Activist Classroom Tool 30</p><p>3. Social Inquiry 32<br /> Making Inquiries Social 33<br />Inquiries Through a Historical Thinking Lens 34<br />Inquiries Through a Democratic Citizenship Lens 35<br />Inquiries Through a Justice Lens 35</p><p>4. Critical Multiculturalism 41<br /> <b>(with Taylor Collins, Framingham Public Schools)</b><br />Making the Curriculum Multicultural and Critical 43<br />Critical Multiculturalism in Action 50</p><p>5. Transformative Democratic Citizenship 56<br /> Studying a Political, but Nonpartisan, History 59<br />Studying a Political History That is Democratic and Multicultural 62<br />Transformative Democratic Citizenship in Action 67</p><p>6. U.S. History at the High School Level: Ms. María Lopez 73<br /> History for Justice in the U.S. History Classroom 74<br />Ms. María Lopez’s High School U.S. History Classroom 75</p><p>7. World History at the High School Level: Mr. Tom Kulig 90<br /> <b>(with Maria R. Sequenzia, Framingham Public Schools)</b><br />History for Justice in the World History Classroom 91<br />Mr. Tom Kulig’s High School World History Classroom 93</p><p>8. Ancient World History at the Middle Level: Ms. Joyce Smith 105<br /> <b>(with Neema Avashia, Boston Public Schools)</b><br />History for Justice in the Ancient History Classroom 107<br />Ms. Joyce Smith’s Middle School Ancient History Classroom 108</p><p>9. State and Local History at the Elementary Level: Mr. Frank Hashimoto 120<br /> <b>(with Jennifer R. Bryson, Boston University)</b><br />History for Justice in the State and Local History Classroom 122<br />Mr. Hashimoto’s Elementary School State and Local History Classroom 124</p><p>10. Overcoming Barriers 132<br /> Overcoming the Barriers to History for Justice 133</p><p>Conclusion 140</p><p><b>Reviews: </b><br /></p><p>“Martell and Stevens offer an original and compelling framework for
teaching history for social justice in the United States. Drawing on
theories and practices of social activism, the authors argue that a
critical approach to history education informed by social activism can
enable students to understand how past social movements have led to
greater justice in the present, and how a critical activist orientation
can empower students in the present to promote social justice today and
in the future. By including multiple examples of history teachers in
diverse settings and at different grade levels who have enacted
activist-oriented approaches, the book is among the most important and
relevant resources for teaching and learning history during politically
contentious times.”<br />—Terrie Epstein, chair and professor of education, Hunter College, City University of New York<br /></p>“In the wake of uprisings across the United States demanding racial justice,<em> Teaching History for Justice</em>
is a timely contribution for social studies educators seeking to create
classrooms focused on social change. Martell and Stevens not only make a
compelling case for the need for justice in history education, but also
provide educators with frameworks and pedagogical insights to cultivate
students as activists. The approaches, strategies, and ideas found in
this book give social studies educators a clear roadmap to leverage
history education to create a more just and equitable future.”<br />—Alexander Cuenca, assistant professor, Indiana University<p><strong> </strong></p></div>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-34946861908083669422020-10-23T12:44:00.038-07:002020-10-25T10:47:39.449-07:00Humanities Classes Are Not a Substitute for Social Studies<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAaHKpnF8JEGIltM97CU3HkDgbDI2JLelVlzqmo7jKjwHdIcR38lititgMbGgCnbBp7JtU0Kif2_BcwRWduDXsUks-JJzVhy9Z7CoOMF4uDHaXj__sXMKoAP2vBwBBVTQuKA5aauIqknE/s2048/Debate.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAaHKpnF8JEGIltM97CU3HkDgbDI2JLelVlzqmo7jKjwHdIcR38lititgMbGgCnbBp7JtU0Kif2_BcwRWduDXsUks-JJzVhy9Z7CoOMF4uDHaXj__sXMKoAP2vBwBBVTQuKA5aauIqknE/s320/Debate.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><i>Above: Students debate during an inquiry-based social studies class. </i></p><p>A few weeks ago, a fellow Boston Public Schools parent wrote me worried that her child's middle school principal was replacing social studies with humanities. I replied: </p><p><<<</p><p>I am concerned about any school moving
to a "humanities model" or any other combination of English language arts and social
studies. This is usually only done at the middle
school level (although here in Boston, we see it at the high school level, as well). It is part of a misguided "back to the basics" view of
school, or a belief that students just need literacy development and social
studies content is just the vehicle for teaching reading and writing-when in
fact it has different disciplinary structures and thinking skills that are
developed. I would, however, want
to better know the administrator's intentions. It is one thing to have English teachers and
history teachers coordinate their courses to provide a better humanities
experience. That could actually be a great thing (when I was a classroom
teacher, I worked with English teachers to do just that). However, what usually
happens with these models is that it becomes one teacher trying to teach one of
those two subjects with limited expertise (it is often an ELA teacher teaching
social studies poorly). It can be a way for the principal to get rid of social
studies positions or make room in students schedules for more literacy time. </p><p>>>> <br /></p><p>This is not a post against the idea of humanities courses. In theory, there is great value in courses that emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of school subjects, which are too often content silos. All schools should approach subject matter this way.<br /></p><p></p><p>Rather, this post is an attempt to articulate how humanities courses have been co-opted by a group of educational leaders who overemphasize literacy as a discrete skill (and devoid of subject matter) and misunderstand the ways that literacy functions within the disciplines of history and the social sciences. <br /><br />If you are a teacher or student (or parent of a student) required to teach or take a humanities course, I offer three questions (with explanations at the end of this post) that you should be asking about the course:<br /><br />1. Is my humanities course a substitute for social studies courses (i.e. history, civics/political science, geography, economics)?<br /><br />2. Is my humanities course taught by someone without a background in both history and language arts (or is not co-taught by a social studies teacher with a colleague who has a background in teaching English or another subject in the humanities)? <br /><br />3. Is my humanities course not taught in an interdisciplinary way, where we use different disciplinary lenses on the world (it is just an English course about history-related texts)?</p><p><b>What is Humanities and How Is STEM Involved?</b><br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>First, we should start with the question: “What are the humanities?” The humanities, much like STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), is an overarching term to describe a group of related disciplines that can be taught in interdisciplinary ways. Humanities usually includes the study of literature, philosophy, world languages, history, law, politics, geography, economics, archaeology, anthropology, religion, art, and music.<br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>For some time, our national (and perhaps global) educational conversation focused on the need for more STEM education. Rightfully, there was a concern about our teaching of math and science (and those subject areas have seen important instructional improvements over the past decade because of this increased attention). </p><p>However, in this conversation, we have diminished the importance of learning the humanities (beyond literacy being a workforce skill). However, of the “big four” school subjects, social studies (i.e. history, civics, geography, economics) has clearly been the biggest victim of this shift (in fairness, art, music, world languages, and other humanities subjects have been wrongly marginalized for much longer-it explains why art educators pushed for their subject to be added to STEM in the form of STE<u>A</u>M; who could blame them? I'd make it STEAM<u>SS</u>, with social studies at the end, if I could). In fact, many people I speak with do not even list social studies as a main school subject anymore (they think of school as primarily reading, writing, math, and science). It is clear that the marginalization of social studies is a national trend, which is worse at the elementary and middle levels, as well as in urban schools (see <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tina_Heafner/publication/242558687_Advocating_for_Social_Studies_Documenting_the_Decline_and_Doing_Something_About_It/links/53d96fb00cf2e38c633550f4.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00933104.2010.10473418?casa_token=h22fe1i1pJIAAAAA:UIT1SBdAxjxFB0fNWzclm14I-0n8GlQEUUqYQJmRssooCXUYU9GBfjzONp5YveXYsHRZdz-GVtuiag" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://web.b.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=0885985X&AN=90622745&h=kyDboVEzSMjHaf2foaIj6nAWEfmX6TqIv%2fSLBDmix4FcOoZ1yOXCHES2aRuT5S56swwxoyD1T%2fi71dRBIgcoKQ%3d%3d&crl=c&casa_token=w8xhW_OCZG0AAAAA%3aamvbNdzSbwKkb4PQURPXs83gk6WxBl64Tyb0VkJBdnmSbXI4-htisOs61wzJXyj9sus_7irCWBs9YBc&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d0885985X%26AN%3d90622745" target="_blank">here</a>).</p><p><b>Ancillary Literacy and Reducing Social Studies Positions</b><br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Part of this national decline in social studies is a push for humanities as a replacement for it in schools (especially for children at the elementary and middle levels, and in urban districts, with Boston and New York City being the largest examples; see <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED432522.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=pLrSCMPZU54C&oi=fnd&pg=PA50&dq=+humanities+replace+social+studies+urban&ots=nOeDDSrATM&sig=xYZSZCrIuUj8dFlPGZFvQFVVgjE#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15476880500486061?casa_token=-sLxAi9Bq_QAAAAA%3AFPUCjzL_lP8KGlpdVyLqQbeKMUJPe0qp1dxfbeB0ojmI5fLJ_qqNj6JOSJrvBUsJ4U6837HldG_8yw" target="_blank">here</a>). This push is not coming from social studies educators (see <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED432522.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>), or even literacy specialists, but rather school and district leaders. They think it as a chance to maximize literacy instruction (this group often advocates for a "back to the basics" approach, where basic literacy and math drive everything). They think it is a way to increase test scores (especially in places where social studies is not tested, they can add additional literacy blocks or courses; and more about that later!). This know it is a way to reduce faculty, especially when budgets are tight (no need to hire social studies teachers, when you have English teachers covering it in humanities classes). </p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDV-vwrNBQjT8W11Tvu9Twm6c3735sDuQjOyWC8znF_dtlZ5QLSpjK4xx8bHr_dGcYPWdSCMeNgvHqMUlApWHp93kxdrzyPUdtMKTf1Hk4w2HYPTBtbQwJEt-vttRabssqiHR6M1l0s4/s2048/sg9VblM9WPyPTlPr0G1HLfGvgQny2XlS3QepLNi5DX62BAlsjw9hNNw-B6bvYhRik2DCY7UuwlMfLADCQmR4rueRD6DUD6O6w1Ml8V-YKjccjAGlhT_uF7OCXkky5RJqdeOOHjYV6kxyInn05SLibD_p8heWgXOeOdmyfh0cINypyuAjPtvzBXynQZ7901nFF12OS2jlnkkcaS4jICR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDV-vwrNBQjT8W11Tvu9Twm6c3735sDuQjOyWC8znF_dtlZ5QLSpjK4xx8bHr_dGcYPWdSCMeNgvHqMUlApWHp93kxdrzyPUdtMKTf1Hk4w2HYPTBtbQwJEt-vttRabssqiHR6M1l0s4/s320/sg9VblM9WPyPTlPr0G1HLfGvgQny2XlS3QepLNi5DX62BAlsjw9hNNw-B6bvYhRik2DCY7UuwlMfLADCQmR4rueRD6DUD6O6w1Ml8V-YKjccjAGlhT_uF7OCXkky5RJqdeOOHjYV6kxyInn05SLibD_p8heWgXOeOdmyfh0cINypyuAjPtvzBXynQZ7901nFF12OS2jlnkkcaS4jICR.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><i>Above:
A mural at my daughters' elementary school in the Boston Public
Schools, which describes what they learn there. Notice that "social
studies" (and writing) is missing, while math, science, reading, art,
and music are all included (since that mural was created, I have worked with the
current principal to implement a <a href="http://www.opensocialstudies.org/" target="_blank">new social studies curriculum</a>-our work
can change this trend!)</i><p></p><p>Yet, this push to maximize literacy instruction and increase test scores actually has negative impacts on literacy instruction and test scores (See this explanation from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAWO2lvAnjI" target="_blank">Nell Duke</a>). It means students are not learning social studies well, which we know actually has a negative impact on their literacy (I suspect this is why few wealthy districts approach it this way; social studies usually exists in those places, separate from language arts). STEM education should be (but is rarely) an interdisciplinary use of those school subjects (should not be simply teaching science as ancillary math instruction). Similarly, humanities should be, but is rarely, an interdisciplinary subject (it is usually teaching social studies as ancillary literacy instruction; <a href="https://ices.library.ubc.ca/index.php/criticaled/article/view/184278" target="_blank">see here</a>). And, in no school situation is reducing social studies faculty a smart idea (there are so many other ways to close budget gaps; or better, increase funding to urban schools).<br /></p><p><b>White Supremacy? </b><br /></p><p>Finally, one other point to consider is the history of humanities as a tool for White supremacy. I engaged in research for <a href="https://www.tcpress.com/teaching-history-for-justice-9780807764749" target="_blank">my new book with Kaylene Stevens</a>, and uncovered that in the late 1800s there was an increased push for the teaching of humanities in school. However, this view of humanities was clearly rooted in a Western Civilizations view of the subject. In fact, Herbert Spencer, perhaps the founder of scientific racism, pushed for the teaching of humanities as a way to justify European superiority (by teaching the great works of White men). That view influenced the content of courses and textbooks from the elementary to the college levels. Then again, in the 1980s and 90s, in reaction to an increasing emphasis on multicultural education, conservative scholars again pushed for humanities courses from that same Western Civilization perspective (especially as a replacement for social studies, which they long thought was leftist and anti-patriotic; see <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED253489" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED302479.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED481631" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00933104.2005.10473275?casa_token=i-51ewmZxs4AAAAA:qy0oZ_lOy910IYMCW0DYISOExFc21jQLVxc7zJ63sO573eqGfENkNjn0d8VO71WTQlTM-JAvBDMB7g" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/anonymous?id=GALE%7CA151974714&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00377724&p=AONE&sw=w" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Sq6CBNfO92wC&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=conservative+attacks+%22social+studies%22&ots=-cjENAOppa&sig=LQqi3ptrk_HKNxLbFp1t5tPdSB4#v=onepage&q=conservative%20attacks%20%22social%20studies%22&f=false" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3200/TSSS.96.5.199-205?casa_token=zjJ_QlVglk4AAAAA:3zZ6C3e0Jaj648s8jqjcTJlhCxe6oRq43yAjjn3NtaZbU2YDy_kAWszdmuOYjxkEu532tT0-OsGkcA" target="_blank">here</a>; and a more recent example <a href="https://pioneerinstitute.org/news/draft-history-framework-eviscerates-national-model/" target="_blank">here</a>). These courses became most popular in urban schools, where there were large concentrations of Black, Brown, Asian American, and immigrant students. It was part of a plan to assimilate students of color to White culture (a very similar purpose as Herbert Spencer had argued a century earlier). <br /></p><p>Despite this, I have seen humanities done right. However, it has always included an ethnic studies lens and de-centered Whiteness and Eurocentracism. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of observing Ling-Se <span class="aCOpRe"><span>Chesnakas</span></span> at Boston's Urban Science Academy (the school was sadly <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/education/2018/12/20/amid-protests-boston-to-close-two-high-schools-in-west-roxbury" target="_blank">closed</a> by the Boston Public Schools and she is now a teacher at Boston Arts Academy). Her class had all the qualities of a good humanities course (to be honest, it is one of the few that I have ever experienced). She taught the course balancing literacy skill development and literary analysis with historical thinking. It truly felt like I was in an English and history course simultaneously. The students had just finished reading a chapter from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brief_Wondrous_Life_of_Oscar_Wao" target="_blank"><i><span class="aCOpRe"><span>The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao</span></span></i></a>, but were now engaging in a primary source analysis related to Dominican Republic dictator <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Trujillo" target="_blank" title="">Rafael Trujillo</a>. She had a background in both English and history (while having never earned a
degree in history, she continuously enrolled herself in social
studies-oriented professional development). She organized her units around the chronology of history (covering a broad scope), while also featuring literature prominently. She moved back and forth from having students construct historical arguments and historical interpretations like a historian, and then used what I would consider to be "English time" to have students engage in creative writing about their own personal experiences (I have experienced other humanities teachers in Boston teach this same unit, and frankly they were simply an ELA unit based on some history content).<br /></p><p><b>What Can Be Done?</b> <br /></p><p>Let's return to those initial questions about humanities courses. If we are to have humanities courses, how should they be taught?</p><p>1. Is my humanities course a substitute for social studies courses
(i.e. history, civics/political science, geography, economics)?</p><p>Make sure that <u>all</u> students receive social studies every year. If your school combines ELA with history or the social sciences, it is a sign they likely do not care much about students receiving social studies. Humanities should be in addition to social studies, or be separate ELA and social studies courses combined into two blocks that allow for teacher collaboration. When I was a teacher at Boston College High School years ago, my English teacher colleague Alison Piazza (now Alison <span class="aCOpRe"><span>MacDonald)</span></span> and I created a two-block course called American studies, where we coordinated the curriculum, so students would be using their ELA time to leverage social studies content and we would draw connections between American literature and the inquiries that we were doing in U.S. history (we could also have coordinated themes of social justice across both courses). That is how you teach humanities. <br /><br />2.
Is my humanities course taught by someone without a background in both
history and language arts (or is not co-taught by a social studies
teacher with a colleague who has a background in teaching English or another subject in the humanities)? </p><p>If the answer is yes, see above about your school not caring about social studies. Also, see above about how it can be done right.<br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>3. Is my
humanities course not taught in an interdisciplinary way, where we use
different disciplinary lenses on the world (it is just an English course
about history-related texts)?</p><p>If the answer is yes, see above about your school not caring about social
studies. Also, see above about how it can be done right. <br /></p><p><i> </i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1Hx0grRTExFnilw6gS8HrMhIAHotxQ3m-MXwyMXZzS0C73jtMv7RScWZ-vhVvxCgpXHTRJ-CVRTe3E4dkAbmKxjFMXgEYbtksyKrqVhyvPeWdo-4oNxnHX_SxBBeEuTnh3v4CZ2gVd4/s800/Ethnic+Studies.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1Hx0grRTExFnilw6gS8HrMhIAHotxQ3m-MXwyMXZzS0C73jtMv7RScWZ-vhVvxCgpXHTRJ-CVRTe3E4dkAbmKxjFMXgEYbtksyKrqVhyvPeWdo-4oNxnHX_SxBBeEuTnh3v4CZ2gVd4/s320/Ethnic+Studies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>To conclude, I would like to suggest an alternative to replacing social studies courses. I argue that we should instead add ethnic studies courses and approach social studies using ethnic studies lenses (think about teaching a U.S. history course through different ethnic groups' experiences; you could cycle through the course chronologically several times through the Indigenous, Black, Latinx, Asian American, and immigrant experiences). There is strong evidence that ethnic studies have positive impacts on students' social and academic outcomes, including increases in their literacy skills and social studies knowledge (see <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED521869.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>). Ethnic studies, like humanities, is an interdisciplinary subject. Good ethnic studies courses involve all of the same qualities of good humanities courses (especially when included in addition to traditional social studies courses, co-taught by teachers with history/social science and English backgrounds, and using of different disciplinary lenses simultaneously; ethnic studies should also not simply be a literature class that reads multicultural texts). However, there is one key difference. Ethnic studies has a far greater focus on social justice and equity than humanities (minus all the White supremacy). <br /></p><p>This is an opportune moment for us to not only increase social studies for students in urban elementary and middle schools (and some high schools). It is also a time to use that content to help students make the world more just.</p>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-57128821821347797102020-10-22T07:09:00.015-07:002020-10-22T07:45:46.010-07:00"All Boston Public Schools Exist to Serve All Boston Students": Why I Support Dropping the Test at BLS, BLA, and the O'Bryant<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QBY8pDYmPgpoT2_tGkj7chyphenhyphenAnAPMBJPl_71dS52Vu3IpeSs-vvgzw2Ff-nu8Hv1Yu736OMQPzttBriE6qlGrvXEpr37ufdgaKvk75MiDAPv5vfhP-p1XmZIRW1U2rSlhQ9oIfhpSnMM/s1000/BLS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QBY8pDYmPgpoT2_tGkj7chyphenhyphenAnAPMBJPl_71dS52Vu3IpeSs-vvgzw2Ff-nu8Hv1Yu736OMQPzttBriE6qlGrvXEpr37ufdgaKvk75MiDAPv5vfhP-p1XmZIRW1U2rSlhQ9oIfhpSnMM/s320/BLS.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7CKNoIqGszGJXp1H0rthc9AYro4XPfpMaswA0qlI4a8La4b_ssyXafAwGBY1w41zsDAwKOCIkdM3CdipOUznSlzj-3ammRWT_VRHBhKpcoelJHBYjLLkyMOkaHxR9RQ-rsE4WoyeNRo/s2048/Kenny+School.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1187" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7CKNoIqGszGJXp1H0rthc9AYro4XPfpMaswA0qlI4a8La4b_ssyXafAwGBY1w41zsDAwKOCIkdM3CdipOUznSlzj-3ammRWT_VRHBhKpcoelJHBYjLLkyMOkaHxR9RQ-rsE4WoyeNRo/s320/Kenny+School.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><i><i>Above: Boston Latin School, commonly referred to as BLS, which is
considered by some the "top school" in Boston is also one of the Whitest
schools in Boston. Below</i>: The Kenny School in Dorchester (where my kids attend). It is home to the city's only elementary school marching band and is one of its most racially diverse schools.</i></p><p></p><p>Last night, around 1:40 am and after about 6 hours of public comment, the <a href="https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/domain/162" target="_blank">Boston School Committee</a> voted 7-0 to support a <a href="https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/cms/lib/MA01906464/Centricity/Domain/162/Exam%20Schools%20Admission%20Criteria%20Recommendation%20to%20SC%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">one-year change to the admissions process</a> at Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy, and the John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science (commonly referred to as the "exam schools"), which include suspending the entrance exam. </p><p>Many Boston Public Schools students, parents (including myself), teachers, and community members (including <a href="https://www.bosedequity.org/blog/read-ibram-x-kendis-testimony-in-support-of-the-working-group-recommendation-to-suspendthetest" target="_blank">Ibram X. Kendi</a>, the <a href="https://www.change.org/p/boston-school-committee-suspend-boston-exam-school-admissions-testing-for-one-year?signed=true" target="_blank">Boston Branch of the NAACP</a>, and the <a href="https://www.bosedequity.org/equity-in-exam-school-admissions">Boston Coalition for Education Equity</a>) spoke out in support of the changes and encouraged the School Committee to make them permanent. </p><p>My testimony is below.<br /></p><p><span><<< <br /></span></p><p><span>Hello. My name is Chris Martell. I am a BPS parent with two daughters at the Kenny School in Dorchester, a BPS Citywide Parent Council rep., a former classroom teacher and current education professor at UMass Boston, and someone who deeply believes in racial justice. I ask that you support the Working Group’s recommendations related to exam school admission. <br /><br />My daughters attend what may be the most racially balanced elementary school in the city. It represents the diversity of Dorchester almost perfectly. It even has its own marching band. It’s a special place. Yet, every year students leave the Kenny and end up at very different BPS middle and high schools. I can only imagine how confused Kenny students must be when they enter the doors of BLS. They must wonder, am I still in Boston? They interact with far fewer of their Dorchester neighbors, or peers from Mattapan or Roxbury. There are noticeably far fewer Black and Brown classmates. I wish BLS was more like the Kenny. I wish its student population was a better representation of this city’s neighborhoods. I wish all Boston students had equitable opportunity.<br /><br />The racial imbalance is not surprising knowing our city’s past. However, the current admission process heavily based on standardized test scores exacerbates our city’s structural racism. Before the McLaughlin case, while not perfect, the diversity of the exam schools more closely resembled our city. After the McLaughlin case, instead of creating an equitable system that adhered to the court ruling, that School Committee took a pass. I ask that this School Committee do the right thing today. Especially in light of this pandemic, which has only widened racial and economic gaps. You have a chance to experiment with a new fairer system. <br /><br />Finally, while the Working Group focused on this year, I strongly encourage this committee to eliminate an exam as an admission criteria beyond that. Our exam schools were not always exam schools. We do not need an exam to confirm their prestige. All Boston public schools exist to serve all Boston students. Let’s create a new process that centers on racial justice. Let’s make our school system a national beacon for equity. Let’s do what’s right. Thank you. </span></p><p><span>>>> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDap5Wt0PzcfaRIEyuWyFQ0Ne4ZYEyZ5peEooh1B-XgwNZsLTMCGAas3nLJgt0n6Hdh8rI3HcxM0YIOOago22BF7mrZ0fAecQe6ihUNJIfSzdFVtLlGeiAK3ZwDnTaAlZUwg2RqjlZVY/s450/BPSDemographics.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDap5Wt0PzcfaRIEyuWyFQ0Ne4ZYEyZ5peEooh1B-XgwNZsLTMCGAas3nLJgt0n6Hdh8rI3HcxM0YIOOago22BF7mrZ0fAecQe6ihUNJIfSzdFVtLlGeiAK3ZwDnTaAlZUwg2RqjlZVY/s320/BPSDemographics.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUn26ijak7qHUfT5rl-2iyXYWw2GafFNlgQfJlsWaCaaPJxK5FGWft5_PI0Qp8YV7chTlQIQY8koABngo9hQNaWxsD74PVyaUAjFdyImDHfqaMzs_svFZxHpxJc2wldC7fDV17eCqrLkc/s450/BLSDemographics.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUn26ijak7qHUfT5rl-2iyXYWw2GafFNlgQfJlsWaCaaPJxK5FGWft5_PI0Qp8YV7chTlQIQY8koABngo9hQNaWxsD74PVyaUAjFdyImDHfqaMzs_svFZxHpxJc2wldC7fDV17eCqrLkc/s320/BLSDemographics.png" width="320" /></a></i></div><p></p><p></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjfSVCa_2p75jOi9yjyDsiq2Q8MKwdygEIj7zsHtLIVIzllj3tk1YTa-OHyNXHFpyOjsdeaOMhupWFNVqeTuO1AXDlWks4vGFHJDqQwn44U4BsjTJUjJsN0tcQlBBHoYFkwCk3WZQ0XI/s2048/ShiftMap.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1117" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjfSVCa_2p75jOi9yjyDsiq2Q8MKwdygEIj7zsHtLIVIzllj3tk1YTa-OHyNXHFpyOjsdeaOMhupWFNVqeTuO1AXDlWks4vGFHJDqQwn44U4BsjTJUjJsN0tcQlBBHoYFkwCk3WZQ0XI/s320/ShiftMap.png" width="320" /></a></i><i> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Above and Middle: Racial demographics for the Boston Public Schools and Boston Latin School (from the
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education). Below: A
map showing the projected shift of the new admissions criteria system.
Students from Dorchester, East Boston, Roxbury, and Mattapan
(neighborhoods with the largest Black and Latinx populations) would see
increases, and students from West Roxbury and Roslindale (predominately
White neighborhoods) would see decreases (from the Boston School
Committee Working Group).</i></div>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-38465978784219776902020-01-23T12:53:00.023-08:002021-01-13T19:13:46.761-08:00Teaching Impeachment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>UPDATE: For the first time in U.S. history, </i><i><i>on January 13, 2021, </i>the House of Representatives impeached a U.S. president for the second time of his term. This is in response to the presidents' involvement in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, where supporters attacked the joint session to count Electoral College results, and his attempts to tamper with election results in Georgia. This will also be the first impeachment trial to occur after a president leaves office. Here is more information on the impeachment and a live stream for the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/trump-impeachment-effort-live-updates/2021/01/13/956000345/the-house-is-expected-to-impeach-trump-a-2nd-time-heres-how-it-will-work" target="_blank">House impeachment hearing from NPR</a></i>. </span><br /></p><p>On December 18, 2019, for only the third time in history, the House of Representatives impeached a U.S. president, when they charged <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a> with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The basic events outlined in the impeachment inquiry of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump%E2%80%93Ukraine_scandal" target="_blank">Trump-Ukraine scandal</a> (which began with a complaint filed to the House and Senate by an unknown government employee whistle-blower) included Trump's conversation with the President of <a href="https://time.com/12597/the-ukraine-or-ukraine/" target="_blank">Ukraine</a> <span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="e24Kjd"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelensky" target="_blank">Volodymyr Zelenskyy</a> suggesting that an investigation of a political rival <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden" target="_blank">Joe Biden</a> and his son <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Biden" target="_blank">Hunter Biden</a> (who was on the board of the Ukrainian company <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burisma_Holdings" target="_blank">Burisma</a>) would yield a White House meeting, as well as discussions of a discredited theory that Ukraine was responsible for pro-Hillary Clinton interference</span></span><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="e24Kjd"><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="e24Kjd"> </span></span>during the 2016 Presidential Election </span></span><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="e24Kjd"><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="e24Kjd"><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="e24Kjd">(rather than Russian interference that favored Trump-which was a major finding of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mueller_Report" target="_blank">Muller Report</a>)</span></span></span></span>. Ultimately, Trump ordered the withholding/delaying of military aid to Ukraine (which was not <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/us/politics/trump-whistle-blower-complaint-ukraine.html" target="_blank">released until after news of the Whistle-blower's complaint broke</a>-and which the </span></span><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="e24Kjd"><span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="e24Kjd">Government Accountability Office</span></span> reported <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/479547-what-law-did-donald-trump-break" target="_blank">violated the law</a>). During the impeachment inquiry, additional information was revealed </span></span>about a targeted campaign by White House officials and the president's lawyer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Giuliani" target="_blank">Rudy Guiliani</a> to ouster of Marie Yovanovitch, who was the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Above: The Senate Trials of Andrew Johnson in 1868 (top), Bill Clinton in 1999 (middle), and Donald Trump in 2020 (below).</i><br />
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Back in October, I had the privilege of being <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/10/03/teaching-impeachment-in-politically-risky-times.html" target="_blank">interviewed by Education Week</a>, where I said, "School is where students are first learning how to do the work of citizenship. If a teacher doesn’t make their classroom a place to unpack, and ask, and answer critical questions about it, then we’re doing a disservice." I had also said, "Many of the social studies teachers I work with, whether they are preservice or inservice, are struggling with Trump in general, and how to maintain a level of fairness, and how to moderate classroom discussion that can get quite emotional, because he is a polarizing figure, and your politics tend to frame how you view him."<br />
<br />
The antidote to a polarized and overly-simplified classroom debate over the impeachment trial is to have students root their investigations in the evidence, asking them to make their own interpretations (which presumably will be framed by their political beliefs and values, but also challenging them to consider how their beliefs and values frame their understandings; this is an important activity for students in perspective-taking, where they should be asked to consider how different people may view these events differently).<br />
<br />
Today (January 23, 2020), I asked the history teachers whom I follow on Twitter to tell me how they are teaching impeachment, and here is what they are saying (I encourage you to follow their responses-and partake in the discussion): <a href="https://twitter.com/chriscmartell/status/1220413285075505153" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/chriscmartell/status/1220413285075505153</a><br />
<br />
It is clear that many teachers are asking students to place the Impeachment of Donald Trump
within a historical context and take their own stances on the issues
in the present. These are great examples of social studies teachers educating their students fro democratic citizenship.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYfjqPvSYf9Aly_ynH2OcnxA1A4eE2UkQzblnJYSqgM-o74T248osdl93hnjDX8JUhgp9HtVnFjzGzPv5NDEK9fIhMtloarI2bvB6hHSmwy9X1w0IiAPQ9yqo1Iye1pXI8dZ2cZFBPKgo/s1600/Impeachment.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYfjqPvSYf9Aly_ynH2OcnxA1A4eE2UkQzblnJYSqgM-o74T248osdl93hnjDX8JUhgp9HtVnFjzGzPv5NDEK9fIhMtloarI2bvB6hHSmwy9X1w0IiAPQ9yqo1Iye1pXI8dZ2cZFBPKgo/s320/Impeachment.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><p>
<i>Above: A graphic representation of the impeachment process. (Posted by Larry Ferlazzo, who has an <a href="https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2019/09/25/the-best-teaching-learning-resources-about-impeachment/" target="_blank">excellent post</a> on teaching the impeachment with additional resources)</i><br />
<br />
<u><b>Tips for Teaching the Impeachment of Donald Trump</b></u><br />
<br />
To help teachers to guide students in examining these important current
events (and soon-to-be historical events), I also have a few recommendations: <br />
<br />
First, it would be helpful to start by teaching the overall impeachment process (see above graphic or this <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_gendler_how_does_impeachment_work?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare&fbclid=IwAR1mvs3hRejl_XopxRwK9ORnP-ceGZB5wa7gT2q9lakf6vZN3SGl-biBQ2M" target="_blank">brief Ted video</a>), as students (and citizens) often have a misconception that impeachment means removal from office. Help students see that while a majority of the House is needed to impeach, a very high threshold of 2/3rds majority is required to remove a president (something that has not happened in the past and with the Republicans currently having a 53-47 majority, maybe unlikely in this instance). <br />
<br />
Next, I would suggest contextualizing the current impeachment trial, by comparing the issues, charges, and processes of the two prior presidential impeachment trials (and if those impeachments were justified).<br />
<br />
Here are some good resources on impeachments in U.S. history:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://historymatters.gmu.edu/impeachlinks.html">http://historymatters.gmu.edu/impeachlinks.html</a><br />
<br />
And, the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson in 1868:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_535095347">https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/articles-of-impeachment-of-andrew-johnson/</a><br />
<a href="http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/impeachmt.htm">http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/impeachmt.htm</a><br />
<a href="https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/impeachment" target="_blank">https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/impeachment </a><br />
<br />
And, the Impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998-1999:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/articles122098.htm" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/articles122098.htm </a><br />
<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/5.html" target="_blank">https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/5.html </a><br />
<a href="http://movies2.nytimes.com/library/politics/clintonlewinsky-documents.html">http://movies2.nytimes.com/library/politics/clintonlewinsky-documents.html</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMwMgaqVxuY" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMwMgaqVxuY </a><br />
<br />
Then, once students have a better understanding of the gravity of a presidential impeachment, they are more prepared to start examining this particular impeachment.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Resources for Teaching the Impeachment of Donald Trump</b></u><br />
<br />
I suggest using the following
inquiry questions with students: <span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><b>Was the House justified in their impeachment of the president? Should the Senate remove Donald Trump from the presidency?</b></span><br />
<br />
To help answer this question, students might use the below sources in conjunction with sources that they find on their own (depending on the students level, this sources should be adapted for their reading levels; I recommend including 100 word excerpts for intermediate elementary, 200 word excerpts for middle school, and 300 word excerpts for high school).<br />
</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>UPDATE: ADDITIONAL MATERIALS FOR SECOND IMPEACHMENT</b></i><br /></span>
</p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Capitol Insurgency Incitement Timeline </b><br /><a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/74138/incitement-timeline-year-of-trumps-actions-leading-to-the-attack-on-the-capitol/" target="_blank">https://www.justsecurity.org/74138/incitement-timeline-year-of-trumps-actions-leading-to-the-attack-on-the-capitol/</a></span></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;">A timeline of Donald Trump's words and actions related to the Capitol insurgency. </span></i><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Capitol Insurgency Timeline in Photos</span></b><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/visual-timeline-attack-capitol-hill-unfolded/story?id=75112066" target="_blank">https://abcnews.go.com/US/visual-timeline-attack-capitol-hill-unfolded/story?id=75112066 </a><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><b> <br /></b></span></b></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">
</span></b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">A timeline in photos of the events surrounding the Capitol insurgency. </span></i><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><br /></b></span></b></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Trump's Phone Call to Georgia Secretary State </b><br /></span></b><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-transcript-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/2768e0cc-4ddd-11eb-83e3-322644d82356_story.html " target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-transcript-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/2768e0cc-4ddd-11eb-83e3-322644d82356_story.html
</a></span></span></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;">The transcript of Donald Trump's phone call to the Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger related to the changing the outcome of his state's presidential election. </span></span></i><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Fact Checking Trump's Phone Call to Georgia Secretary State </span></span></b><br /><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/04/fact-checking-trumps-call-georgia-secretary-state/" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/04/fact-checking-trumps-call-georgia-secretary-state/</a></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Fact checking Donald Trump's phone call to the Georgia Secretary of
State Brad Raffensperger related to the changing the outcome of his
state's presidential election. </span></span></i></span></span><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Legal Case for Impeachment</span></span></b><br /><a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/74127/the-constitutional-case-for-impeaching-donald-trump-again/" target="_blank">https://www.justsecurity.org/74127/the-constitutional-case-for-impeaching-donald-trump-again/ </a><br /></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;">The legal arguments for a second impeachment of Donald Trump. </span></span></i><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Donald Trump's Comments on Impeachment</span></span></b><br /><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-marine-one-departure-011221/" target="_blank">https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-marine-one-departure-011221/</a></p><p><i><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Donald Trump's comments about his potential second impeachment. </span></span></i><br /></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>2021 Impeachment Timeline</b><br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/politics/impeachment-president-trump-capitol.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/politics/impeachment-president-trump-capitol.html</a></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;">An article describing the process for the second impeachment. </span></span></i><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;">
</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
<b>Trump-Ukraine Scandal Timeline:</b><br />
<a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/66271/timeline-trump-giuliani-bidens-and-ukrainegate/">https://www.justsecurity.org/66271/timeline-trump-giuliani-bidens-and-ukrainegate/</a><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><i>A timeline of the Trump-Ukraine scandal from Just Security at the Reiss Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law, which provides a strong overview of the events (it is also routinely updated). </i><br />
<br />
The Whistle-Blower's Complaint:<br />
<a href="https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20190812_-_whistleblower_complaint_unclass.pdf">https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20190812_-_whistleblower_complaint_unclass.pdf</a><br />
<br />
<i>The text of the unknown federal government whistle-blower's complaint to the related committees in the U.S. House and Senate. </i><br />
<br />
Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between Trump and <span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="e24Kjd">Zelenskyy</span></span><br />
<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Unclassified09.2019.pdf">https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Unclassified09.2019.pdf</a><br />
<br />
<i>The White House released transcript of the telephone conversation between Trump and <span class="ILfuVd c3biWd"><span class="e24Kjd">Zelenskyy, which Trump's actions are in question.</span></span></i> <br />
<br />
Articles of Impeachment from the House of Representatives<br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/10/us/politics/articles-impeachment-document-pdf.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/10/us/politics/articles-impeachment-document-pdf.html</a><br />
<br />
<i>The articles of impeachment issued by the U.S. House in December 2019.</i><br />
<br />
Donald Trump's Letter to the House of Representatives After Impeachment<br />
<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Letter-from-President-Trump-final.pdf">https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Letter-from-President-Trump-final.pdf</a><br />
<br />
<i>The presidents response letter to the U.S. house after being impeached.</i><br />
<i> </i> <br />
</span><b><br /></b></span></p><p></p>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-25449239206853261382019-08-04T01:31:00.000-07:002019-09-05T19:24:17.225-07:00Teaching Red ScaresThis year marks the 100th anniversary of the <a href="https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/palmer_raids" target="_blank">Palmer Raids</a>. In response to what the federal government believed to be a "radical threat," Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer led the arrest of over 4,000 suspected leftists and anarchists and the deportation of over 500 people between November 1919 and January 1920. Many people, as a result of their political beliefs, were arrested and
detained without warrants. However, at the time, there was initial political and public support out of the fear of the spread of communism (this was only a couple years after the Russian Revolution and just after <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/hundreds-of-black-deaths-during-1919s-red-summer-are-being-remembered" target="_blank">Red Summer</a>, where there was widespread <a href="https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_red.html" target="_blank">White-led race riots</a> around the country). Today, the raids are generally viewed as unconstitutional, as they involved direct violations of the First and Fifth Amendments and arrests of many people simply for their political beliefs. <br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="332" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.pbs.org/viralplayer/3009457639/" width="512"></iframe>
<i> </i><br />
<i>Above: A clip from the PBS American Experience film "The Bombing of Wall Street."</i><br />
<br />
In many ways, this also marks the 100th anniversary of the United State's first "red scare." While there were minor <a href="https://jacobinmag.com/2015/08/first-red-scare-civil-war-european-socialists-bornstein-republicanism" target="_blank">red scares</a> <a href="https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=6267" target="_blank">in the period after the Civil War</a>, the Palmer Raids in 1919 started the nation's first major red scare. The next major "red scare" happened in the late 1940s led by Senator Joseph McCarthy (often referred to as <a href="https://oxfordre.com/americanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-6" target="_blank">McCarthyism</a>). Ever since, every few years, small "red scares" continued to occur, often targeting leftist groups, workers unions, immigrants, and civil rights leaders. Here are just a few to consider: <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1536504211408875" target="_blank">The Sacco and Vanzetti Trial</a>, pro-segregation politicians and government officials attacks on <a href="https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/communism" target="_blank">civil rights</a> leaders in the 50s and 60s, and attacks on Bill Clinton's health care reform plan in the 1990s as "<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=hrDhPs9ktr8C&pg=PA342&lpg=PA342&dq=%22socialism+now+or+later%22+newt+gingrich+hillary+care&source=bl&ots=5X9v7WrDgn&sig=ACfU3U1ycmsk3_MNNLi4H93Q7lVEjt6SbA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjez4CI4efjAhVbGDQIHdVWAXYQ6AEwBnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">socialism now or later</a>."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7657nWc90gUljL4IW0YwOtisO5iXPMMo8p-t_r1Iy2EGRICxQRNC9EaFUy2AL8kgr2RtsNFfyJmJTv1DOp_xTlYS4GIV6LVBU3hyR9_ykBHt1Yf5z9vnQRYJPRQGOO0wcInIsHeHZG4/s1600/mainstreaming-of-martin-luther-king-avlon_zpyyms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7657nWc90gUljL4IW0YwOtisO5iXPMMo8p-t_r1Iy2EGRICxQRNC9EaFUy2AL8kgr2RtsNFfyJmJTv1DOp_xTlYS4GIV6LVBU3hyR9_ykBHt1Yf5z9vnQRYJPRQGOO0wcInIsHeHZG4/s400/mainstreaming-of-martin-luther-king-avlon_zpyyms.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>Above: A billboard accusing Martin Luther King of being a communist. This has been part of a long history of depicting social justice leaders as "trouble-makers," being part of foreign governments' plots, or being un-American subversives within the United States.</i><br />
<br />
Today, there appears to be a new red scare in the works, as fighting
socialism and communism is a major talking point in the <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/826234/republicans-want-make-2020-about-capitalism-vs-socialism-but-theres-problem-trump" target="_blank">Republican Party's</a> and <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/2019/07/trump-goes-off-on-socialist-communist-rant-saying-democrats-are-pro-al-qaeda/" target="_blank">Donald Trump's 2020 campaign strategy</a> (although the latter <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/16/politics/trump-socialism-tariffs-farmer-subsidies/index.html" target="_blank">may not really know what communism or socialism are</a>). Numerous writers have highlighted some of the similarities between past red scares and recent attacks <a href="http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/mcconnell-calls-for-making-2020-a-referendum-on-socialism.html" target="_blank">on progressive and socialist politicians</a>, <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/07/lindsey-graham-ocasio-cortez-black-activism-communism.html" target="_blank">the targeting of political leaders of color,</a> and <a href="https://time.com/5625012/palmer-raids/" target="_blank">the use of federal law enforcement on refugees and migrants</a>. In the context of past red scares, Donald Trump sees it as a good political tactic to target four congresswomen of color (including my representative, Ayanna Pressley) as <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/454134-trump-attacks-the-squad-as-racist-group-of-troublemakers" target="_blank">troublemakers and socialists who are "incapable of loving this country"</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/14/us/politics/trump-twitter-squad-congress.html" target="_blank">should go back to the countries that they came from</a> (which all four are American citizens; three were born here). Moreover, Lindsay Graham <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/07/lindsey-graham-defends-trumps-racist-attack-on-progressive-congresswomen-a-bunch-of-communists" target="_blank">defended the president by calling the congresswomen "communists</a>." Without learning about the use of communism and socialism in past political campaigns, it would be hard for students to fully understand its use by politicians today.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSnmiWDfftDppKo4tenHGZ5ha4ZEG3nO9xuaHcxDiTbpB7Y7zkj3pIpv9Qdu0hQ15IkvZ8sYNY8H92QOWcX3ZXx0Ke6Xf_FRQNpsBcsMf3YswQx9njYdAS7m7Tj1-DgVukFAdOKDTuy8/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="206" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSnmiWDfftDppKo4tenHGZ5ha4ZEG3nO9xuaHcxDiTbpB7Y7zkj3pIpv9Qdu0hQ15IkvZ8sYNY8H92QOWcX3ZXx0Ke6Xf_FRQNpsBcsMf3YswQx9njYdAS7m7Tj1-DgVukFAdOKDTuy8/s200/images.jpg" width="168" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3m_yyWwExwXIDQGNF0s3-2JC5oa1AqvAwfj05h15mHCHh_C8aRrtXdIvWVim-Cg1qQ32LGR5oqbTp2vLZ-kEOOUGusAMI9LN_U8q7bHQgDISx58-BLhsI9W4cic8tGAeA25wNS_Hfe4/s1600/Red-Iceberg-340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="340" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3m_yyWwExwXIDQGNF0s3-2JC5oa1AqvAwfj05h15mHCHh_C8aRrtXdIvWVim-Cg1qQ32LGR5oqbTp2vLZ-kEOOUGusAMI9LN_U8q7bHQgDISx58-BLhsI9W4cic8tGAeA25wNS_Hfe4/s200/Red-Iceberg-340.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>
<i>Above: (Left) A political cartoon by Sidney Greene in New York Evening Telegram in 1919. (Right) A 1960s comic book warning readers about the spread of communism.</i><br />
<br />
So how should teachers approach these red scares in their classrooms? I would suggest three main ideas to keep in mind.<br />
<br />
<b>Connect Past Red Scares to More Recent Ones</b><br />
<br />
First, it is important to teach red scares as part of a longer historical movement to target members of certain groups as un-American and to evoke fear of those groups. By having students learn about red scares, it not only offers a case study to help students understand how groups have been demonized for political reasons, but also allows them to critically analyze how politicians use language in the past. It helps students who did not grow up during the Cold War (where fear of communism was much more widespread) understand the history of anti-communism and anti-socialism (and potentially why it is still around today). To some degree politicians have used terms like communist or socialist as a <a href="https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/03/07/what-is-socialism-socialist" target="_blank">"dirty word" or scare tactic</a>. Teachers should consider asking students to connect red scares to other contemporary or historical examples where people in power use certain labels to alienate or cast doubts on their political opponents. <br />
<br />
<b>Show the Role of Race, Class, and Immigration Status in Red Scares</b><br />
<br />
Second, it is important to show that class, race, and immigration status has long had a role in red scares. Starting with the Palmer Raids in 1919, the poor and working classes, immigrants, and people of color were often accused of being "reds" or disloyal to the United States, especially when these groups demanded equality or protested their segregation, economic injustice, or other unfair treatment. For instance, both <a href="https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/federal-bureau-investigation-fbi" target="_blank">Martin Luther King</a> and <span class="st"><a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-30-mn-7622-story.html" target="_blank">César Chávez</a> were all accused of being communists, including <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-fbis-war-on-civil-rights-leaders?ref=scroll" target="_blank">being investigated by the FBI</a>. </span><span class="st">Some have argued that leaders of color being called "communists" or "socialists" <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/07/lindsey-graham-ocasio-cortez-black-activism-communism.html" target="_blank">is often a veiled racial epithet</a></span> (<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democrats-socialists-republicans_n_5c706ea1e4b03cfdaa553c17" target="_blank">Barack Obama certainly faced</a> these <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/17/obama.witchdoctor.teaparty/" target="_blank">veiled epithets as president</a>). It is important for students to see a connection between racism and xenophobia, and anti-communism or anti-socialism. Americans have long had an appetite for enemies, which has been exacerbated by the media often portraying international events as "good guys" (United States) vs. "bad guys" (any nation that has a dispute or disagreement with the United States). Moreover, the fear of communism and socialism is often associated with non-European nations (whether it be Cuba, North Korean, China, or Venezuela; despite being a predominately White nation, the Soviet Union seemed culturally foreign to most White Americans).<br />
<br />
At the same time, it is important for students to understand that <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123771194" target="_blank">American communists and socialists are often "small d" democratic</a> (meaning they do not support authoritarian regimes or anything that resembles the governments of the former Soviet Union or Venezuela). In fact, communists and socialists have often been at the forefront of <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123771194" target="_blank">expanding</a> <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/03/civil-rights-movement-bruce-ackerman/" target="_blank">civil rights</a>, civil liberties, and <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-socialism-made-america-great" target="_blank">workers' rights</a> in the United States. There were many important democratic communists and socialists who pushed the United States to become a more just nation, including W.E.B. Du Bois, Eugene V. Debs, <span class="wp-volt-gal-caption-title">Paul Robeson, Bayard Rustin, Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, and </span>Angela Davis (as well as contemporary politicians focused on social equity, such as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/12/bernie-sanders-wants-americans-buy-into-socialism-hes-got-some-convincing-do/?utm_term=.afe1713c3478" target="_blank">Bernie Sanders</a> or <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/ocasio-cortez-instagram-live-explains-socialism-aoc-1444534" target="_blank">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</a>).<br />
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<br /></div>
<b>Help Students Understand the Differences Between Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism</b><br />
<br />
Third, it is important for teachers to highlight the differences between the various economic and political philosophies. Americans know relatively little about the relationship between <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/191354/americans-views-socialism-capitalism-little-changed.aspx" target="_blank">capitalism</a>, <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/243362/meaning-socialism-americans-today.aspx" target="_blank">socialism</a>, and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/do-you-know-the-difference-between-a-communist-and-a-socialist-a6708086.html" target="_blank">communism</a> (and often conflate socialism and communism). It can been even more confusing for students, because socialism and communism are both economic and political ideas, and capitalism's emphasis on economic choice may led to false views that it is part of a democratic government (when it is not; many socialist nations have democracies (often called social democracies), like Sweden or Denmark; many capitalist states are authoritarian, like Turkey or Russia (For teachers and students, this maybe one of the better <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3u4EFTwprM" target="_blank">video economic system primers on the internet</a>, and here is a good <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2019/05/13/socialism-a-short-primer/" target="_blank">primer on modern-day democratic socialism)</a>.<br />
<br />
It is also helpful to show students that some Americans have long questioned capitalism as an economic system. Especially, when many democratic nations around the world have socialist governments or maintain socialist policies (such as tuition-free or low-cost public schools and universities, government provided universal health care, restrictions on executive compensation, or state-controlled or highly regulated industries). In fact, in recent political polls, socialism has gained some <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/257639/four-americans-embrace-form-socialism.aspx" target="_blank">increase support among Americans</a>, especially <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2018-10-29/harvard-poll-young-voters-support-democratic-socialist-policies" target="_blank">younger Americans</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/business/dealbook/socialism-bernie-sanders-joseph-stiglitz.html" target="_blank">seeing socialism as a better alternative to capitalism</a> (possibly as a result of Bernie Sanders presidential campaign). This may have even led to the White House releasing <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/The-Opportunity-Costs-of-Socialism.pdf" target="_blank">a report </a>in 2018 on the so-called dangers of socialism. While more Americans maybe considering socialist ideas, fear around a communist takeover of the United States maybe still relatively high (at least in <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/442292-poll-majority-view-socialism-as-incompatible-with-american-values" target="_blank">certain polls</a> and among a certain set of politicians think it may help reduce support for their opponents) despite few governments in the world still espouse to be communist. Helping students see that a communist take over has generally been a red herring, but also an effective political tool in history, which can help them develop a stronger understanding of the political and economic debates over the past century (and today). <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOQyoUFTw3SgWflZKZqTPaMqxrZ_SK1_Wqt2z8pGRFzmNXOtg0NuICUhvTue5UwRrtJKdp4bb14j-oz_YoWWjq-FsMcOxYjy24Jnfvmgj5qmNBBoDp4mfAb4P-jU2unaQaUek_mmP5Yw/s1600/america_under_communism_1050x700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1050" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOQyoUFTw3SgWflZKZqTPaMqxrZ_SK1_Wqt2z8pGRFzmNXOtg0NuICUhvTue5UwRrtJKdp4bb14j-oz_YoWWjq-FsMcOxYjy24Jnfvmgj5qmNBBoDp4mfAb4P-jU2unaQaUek_mmP5Yw/s320/america_under_communism_1050x700.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Additional Teaching Materials</b><br />
<br />
<i>For more on red scares, below are several links to quality lesson plans and teaching materials related to the Palmer Raids and Red Scares across U.S. history.</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3u4EFTwprM" target="_blank">Capitalism and Socialism (Crash Course)</a><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3u4EFTwprM" target="_blank"> </a></i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://historyproject.uci.edu/files/2017/01/Red_Scare_Grade11.pdf" target="_blank">Red Scare! The Palmer Raids and Civil Liberties (UCI Social Science Project)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://sheg.stanford.edu/history-lessons/palmer-raids" target="_blank">Palmer Raids (Stanford History Education Group)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://immigrationhistory.org/item/the-palmer-raids/" target="_blank">The Palmer Raids (UT Austin Immigration History)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/bombing-wall-street/#part01" target="_blank">The Bombing of Wall Street (PBS American Experience) </a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/content/historical-context-postwar-red-scare" target="_blank">Postwar Red Scare (Gilder Lehrman Institute)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/crackdown-58818380/" target="_blank">Smithsonian Magazine Article "Crackdown!" on the Palmer Raids </a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/palmer.html" target="_blank">Library of Congress Resources on the Palmer Raids </a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/palmer-raids" target="_blank">FBI Resources on the Palmer Raids</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/lesson-3-rise-and-fall-joseph-mccarthy" target="_blank">McCarthyism (NEH Edsitement)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.c-span.org/classroom/document/?1857" target="_blank">McCarthyism and Red Scare (C-SPAN)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.zinnedproject.org/collection/mccarthyism/" target="_blank">McCarthyism (Zinn Education Project)</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-68345851272688155822019-03-11T14:30:00.004-07:002023-05-05T09:00:28.564-07:00Why I Don't Use "Teacher Training" to Describe Teacher Education<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_e2gBvvQfHio1nEbOv7Q8qbJ2d_cBs8eQTcJDseZ0jLMwUG5boHq_BCGZ31dxYmAA7nVFjj5xytT6DpSx4Scqc8yq4HWrKqRdk_Uip8JOrNSn03KI-NP31AjT8IF4cIAARjN-0_Dd8Y/s1600/IMG_0013.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_e2gBvvQfHio1nEbOv7Q8qbJ2d_cBs8eQTcJDseZ0jLMwUG5boHq_BCGZ31dxYmAA7nVFjj5xytT6DpSx4Scqc8yq4HWrKqRdk_Uip8JOrNSn03KI-NP31AjT8IF4cIAARjN-0_Dd8Y/s320/IMG_0013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><i>Above: This is a class picture from when I taught my first social studies
methods course as a doctoral student in 2009.</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<br />
I never use the phrase "teacher training." Those who work with me
also know that I try my best to encourage them to stop using it as well. I have
been a teacher educator for over 10 years (notice how we do not usually say "teacher trainer"), and I have always had an uneasiness
with describing the process where teachers learn (and continue to learn) to
teach as "training." I think that it problematically frames teachers'
work as overly simplistic, involving little thought and creativity, and
something that can be learned in a relatively brief period of time. It does not
encapsulate the intellectual flexibility or the crucial problem solving skills
that teachers need to do in their work.</div>
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<br />
This post is my public service announcement on the issue...</div>
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<br />
<b>What is Training?</b></div>
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<br />
Merriam-Webster <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trains" target="_blank">defines training</a> as: </div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>1<b>: </b>to teach so as to make fit, qualified, or
proficient; to form by instruction, discipline, or drill </i></div>
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<i>2<b>: </b>to make prepared (as by exercise) for a test of
skill </i></div>
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<i>3<b>: </b>to direct the growth of (a plant) usually by
bending, pruning, and tying</i> </div>
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<br />
These definitions of training can help us break down why it is not the right
term to describe the complex process that teachers experience as they are learn
(and continue to learn) to teach. Embedded in the definition of training are
several problematic ideas that are implicit and are important to unpack.</div>
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<br /></div>
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First, the word training means "to make fit."
One interpretation of this is similar to qualified or proficient. However, I
would like to instead use "<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fit" target="_blank">to cause to conform to or suit something</a>." This view of teacher training is the reason why early
schools of education were called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_school" target="_blank">normal schools</a>, and they
were designed to establish a set of norms among all teachers and to standardize
their practices (also see how <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ831197.pdf" target="_blank">gender played into the whole normal school idea</a>). The second part explains how this
"fitting" occurs through "instruction, discipline, or
drill." The drill and discipline components clearly imply that repeated
behaviors will lead to the intended outcome of becoming a proficient teacher.
Additionally, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discipline" target="_blank">discipline means</a> "training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties
or moral character" (interestingly, it also means "punishment,"
which all teachers know from their school discipline policies).</div>
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<br />
The idea that teacher learning is to conform to a singular view of education is
problematic. It implies that the best teachers can be molded using some sort of formula and that they "follow the rules." Instead, we know that some of the best teachers <a href="https://hepgjournals.org/doi/abs/10.17763/haer.61.3.q671413614502746" target="_blank">go against the grain</a>. We know that they do not always fit in with the
instructional or institutional norms around them. We know that they take
pedagogical and curricular risks. Moreover, we know that the educational system
is not equitable; the best teachers also work against that inequity. They center their
work on social justice and ensuring that all their students are challenged and
supported. They engage in culturally relevant pedagogy. Teachers need to be
agents of change in their classroom around issues of pedagogy and curriculum,
as well as fairness and equity more broadly. </div>
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<br />
Second, the word training means "to prepare through exercise" usually for some sort of test (such as an athlete trains
for the Olympics). This view of teacher training portrays teaching as not involving intellectual flexibility or continual adaption to
changing conditions (granted, teachers are like Olympians in many other
ways). I will use the example of a driving license as an example; once a person passes a road test then the state says
they have the skills necessary for operating a car. Within this logic, a teacher should be able to
pass a test or some other sort of benchmark, and then they will have most of the knowledge necessary for teaching. </div>
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<br />
The idea that teacher learning can be mastered by repeated practice or that
quality teaching can be easily measured is problematic. It implies that we know what certain behaviors teachers need to be effective. Instead, we know that measuring <a href="https://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/viewFile/392/515" target="_blank">quality</a> <a href="https://cepa.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/The%20Challenges%20of%20Measuring%20School%20Quality.pdf" target="_blank">teaching</a> is not only very difficult, but even the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0022487103261227?casa_token=oBa4nb3Yyi0AAAAA:GFBsYWatX3qhh-v8V7S1BpzMPbyZba3DW_htANBHajELsU8V2jz35Pb5Lnd9XXdLNp9tcWJSlefX2g" target="_blank">definition of quality teaching is highly contested</a>. We also know that teacher learning
continues to occur well beyond teacher preparation and that it involves
continually adapting to new sets of conditions, such as changing students,
teaching methods, or curricula. There is no one test or benchmark that says
someone has mastered (or is even proficient) in teaching.</div>
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<br />
Third, the word training means "bending, pruning, and tying";
this is clearly a definition intended for gardening. However, it is still
applicable to this argument. If we use the analogy of a tree to describe how a
teacher grows, we would want to avoid "training" teachers in this sense
as well. </div>
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<br />
The idea that teacher learning is something that can be forced in a certain way
(like the gardening of plants) is problematic. It implies that teachers need to
be shaped by others. Instead, teachers are the <a href="http://neatoday.org/2013/04/29/no-more-sit-and-get-rebooting-teacher-professional-development/" target="_blank">drivers of their own professional learning</a>. There is evidence that the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0034654315626800" target="_blank">most meaningful teacher professional development involves learning collectively</a>
and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0002831215585562?casa_token=RwgQ1-jBthUAAAAA:gTT3UB7rNT-FafUir7aZFOB4wjyCFwjqiFfoj_XKCDbcTaSK6n4V384WZ5L73CvYkPY9ZInYDQU8hg" target="_blank">collaborating with peers</a>. At the same time, teachers are impacted by the decisions of others. They do
not get to control the level of social programs available to their students or
the amount of resources available to their schools. In many ways, like trees,
teachers may feel as if they are constantly being figuratively bent, pruned, or
tied by others in their day-to-day work. I see this with the preservice
teachers who I teach, but also among the experienced teachers whom I work work
with (I have documented some of this in my longitudinal research on teacher
development; see <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885985X12000022" target="_blank">here</a>
and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08878730.2014.888252" target="_blank">here</a>).
Many teachers today identify an over-emphasis on standardized test scores,
prescribed mandated curriculum, a lack of resources, and schools without dedicated time for social
studies, science, art, or music, as stunting their professional growth (similar
to how this definition of training influences, perhaps even stunts, the growth
of trees).</div>
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<br />
While there may be some professions where training describes their professional
learning (i.e. auto mechanic, athlete), it is not the case for teachers. </div>
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<br />
<b>What Is Education and Why Make a Distinction?</b></div>
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<br />
I am certainly not the first to draw a distinction between training and
education. Outside teaching, many people have made this distinction about their
fields (see <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-burrus/teach-a-man-to-fish-training-vs-education_b_7553264.html" target="_blank">one here from business</a> or <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED404452.pdf" target="_blank">one here from the military</a>). In fact, this same argument was made by <a href="http://mje.mcgill.ca/article/viewFile/7682/5611" target="_blank">G. Patrick O'Neill</a>'s
article in his McGill Journal of Education back in 1986. He argued that
education, not training, best depicted the intellectual, emotional, and social
development that teachers undergo (and that teacher training and teacher
education should no longer be used interchangeably).</div>
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<br />
My purpose in this post is to raise awareness and hopefully lead teachers and
teacher educators to stop using the term "teacher training," and
instead use "teacher education" or more specifically "teacher
preparation," "teacher development," or "teacher
learning" as the terms to describe how teachers learn.</div>
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<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
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Merriam Webster <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/education" target="_blank">defines education</a>
as </div>
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<i>1: the action or process of educating or of being
educated; the knowledge and development resulting from the process of being
educated </i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Education is a much more applicable term for what teachers experience as they learn
(and continue to learn) to teach. It represents a much more complex process. It
makes clear that it happens over time (perhaps over a lifetime or career). It
is not some that comes from rote memorization or repeated behaviors, but rather
development that occurs before and during the practice of teaching.</div>
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<br />
Of course, all professions involve some level of both training and education.
Teaching is no different. However, it requires much more education than
training to be successful. For instance, teachers must be trained to use a
grade submission web portal, how to search the Internet efficiently for
resources, or about their school's procedures for dealing with problematic
student behaviors. Yet, these types of trainings are not usually (and should not
be) the focus of teacher preparation programs, as they would not prepare
teachers for the realities of the classroom and all of the complex variables
that teachers need to consider and address.</div>
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<br />
Problematically, several new teacher preparation programs have actually bought
into the assumptions embedded in "teacher training" and have built
their courses around the behaviors or repeated practice that they believe make
an effective teacher (interestingly, these preparation programs also view the
learning of PreK-12 students in a similar way). One of the best example of this
is the Relay Graduate School of Education, which NYC principal Carol Burris
analyzes quite well <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/is-filling-the-pail-any-way-to-train-teachers/2012/07/04/gJQADViVOW_blog.html?utm_term=.6a70ae357997" target="_blank">here</a> (notice even the author falls into the "teacher training" trap in the
title, when I think she means education-as she makes clear throughout the
article).</div>
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<br />
Teaching requires an education that helps develop teachers' critical thinking
around how should students be assessed on their learning (or should we even
have grades), how to design a well-crafted lesson plans or adapt another
person's curricular materials, or understand the complex psychology that
underpins students' behaviors and possible ways to support all of their
students (including considering if school discipline procedures may be
inequitable for certain students).</div>
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<br />
We cannot not simply train teachers, as if teaching is a simple set of tasks
and behaviors. Instead, teachers must understand both the <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED250279.pdf#page=21" target="_blank">art</a> and <a href="http://www.csun.edu/~SB4310/How%20People%20Learn.pdf" target="_blank">science</a> of
learning, so they can be continually adjusting their teaching practice and
engaging in their work as <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Teachers_as_Intellectuals.html?id=1Opyme28anEC" target="_blank">intellectuals</a>.
As <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-burrus/teach-a-man-to-fish-training-vs-education_b_7553264.html" target="_blank">one writer analogized</a> it, "Don’t just teach him how to catch a fish.
Educate [them] about the art and science of fishing." Teachers must not
only be prepared for the basic tasks they must perform in the classroom, but for
everything else that happens around those. It is
about how a teacher creates and assembles lessons, not memorizing the parts of a lesson plan template. It is about how a teacher challenges their students to
think about perspectives or ideas that they have not considered, not using the best method
for having students call out answers.</div>
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<br />
This is certainly not a new debate. Education has long had a division between
those who work from <a href="https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/learning-overview/" target="_blank">behaviorist and constructivist</a> perspectives. Each philosophy has different concepts for
how to build an educational system that best educates students. Subsequently,
that same debate has also persisted within teacher education. Teacher training
is much more aligned with a behaviorist view of learning to teach, while
teacher education better describes how <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Constructivist_Teacher_Education.html?id=Unp07-_7ZSgC" target="_blank">constructivist-oriented teacher educators</a> understand their work. </div>
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<br />
<b>Why Is This Important?</b></div>
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<br />
Language is important as it frame how we understand the world. This is
especially true for the language that we use to explain teaching and learning.
As <a href="http://hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-76-issue-4/herarticle/_200" target="_blank">Cochran-Smith and Lytle</a> (2006) reminded us, the language often used in education
oversimplifies the process of teacher learning and practice. It often frames
learning in terms of a basic transmission from teaching to student (which it is
not), or in the case of teacher education, from teacher educator to teacher.
This has all sorts of negative ramifications on how the general public or
politicians (who make laws about teaching and learning) think about education.
I find particularly compelling <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED533262" target="_blank">Kevin Kumashiro</a>'s argument that these misconceptions about teaching and learning
have become so taken-for-granted that they are seen by many as common sense,
and that they have been used for political, rather than educational means. For
instance, conservative educational thinkers have used these common sense
framings to shape the current educational conversation (and ultimately influence the current system) within their view.</div>
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<br />
As I said at the beginning, this is a PSA. My hope is that I influence a few more
more people to stop use teacher training (I know it is an uphill battle), and
especially to stop using it simultaneously with teacher education, or teacher preparation,
or teacher development. I hope that this can encourage a more important conversation
about how we view teacher education, teachers, and, ultimately, the students
they work with.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCAqhkvSP2BvrIS5RqwyoyxgQycqULAF5Z2EQYTnDxHCDGRzRea80YfezbMxQ4MAxzb3uSJjXUYQFNQFA-QbpNxENx27YytcrQaejqbg7b8Wa9sU3uEGZFne-oBn8BIXcw6EUN69Sbag/s1600/IMG_5144.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCAqhkvSP2BvrIS5RqwyoyxgQycqULAF5Z2EQYTnDxHCDGRzRea80YfezbMxQ4MAxzb3uSJjXUYQFNQFA-QbpNxENx27YytcrQaejqbg7b8Wa9sU3uEGZFne-oBn8BIXcw6EUN69Sbag/s320/IMG_5144.jpg" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <i>Above: A recent group of graduates from the BU Social Studies Education Program. I'd like to think we helped educate, not trained, them to be great teachers.</i></span><br />
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<br />Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-88884432167352588382019-01-15T13:18:00.003-08:002019-08-03T12:29:52.236-07:00Teaching Immigration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVxHDHtBCxxvdsPIISErxlaZrMV6Djs9RN2J3unHI3ViWx72egoFdEThgqHST3hv4Mu-c5F4ah0ivss2jxUxt6FnLAsezK1GEobzWBepRH9csT9KzdOP083_ImLzNJSTcjxbr0FUoqVg/s1600/Great+Hall+Ellis+Island.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="1199" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVxHDHtBCxxvdsPIISErxlaZrMV6Djs9RN2J3unHI3ViWx72egoFdEThgqHST3hv4Mu-c5F4ah0ivss2jxUxt6FnLAsezK1GEobzWBepRH9csT9KzdOP083_ImLzNJSTcjxbr0FUoqVg/s320/Great+Hall+Ellis+Island.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Above: The Great Hall and the "pens" at Ellis Island Immigration Station. </i><br />
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"The United States is a country of immigrants." While this statement is only partially accurate (as it does not recognize that many Americans are either ancestors of the
first people to inhabit this land or were forced to come here as a
result of slavery), it is certainly routinely stated in U.S. history classrooms (and <a href="https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&source=hp&ei=9Io8XKzeJvCa_QaNm7t4&q=%22the+United+States+is+a+country+of+immigrants.%22&btnK=Google+Search&oq=%22the+United+States+is+a+country+of+immigrants.%22&gs_l=psy-ab.3...21361.33168..34220...9.0..0.114.4071.59j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..0j0i131j0i22i30j0i22i10i30.ga9E4W6Wt7s" target="_blank">the media</a>). Immigration has long played a prominent and positive role in the quest-for-freedom narrative template of American history (For more on narrative templates, see the work of James Wertsch <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=C-hcCAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=mind+as+action&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDlf7CpubfAhWum-AKHSDOBoMQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=mind%20as%20action&f=false" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/527987/summary" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1548-1352.2008.00007.x" target="_blank">here</a>). Using this narrative template, students (and people) place events within a larger story that the United States was established to help people escape oppression elsewhere and join a nation that is constantly striving to protect individual freedom here (See the Neil Diamond song "America" for a good example of this (video below), <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/three-presidents-one-border--and-an-immigration-debate-that-has-grown-coarser/2019/01/08/d9f3c4a4-1357-11e9-90a8-136fa44b80ba_story.html?utm_term=.00727a8406e6" target="_blank">past presidential speeches on immigration issues</a>, or most textbook chapters on the topic).<br />
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Of course, we know that the American story is much more complex and that for many groups this nation was the vehicle of their oppression. Immigrants have long been used to create hysteria and further certain political goals. Perhaps dating to the United States' founding (including statements by <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjVq-Gzy_DfAhXrc98KHeevAH8QFjAAegQIChAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Frampage%2Fwp%2F2015%2F08%2F28%2Ffounding-fathers-trashing-immigrants%2F&usg=AOvVaw011qNi4PVyJrhh34Ld2LbW" target="_blank">Ben Franklin and Alexander Hamilton</a>-yes, the guy from "that musical" and an immigrant himself), <a href="https://immigrantarchiveproject.org/brief-history-anti-immigrant-propaganda/" target="_blank">anti-immigrant</a> <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/American_Intolerance.html?id=Q9q8swEACAAJ" target="_blank">propaganda</a> has been spread through the media and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/why-immigration-divides/552125/" target="_blank">politicians have used it as a wedge issue</a> (including in <a href="http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Know-Nothing_Party" target="_blank">party</a> <a href="https://www.gop.com/issue/immigration/" target="_blank">platforms</a>) Recently, <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/11/28/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/" target="_blank">despite large declines in undocumented immigration</a>, reducing immigration <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/us/politics/donald-trump-border-wall.html" target="_blank">became the signature campaign promise</a> of Donald Trump's campaign. As I write this, there is a standoff between the President and Congress over the funding of a Mexican border wall expansion, which has partially closed the federal government (now the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-longest-government-shutdown-20190112-story.html" target="_blank">longest in history</a> and also <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/01/11/684300134/most-americans-call-shutdown-embarrassing-as-it-s-set-to-become-longest-in-histo" target="_blank">widely unpopular with the American people</a>). <br />
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How should teachers approach immigration during these troubling times for immigrants? Without a doubt, the current president's rhetoric and action has made teaching this part of the American story much more complex. Unlike previous presidents, Trump does not describe this debate as part of our ethos as nation of immigrants ("but also laws," which they always add) and within that time-honored quest-for-freedom narrative template, as <a href="https://clintonwhitehouse1.archives.gov/White_House/Publications/html/briefs/iii-7.html" target="_blank">Clinton</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/15/washington/15text-bush.html" target="_blank">Bush</a>, or <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/20/remarks-president-address-nation-immigration" target="_blank">Obama</a> did. He does not present the experiences of present day immigrants as their attempt to seek freedom here from oppression elsewhere (interestingly, <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/580042/ancestral-immigrant-history-antiimmigrant-crusader-donald-trump" target="_blank">as Trump's own ancestors did</a>, when they immigrated from Germany and Scotland to the United States).<br />
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Considering this historical and political context, in this post, I explore possible ways that teachers might present immigrants and immigration, so that it helps students have a more complex understanding of the nation's past and how that influences the present. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipwIL45b9q671haK-JHmtQT-5PJ81Kekph9jbBtyhlaMYIwfDwMkDYJEKv-I-33Sc-F8EfFF5Ci2RGD9u0OM2cTl_FLkw6gnSmNMGoUENUC8Tof9k5KPCYEK34ipjdTxIB3ureCf_XuM/s1600/Framingham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="871" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipwIL45b9q671haK-JHmtQT-5PJ81Kekph9jbBtyhlaMYIwfDwMkDYJEKv-I-33Sc-F8EfFF5Ci2RGD9u0OM2cTl_FLkw6gnSmNMGoUENUC8Tof9k5KPCYEK34ipjdTxIB3ureCf_XuM/s400/Framingham.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>Above: Downtown Framingham, which has long been an immigrant community. </i><br />
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However, I should note that this topic is very personal for me. For most of my career as a high school social studies teacher, I taught in Framingham, Massachusetts (above). Framingham is a former factory town and historical hub for immigrants. First, it was the English (who settled on <a href="http://www.nipmucnation.org/" target="_blank">Nipmuc</a> land), then the Irish, <a href="http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/04/25/framingham_remembers_immigrants_of_long_ago/" target="_blank">Italians</a> and Eastern Europeans, migrants from <a href="https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1039&context=gaston_pubs" target="_blank">Puerto Rico</a>, and today it is home to many newcomers from <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.2050-411X.2003.tb00894.x" target="_blank">Brazil</a>, Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Every year when I taught U.S. history, I attempted to present a story of migration that began with the Indigenous people and then eventually waves outsiders in different periods that continued to the present day. The overarching question that I wanted my students to answer was, has the United States been a nation of freedom for migrants/immigrants (and, if so, for whom and when)?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3IHOeohnV_zgN4L4WzVmvVECwv39U-jduGmJQPWrIa7kf1oi_RvRBqaVgLgrxwiyGDQb7uE43M-qYxQ2dnZWFbvEV_StbVu6DzKr-pBSePJpYfkeydl_eSocV4_DKxuCEeAbAHTiHFI/s1600/Photograph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="1600" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3IHOeohnV_zgN4L4WzVmvVECwv39U-jduGmJQPWrIa7kf1oi_RvRBqaVgLgrxwiyGDQb7uE43M-qYxQ2dnZWFbvEV_StbVu6DzKr-pBSePJpYfkeydl_eSocV4_DKxuCEeAbAHTiHFI/s400/Photograph.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Above: (Left) My great grandfather (with hat; as a child standing behind his tenement in Holyoke, Mass.), whose family immigrated from Québec in Canada and (Right) my great grandmother (on right, in an family portrait taken in Chicopee, Mass.), whose family immigrated from Galicia in Poland.</i></div>
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I also approach this topic as a descendant of immigrants. My ancestors came to Massachusetts from Québec (and before that from France) and Poland. Whether it was taking trains south from Montréal to work in the paper mills of Holyoke or taking a boat and arriving at Ellis Island to later join relatives working in the factories of Chicopee and Springfield, my ancestors bought into the quest-for-freedom narrative. They benefited from the United States. They found stable work and housing (as they were barely surviving as farmers in Québec and Poland at the turn of the 20th century). However, they were also discriminated against because of their ethnicity and language once they came here (I have found numerous examples of family members who were listed in census records as child laborers; my relatives were often told in Canada and the U.S. to "speak White," which meant speak English). At the same time, especially for my French Canadian ancestors, they were settlers and colonizers who took land and killed Native people (which is an important part of the story that must also be acknowledged). As a White American, it is essential that I examine the positive and negative impacts of my family's journey here.<br />
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Based on my experiences as a teacher (and teacher educator) working in immigrant communities, and descendant of immigrants myself, I argue that teachers should consider three important ideas when teaching immigration in their social studies classrooms. <br />
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<b>1. Migration/Immigration Should Be Taught Across the U.S. History Curriculum</b><br />
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While immigration occurred throughout much of American history, the
topic is often studied by students only during units on antebellum and
postbellem industrialism (and this is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/TSSS.100.4.160-168" target="_blank">reinforced by state standards</a>). While those periods were certainly important (and <a href="https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/immigration-timeline" target="_blank">when many White Americans</a>, as well as some <a href="http://www.cetel.org/timeline.html" target="_blank">Asian</a> and <a href="http://www.pbs.org/latino-americans/en/timeline/" target="_blank">Latinas/os</a> trace their family's first journeys here), it is <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/11/30/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/" target="_blank">only one of the major waves of immigration</a>. By only studying immigration in those periods, it neglects a longer historical arc of immigration.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0cwTUbXQgAEHURg4a2fdGEyCDMR77e9LzEuQ1oU1yE3P0xReK3P5SP6kGPNZlZ5oqMnQ1kzmfYhbFCxBNQ1zGZ23fhcJWOjtau0EeEMQI9FTY5sa-OHEiF8spJhike_jHhxpvYjR2EM/s1600/PuertoRicoPlane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="947" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiner11ZdVZzJuyB-bWatAgbwmEhLsNT-T2kPmeymZiBY7DPfAhBKVBQK8rfI9LXhJpHDb0_OuscHZsLltCChLJVmPHKTBIdGzkAhV4CyeSABow5URsjIuknL_yuyFwAmNudA6eP7rsGgQ/s400/Mayflower.jpg" width="400" /><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="442" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0cwTUbXQgAEHURg4a2fdGEyCDMR77e9LzEuQ1oU1yE3P0xReK3P5SP6kGPNZlZ5oqMnQ1kzmfYhbFCxBNQ1zGZ23fhcJWOjtau0EeEMQI9FTY5sa-OHEiF8spJhike_jHhxpvYjR2EM/s400/PuertoRicoPlane.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>
<i>Above: Migrants/immigrants not from the turn of the 20th century; (above) a painting of the Mayflower, which brought English immigrants, and (below) a plane bringing maids from Puerto Rico to New York.</i><br />
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It is essential that teachers portray the people who came as the result of English (Spanish, French, Dutch, etc.) colonization as immigrants. Otherwise, students may consider these groups as the original people here (erasing the <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/1491.html?id=Jw2TE_UNHJYC" target="_blank">millenniums of Native history before them</a>). It is also important to incorporate the history of forced migrants from Africa into the larger narrative of immigration and make clear ways that enslaved peoples' experiences contrasted to those of immigrants (as the two are rarely presented this way, it may even lead some to see their experiences as tantamount, as we have seen written in some <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/10/23/450826208/why-calling-slaves-workers-is-more-than-an-editing-error" target="_blank">textbooks</a> or described in <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/03/06/ben-carson-calls-slaves-immigrants/98816752/" target="_blank">politicians' speeches</a>). It also prevents students from seeing that forced migrants' and immigrants' experiences were related. While plantation owners forced enslaved people (and later exploited their ancestors through sharecropping) to produce raw materials in the South, factory owners exploited immigrants in the factories that made finished products from those same materials.<br />
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<b>2. Migration/Immigration is Not Only in the Past</b><br />
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While immigration is often taught as a historical topic, it is less likely to be
taught as a current day political, economic, or geographic one.
However, immigration has a strong impact on our current and future
society. The nation relies on immigration <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigrants-impact-on-the-u-s-economy-in-7-charts/" target="_blank">economically</a> and <a href="http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/newamericans/foreducators_lesson_plan_06.html" target="_blank">socially</a>. Immigrants have influenced American culture (including our <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2013-07-12-ct-ae-0714-immigrant-music-20130713-story.html" target="_blank">music</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3856769/" target="_blank">art, and sciences</a>) and how we understand our <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/from-melting-pot-to-centrifuge-immigrants-and-american-politics/" target="_blank">political system</a>.
For many Americans, our identities are often closely related to our
ancestors' origins. Unlike other nations were the vast majority of
people share the same ethnicity, our cultural diversity is at the heart
of who we are as a nation. Yet, teaching immigration as an event of the
past may leave students with a sense that historical immigration is in
no way connected to the people who come today and the people who will
come in the future.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFT6VCcySouRWcRjqge3EDUtmxtEVSCwhwT6Y5uCKZ53v739k7QXnWdr7FL1yJ_6nfF6WCaciV61YGjA9OIIsbZnIsGggYgxgIh1H0mC6vU0hofDgIqZE2VlZmxTNSd7GFu-XGnOLnTA/s1600/Immigration+Rally.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="534" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFT6VCcySouRWcRjqge3EDUtmxtEVSCwhwT6Y5uCKZ53v739k7QXnWdr7FL1yJ_6nfF6WCaciV61YGjA9OIIsbZnIsGggYgxgIh1H0mC6vU0hofDgIqZE2VlZmxTNSd7GFu-XGnOLnTA/s320/Immigration+Rally.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Above: A picture of the Rally for Immigrants, Washington, D.C. in 2013.</i><br />
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It is important for teachers to make regular connections between past and present immigration and immigrant groups. First, it helps students see that immigrants faced some similar experiences, yet it can also help them see how not all eras of immigration were the same. They will be able to see that certain immigrant groups may have had more or less political and social power depending on their group and the period (for instance, English settlers in colonial New England had a very different experience (were able to <a href="http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/becomingamer/growth/text7/indianlands.pdf" target="_blank">take Native land</a> and <a href="https://edsitement.neh.gov/launchpad-colonial-new-england-crisis-colonies" target="_blank">establish their own governments and communities)</a> than Latina/o immigrants today (who are dramatically underrepresented in the <a href="https://www.univision.com/univision-news/the-latino-struggle-to-reach-public-office" target="_blank">local</a> or <a href="https://thehill.com/latino/350673-latino-representation-in-congress-at-record-high-but-far-from-parity" target="_blank">national governments</a>). Second, it may allow some students to develop a sense of empathy or solidarity with present immigrant groups based on their families' or ancestors' immigrant experiences. My first teaching job was at a Catholic high school in Boston, where a large percentage of students were of Irish descent. There was clearly a significant amount of Irish pride within the student body and I was often able to engage the students in immigration studies by having them compare and contrast the Irish immigrant experience with the experiences of other immigrant groups. Within this, it is also important to continually bring in the role of race, class, and gender in the immigrant experience, by helping students see that immigrants often face <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2015/09/21/intersectionality-a-primer/?utm_term=.c20107fc078c" target="_blank">intersecting oppression</a> depending on who they are and where they came from.<br />
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This would also be an important place for teachers to discuss the differences between migrants and immigrants. While migration is a broad term that describes any group that moves from one place to another (it can include the ancestors of present day Native people, people who were forced to come to the United States through the slave trade, or Central American refugees fleeing crime or violence in their homeland), immigration implies migration withe specific intent on settling in a new place. Immigration often implies voluntary and with the expectation that is will most likely be permanent. <br />
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<b>3. </b><b>Make Migration/Immigration Personal for Students</b><br />
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People researching their own genealogy is possibly <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/why-are-americans-mad-about-genealogy" target="_blank">more popular than ever</a>.
With the digitizing of government records, it is now easier than ever
to trace your family's records (See <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/census" target="_blank">U.S. Census records</a>, <a href="https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/passenger" target="_blank">Ellis Island passenger records</a>, <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/slavery-records-civil.html" target="_blank">slavery records</a>, <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/freedmens-bureau" target="_blank">Freedman Bureau records</a>, <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/japanese-americans/internment-intro" target="_blank">Japanese American WWII relocation and incarceration records</a>, <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/" target="_blank">ancestry.com</a>, and <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/" target="_blank">Mormon Church ancestry records</a>). Since many of these records are free, it
is easier now to have students investigate their family's histories in
school. Moreover, students can benefit from assignments that have them
interview family members about their family histories and their
relatives experiences during certain historical events. For most Americans, genealogy research will expose immigrant or migrant histories; it can help them learn when and how their relatives came here from Asia or Europe, or trace their migration from Black communities in the South to the North and their ancestors slave or freedom status.<br />
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Teachers should consider engaging their students in <a href="http://christinesleeter.org/critical-family-history/" target="_blank">critical family histories</a>, which research their immigration stories, but also their ancestors forced migration (through slavery and Indian reservation and board school records) or involvement in colonization. This is the best way to help students realize their personal and family connections to the immigrant experience and the role that discrimination or privilege may have played into it. Christine Sleeter has described critical family histories as an attempt to situate your individual family stories within a wider analysis of social power relationships and culture. <br />
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My hope is that if we better have students examine a much more complex story of immigration, then as citizens, they will be better informed around the immigration-related issues that arise. It is difficult to understand the present, without understanding the past. This is especially true when it related to the topic of immigration.<br />
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<br />Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-30564846335759764592018-07-24T01:14:00.003-07:002020-02-17T16:31:45.153-08:00Teaching About White Supremacy in the Trump Era<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIg5uXMPEUjDmIdcuwa0rLu3t2NoM9XDfnEhmR-3dZEddyCsOwX-lg8XyqID3D2lj_Z10_c_nIB_y0FTgAOdFrOsJLJ9nxBIUdGXFwf5BxG79JAJlmcZQTdPM5c2_JWbvtdpVjqYfa8GI/s1600/Charlottesville.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="1100" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIg5uXMPEUjDmIdcuwa0rLu3t2NoM9XDfnEhmR-3dZEddyCsOwX-lg8XyqID3D2lj_Z10_c_nIB_y0FTgAOdFrOsJLJ9nxBIUdGXFwf5BxG79JAJlmcZQTdPM5c2_JWbvtdpVjqYfa8GI/s320/Charlottesville.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Over the past year and a half, I was quite busy creating an elementary social studies curriculum and was on hiatus from blogging. I return to blogging about social studies and education with this post related to the events from last year in Charlottesville, Virginia, and teaching about White supremacy (and the upcoming "Unite the Right 2" event in Washington, D.C.).</i><br />
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Before becoming a Supreme Court justice, Louis Brandies wrote, “<a href="http://3197d6d14b5f19f2f440-5e13d29c4c016cf96cbbfd197c579b45.r81.cf1.rackcdn.com/collection/papers/1910/1913_12_20_What_Publicity_Ca.pdf" target="_blank">Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants</a>.” While this related to his views of corporate transparency, I find this quote particularly helpful in framing the teaching of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/the-language-of-white-supremacy/542148/" target="_blank">White supremacy</a> and <a href="https://equity.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Tatum-Talking-About-Race.pdf" target="_blank">racism</a> in the classroom. There may be a worry among some teachers or parents that students are not ready to learn about White supremacy (or racism more broadly), or that by teaching about White supremacy, it may actually lead to more racism. Yet, sunlight is the best disinfectant in regard to racism and White supremacy. By learning about White supremacy in the past and present, how it functions, and ways to work against it, students will be better prepared for a world where it has control over so many social factors. At the same time, I also argue that in our current era, it may be more difficult than before for teachers to teach about White supremacy.<br />
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Over the past two years, there have been several high profile events that have exposed White supremacy to many Americans who were previously unaware of it. As a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/15/opinion/leonhardt-trump-racist.html" target="_blank">private citizen</a> and later <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/every-moment-donald-trumps-long-complicated-history-race" target="_blank">a candidate</a>, Donald Trump routinely used racist rhetoric (including his negative portrayal of African Americans, Mexicans, Central Americans, and Muslims), which appeared part of his political strategy and was likely a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/polq.12737" target="_blank">major factor in his electoral victory</a>. As a president, he has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/01/11/trumps-candidacy-and-presidency-have-been-laced-with-racist-rhetoric/?utm_term=.1de94d7d151a" target="_blank">continued this rhetoric</a> and attempted to enact certain racist policies (such as <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/the-supreme-courts-green-light-to-discriminate/563756/" target="_blank">this</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/06/19/621065383/what-we-know-family-separation-and-zero-tolerance-at-the-border" target="_blank">this</a>, and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/02/15/585937834/trump-uses-ms-13-to-sell-draconian-overhauls-of-border-issues-journalist-says" target="_blank">this</a>), which may influence his <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/226091/party-ideology-race-play-key-roles-trump-approval.aspx" target="_blank">ongoing support by some groups of Whites</a>).
While some may argue that Trump’s language and actions are unusual for an American
president, I would argue that he is simply illuminating the White supremacy
that has long permeated American society, including its government (he may simply
be expressing what many politicians, including some past presidents,
thought, but did not express publicly for fear of the political
ramifications). Concurrently, there has been the rise of the <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/alt-right" target="_blank">Alt-Right</a>, which is an attempt to unite a series of far right ideologies under a core belief of White nationalism. Alt-Right groups were responsible for the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/local/charlottesville-timeline/?utm_term=.b5532c22fc9c" target="_blank">"United the Right" event</a>
in Charlottesville that included a nighttime White supremacist rally
that used Tiki torches to imitate Nazi rallies of the past and an attack where a man drove his
car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and
injuring 19 other people. Finally, there has been a dramatic <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/racial-harassment-in-schools-uptick_us_5a8db498e4b03414379cae76" target="_blank">increase</a> in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/05/11/hate-crime-rates-are-still-on-the-rise/?utm_term=.2c7c627fba63" target="_blank">reported hate crimes</a>, with many specifically targeting <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/05/18/how-trump%E2%80%99s-nativist-tweets-overlap-anti-muslim-and-anti-latino-hate-crimes" target="_blank">Latino/a</a> and <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/11/15/assaults-against-muslims-in-u-s-surpass-2001-level/" target="_blank">Muslim</a> Americans (which has been labeled by some as the <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/yes-donald-trump-is-making-white-people-more-hateful/" target="_blank">Trump effect</a>), over the past two years.<br />
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These events have presented some very difficult issues for social studies teachers (and teachers in general) who routinely make current events a focus of their classrooms. Many teachers have a fear that if they ask students to critically evaluate the words and actions of Trump (in the same way that they did for Barack Obama, George W. Bush, or Bill Clinton before him), they may now incite emotional (and possibly uncontrollable) discussions in their classrooms, or worse, be labeled as trying to politically indoctrinate their students. Yet, if teachers are not engaging their students in civil discussions and critical analyses of Trump’s words and actions (the same discussions that all democratic citizens should be having), then they are missing an important opportunity to help their students make sense of the current political climate and its implications for our country (and its future).<br />
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To make clear, when teaching White supremacy in the age of Trump, it is important to draw careful distinctions between the larger ideological movement and the president. While <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-it-a-coincidence-that-trump-uses-the-language-of-white-supremacy/2018/04/20/01a2c202-44aa-11e8-ad8f-27a8c409298b_story.html?utm_term=.9e707c975e91" target="_blank">Trump's language</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/17/heres-what-white-supremacy-looks-and-sounds-like-now-its-not-your-grandfathers-kkk/?utm_term=.2a250e4c6efe" target="_blank">actions</a> are certainly guided by White supremacy (including his defense of White supremacists in Charlotteville as <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/trump-defends-white-nationalist-protesters-some-very-fine-people-on-both-sides/537012/" target="_blank">"very fine people on both sides"</a> and his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/us/politics/trump-anti-muslim-videos-jayda-fransen.html" target="_blank">re-Tweeting of White supremacist anti-Muslim videos</a> from Britain), to simply conflate the two would be a mistake; it would not only alienate some conservative students, but also possibly prevent any productive classroom discussions or inquiries on the topic. In fact, this should not be a partisan issue (and numerous members of Trump's own political party have condemned his stances on a number of occasions when he used racist language and or engaged in racist actions; see <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/15/16154212/gop-lawmakers-react-to-trump-charlottesville" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/19/child-separation-camps-trump-border-policy-backlash-republicans" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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So, how should teachers help students understand White supremacy
and its role in history and present day? I suggest teachers focus on
three things when addressing issues of White supremacy in their
classrooms. <br />
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<b>1. Place White supremacy within a historical context, but also connect the history of White supremacy to the present day.</b><br />
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It is essential for teachers to help students place White supremacy within the much larger historical context of the country (i.e. European colonization of the Americas, Africa, and Asia, race in the colonial era, slavery,
Reconstruction, the Jim Crow era, the War on Drugs, the L.A. Riots, Hurricane Katrina), but also connect that history to
the present day. This is to help students see that White supremacy, as an ideology, has existed across U.S. history and was not ended during the civil rights movements or as a result of Barack Obama's election (<a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/race-america-after-obama/" target="_blank">as some people</a> <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/07/post-racial-society-distant-dream/395255/" target="_blank">have suggest</a>ed), but persists in our current society.<br />
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I recommend explicitly teaching about both <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/20/overt-racists-easy-to-spot-americas-insidious-racism-greater-challenge" target="_blank">overt and covert</a> White supremacy. It is helpful to provide examples. For instance, rallies like "Unite the Right," spray painted swastikas, or the <a href="http://time.com/time-magazine-charleston-shooting-cover-story/" target="_blank">Charleston Church Shooting</a> are all examples of overt White supremacy. The perpetrators of White supremacy are very clear that racial hate motivates them. However, there is also covert White supremacy. This is where White supremacy is much more nuanced or hidden. It may be perpetrated in a way that does not make racial hate as obvious. For instance, the <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/05/13/willie-horton-revisited" target="_blank">1988 Willie Horton political advertisement</a> is a good example, as it intentionally used race to convince a group of White voters (through their racial fear) to vote for a specific political candidate. Or, it can be carried out by people who are not even aware of their White supremacy. For example, numerous studies have been done on <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/implicit-bias/" target="_blank">implicit bias</a>, which are unconscious and automatic features of prejudiced
judgment, or <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/microaggressions-matter/406090/" target="_blank">microaggressions</a>, behaviors or statements that do not necessarily reflect malicious intent but can <a href="https://sph.umn.edu/site/docs/hewg/microaggressions.pdf" target="_blank">inflict insult or injury</a>. This may impact <a href="https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/soc/racepoliticsjustice/2017/08/24/the-harmful-effects-of-implicit-racial-bias-in-the-police/" target="_blank">how White police officers react to certain situations involving people of color</a> or how a <a href="http://www.nber.org/digest/sep03/w9873.html" target="_blank">person of color may be routinely overlooked for job interviews.</a> This type of White supremacy is far more systemic and structural. It means that people of color must routinely justify their abilities or even their existence to Whites. While students may be much more familiar with overt than covert White supremacy, it is important that they are provided with examples of both. Covert White supremacy leads many White Americans to support racist actions or policies (without even recognizing the underlying White supremacy). It presents a "less ugly” racism and often frames White supremacy using “common sense” language (for instance, in arguments opposing affirmative action, you may hear, "if you support fairness, why would you support something that gives a preference to some groups over others?" It re-frames a program that is meant to support groups disadvantaged by racism as actually disadvantaging the dominant group). For some, this covert White supremacy can eventually becomes overt (<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/08/17/543880487/the-trickle-up-theory-of-white-nationalist-thought" target="_blank">See this piece on the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville</a>). <br />
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<b>2. Allow practice using critical media literacy on past and present racist images and writings.</b> <br />
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It is also important for teachers to have students practice using <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11519-007-0004-2" target="_blank">critical media literacy</a> to analyze racist images from the past and present (I recently gave a <a href="http://www.christophercmartell.com/New-YorkHistoricalSocietyMartell.pdf" target="_blank">presentation</a> at the New-York Historical Society about this, which include some examples of how race is presented in the media and how young learners may experience it-within a larger discussion of teaching difficult history at the elementary-level). It is important for students to not only be able to critically evaluate the media in their own world, but also cases of White supremacy from the past. For instance, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/04/the-alt-right-curriculum/521745/" target="_blank">Malcolm Cawthorne and Kathryn Leslie</a> <a href="https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/a-frank-conversation-with-a-white-nationalist/" target="_blank">have used an interview with a White nationalists</a> in their class at Brookline (Massachusetts) High School to help students see how people in our current time may hold overt White supremacist ideas. Or, Jeffrey Morgan, an English teacher, had students <a href="https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2001/the-rhetoric-of-hate" target="_blank">analyze White supremacist propaganda found on the Internet</a>. However, these teachers also connected the present day to a long history of White supremacy in the United States. Whether it be overt White supremacy, such as when 30,000 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/08/17/the-day-30000-white-supremacists-in-kkk-robes-marched-in-the-nations-capital/?utm_term=.e2059b5a1d7d" target="_blank">Ku Klux Klan members marching on Washington, D.C.</a> in 1925, or covert White supremacy, like <a href="https://www.npr.org/2011/11/25/142704485/-collecting-oral-histories-of-jim-crow" target="_blank">how most White people in the American South accepted and supported Jim Crow Laws in their daily life</a>. Teachers might have students analyze <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/11/racist-anti-immigrant-cartoons-from-the-turn-of-the-20th-century/383248/" target="_blank">political cartoons about immigrants in the early 20th century</a> or <a href="https://apjjf.org/2017/16/Minear.html%20and%20https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pearl-harbor-japanese-americans_us_5a283fb8e4b02d3bfc37b9f6" target="_blank">racial depictions of the Japanese during World War II</a>, but then ask students to look for similar examples in the media of their current world, such as in the news media or how certain groups are portrayed on social media posts. It is important to show that there were-and are-people who engaged in purposeful acts of White supremacy, but also people who were-and are-complicit in a system that allows it to continue.<br />
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<b>3. Provide students with possible ways to work against White supremacy. </b><br />
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Finally, it is important to avoid fostering in students a fatalism around White supremacy (or a belief that it cannot be changed; that Whites will always hold prejudice toward others and maintain a racist system). The best way to do this is to provide tangible ways to work against White supremacy. Without tangible ways to reduce White supremacy, students may be left thinking "there is nothing that I can do." One way teachers can do this is to expose students to the many different resources for anti-racist understanding and action, both covert, such as Harvard's <a href="https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/" target="_blank">Project Implicit</a>, the Weldon Cooper Center's <a href="https://demographics.coopercenter.org/racial-dot-map" target="_blank">Racial Dot Maps</a>, or the <a href="https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/" target="_blank">Mapping Police Violence Project</a>, and overt, such as the many organizations that keep track of hate groups, including the SPLC's <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch" target="_blank">Hate Watch</a> and <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map" target="_blank">Hate Map</a>, and the Anti-Defamation League's <a href="https://www.adl.org/what-we-do/combat-hate/hate-crimes" target="_blank">Hate Crimes List</a>. The final step it to help students (and your fellow colleagues) access possible ways to take that knowledge and work for change. This included community resources, like the Southern Poverty Law Center's <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/20170814/ten-ways-fight-hate-community-response-guide" target="_blank">Community Response Guide to Hate</a>, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culturally-speaking/201608/anti-racist-action-and-becoming-part-the-solution" target="_blank">articles</a> and books on doing anti-racism work, and <a href="https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/white-antiracism-living-the-legacy" target="_blank">professional development</a> from groups like Teaching Tolerance on teaching about anti-racism. The United States has long struggled with its White supremacy past and it will take education and action to work against it in the future.<br />
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<b>Additional Resources:</b><br />
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<i>Below are a few additional resources that can help teachers in their approach to White supremacy in the classroom. </i><br />
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An article from The Atlantic on how teachers are addressing issues related to the Alt-Right in the classrooms:<br />
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/04/the-alt-right-curriculum/521745/">https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/04/the-alt-right-curriculum/521745/</a><br />
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Strategies for teaching about Charlottesville from the Anti-Defamation League:<br />
<a href="https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/after-charlottesville-teaching-about-racism-anti-semitism">https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/after-charlottesville-teaching-about-racism-anti-semitism</a><br />
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A lesson plan from PBS Learning Media on understanding White supremacy:<br />
<a href="https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/iml04.soc.ush.civil.lp_whsup/understanding-white-supremacy/#.W1ZCfH4yVZ0">https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/iml04.soc.ush.civil.lp_whsup/understanding-white-supremacy/#.W1ZCfH4yVZ0</a><br />
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A lesson plan from AFT Share My Lesson on Charlottesville and White supremacy: <br />
<a href="https://sharemylesson.com/teaching-resource/when-hate-headlines-resources-k-12-educators-288511">https://sharemylesson.com/teaching-resource/when-hate-headlines-resources-k-12-educators-288511</a><br />
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An article from Nikki Brown in the Washington Post:<br />
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/08/13/teaching-white-supremacy-in-the-age-of-the-alt-right/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/08/13/teaching-white-supremacy-in-the-age-of-the-alt-right/</a><br />
<br />Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-39682373150251948612018-05-24T07:10:00.002-07:002021-03-17T17:56:35.066-07:00I’m Back... With A New Elementary Social Studies Curriculum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span id="goog_1771241494"></span><span id="goog_1771241495"></span><br />
<span id="goog_1771241494"><b>UPDATE: The curriculum was been updated in 2020 (now on version 4.0) and renamed Open Social Studies. It can be found here: <a href="http://www.opensocialstudies.org" target="_blank">www.opensocialstudies.org</a></b><br /></span></p><p><span id="goog_1771241494">Over a year ago, I started building an inquiry-based elementary social studies curriculum for the <a href="https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/kenny" target="_blank">Kenny Elementary School</a> in the <a href="https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/" target="_blank">Boston Public Schools</a> (with the help of my fantastic BU colleague <a href="http://www.bu.edu/sed/profile/jennifer-bryson/" target="_blank">Jenn Bryson</a>). Since then, I have not had the time to regularly update my blog with my usual posts about social studies and education more broadly. I am excited to announce the first version of the curriculum is finally fully developed and we are ready to share it with the world. I am also happy to announce that I should be able to return to occasionally sharing my thoughts on this blog.</span><br />
<span id="goog_1771241494"><a href="http://www.christophercmartell.com/understandingourworld/"></a><span id="goog_1771241522"></span><span id="goog_1771241523"></span></span><span id="goog_1771241494"> </span><br />
<span id="goog_1771241494">The name of our new elementary curriculum is "Understanding Our World." It is named this because it is based on the idea that children should get social studies starting in the early grades and that it should be, as Rudine Sims Bishop described, both "mirrors" and "windows" for themselves. The mirrors represent opportunities for students to learn about their (and their families' and ancestors') histories, social identities, and ways to civically engage in their communities, and the windows represent how their historical and present-day experiences relate to others. While this curriculum was designed for one school and is rooted in the local history, civics, geography, and economics of its community (Dorchester, which is a neighborhood in the city of Boston), this curriculum is open source and can be adapted for any school or district.</span><br />
<span id="goog_1771241494"><br /></span>
<span id="goog_1771241494">When we were designing this curriculum, we specifically wanted it to be open-source (so teachers can make modifications for their students and their communities), so you will see that it can be downloaded in both PDF form and an editable Word document. We also wanted it to be a curriculum that can serve as a stand alone during a teacher's social studies time or embedded within literacy instruction (for teachers in schools where there may be no dedicated time for social studies). Lastly, and most importantly, we wanted it to focus on issues of equity and social justice and help students at at an early age think about fairness. </span><br />
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<span id="goog_1771241494">Finally, this curriculum is still under construction (we expect a Version 2.0 to be unveiled in the summer of 2018). We are in the pro<span style="font-family: inherit;">cess of continually improving it, making it more culturally relevant, and ensuring that the perspectives of various people and groups being studied are accurate and authentic. If you have any suggestions on how we can do this or general improvements, please e-mail them to me at <a href="mailto:cmartell@bu.edu">cmartell@bu.edu</a></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="goog_1771241494">.</span></span><br />
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<span id="goog_1771241494">You can read more about this "Understanding Our World" curriculum and download at its website: <a href="http://www.christophercmartell.com/understandingourworld/">www.christophercmartell.com/understandingourworld/</a></span><br />
<br />
<span id="goog_1771241494"><span id="goog_1771241494">(One final note: the bandwidth of the
curriculum website is not very large, so please do not stream the videos. Instead,
you can download them to a desktop and play them from there.)</span> </span><br />
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<span id="goog_1771241494"> </span><span id="goog_1771241494"> </span></p>Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-8718097840283967142017-01-25T20:29:00.001-08:002017-01-27T03:29:39.660-08:00Teaching Protest Movements: The Women's March in Historical Context<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last Saturday, <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xa0iLqYKz8x9Yc_rfhtmSOJQ2EGgeUVjvV4A8LsIaxY/edit#gid=0" target="_blank">at least 3.2 million Americans</a> participated in the <a href="https://www.womensmarch.com/" target="_blank">Women's March</a> (including my family here in <a href="http://bostonwomensmarchforamerica.org/" target="_blank">Boston</a>), which made it <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/womens-march-protest-count/514166/" target="_blank">the largest political protest in U.S. history</a>. Several news outlets have compiled aerial photos to help us understand the enormity of this protest, including <a href="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcnn%2Fvideos%2F10155946716016509%2F" target="_blank">CNN</a> and <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/01/21/womens-march-on-washington-crowd-photos/96882758/" target="_blank">USA Today</a>. <a href="http://www.wmagazine.com/story/womens-march-on-washington-activists-organizers" target="_blank">Led by women</a>, these rallies were a reaction to the rhetoric (and now actions) of President Donald Trump and the organizers described them as, "stand[ing] together in solidarity with our partners and children
for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our
families - recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the
strength of our country."<br />
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The most obvious historical connection to this protest would be the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/03/100-years-ago-the-1913-womens-suffrage-parade/100465/" target="_blank">1913 Suffragette Procession</a>, where thousands of women gathered to demand a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote (held the day before <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wilson/portrait/wp_suffrage.html" target="_blank">Woodrow Wilson</a>'s inauguration) and the <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9806E2D61438EE32A25753C1A9679C946696D6CF" target="_blank">Silent Sentinels</a> protests outside the White House in 1917. Both of these protests were led by <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wilson/peopleevents/p_paul.html" target="_blank">Alice Paul</a> and the <a href="http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/nawsa.html" target="_blank">National American Woman Suffrage Association</a> and later the <a href="https://www.loc.gov/collections/static/women-of-protest/images/history.pdf" target="_blank">National Women's Party</a> (a NAWSA break-off group). <br />
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<i>Top: The 2017 Women's March in D.C. Bottom: The 1913 Suffragette Procession in D.C. </i><br />
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As a long-time government teacher and now teacher educator, I have often heard students say that they do not feel that their vote "counts." Having experienced two incredibly close elections in my life (<a href="http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2000" target="_blank">2000</a> and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/21/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-popular-vote-final-count/" target="_blank">2016</a>, where the winner of the Electoral College did not win the popular vote), not to mention many close state and local elections, there seems to be evidence that every vote does count. Yet, I can understand the apathy, especially with the amount of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/fix-money-in-politics/473214/" target="_blank">influence that large donors</a> have on the political system. However, my reactions to these students' comments have always been, "Voting is the lowest form of democratic participation. Democracy is really what happens between elections, when citizens must engage in signing petitions, wearing political buttons/having political bumper stickers, writing to elected officials, campaigning for and contributing money to candidates, engaging in civil disobedience, lobbying for a special interest, running for office, and demonstrating through forms of protest" (the Center for Civic Education has a <a href="http://www.civiced.org/resources/curriculum/lesson-plans/456-how-can-citizens-participate" target="_blank">nice list of ways to participate in democracy here</a>). The last one, demonstrations, is particularly important. In fact, there is a long history of political protests influencing U.S. history. <br />
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Compared to citizens in other nations (especially Europe and Latin America), Americans rarely protest. When I have taught the right to assemble, many of my students have confessed that they would "never do that." They say that they do not think protests make a difference or that they don't feel comfortable taking their political views to the streets. However, when conditions become so poor or people become so afraid that the basic tenets of democracy may be at risk (i.e. the Boston Tea Party, the Depression, the Vietnam War), the average person may decide there is no alternative than to march. I imagine many of the marchers this past weekend participated in their first political protest. As a social studies educator, the marches last weekend make me feel hopeful for our democracy.<br />
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So, how can social studies teachers help better prepare citizens who are more likely to participate in political demonstrations? I would suggest there are three problematic ways that political protests are presented in the social studies curriculum that contribute to this reluctance of Americans to exercise a right to assemble and, by challenging these views of protests, we can better help foster engaged citizens: <br />
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(1) Protests are usually presented as being led by a charismatic individual (i.e. <a href="http://www.osmh.org/history/boston-tea-party/how-boston-tea-party-began" target="_blank">Sam Adams leading the Boston Tea Party</a>, <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington" target="_blank">Martin Luther King leading the March on Washington</a>). Yet, most protests (including those two aforementioned protests from the <a href="https://www.masshist.org/revolution/teaparty.php" target="_blank">18th</a> and <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/100-amazing-facts/who-designed-the-march-on-washington/" target="_blank">20th</a> centuries) were not led or organized by individuals, but instead collective movements of people. This "individual leader" view sends the message to students that you need a captivating figure to organize protests (however, the Women's Marches are a clear example helping dispel this, since they <a href="http://www.vogue.com/13520360/meet-the-women-of-the-womens-march-on-washington/" target="_blank">had no one person leading them</a>).<br />
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(2) Protests are presented as comprised of radicals, rather than "regular" citizens. While it is true that radicals often advocate for swifter change than the population as a whole and may be the first to protest, without regular citizens most protests would not have been very effective. A prime example of this is the Vietnam War era protests. While there were protests as early as 1963, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/twodays/peopleevents/e_antiwar.html" target="_blank">it wasn't until a mass of "regular" students</a> began protesting that the media and government started to pay attention. This "radicals only" view discourages citizens from regularly participating in protests.<br />
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(3) Protests are presented as one-time events, rather than a part of long-term movements. Most protests are part of movements extending years or decades, rather than a single event. In fact, protest movements often converge. For instance, in the mid-1800s there was substantial overlap between the participants of the women's rights and abolitionist movements. Today, the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter Movement have some convergence with recent women's rights, immigrants' rights, and gay rights movements. The "one-time events" view discourages sustained political protests. Yet, sustained political protests are more likely to force the government to establish reforms leading to lasting change (for instance, the abolitionist movement had decades of political protests, in the form of newspapers, marches, rallies, lawsuits, and ultimately war before their goal of ending slavery was realized).<br />
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To help students better understand this nation's long history of protests, I suggest teachers have students engage in inquiry around the Women's Marches and three lesser-known political protests. After students compare and contrast the four movements' objectives and methods, a good inquiry question might be: "After examining the evidence from the Women's Marches and these three other events from U.S. history, which movement had the most effective methods of protest?" By using these protests, instead of some of the more well-known, students will be able to see examples that defy the above problematic depictions of protests.<br />
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1. Shay's Rebellion: In 1786-87, <a href="http://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu/" target="_blank">farmers in Western Massachusetts</a> protested against economic inequity. This would ultimately lead to the Constitutional Convention. Howard Zinn had an excellent <a href="http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinnkin5.html" target="_blank">chapter on this</a> in his book "A People's History of the United States." Here is a link to <a href="http://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu/shaysapp/artifacts/home.do" target="_blank">primary sources from Shay's Rebellion</a>. <br />
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2. Anti-Nuclear Protests: In the late 1950s into the 1960s, across the United States, <a href="http://americanhistory.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-26" target="_blank">Americans protested for nuclear disarmament</a>. This movement eventually influenced a series of agreements between the U.S. and Soviet Union to reduce their nuclear arms stockpiles (and actually gave us the peace symbol). Here is a link to <a href="http://activistnewyork.mcny.org/sites/default/files/NuclearLessonPlan.pdf" target="_blank">primary sources from the nuclear disarmament movement</a> between 1957 and 1985.<br />
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3. Anti-Globalization Protests: In the late 1990s, environmentalists and workers rights activist engaged in <a href="http://democracyuprising.com/2007/04/01/anti-globalization-movement/" target="_blank">several worldwide protests of globalization</a>, including the 1999 protests of the World Trade Organization Meeting in Seattle. The movement highlighted several growing concerns related to globalization, including the devastating effects of free trade on humans and the environment, and in many ways these early protests have framed the major economic and political debate over the past 20 years. Here is a <a href="https://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhibits-and-education/digital-document-libraries/world-trade-organization-protests-in-seattle" target="_blank">link to primary sources form the 1999 WTO Protest in Seattle</a>. <br />
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<br />Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-48169707974565749932016-10-09T23:10:00.011-07:002022-12-13T13:16:25.446-08:00Using “Columbus Day” to Teach Native Activism and Resistance Today<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2lth_knKXw9e6vpiLmJudNamCJ8apVcrHzBuQASqGRrnFksdAlIAyWXd4MVp81pqXfMEqH0NvbjIZRx6qUgdKwX5e8Q45TK_zgE6B2UwdtRNsRw-7Ps_28XjHvfuWO6srGO-RKey1RQ/s1600/ColumbusLanding.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2lth_knKXw9e6vpiLmJudNamCJ8apVcrHzBuQASqGRrnFksdAlIAyWXd4MVp81pqXfMEqH0NvbjIZRx6qUgdKwX5e8Q45TK_zgE6B2UwdtRNsRw-7Ps_28XjHvfuWO6srGO-RKey1RQ/s320/ColumbusLanding.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vtlhr7nakBlKgGQfHU4NEulwl25Jg-Bg1xy4h7YZAjn2VvwM1fvEbO36YPOJRfkOMFoMrm6S5v7PdEEBi7gkTCqSszmcFrjWKCYf9A_R516dhryKwChNiK66wNsG5RlBIaAkR0-Qg_0/s320/SittingBull.jpg" width="243" /></div><p>
<i>Above: Who is a hero? <span class="st">Columbus (from a painting in the <a href="https://www.aoc.gov/art/historic-rotunda-paintings/landing-columbus" target="_blank">U.S. Capitol Rotunda</a>-notice the depiction on the right of the Native people) and Lakota Chief Sitting Bull</span></i> <br />
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Across the United States, there has been a growing movement to change <a href="http://time.com/3495071/indigenous-peoples-day/" target="_blank">Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day</a>, including in the states of <a href="http://www.argusleader.com/story/davidmontgomery/2014/10/13/native-american-day/17194651/" target="_blank">South Dakota</a> (which celebrates Native Americans' Day) and <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/10/07/497046525/indigenous-peoples-day-gains-momentum-as-a-replacement-for-columbus-day" target="_blank">Vermont</a>, and the cities of <a href="http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,974727,00.html" target="_blank">Berkeley</a>, <a href="http://time.com/4071362/indigenous-peoples-day-denver/" target="_blank">Denver</a>, <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/10/12/354274630/seattle-swaps-columbus-day-for-indigenous-peoples-day" target="_blank">Seattle</a>, <a href="http://www.startribune.com/printarticle/?id=256705191" target="_blank">Minneapolis</a>, <a href="http://www.adn.com/afn-coverage/article/berkowitz-renames-columbus-day-anchorage/2015/10/12/" target="_blank">Anchorage</a>, <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/06/07/cambridge-city-council-changes-columbus-day-indigenous-peoples-day/S0L7u5r3pLxjSdWee4qGpJ/story.html" target="_blank">Cambridge</a>, <a href="http://www.kgw.com/news/local/portland-celebrates-indigenous-peoples-day_20151123112329581/153224" target="_blank">Portland</a>, among others (Update: <a href="https://www.boston.gov/news/mayor-janey-establishes-indigenous-peoples-day-boston">Boston</a> officially started celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day in 2021). I teach in Massachusetts, where Indigenous people first held the <a href="http://plymouth.wickedlocal.com/article/20141126/news/141127255" target="_blank">National Day of Mourning</a> on Thanksgiving 1970 to protest the genocide, land theft, and cultural destruction of Native peoples (which <a href="http://www.uaine.org/" target="_blank">continues to be held here each year</a>). While some <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2014/1013/Is-Indigenous-Peoples-Day-a-long-overdue-change-or-political-correctness-run-amok-video" target="_blank">dismiss these movements as "political correctness,"</a> I argue that they instead challenge all of us to critically evaluate the impact of Columbus' voyage on the Americas and its first nations (for more on this, perhaps no one has expressed it better than <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-02-26/news/0102260163_1_pilgrims-american-indian-activist-mr-james" target="_blank">Wamsutta Frank B. James</a> in his <a href="http://www.uaine.org/suppressed_speech.htm" target="_blank">Suppressed Thanksgiving Speech</a>). In the spirit of Indigenous Peoples' Day, I begin this post with two anecdotes from my teaching, followed by ways that we can use the Columbus Day holiday to teach modern day Native activism and resistance. <br />
</p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdjJkrY1iJYeU1rG9tskhFI0GDdn11WUAxxCi3Ovet4BsRIYVqol910jl0BxXrjv4gtrnAgWK6DBekHKvwzQhypCxuk5TMFJY1hwicf9h8yZXvmPnxrG19KIJwPVayzyblJo8WhvY7tA/s1023/Columbus-Didnt-Discover-America.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="1023" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdjJkrY1iJYeU1rG9tskhFI0GDdn11WUAxxCi3Ovet4BsRIYVqol910jl0BxXrjv4gtrnAgWK6DBekHKvwzQhypCxuk5TMFJY1hwicf9h8yZXvmPnxrG19KIJwPVayzyblJo8WhvY7tA/s320/Columbus-Didnt-Discover-America.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></p><p>
Almost ten years ago, when I was a high school social studies teacher, I was teaching about the westward expansion of Whites (perhaps better described as an invasion from the east) in my U.S. history class. The students were learning about <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/stories/articles/2015/05/25/american-indian-reservations/" target="_blank">forced reservations</a>, the <a href="https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=50" target="_blank">Dawes Act</a>, and <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16516865" target="_blank">Indian</a> <a href="http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/marr.html" target="_blank">boarding schools</a> (including the <a href="http://www.civilrightsteaching.org/Handouts/EachSchoolHadaGraveyard.pdf" target="_blank">notorious Carlisle Indian Industrial School</a>). A student raised her hand and asked, "Why are there no longer Indians in America?" I paused for a second, and just before I began to speak, a classmate of hers said, "My father is a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag. There is a pow wow every summer on Cape Cod. There are definitely still Indians here." I wish that my student did not have to explain that her to classmate. I can only imagine how many times she had heard that question before. This was certainly not the last time that I was asked that question by a student. <br /></p><p>More recently, I was teaching a history methods course to future social studies teachers (many of whom are earning or have earned bachelor degrees in history). My students were participating in a lesson where we critically evaluate chapters on the "Closing the Frontier," which are typical in U.S. history textbooks. I then introduced an activity that they could use with their students to rewrite the textbook. At the conclusion of the activity, I told my students about the time that one of my students asked why there were no longer Indians in the United States and her classmate's response. I then asked students where in the U.S. history curriculum they stopped learning about Indigenous people. Most responded that it ended with the <a href="http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/knee.htm" target="_blank">Battle of Wounded Knee</a> (what is most appropriately called the <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/01/01/truth-about-wounded-knee-massacre-162923" target="_blank">Wounded Knee Massacre</a>). I then asked how many students had heard of the <a href="https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/sets/the-american-indian-movement-1968-1978/" target="_blank">American Indian Movement</a>, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/alca/learn/historyculture/we-hold-the-rock.htm" target="_blank">Occupation of Alcatraz</a>, the <a href="http://todayinclh.com/?event=native-americans-protest-at-plymouth-rock" target="_blank">protests at Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II</a>, the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/the_films/episode_5_trailer" target="_blank">Second Battle at Wounded Knee</a>, or the <a href="https://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/timeline/546.html" target="_blank">Longest March</a>. Very few hands went up.<br />
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The problem is that we teach Indigenous history in a way that makes non-Indigenous students think Indigenous people ceased to exist after 1890 (the date of the Wounded Knee Massacre). As social studies teachers, we need to re-position Native people as modern day activists and resistors. We need to use <a href="http://edr.sagepub.com/content/41/3/93.abstract" target="_blank">culturally</a> <a href="http://hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-84-number-1/herarticle/what-are-we-seeking-to-sustain-through-culturally" target="_blank">sustaining</a> <a href="http://hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-84-number-1/herarticle/culturally-relevant-pedagogy-2-0" target="_blank">pedagogy</a> (for what that may look like in a Native context, <a href="https://www.hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-84-number-1/herarticle/critical-culturally-sustaining-revitalizing-pedago" target="_blank">see here</a>) and we need to bring the teaching of Native history into the 20th and 21st centuries. <br />
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Below are five ways that teachers can use this week to highlight present day Indigenous activism and resistance. They position Native people as freedom fighters, rather than victims, and highlight the important present day contributions of the first people.<br />
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<b>1. Native Voters and the 2016 Election</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQrwfUE9HKK_AAOv3EDmPOVnu4s2IE1XkxHVSk9pEEvhZYphZ4kazXrAWT9jhbkp_5l3AZiEOuaOeWmfOurJDmd6GFMXJDA412TpFMPhpZEaZRmvdr7OEJdTelBOoXKZrBoUmvuARKS4/s1600/BernieMeskwaki.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQrwfUE9HKK_AAOv3EDmPOVnu4s2IE1XkxHVSk9pEEvhZYphZ4kazXrAWT9jhbkp_5l3AZiEOuaOeWmfOurJDmd6GFMXJDA412TpFMPhpZEaZRmvdr7OEJdTelBOoXKZrBoUmvuARKS4/s320/BernieMeskwaki.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Above: </i><i>A Bernie Sanders campaign event at the Meskwaki Nation Settlement near Tama, Iowa.
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Several news outlets have highlighted that with new swing states emerging in the 2016 election (i.e. Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Iowa), that Native voters may receive more attention from the presidential candidates. NPR recently ran <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/10/04/496508375/for-a-navajo-voter-in-arizona-environment-jobs-are-top-concerns" target="_blank">this story about politics among members of the Navajo nation</a>. <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bernie-sanders-native-americans/story?id=39142159" target="_blank">In the primaries</a>, <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/03/18/only-presidential-candidate-makes-indian-country-priority-native-people-feeling-bern" target="_blank">Bernie Sanders campaigned on numerous reservations</a>. Teachers should consider using stories like these to help students learn what issues are most important for Indigenous people living on and off (<a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb12-ff22.html" target="_blank">only 22% of Native people live on reservations</a>, with 60% living in metropolitan areas) the reservation today.<br />
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<b>2. Indian Mascots Protests </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLvYcLsy9-fPMEilEahtcmXg_CTDjUTbem-bNN41RLphWVi6KWQupd-e9x1YGTD11d9PusZ-8ZxRDnLt-7W7RvmdIpH7dzxbBvdN1AxlcGtB35ByY-1tAe5WurCPj9R1ZOvhXCmP6Y3c/s1600/ClevelandIndians.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLvYcLsy9-fPMEilEahtcmXg_CTDjUTbem-bNN41RLphWVi6KWQupd-e9x1YGTD11d9PusZ-8ZxRDnLt-7W7RvmdIpH7dzxbBvdN1AxlcGtB35ByY-1tAe5WurCPj9R1ZOvhXCmP6Y3c/s320/ClevelandIndians.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4EatlKNHGrArLrcgIQ5HzLt1NQr-IKK8Som1KHjxGmboZEv5JMCZwsnU5gV48E4tBSG4G_oJP9Md0nsJy0X2Z26Iz-awMM1V784nOpsJ1WpFWiMfYE69gaSeMA4WvkaAatPrpLImTNs/s1600/RedSkins.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4EatlKNHGrArLrcgIQ5HzLt1NQr-IKK8Som1KHjxGmboZEv5JMCZwsnU5gV48E4tBSG4G_oJP9Md0nsJy0X2Z26Iz-awMM1V784nOpsJ1WpFWiMfYE69gaSeMA4WvkaAatPrpLImTNs/s320/RedSkins.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Above and Below: Images from recent Indian mascot protests in Cleveland and Washington, D.C. and a political cartoon on the topic.</i><br />
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Over the past decades, there have been several attempts to get professional, collegiate, and high school sports teams to stop using Indians as their mascots. This includes campaigns against the Cleveland Indians Washington Redskins, and Atlanta Braves, who may have the most offensive logos, names, and chants (i.e. <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/09/28/war-chant-and-tomahawk-chop-seminoles-republicans-braves-diddy-and-40-foot-cow-136321" target="_blank">the tomahawk chop</a>) of any sports teams (take a look at this video of a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/clevelands-chief-wahoo-why-the-most-offensive-image-in-sports-has-yet-to-die/2016/08/09/245156c6-58e6-11e6-9aee-8075993d73a2_story.html" target="_blank">dispute between a fan and protester</a> that made national news or this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loK2DRBnk24" target="_blank">comedic commentary from the Daily Show</a>). In 2005, the <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/" target="_blank">NCAA</a>, which governs collegiate sports issued a <a href="http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/PressArchive/2005/Announcements/NCAA%2BExecutive%2BCommittee%2BIssues%2BGuidelines%2Bfor%2BUse%2Bof%2BNative%2BAmerican%2BMascots%2Bat%2BChampionship%2BEvents.html" target="_blank">policy banning offensive nicknames</a> with particular concern for Native American mascots. However, professional sports leagues and many statewide high school athletic associations have not adopted similar policies. For instance, here in Massachusetts, <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/untagged/2015/05/20/its-2015-why-do-40-mass-high-schools-still-have-native-american-mascots" target="_blank">40 high schools still have Indian mascots</a>. Teachers should consider using the Indian mascot controversies, as a way to help students critically evaluate depictions of Native people in the media. While sports teams may be a starting point, the best lessons would also examine the depiction of Native culture and people in <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/509019" target="_blank">consumer</a> <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/06/29/10-racist-advertisements-featuring-native-americans-160897" target="_blank">products</a> and <a href="http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/reel-injun/" target="_blank">Hollywood films</a>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRif49UL25Hh1pikvYtTCkffjdFu0vojlsfigLb45xV3h8fNnNjb16-ooC_Un6iYb6QwKo2CBHuO_e2z3mS107zUhgdSvt4AdmXyvT6YoEwvXU-nhArGYQHaImZzhbUpEipF7mwZirO_w/s1600/Mascots.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRif49UL25Hh1pikvYtTCkffjdFu0vojlsfigLb45xV3h8fNnNjb16-ooC_Un6iYb6QwKo2CBHuO_e2z3mS107zUhgdSvt4AdmXyvT6YoEwvXU-nhArGYQHaImZzhbUpEipF7mwZirO_w/s320/Mascots.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>3. Dakota Access Pipeline Protests</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhMASIgbHlbxJ3hOoYiSgCG5Ki6Itl1bgldKasuP1uizSxWBaY2XYLCytxsMR0qlJuoRIWIndyMb5D8w3ESuNJBXv4YU8qLHtRU86eu_VS7ysX6VbgpKiUimNRcbNSa7spm8dpHkdRHk/s1600/DakotaPipeline1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhMASIgbHlbxJ3hOoYiSgCG5Ki6Itl1bgldKasuP1uizSxWBaY2XYLCytxsMR0qlJuoRIWIndyMb5D8w3ESuNJBXv4YU8qLHtRU86eu_VS7ysX6VbgpKiUimNRcbNSa7spm8dpHkdRHk/s320/DakotaPipeline1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddmFCRjKcacU-4X3Q44oIbZ08MtpixbzxGSziceLuwErSpQkctC2FxCLDbsRolCkDKQUP3EIs6b6uCjNZ00XHig8DyypZNQMhB5L89WREjeRK7JUBpwjABJ4i4MSZyl01CJOhEO68dxs/s1600/DakotaPipeline2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddmFCRjKcacU-4X3Q44oIbZ08MtpixbzxGSziceLuwErSpQkctC2FxCLDbsRolCkDKQUP3EIs6b6uCjNZ00XHig8DyypZNQMhB5L89WREjeRK7JUBpwjABJ4i4MSZyl01CJOhEO68dxs/s320/DakotaPipeline2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Above and Below: Images from the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests</i> <br />
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The recent <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/showdown-over-oil-pipeline-becomes-a-national-movement-for-native-americans/2016/09/06/ea0cb042-7167-11e6-8533-6b0b0ded0253_story.html" target="_blank">Dakota Access Pipeline Protests</a> have joined Native and environmental activists. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been involved in a legal battle with the company building a crude oil pipeline near their reservation. Thousands of Native people have come from across the country to support the protest, which is attempting to prevent the disturbance of burial grounds and prevent the pollution of the reservation's water sources. Teachers should consider using this current events issue to teach not only about Indian land rights, the history of the U.S. government breaking treaties with Native people, but also the taking of land for government use via eminent domain.<br />
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<b>4. Politically Conscious Native Hip Hop </b><br />
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<i>Above: Hip hop artist Tall Paul</i><br />
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While hip hop has its roots in African American culture, in many ways it transcends race and has become a global music phenomenon. Moreover, hip hop has long been a medium to express political arguments. There are numerous Native hip hop artists who are using politically conscious lyrics to raise awareness of complex social issues faced by Indigenous people. Teachers should consider using Native hip hop to teach students about important issues on and off the reservation, including the preservation of Native languages, drug and alcohol abuse, and youth violence. Here are my five favorite artists:<br />
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Tall Paul (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe)<br />
Prayers in a Song: <a href="https://youtu.be/BlQJClNQDBo">https://youtu.be/BlQJClNQDBo</a><br />
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Naát'áaníí Nez Means (Navajo and Oglala Lakota)<br />
The Radical: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW7cLgozECc" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW7cLgozECc </a><br />
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Frank Waln (Sicangu Lakota)<br />
AbOriginal: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_1fmbKCMmY" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_1fmbKCMmY </a><br />
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Drezus (Plains Cree) <br />
Warpath: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Cy1Knyu6A" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Cy1Knyu6A </a><br />
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Supaman (Apsaalooke Crow)<br />
Somewhere: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3JMKF_tXKQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3JMKF_tXKQ</a><br />
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<b>5. Pow Wows</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5I49PA7_HAVFhD6BD_I9VvnlX55A78ZmkOTF5JeL639ToEJQZrRJoRwXxrKVSzhHXjRuhUdDJo62yo4E0gICfx1svphNbkajs_kfqwjDo8A9m_QHDyU5Z021ZG0MkLaqGcFNpSNd1gOc/s1600/MashpeePowWow1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5I49PA7_HAVFhD6BD_I9VvnlX55A78ZmkOTF5JeL639ToEJQZrRJoRwXxrKVSzhHXjRuhUdDJo62yo4E0gICfx1svphNbkajs_kfqwjDo8A9m_QHDyU5Z021ZG0MkLaqGcFNpSNd1gOc/s320/MashpeePowWow1.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdE-1R0BAmjWLjNSAaKhRpwnZechWb3M48SYQksvNH630iyrp4EcomrqRCGh6jzWZ0jpBM3xZVDn6nadgnRwGLa4JBA2AmeY-FJ6PKxSWhiJCxVx5G2Not2m7y_W9C1yTfTQsUA1sSQg/s1600/MashpeePowWow2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdE-1R0BAmjWLjNSAaKhRpwnZechWb3M48SYQksvNH630iyrp4EcomrqRCGh6jzWZ0jpBM3xZVDn6nadgnRwGLa4JBA2AmeY-FJ6PKxSWhiJCxVx5G2Not2m7y_W9C1yTfTQsUA1sSQg/s320/MashpeePowWow2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Above and Below: The Mashpee Wamponoag Pow Wow, held every July in Falmouth, Massachusetts; The Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico. </i> <br />
<br />
Pow wows have deep cultural importance within many Native communities. They are spaces for Indigenous people to honor their culture through a social gathering of dance and music. They often involve hundreds or even thousands of dancers, drummers, and singers (for more, the University of Washington offers a <a href="https://artsci.washington.edu/news/2006-07/pow-wow-primer" target="_blank">pow wow primer here</a>). In Massachusetts, one of the largest is the <a href="http://www.mashpeewampanoagtribe.com/powwow" target="_blank">Mashpee Wampanoag Pow Wow</a> on Fourth of July weekend. The <a href="http://www.gatheringofnations.com/" target="_blank">Gathering of Nations</a> is the largest pow wow nationwide, with thousands of people attending each April in<span class="_Tgc _y9e"> Albuquerque, New Mexico</span>. Teachers should consider introducing students to the modern pow wow to help students unfamiliar with Indigenous culture see an important way that Native people are preserving and teaching their Native heritage to the next generations, which may also help non-Native students draw comparisons between this cultural celebration and some of their own.<br />
<br />
While teaching cultural traditions, like the pow wow, it is especially important that social studies teachers acknowledge the diversity of the Native people of the Americas. There are over 500 different Indigenous nations with diverse languages and cultures. Imagine teaching about European historical events, such as the French
Revolution or World War II, and only using "Europeans" to describe the
people involved. Teaching Native people as monolithic is tantamount to that, removing important distinctions, including histories and cultural differences, between this continent's Indigenous peoples. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyWCxtN2LOKdBKZu4OMgkyvGquErpT_Db2wdEUdfM0OVMPM9Ufqts3X3XHdwM76rkKukXLeQqm0TP4vHHoFTcwoSJTJeRtl22iKDmV9Np8KUa2aVvuCRown-WHLIvO77r5lS-L6oyBEs/s1600/GatheringOfNations.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyWCxtN2LOKdBKZu4OMgkyvGquErpT_Db2wdEUdfM0OVMPM9Ufqts3X3XHdwM76rkKukXLeQqm0TP4vHHoFTcwoSJTJeRtl22iKDmV9Np8KUa2aVvuCRown-WHLIvO77r5lS-L6oyBEs/s320/GatheringOfNations.png" width="320" /></a> </div>
<br />
For more teaching resources on Native history, check out the PBS American Experience documentary and companion website: <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/" target="_blank">We Shall Remain</a><br />
<br />Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-75580093019361112832016-09-13T18:11:00.002-07:002016-12-19T10:57:27.747-08:00Why I Am Voting No on 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJt2Yp1PJi-AsSdY90O5gJdWWHVp7cITx9CvBLEqsGGkZvhibeUUNkaq_Dq0ohqnuXjjZVsLuUc45ZpBhSg6hBBm1MxZuxLq_WtXVjhuU631WT9cHvijR6ldX2jDVEQCDB4jRhFkBl0_k/s1600/Kenny.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJt2Yp1PJi-AsSdY90O5gJdWWHVp7cITx9CvBLEqsGGkZvhibeUUNkaq_Dq0ohqnuXjjZVsLuUc45ZpBhSg6hBBm1MxZuxLq_WtXVjhuU631WT9cHvijR6ldX2jDVEQCDB4jRhFkBl0_k/s320/Kenny.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP95d6acja_kYD51QEgkA2Hm6TZHnAKpIU-HaQMgVE8Bt-nL9PGI0XH3jJb2pVwVgCzlQ1EgjeFZGj3FQqVRwgbvGUQ_Og99S_J8vq-O3EZogOh-yhyXoE4_uxQZt6LyYoseiv6n0-1ec/s1600/Brooke.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP95d6acja_kYD51QEgkA2Hm6TZHnAKpIU-HaQMgVE8Bt-nL9PGI0XH3jJb2pVwVgCzlQ1EgjeFZGj3FQqVRwgbvGUQ_Og99S_J8vq-O3EZogOh-yhyXoE4_uxQZt6LyYoseiv6n0-1ec/s320/Brooke.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
This is not a post about the merits of charter schools. Just
like their public school peers, some charter schools provide an excellent
education, while others are failing their students. The reality is
that <a href="http://credo.stanford.edu/documents/NCSS%202013%20Executive%20Summary.pdf" target="_blank">charter school students perform equal or worse on standardized tests than their peers in the public schools</a>. In Boston, while <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/09/21/new-boston-charter-schools-yield-high-mcas-scores/oPFnMjAHXJLVZ0ziUYCrnL/story.html" target="_blank">charter school students perform better on state standardized tests</a>, their public
school peers <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/01/20/graduates-boston-city-run-high-schools-top-charter-school-peers-college-completion-rates/NXYEKQuTO16dFzrBtuZNnI/story.html" target="_blank">are more likely to graduate college</a>. Overall, Massachusetts has <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/05/what-are-massachusetts-public-schools-doing-right/483935/" target="_blank">the nation’s best public education system</a>, which is something we should be very
proud of, but also something we must carefully protect.<br />
<br />
Instead, this post is focused specifically on the upcoming Ballot
<a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Authorization_of_Additional_Charter_Schools_and_Charter_School_Expansion,_Question_2_%282016%29" target="_blank">Question 2</a> in Massachusetts. If this question passes, it would remove the current statewide
cap on charter schools and allow up to 12 new Massachusetts charter schools every
year. If it does not pass, the state legislature will continue to decide how
many new charter schools can open in the future. Considering all of the
negative consequences of the ballot question at hand, I am using this post to
discuss the five reasons why I will be voting <b>NO</b> on Question 2 during this November’s election.<br />
<br />
1. <b>This ballot
question will decrease funding for traditional public schools.</b> Despite the
“Yes on 1” campaign’s claims in <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/04/pro-charter-effort-begins-massive-campaign/w7eMcXkfKHgIvr5LaArR2H/story.html" target="_blank">television commercials</a> that voting yes will result in “more funding for public
education,” there is no evidence that this is true, especially since <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/01/21/boston-school-department-contends-with-shrinking-state-aid/57vvJ1wnLURr0MD34WdgmO/story.html" target="_blank">communities continue to receive less state educational aid</a>. Even the ballot question’s most
vocal supporter, Governor Charlie Baker <a href="http://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/392861/ocm04109606-2016-05-06.pdf" target="_blank">has stated that Questions 2 will not change the current school funding formula</a>.
Currently, more than $450 million yearly is being drawn from public school districts. With an increase of 12 charter schools per year (which according to this ballot
question can happen indefinitely), it could cost local school districts more than $1
billion annually within 10 years (which will not only present <a href="http://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2016/10/28/no-on-question-2-charter-schools-massachusetts-nancy-grossman" target="_blank">serious problems for urban communities' municipal budgets</a>, but also <a href="http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2016/11/02/moodys-credit-rating-question-2/" target="_blank">would hurt their credit ratings</a>).<br />
<br />
While charter schools are approved by the state, their funding
comes largely from <a href="http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/finance/tuition/" target="_blank">charter school tuition reimbursements</a> <a href="http://massteacher.org/chartermap" target="_blank">from public school districts</a> (<a href="http://www.massbudget.org/report_window.php?loc=Charter-School-Funding,-Explained.html" target="_blank">see here, for more on charter school funding</a>). Boston had a
<a href="http://bmrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SR16-2Charter.pdf" target="_blank">$158 million</a> charter school tuition assessment, which was 5% of the entire city
budget. If this question passes, it could lead to <a href="http://bmrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SR16-2Charter.pdf" target="_blank">almost all of Boston’s state education aid being diverted to charter schools</a>.
Moreover, there are other costs that local districts incur related to charter
schools, including <a href="http://www.massbudget.org/report_window.php?loc=Charter-School-Funding,-Explained.html" target="_blank">transportation</a>. Last year, Boston spent <a href="http://bmrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SR16-2Charter.pdf" target="_blank">$12 million</a>
on charter school busing, while the district has been dramatically <a href="http://www.wbur.org/news/2014/06/25/boston-middle-school-students-mbta" target="_blank">cutting</a>
its own students’ transportation (<a href="http://bostonpublicschools.org/cms/lib07/MA01906464/Centricity/Domain/184/FY15%20budget%20resources/2014-03-26%20Transportation%20memo%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">middle school students now use public transportation instead of buses</a> and the <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/01/27/new-school-assignment-plan-causes-some-confusion-among-parents/GLORWdD0zdw3SvkAdpnSfM/story.html" target="_blank">school assignment policy was changed</a> so more students would attend schools closer to
their homes. Boston charter schools also get <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/letters/2016/09/13/don-blame-teachers-union-extended-day-held-transit-issues/S2WrnEXFgw0BTNaAlinCoN/story.html" target="_blank">first pick of school start times</a>).<br />
<br />
2. <b>This ballot question will contribute
to growing educational inequity in Massachusetts.</b> In Massachusetts (and
nationwide), there is strong evidence that charter schools do not serve all
students. They typically have <a href="http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/enrollmentbygrade.aspx?year=2013&mode=district&Continue.x=6&Continue.y=7" target="_blank">higher student attrition rates</a> (which some attribute to charter schools <a href="http://www.cleweb.org/news-article/cles-comments-ma-charter-schools-recruitment-and-retention" target="_blank">“pushing” or consulting out students</a>) than public school districts. They <a href="http://www.cleweb.org/news-article/cles-comments-ma-charter-schools-recruitment-and-retention" target="_blank">serve smaller numbers</a> of <a href="https://credo.stanford.edu/documents/MAReportFinal_000.pdf" target="_blank">English language learners</a> and <a href="http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1374/1541" target="_blank">special</a>
<a href="https://credo.stanford.edu/documents/MAReportFinal_000.pdf" target="_blank">needs</a>
students. Their teachers <a href="http://www.doe.mass.edu/redesign/innovation/AutonomousComparison.docx" target="_blank">are not required to be licensed</a>. Their school policies are more likely to promote <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/09/19/why-no-excuses-charter-schools-mold-very-submissive-students-starting-in-kindergarten/" target="_blank">“no excuses” discipline procedures</a> that can be harmful to children (to
understand what this looks like, consider this <a href="http://learninglab.legacy.wbur.org/2016/03/09/what-discipline-looks-like-at-a-boston-school-with-325-suspensions/" target="_blank">in-district charter school</a> in Boston or these two <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/video/nyregion/100000004159212/success-academy-teacher-rip-and-redo-video.html" target="_blank">charter</a>
<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/padded-calm-down-room-causing-anxiety-kids-article-1.1543983#ixzz2nCXqbLiV" target="_blank">schools</a>
in New York). They are also <a href="https://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/choice-without-equity-2009-report" target="_blank">contributing to an alarming trend of racial resegregation in schools nationwide</a>. It makes sense to correct these inequities before any major expansion of charter
schools occurs in Massachusetts.<br />
<br />
3. <b>This is about
privatizing public education.</b> This ballot question is being pushed by
well-funded special interest groups (who <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/19/the-checks-are-pouring-into-charter-fight-but-who-signing-them/eK01A6uECyWvgiDNXGqnqL/story.html" target="_blank">do not have to reveal</a> <a href="http://www.wbur.org/edify/2016/10/27/where-the-money-comes-from-in-the-fight-over-charter-schools" target="_blank">their donors</a> and many are from <a href="https://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/arkansas-residents-jim-and-alice-walton-pony-up-1835000-to-raise-charter-cap-in-massachusetts/" target="_blank">outside Massachusetts</a> with <a href="http://blogs.wgbh.org/masspoliticsprofs/2016/3/28/dark-state-farce-ocracy" target="_blank">no previous advocacy work for public education</a>), who would like to
see more private entities running public schools. Many of these special
interest groups are supported by <a href="http://blogs.wgbh.org/masspoliticsprofs/2016/7/15/great-schools-or-great-scheme/" target="_blank">wealthy families</a> (who do not typically have children in the public schools) and <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/09/13/big-money-from-boston-business-leaders-favor-charter-schools/iE5LrqvZwlE4ZRI0LN1nUN/story.html" target="_blank">investors</a>
(who <a href="http://blogs.wgbh.org/masspoliticsprofs/2016/7/15/great-schools-or-great-scheme/" target="_blank">profit from investments</a> in charter school companies and other attempts to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/07/14/why-the-movement-to-privatize-public-education-is-a-very-bad-idea/" target="_blank">privatize public education</a>). If you believe that public education is essential for
democracy, then this should raise serious concerns.<br />
<br />
4. <b>This ballot question does not correct
problems with charter school governance. </b>While a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/07/22/say-this-not-that-a-slick-pr-guide-to-selling-charter-schools-by-key-charter-group/" target="_blank">marketing campaign</a> pushed the use of “public charter schools” among charter schools in
2014, in court, charter schools often argue they are “private” when it comes to
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/08/30/national-labor-relations-board-decides-charter-schools-are-private-corporations-not-public-schools/" target="_blank">open-records, open meeting, and labor laws</a>. The best label for charter schools is
probably quasi-public schools, since they receive public funding and are
approved and regulated by the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education (<a href="http://www.mass.gov/auditor/docs/audits/2014/201351533c.pdf" target="_blank">although there is little oversight by the state and charter schools are rarely closed</a>), but are privately managed. Unlike public schools in Massachusetts, which have democratically
elected school committees that govern and set policy (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/06/us/boston-votes-to-abolish-school-board.html" target="_blank">except Boston</a>, which is appointed by the mayor, who is democratically elected),
charter schools have <a href="http://annenberginstitute.org/publications/whose-schools" target="_blank">private boards</a>
(usually <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/30/executives-outnumber-parents-mass-charter-school-boards-study-shows/a8Ti6eSWR2CErZNL6NNG5L/story.html" target="_blank">composed of business and political leaders, and rarely parents or students</a>). Many
charter schools are often run by educational companies and chains, which have much
<a href="http://prospect.org/article/great-diversion-0" target="_blank">higher management costs</a>
(and sometimes by <a href="https://www.wested.org/online_pubs/PP-03-02.pdf" target="_blank">EMOs</a>
that are <a href="http://aftma.net/2012/02/for-profit-charter-threatens-progress-in-lowell/" target="_blank">for-profit</a>).
Moreover, local school boards have no authority (and usually little
communication) with the charter schools in their cities or towns.
<br />
<br />
5. <b>This ballot question moves the role
of charter schools from “labs for educational innovation” into “replacement for
traditional public schools.”</b> The cap on charter schools was <a href="http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2016/08/28/charter-schools-debate/" target="_blank">lifted in the early 2000s from the original legislation allowing 25 to 120</a> (however,
<a href="http://www.doe.mass.edu/research/reports/2016/02CharterReport.pdf" target="_blank">the state has only approved 81</a> so far, so there is still room for 39 more under
the current law) and charter schools <a href="http://www.northeastern.edu/law/pdfs/academics/phrge/charter-school-cap-fact-sheet.pdf" target="_blank">serve about 4% of the state’s students</a> (Boston has <a href="http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2016/08/28/charter-schools-debate/" target="_blank">27 charter schools</a> educating <a href="http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2016/08/28/charter-schools-debate/" target="_blank">14% of its student population</a>). This legislation would result in as many as
60 new charter schools statewide in just 5 years and possibly 120 in 10 years. If
charter schools are labs of innovation, then they should remain a relatively
small number of the publicly supported schools. If there are great ideas being
developed in charter schools, then bring those over to the public schools, not
replace them (however, the state <a href="http://www.mass.gov/auditor/docs/audits/2014/201351533c.pdf" target="_blank">has not developed adequate practices around the sharing of practices</a> between public
schools and charter schools, which seems to be a major problem if charter
schools are actually labs for educational innovation). This ballot question may
be the tipping point that could <a href="http://www.northeastern.edu/law/pdfs/academics/phrge/charter-school-cap-fact-sheet.pdf" target="_blank">destabilize public school districts</a> which raises concerns about the overall utility of charter schools.<br />
<br />
I am writing this post, not because I have an ideological
opposition to charter schools, but because I care deeply about public education.
As a teacher educator, I work with many future and current teachers, who will
work in public schools, charter schools, and private schools. As a former
teacher, who worked in public and private schools (and my wife is a public
school teacher who previously worked in a charter school), I know that
different students flourish in different school contexts. I am also a parent
who lives in the <a href="https://www.boston.gov/neighborhood/dorchester" target="_blank">Dorchester</a>
neighborhood of Boston with a child attending our neighborhood public school. I am very happy with my child's school, but I can understand why some of our friends
and other parents in our community choose to send their children to charter or
private schools. I deeply respect parents’ rights to choose the educational
setting that is best for their children. Furthermore, there is
much to like about the original idea of charter schools conceived by <a href="https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/obituary-ray-budde-taught-school-education" target="_blank">Ray Budde</a> at UMass Amherst (my alma mater) and <a href="http://www.uft.org/who-we-are/history/albert-shanker" target="_blank">Albert Shanker</a>
(the former head of the American Federation of Teachers), who envisioned charter
schools as <a href="http://www.aft.org/ae/winter2014-2015/kahlenberg_potter" target="_blank">teacher-led educational laboratories</a> to experiment with new types of pedagogy and
curriculum. The idea of improving teaching and learning, and teacher empowerment,
is at the heart of my work.<br />
<br />
The movements to profit from and privatize public education
have clouded the original vision of charter schools. This may be the reason why
the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/08/07/naacp-members-call-for-ban-on-privately-managed-charter-schools/" target="_blank">National NAACP</a>, <a href="https://www.boston.com/news/education/2016/01/28/citing-harm-that-charter-schools-cause-naacp-and-mass-lawyers-committee-will-intervene-in-charter-cap-lawsuit" target="_blank">New England NAACP</a>, <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/08/the-ambitious-education-plan-of-the-black-lives-matter-movement/494711/" target="_blank">Black Lives Matter Movement</a>, the <a href="https://saveourpublicschoolsma.com/massachusetts-pta-opposes-question-2/" target="_blank">Massachusetts Parent Teacher Association</a>, <a href="https://www.mma.org/local-aid-and-finance/16803-mma-board-votes-to-oppose-charter-school-question" target="_blank">Massachusetts Municipal Association</a>, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/07/12/democrats-make-key-education-revisions-to-2016-platform-and-a-key-reformer-is-furious/" target="_blank">National Democratic Party</a> (who has generally supported charter school expansion),
the <a href="http://www.wbur.org/edify/2016/08/17/mass-democrats-charter-school" target="_blank">Massachusetts Democratic Party</a>, and numerous <a href="http://commonwealthmagazine.org/education/why-question-2-grassroots-opposition-is-growing/" target="_blank">local officials across Massachusetts</a>, including the <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/03/city-council-votes-oppose-charter-school-ballot-measure/YniCzkLlsI5yvUeOBiG7UI/story.html" target="_blank">Boston City Council</a> and the mayor of Boston (who is a vocal supporter of charter schools),
have changed their stances on charter school expansion. Even Comedian
John Oliver recently made this humorous commentary on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_htSPGAY7I" target="_blank">"This Week Tonight<span style="font-family: inherit;">"</span></a> and, despite
<a href="http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2016/04/07/polls-show-support-for-charters/" target="_blank">early voter support for Question 2</a>, there appears to be <a href="http://www.wbur.org/politicker/2016/09/13/wbur-ballot-question-poll" target="_blank">lessening of support recently</a> for changing the current charter school law.<br />
<br />
If this ballot question passes, it would have a devastating
impact on our local public school districts. It would continue to weaken traditional
public schools, which serve 96% of the state’s students. This ballot question
will possibly lead to a two-tiered education system in Massachusetts, with the negative impacts exacerbated in our urban communities. Conversely, if this ballot question fails to pass, charter schools
will continue to be an option for Massachusetts’ families and there will be
undoubtedly more charter school seats in the coming years (since the state has still
not reached its legislative maximum, with the <a href="http://www.masscharterschools.org/media/news/room-under-current-caps-public-charter-schools" target="_blank">exception of a few districts</a>).<br />
<br />
Voting "no" on Question 2 allows for more time to be thoughtful in our approach to charter
school expansion within our public school system.<br />
<br />
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Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-37646295054267495772016-01-28T20:34:00.003-08:002022-09-04T15:48:42.492-07:00Teaching the Intersection of Race and Labor<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAAKphZdn1Pe-htAcfg2mTeOdEBRfQVmOs5KI1dRQXijBZxYJ2c2WR7MWVY04_uTYXtxcQmRCw4cQpwm5NTlHuBgBGz0bLdJqocPQK07MdPY-xiM53jSh3TuIhcCioBey_rqD38gVXpc/s320/da_brotherhood-1.jpg" width="320" />
</div>
<br />
Labor history is often missing from the U.S. history curriculum. For example, here in Massachusetts, <a href="http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/hss/final.pdf" target="_blank">the History and Social Science Framework</a> includes only a few labor history topics (i.e. the formation of labor unions, progressive era reforms, 1919 Boston police strike, and New Deal work programs). When labor
history is included, events that highlight the intersection of workers rights and racial inequity are often missing. For instance, A. Philip Randolph is the only historical figure in our state's high school social studies standards, and my suspicion is that he is also rarely included, or at best a fleeting mention, in most U.S. history classrooms.<br />
<br />
In this post, I offer 10 people and events that can be used to help students investigate the intersection of race and labor with links to websites that provide teachers with related
primary sources.<br />
<br />
1. Frank Ferrell, The Knights of Labor, and Racial Exclusion<br />
<br />
<img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLANQGRiSIEjYcD8jG1H3fiuJKDrghUXkI9rSLASrz5gh33SzqEvmVbGKqinlE2HSzogHk6ZMlXFfCFH3W40maLluW88SO_mwkjGK2MQGR72uURZQSQL8PZ1wtWgrIgOslRX4vduLx44/s200/Ferrell-introduces-Powderly2.jpg" width="193" /><br />
<br />
A major controversy
erupted at the 1886 Convention of the Knights of Labor over whether or not Frank Ferrell, a black representative of
the Knights of Labor in New York City, should
introduce the governor of Virginia at the opening session. This is an <a href="http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/44/" target="_blank">excerpt from Knights of Labor leader Terence Powderly’s 1890 autobiography</a> detailing the tense moments leading up to Frank Ferrell’s
appearance.<br />
<br />
2. A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car
Porters<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTIqYwHH3oOQINgwPB67kChWNVZaJYiUcMjLt4l-wJdOpA1iaet1lUcaz5DMgLh01KGcjq-vngCFt11CmJTKUmeQgvZFZlTvi5bebWl8uWyIQPcT4a1PpWcWvBxg7-QFYwO18dlSsR6o/s1600/A+Philip+Randolph+during+the+August+1963+March+on+Washington.gif"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTIqYwHH3oOQINgwPB67kChWNVZaJYiUcMjLt4l-wJdOpA1iaet1lUcaz5DMgLh01KGcjq-vngCFt11CmJTKUmeQgvZFZlTvi5bebWl8uWyIQPcT4a1PpWcWvBxg7-QFYwO18dlSsR6o/s200/A+Philip+Randolph+during+the+August+1963+March+on+Washington.gif" width="138" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2M5_7UYNU65s68wb0GXfG0cYzAv7z46GFEdxq1IoH9QKsMvJPBvAfVuQEDMXxzu0k30B_C_zR_g4f6VzBa29IfgTxtLgCUVD1PsyCFxtwAEmxXrEPelZfvtocH7bseJBkwc0s-ANncE/s1600/brotherhood.jpg"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2M5_7UYNU65s68wb0GXfG0cYzAv7z46GFEdxq1IoH9QKsMvJPBvAfVuQEDMXxzu0k30B_C_zR_g4f6VzBa29IfgTxtLgCUVD1PsyCFxtwAEmxXrEPelZfvtocH7bseJBkwc0s-ANncE/s320/brotherhood.jpg" width="320" /> </a><br />
<br />
In the 1920s, a group of disgruntled Pullman porters in New York City
asked <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_people_randolph.html" target="_blank">A. Philip Randolph</a>, a strong
advocate of the rights of black working men and women, to help them form a <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_org_brother.html" target="_blank">union of sleeping car porters and maids</a>. George Pullman, president of the railroad company, fought the union, denounced Randolph as a communist and
recruited support from the middle-class Black leaders of the Chicago. The Brotherhood was the verge of collapsing when Congress passed
federal laws guaranteeing the right of all legitimate unions to organize
workers without interference from their employers. Much of Randolph's philosophies on labor and politics was outline in this <a href="http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5125/" target="_blank">1919 editorial "Our Reason for Being" in <i>The Messenger</i></a>.<br />
<br />
3. East St. Louis Massacre of 1917<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBH6oziZwysNTgQGTCi-NdAF4KYr2GbkOU3VWxwxR1ATtTVJk7w58tj2GInnaiWwJffRV07hMXyjaeJLky07M0KDOv4P6nPoEoXTw_cDZJqI7NeYjmhsnQbG-Ks6m08ydQSVWlsKitUB4/s1600/image039.jpg"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBH6oziZwysNTgQGTCi-NdAF4KYr2GbkOU3VWxwxR1ATtTVJk7w58tj2GInnaiWwJffRV07hMXyjaeJLky07M0KDOv4P6nPoEoXTw_cDZJqI7NeYjmhsnQbG-Ks6m08ydQSVWlsKitUB4/s320/image039.jpg" width="320" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrVezCkCZm-BUvZwTISMN0qGVNKjYcnpHtqNWVpr05kYrtEM5eVhydOPFH1REhOZeC6klAAoFlW_vg5xOl_nkpM2Sc81M-eUV0Kkoz3J7wJpixyuq7a_pijOGawpqzbCeT3e7l-RRWO8/s1600/Ind_Lens_american_denial-04-press.jpg"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrVezCkCZm-BUvZwTISMN0qGVNKjYcnpHtqNWVpr05kYrtEM5eVhydOPFH1REhOZeC6klAAoFlW_vg5xOl_nkpM2Sc81M-eUV0Kkoz3J7wJpixyuq7a_pijOGawpqzbCeT3e7l-RRWO8/s320/Ind_Lens_american_denial-04-press.jpg" width="320" /> </a><br />
<br />
In the early 20th century, many southern African Americans sought job opportunities in northern factory towns during the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_migration.html" target="_blank">Great Migration.</a> The migration quickly expanded the size of the Black community in the St. Louis area, including East St. Louis, Illinois. On July 1, 1917, a rumor spread claiming that a White man had been
killed by a Black man, and tensions boiled over. The next day, the city
of <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/garvey/peopleevents/e_estlouis.html" target="_blank">East St. Louis exploded in the worst racial rioting</a> the country had
ever seen. Most of the violence - drive-by shootings, beatings, and
arson - targeted the African American community. The riots, called the East St. Louis Massacre by many in the Black community, raged for
nearly a week, leaving hundreds of African Americans and nine Whites dead, and $400,000 worth in property damage. More than six
thousand Black citizens, fearing for their lives, fled the city. Several prominent Black civil rights activists spoke out against the riots, including this editorial by <a href="http://americainclass.org/sources/becomingmodern/divisions/text2/duboisstlouis.pdf" target="_blank">W.E.B. Du Bois</a> and speech by <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/garvey/filmmore/ps_riots.html" target="_blank">Marcus Garvey</a>.<br />
<br />
4. The Bracero Program<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj65PzZ8fdv4wG5IUcEoSWM9Ierd15fGaIWw2W5nGpAER8SdCe2s5qtSEJOFqwJlNujhIlUwovAUHLCPEZrbRLcmuhvrhNATY4dGoTLPJZXcMfJwW5rBOT4MW8ZVJ-8IshKYNf6Vty5B80/s1600/Braceros-in-the-field.jpg"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj65PzZ8fdv4wG5IUcEoSWM9Ierd15fGaIWw2W5nGpAER8SdCe2s5qtSEJOFqwJlNujhIlUwovAUHLCPEZrbRLcmuhvrhNATY4dGoTLPJZXcMfJwW5rBOT4MW8ZVJ-8IshKYNf6Vty5B80/s400/Braceros-in-the-field.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_wopQe1TCggEMgqNlrEZD5KanI9zqLdqjqwK5wa-761KZqAPVG5dOLwgrgzOi_VDxZ3U8Ec7QrK7hbO-j4UnPoo8Wq40lkVCeS5vJzNu1JKedZcVjz6ktZA6N6hUBcvjbX_HJT5tIDY/s1600/tumblr_mjs9s2vr0Z1qaz9lto1_500.jpg"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_wopQe1TCggEMgqNlrEZD5KanI9zqLdqjqwK5wa-761KZqAPVG5dOLwgrgzOi_VDxZ3U8Ec7QrK7hbO-j4UnPoo8Wq40lkVCeS5vJzNu1JKedZcVjz6ktZA6N6hUBcvjbX_HJT5tIDY/s200/tumblr_mjs9s2vr0Z1qaz9lto1_500.jpg" width="142" /></a><br />
<br />
The <a href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/file-uploader/Bracero%20Historical%20Investigation.pdf" target="_blank">Bracero Program</a> (translated as "One who works with his arms") lasted from 1942 to 1964 and allowed Mexicans to
take temporary agricultural work in the United States. 4.5 million Mexican farmers came and worked primarily on the West Coast and Southwest. Several groups concerned over the exploitation of Bracero workers
tried to repeal the program. As part of this protest, Leonard Nadel took these <a href="http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_51_5.html" target="_blank">photographs of Bracero workers</a> in 1956.<br />
<br />
5. Operation Bootstrap/Operación Manos a la Obra<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkRRHKMD4VAelIkoTy6J8I__3mdg7gkthD6HOzkSDOKVFH2e8e2NAdKQWXtsHd3k1bh_n9wwLLqstwXoorbqr-qxDa04UA8og594nqtsDICAh594cKWIYbmCC4W57zAV4Jwvhs7YbAr0/s1600/IV+AHMP+Office+Of+The+Migration+DivisionP.79.jpg"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkRRHKMD4VAelIkoTy6J8I__3mdg7gkthD6HOzkSDOKVFH2e8e2NAdKQWXtsHd3k1bh_n9wwLLqstwXoorbqr-qxDa04UA8og594nqtsDICAh594cKWIYbmCC4W57zAV4Jwvhs7YbAr0/s320/IV+AHMP+Office+Of+The+Migration+DivisionP.79.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
In 1948, Puerto Rico elected its first governor Luis Muñoz Marín who favored manufacturing as a means to developing the island's economy. As a result, the U.S. government launched an industrialization program
known as “<a href="http://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/education/puerto-rican-studies/story-us-puerto-ricans-part-four" target="_blank">Operation Bootstrap/Operación Manos a la Obra</a>,” which focused primary on inviting
American companies to establish factories and business ventures in Puerto Rico. These companies would
receive incentives, such as tax exemptions and infrastructural
assistance, in return for providing jobs for the local population. At the same time, they often had poor conditions for their workers and the flood of U.S. products that reinforced economic dependency for the island. The U.S. government also encouraged the migration of
Puerto Ricans to the mainland U.S. (i.e. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, California, and Florida) and Hawaii. For many Puerto Ricans, this labor-related event is the push and pull factor that brought their families to the mainland. There are many graphs displaying <a href="http://lcw.lehman.edu/lehman/depts/latinampuertorican/latinoweb/PuertoRico/Bootstrap.htm" target="_blank">statistics related to the U.S. government program</a>.<br />
<br />
6. Sue Cowan Williams Sues for Pay Equity for Black Teachers
in Little Rock<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vdpn1d6XxIj9mIJlh3TYkHN2HtkcUUQya2SIY2yB8QhTSFazqgZEs6_oWMrC-RSq1mE-e8oQTeWC8yazj-fQjtVIYilF2_JonpIzN248DyJawy1pkwTOAJkPX4j906ir_58VPg3Xu4M/s1600/sue_cowan_f.jpg"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vdpn1d6XxIj9mIJlh3TYkHN2HtkcUUQya2SIY2yB8QhTSFazqgZEs6_oWMrC-RSq1mE-e8oQTeWC8yazj-fQjtVIYilF2_JonpIzN248DyJawy1pkwTOAJkPX4j906ir_58VPg3Xu4M/s320/sue_cowan_f.jpg" width="197" /></a><br />
<br />
Sue Cowan Williams represented African American
teachers in the Little Rock School District as the plaintiff in a 1941
case challenging the rate of salaries allotted to teachers in the
district based solely on skin color. As a result of her lawsuit, the school district did not renew her contract. While loosing the initial case, she would win on appeal in 1945, be reinstated in her position, and spending the rest of her teaching career in Little Rock (retiring in 1974). The case ruling is available here from <a href="http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/149/703/1507634/" target="_blank">Morris v. Williams</a> (1945).<br />
<br />
7. The Local 22 Strike and the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBdwXaAmWScbABc6-j_QL-UanloOGl6TtcoNQk_Vg66dS0t7DZgoMyr4xgnSnsFile9PK7_9zBEAtqkc8XqyrWaViNPeF2DFaUhAsBgl0Knd9sNbWSsSdoovite7bZX1ZfaoqH2U7g5g/s1600/o-LOCAL-22-570.jpg"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBdwXaAmWScbABc6-j_QL-UanloOGl6TtcoNQk_Vg66dS0t7DZgoMyr4xgnSnsFile9PK7_9zBEAtqkc8XqyrWaViNPeF2DFaUhAsBgl0Knd9sNbWSsSdoovite7bZX1ZfaoqH2U7g5g/s320/o-LOCAL-22-570.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoAD9jt0kBTRnrepjnaXxFfOChPEIDv6o072sCeFnmKWwDguY1NQ1ByFuDYDc20Yx0pjR85u7Ux18HvhKQ67crUcbW4VBL6YE1Qr2OTJjoTdXDLIILC_dHvVCJaTXBnv43r-_B1C8Tc4/s1600/local_22_picketers_reynolds_building.jpg"> <img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoAD9jt0kBTRnrepjnaXxFfOChPEIDv6o072sCeFnmKWwDguY1NQ1ByFuDYDc20Yx0pjR85u7Ux18HvhKQ67crUcbW4VBL6YE1Qr2OTJjoTdXDLIILC_dHvVCJaTXBnv43r-_B1C8Tc4/s320/local_22_picketers_reynolds_building.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
In the 1940s in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Local 22 of the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied
Workers of America forced the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to improve work
conditions for the Black (and largely female) workforce,
who often endured incredibly hot conditions and long hours, while breathing
tobacco dust, we segregated in an area separate from White employees. Besides pictures, few primary sources exist. However, Duke Magazine has an excellent <a href="http://dukemagazine.duke.edu/article/striking-out-against-big-tobacco" target="_blank">in-depth story on the union and strike</a>.<br />
<br />
8. Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta: National Farm Workers Association and the Grape Strike and Boycott<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAsMvQX-jeLYZTZP9WhnZvVV67cfh7Ku2GkG3QodOtwugOIjWoLBqPnOemlfjK12JcttCyusV6E5PczV9Kw43T76gY1oHKXj-KioyzCm3-iRlGrPFMCK8ud-5dcJlmSatVM7NbD4IJGA/s1600/doloresandcesar.jpg"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAsMvQX-jeLYZTZP9WhnZvVV67cfh7Ku2GkG3QodOtwugOIjWoLBqPnOemlfjK12JcttCyusV6E5PczV9Kw43T76gY1oHKXj-KioyzCm3-iRlGrPFMCK8ud-5dcJlmSatVM7NbD4IJGA/s200/doloresandcesar.jpg" width="147" /></a> <img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-LCywZ_7psuyKRO_OEd7AqgcGqv3ixVyCQdWM0-B79FB0AxpvSpI5KsWnOVHCSZBCPRI38TRlGlWtbYJSCGgoptYFgxRKv1FygLboKpjqppu8ca8Bw5oR8NUDNf_SfvBprSFJwl2NtE/s320/47840790.cached.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
In 1962 Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta founded the National Farm Workers Association. The union would grow to include over 50,000 field workers, many of whom were Chicanos or Mexican immigrants. Chavez and Huerta organized numerous protests, including the <a href="http://www.ufw.org/_board.php?mode=view&b_code=cc_his_research&b_no=10482" target="_blank">Delano Grape Strike and Boycott</a>. There are numerous primary sources available at the <a href="https://libraries.ucsd.edu/farmworkermovement/" target="_blank">Farmworker Movement Document Archive</a> and an excellent documentary film called <a href="http://www.tolerance.org/kit/viva-la-causa" target="_blank">Viva La Causa</a>.<br />
<br />
9. The '82 New York Chinatown Strike<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOJcz7BWboOvM2sNp5fwvj8op_vOsx9dNV5qi8jKODlTKjikrXtH3f1ouRC4-JUYPjtrbiEVfbBZYfa2SQye7GH1kCFqSSawrk9ItkP5kXrhlQpxR5HapaIe54zeIj-4EXEHNNI0-sFc/s1600/Members-of-ILGWU-Local-23-25-on-strike-New-York-City%25E2%2580%2599s-Chinatown_Robert-Gumpert-1982_sm-385x263.jpg"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOJcz7BWboOvM2sNp5fwvj8op_vOsx9dNV5qi8jKODlTKjikrXtH3f1ouRC4-JUYPjtrbiEVfbBZYfa2SQye7GH1kCFqSSawrk9ItkP5kXrhlQpxR5HapaIe54zeIj-4EXEHNNI0-sFc/s320/Members-of-ILGWU-Local-23-25-on-strike-New-York-City%25E2%2580%2599s-Chinatown_Robert-Gumpert-1982_sm-385x263.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
In June 1982, demanding a fair contract, unionized garment workers, who were largely Asian American women, went on <a href="http://www.apa.nyu.edu/mapping/wingfong/6.html" target="_blank">strike in New York's Chinatown</a>. As a result of thousands workers, many of whom were also immigrants,
marched through the streets of Chinatown forcing employers to withdrew their demands. Within hours, the workers had won the strike. The memories of the workers from the '82 Chinatown Strike have been compiled into <a href="http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/memories-of-the-1982-ilgwu-strike-in-new-york-chinatown/" target="_blank">this anthology</a>. <br />
<br />
10. Hattie Canty and the Las Vegas Hotel Maids Union<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvefBUDkK4Qn1_sxJK-FWDNtTxwH8FTxL0-PsKmurLxKnX_FFxGQL8iVoNgOUWP5RRh2_6nJkIkIMTuz9qkA4Yu8fnuMswOAwpBKwVXjKQm9bqJI4wyO41DR9olcUXd29Dl93LlNUjbE/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvefBUDkK4Qn1_sxJK-FWDNtTxwH8FTxL0-PsKmurLxKnX_FFxGQL8iVoNgOUWP5RRh2_6nJkIkIMTuz9qkA4Yu8fnuMswOAwpBKwVXjKQm9bqJI4wyO41DR9olcUXd29Dl93LlNUjbE/s320/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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In 1990, <a href="http://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/hattie-canty" target="_blank">Hattie Canty</a> was elected president of the Las Vegas Hotel and Culinary Workers Union Local 226. As a result of the union workers' actions and strikes, work conditions and standard of living were improved for thousands of working class people in Las Vegas’s hotel and casino industry. This was covered in a <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/02/26/how-the-maids-fought-back" target="_blank">New Yorker article from 1996</a>.Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-4968349436472548562015-11-15T07:49:00.004-08:002015-11-15T18:01:53.383-08:00Teaching Race in U.S. History at the NCSS Annual Conference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For the past two years, I have presented teacher workshops on teaching race in U.S. history at the <a href="http://www.socialstudies.org/" target="_blank">National Council for the Social Studies</a> <a href="http://www.socialstudies.org/conference" target="_blank">Annual Conference</a> in Boston and New Orleans. The main premise of the workshop is that race is often omitted from the U.S. history curriculum and, when it is included, it appears only in a handful of units (i.e. European colonization/Indian "removal," slavery/abolition, and the modern civil rights movement). Additionally, Asians and Latinos may be completely invisible in the U.S. history curriculum (and may only appear during lessons on the building of the transcontinental railroad or Mexican American War). In these workshops, I ask teachers from around the country to share the many different ways that they include race and inequity in their U.S. history classrooms, which often includes many powerful examples (many of which I had never considered before the workshop.<br />
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If you are interested in making race a central aspect to your U.S. curriculum, I encourage you to download the below materials, which I have used during these workshops. They include an engaging opener, an inquiry question, and primary source documents rooted in racial experiences of past events. I list the session title and the topics addresses.<br />
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Beyond Slavery and Civil Rights: Teaching Race in U.S. History<br />
NCSS 2014 Boston, Massachusetts<br />
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File Link: <a href="http://www.christophercmartell.com/HandoutNCSS15Martell.doc" target="_blank">http://www.christophercmartell.com/HandoutNCSS15Martell.doc</a><br />
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<i>California Gold Rush</i><br />
<i>Zoot Suit Riots</i><br />
<i>Hurricane Katrina </i> <br />
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Uncovering the Omitted Past: Teaching Race-Related Events in U.S. History <br />
NCSS 2015 New Orleans, Louisiana <br />
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File Link: <a href="http://www.christophercmartell.com/HandoutNCSS14Martell.doc" target="_blank">http://www.christophercmartell.com/HandoutNCSS14Martell.doc</a> <br />
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<i>American Revolution</i><br />
<i>Japanese Internment</i><br />
<i>1980s and Reagan's Economics Policies </i><br />
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<br />Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-42402473118740230192015-08-06T00:47:00.001-07:002020-08-06T10:24:37.932-07:0070th Anniversary of Hiroshima: 15 Websites, Books, and Films to Teach Multiple Perspectives<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today marks the 70th anniversary of the United States use of the atomic bomb on Japan. It is estimated that 150,000 people were killed at Hiroshima and 75,000 people were killed at Nagasaki by the atomic bomb. While the use of the atomic bomb is one of the most controversial issues in the history classroom and is still widely debated by historians, it is not uncommon for history teachers in the U.S. to teach the event from a one-sided perspective defending the use of the atomic bomb to decisively end the war and save American soldier's lives. This perspective would be aligned with a majority of Americans, as a recent <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/04/07/americans-japanese-mutual-respect-70-years-after-the-end-of-wwii/" target="_blank">Pew Poll</a> found that 56% of respondents believed that the use of the atomic bomb was justified. Yet, the use of the atomic bomb is much more complex and any teaching of the event demands an examination of multiple perspectives and should include a careful discussion of the human loss of life, the political reasons that influenced the bombs' use, and the growing historical evidence that the bomb may not have been necessary to end the war.<br />
<div><br /></div><div>The Zinn Education Project has <a href="https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/bomb-on-hiroshima/" target="_blank">several excellent posts on the U.S. use of the atomic bomb</a>.<br /></div><div><br /></div>
To help teachers, I have compiled a list of 15 websites, books, and films that dive into the historical complexities, as well as present the multiple perspectives of the U.S. decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan. <br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8PmqZnpJow" target="_blank">1. Film and Graphic Novel: Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen)</a><br />
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The 1983 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Barefoot-Gen-Movies-1-2/dp/B000FFJ8W6/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1438935347&sr=1-3&keywords=barefoot+gen" target="_blank">anime film</a> was adapted from a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Barefoot-Gen-Vol-Cartoon-Hiroshima/dp/0867196025" target="_blank">manga series</a> that ran from 1973-1985. Loosely based on <a href="http://www.tcj.com/keiji-nakazawa-1939-2012/" target="_blank">Keiji Nakazawa</a> experience as a Hiroshima bombing survivor. The film and manga series tell the story of six year old Gen Nakaoka who survives the bombing, but sees most of his family die in the bombing. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hiroshima-John-Hersey/dp/0679721037/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438929557&sr=8-1&keywords=hiroshima+john+hersey" target="_blank">2. Book: Hiroshima</a><br />
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Originally published in <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima" target="_blank">The New Yorker magazine</a>, American journalist <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/25/obituaries/john-hersey-author-of-hiroshima-is-dead-at-78.html" target="_blank">John Hersey</a> captured the stories of six people who survived the bombing of Hiroshima. It was one of the first publicly reported accounts of the survivors. <br />
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<a href="http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/beyond-the-textbook/25484" target="_blank">3. Article: The Atomic Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki</a><br />
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An article on <a href="http://teachinghistory.org/">teachinghistory.org</a> by <a href="http://historyarthistory.gmu.edu/people/chamner" target="_blank">Christopher Hamner</a> of George Mason University discusses the controversy of the atomic bombing, how U.S. textbooks portray the event, and primary sources for students to use.<br />
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<a href="http://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/catalog/hiroshima_perspectives_on_the_atomic_bombing" target="_blank">4. Curriculum: Hiroshima: Perspectives on the Atomic Bombing</a><br />
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This curriculum package from the <span class="st"><a href="http://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/" target="_blank">Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education </a>includes several
activities with primary sources that examine the atomic bombing from multiple perspectives.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Hiroshima/" target="_blank">5. Website: Atomic Archive: Hiroshima Documents</a> and <a href="http://www.atomicarchive.com/Photos/Hiroshima/" target="_blank">Photographs</a><br />
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In
a National Science Foundation-funded project, this website housing a
large collection of digital texts, eyewitness accounts, photographs,
videos, and maps. <br />
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<a href="http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-04/what-if-your-hometown-were-hit-hiroshima-atomic-bomb" target="_blank">6. Website: Public Radio International: What If Your Hometown Were Hit by the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb?</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.pri.org/" target="_blank">Public Radio International</a>
has created a website to demonstrate the size of the destruction of the
atomic bomb transposed on your specific location. This allows teachers
to put the damage into perspective.<br />
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<a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ776358.pdf" target="_blank">7: Article: Revisiting Hiroshima The Role of US and Japanese History Textbooks in the Construction of National Memory</a><br />
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A study in Asia Pacific Education Review by <a href="http://www.educ.mq.edu.au/our_staff/professor_keith_crawford/" target="_blank">Keith Crawford</a> of Edge Hill College (United Kingdom) that compares textbooks in the U.S. and Japan and their portrayal of the atomic bomb.<br />
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/2015/08/five-things-your-class-should-know-on-the-70th-anniversary-of-the-hiroshima-bomb/" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/pres10.socst.ush.dww.atomicbomb/truman-and-the-atomic-bomb-world-war-ii/" target="_blank">8. Film: PBS American Experience: Truman (Atomic Bomb Segment)</a><br />
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The <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/" target="_blank">PBS American Experience</a> documentary on <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/truman/" target="_blank">Truman</a> has a 5 minute clip on the atomic bomb and the decision to use it on Japan.<br />
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<a href="http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/" target="_blank">9. Website: Truman Library Documents </a><br />
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A website cataloging the documents at the <a href="http://www.trumanlibrary.org/" target="_blank">Truman Library</a> related to the use of the atomic bomb on Japan.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1946/12/if-the-atomic-bomb-had-not-been-used/376238/" target="_blank">10. Article: If the Atomic Bomb Had Not Been Used</a><br />
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This 1946 article from <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/" target="_blank">The Atlantic</a> defends the use of the atomic bomb.<br />
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<a href="http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/" target="_blank">11. Website: National Security Archive: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II</a><br />
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An extensive collection of primary sources (mostly government documents) related to the atomic bombing of Japan. <br />
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<a href="http://time.com/3879427/hiroshima-portraits-of-survivors/" target="_blank">12. Article: TIME Magazine: After Hiroshima: Portrait of Survivors</a> and <a href="http://time.com/3494421/hiroshima-and-nagasaki-photos-from-the-ruins/" target="_blank">Pictures from the Ruins</a><br />
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In 2014, <a href="http://time.com/" target="_blank">TIME Magazine</a> presented their photographs (published and unpublished) from their archives related to the bombing survivors and pictures from the ruins.<br />
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<span class="storyTop"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/how-i-survived-hiroshima-ndash-and-then-nagasaki-1654294.html" target="_blank">13. Interview: Tsutomu Yamaguchi</a> </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/world/asia/07yamaguchi.html" target="_blank">Tsutomu Yamaguchi</a> was the only known person to survive both the atomic bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This is one of the few English-language interviews with him.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hm1nRF4Pqc" target="_blank">14. Film: Atomic Cafe</a><br />
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Starting with the first atomic bomb test, this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Atomic-Cafe-Paul-Tibbets/dp/B000060MW1" target="_blank">documentary</a> uses historical film footage to tell the story of the use of the atomic bomb on Japan and the consequential atomic (and later nuclear) arms race between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.<br />
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<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/2015/08/five-things-your-class-should-know-on-the-70th-anniversary-of-the-hiroshima-bomb/" target="_blank">15. Website: PBS NewsHour: Five things your class should know on the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/" target="_blank">PBS NewsHour</a> has assembled a quick summary of the 5 things every history class should know about the atomic bomb.<br />
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<br />Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-26216656093010270412015-06-23T08:28:00.000-07:002015-06-25T07:03:38.724-07:00Teaching Race and the “Good War”: The Role of Racism in World War II<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I was a child, I enjoyed playing army with my friends.
We would dress up in our imagined uniforms and guns, and pretend we were
fighting the bad guys. My grandfather, who was a soldier stationed in Boston
during World War II, would say, “Stop playing that.” He would tell me that some
of his friends died during the war and many others experienced terrible events.
Despite the fact he never left the United States, he told me about his own difficult
war experiences here at home and how <span style="font-family: inherit;">l</span>ucky he was that he did
not go through what <span style="font-family: inherit;">other</span>s did<span style="font-family: inherit;">, c</span>oncluding that, “War is not a
game. It is not fun.” I never forgot what my grandfather would tell me (in
fact, it would later influence me to become a pacifist and a war <span style="font-family: inherit;">protester</span>). From a young
age, I knew there was a very bad side of the “good war.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In his book "The Good War," Studs Terkel captured
powerful accounts of the war through oral histories, and in many cases, exposed
the dark side of the war.<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span> As we
approach the 60th anniversary of the end of <span style="font-family: inherit;">the war</span>, it is important that
social studies teachers help students dig deep into the complexities, including
the often-ugly past, of the <span style="font-family: inherit;">war. <span style="font-family: inherit;">The Second World War</span></span> is often framed in history classes as a clash
between democracy and fascism (certainly the Holocaust and Japanese military atrocities
in China and elsewhere provide evidence of how horrific fascism was). However,
we must remember, as <a href="http://howardzinn.org/veteran-dissent-war-memorial/" target="_blank">Howard Zinn wrote</a>, “World War II is not simply and purely
a ‘good war.’ … There were too many betrayals of the principles for which the
war was supposed to have been fought.<span style="font-family: inherit;">"</span>
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One specific part of this betrayal of principles is the
treatment of people of color, soldiers and civilians, during the war. <span style="font-family: inherit;">At the hands of</span> the
U.S. military and the civilian government, <span style="font-family: inherit;">people of <span style="font-family: inherit;">color faced</span></span> imprisonment, segregation,
discrimination, destruction of their homes and land, and, in some extreme cases, even
scientific experimentation. The Black, <span style="font-family: inherit;">Latino,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Asian<span style="font-family: inherit;">, and <span style="font-family: inherit;">indigenous people's</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">histories of the <span style="font-family: inherit;">War, i<span style="font-family: inherit;">n</span> many ways, contrasts th<span style="font-family: inherit;">e histor<span style="font-family: inherit;">y we</span></span> often read in textbooks or<span style="font-family: inherit;"> see in the media.</span></span></span> </span></span></span>Within communities of color, there were <span style="font-family: inherit;">varying<span style="font-family: inherit;"> personal expe<span style="font-family: inherit;">riences<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and op<span style="font-family: inherit;">inions of the <span style="font-family: inherit;">War</span></span></span>. <span style="font-family: inherit;">While </span></span></span></span>some American Indians felt an overw<span style="font-family: inherit;">h<span style="font-family: inherit;">elming sense <span style="font-family: inherit;">of patriotism and volunteered to fight, others volunte<span style="font-family: inherit;">ered to </span>simply leave th<span style="font-family: inherit;">e poor economic <span style="font-family: inherit;">conditions</span> of their reservations, and still others <span style="font-family: inherit;">felt anger at</span></span></span></span></span> the U.S. government <span style="font-family: inherit;">for <span style="font-family: inherit;">allowing the war to tear</span></span> apart their<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">communities</span> and land</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. While over a million Afr<span style="font-family: inherit;">ican Americans fought bravely for their country, <span style="font-family: inherit;">they also </span>felt the stin<span style="font-family: inherit;">g</span> of segregation both at home and abroad<span style="font-family: inherit;">. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A</span></span>fter the imprisonment of Japanese Americans in internment camps, many Asian Americans<span style="font-family: inherit;">, regardless of t<span style="font-family: inherit;">heir ethn<span style="font-family: inherit;">icity</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> were forced to <span style="font-family: inherit;">routinely demonstrate</span> their patriotism<span style="font-family: inherit;"> for fear <span style="font-family: inherit;">of being labeled the enemy. <span style="font-family: inherit;">For Latinos, whi<span style="font-family: inherit;">le </span>the <span style="font-family: inherit;">war ef<span style="font-family: inherit;">for<span style="font-family: inherit;">t helped</span></span></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">many Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span>others <span style="font-family: inherit;">groups feel</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">patriotism and <span style="font-family: inherit;">civi<span style="font-family: inherit;">c</span> </span>inclusion</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>, <span style="font-family: inherit;">for <span style="font-family: inherit;">others</span> it was a reminder that the color of their skin and their language prevented them from being treated like full citizens.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">These histories are often left out of <span style="font-family: inherit;">the</span> larger Worl<span style="font-family: inherit;">d War II </span>narrative<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Yet, they are incredibly important part of the <span style="font-family: inherit;">W</span>ar's history and should be addressed along side other more traditional topics, such as D-Day<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or the contributions of citizens on the <span style="font-family: inherit;">Home <span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span>ront</span></span>. </span></span></span>Below is a list of 11 important
race-related events, with brief descriptions, that should be taught in any
World War II curriculum. In the links, teachers can find many primary sources
that can be used to frame historical inquiries.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtc42A9CY0eVF0kSHf-anZ4Xir11taXuxm-6zsz8kUkDIXqhMArZ0r6m4NikJC0qZhfzQBA8eRFTfO-PJnPkh0XjbyvYVgwZBmenf6nS0k62GLiLk64W2JoFQEAOEejGbfzUHdN53-rIU/s1600/Internment2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtc42A9CY0eVF0kSHf-anZ4Xir11taXuxm-6zsz8kUkDIXqhMArZ0r6m4NikJC0qZhfzQBA8eRFTfO-PJnPkh0XjbyvYVgwZBmenf6nS0k62GLiLk64W2JoFQEAOEejGbfzUHdN53-rIU/s320/Internment2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Japanese Internment and the 442<sup>nd</sup> Regiment </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After the Japanese military bombed Pearl Harbor, the <a href="http://www.terminalisland.org/" target="_blank">U.S.government began swift arrests</a> of Japanese
American males in <a href="http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Terminal_Island,_California/" target="_blank">Terminal Island, California</a>.
It was a <span style="font-family: inherit;">premonition</span> of what was to come. Although more than 2/3<sup>rd</sup> of all
Japanese Americans were U.S. citizens, Franklin Roosevelt signed <a href="http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation/" target="_blank">Executive Order 9066</a>,
which <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rgulyA0kow" target="_blank">imprisoned 120,000 people of Japanese descent</a> in <a href="http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/world-war-ii/essays/from-citizen-enemy-tragedy-japanese-internment" target="_blank">10 internment camps</a>, called “war relocation camps” at the time.
There were many resisters to internment, including <a href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/ofcivilwrongsandrights/" target="_blank">Fred Korematsu</a>, the <a href="http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/07/02/nono_boy" target="_blank">No-No Boys and Girls</a>, and other acts of <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-unique-tale-of-WWII-resistance-Japanese-2865725.php" target="_blank">civil disobedience</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span> Despite th<span style="font-family: inherit;">eir treatment</span>, many Japanese Americans, who were imprisoned or had family
imprisoned, chose to fight for the U.S. military, of which the <a href="http://encyclopedia.densho.org/442nd_Regimental_Combat_Team/" target="_blank">442nd Regiment</a> is the
most well known.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> For other Asian American groups, in particular <a href="http://www.museumca.org/picturethis/timeline/world-war-ii-homefront-era-1940s/chinese-american-culture/info" target="_blank">Chinese Americans</a>, it was a time to <span style="font-family: inherit;">express</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">their patriotism<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and transcend stereotypes, </span>but also a time to display their</span> loyalty <span style="font-family: inherit;">to avoid being treated like the Japanese Americans.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Workforce Discrimination in the War Industries</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the early years of the war, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_home_war_production.htm" target="_blank">industrial production was increased</a>. Factories
were often running 24 hours a day to produce armaments, tanks, planes, and
other types of military equipment. <a href="https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/partners/39.htm" target="_blank">Women played an important role</a>
filling in for many of the men who were shipped abroad. Yet, people of color
were often excluded from these factories and <a href="http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/world-war-ii/resources/preventing-labor-discrimination-during-world-war-ii-1942" target="_blank">faced significant discrimination in hiring</a>.
In many places, the war industry was for “Whites only.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Anti-Japanese Propaganda</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even before the U.S. entered the war, the government began
to <a href="https://artifactsjournal.missouri.edu/2012/03/wwii-propaganda-the-influence-of-racism/" target="_blank">turn out military propaganda</a>.
While much of this was tailored to garner support for ally nations and to raise
funds for an impending war, the propaganda that focused on Japan had obvious
embedded racial stereotypes. While this was intended to arouse patriotism and
support for the war, it also sent a powerful negative message to Japanese
Americans about how White America viewed them and motivated prejudice and hate crimes toward Asian Americans.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZiQeABOcZq-SLevZwM9qoYf9uk1SmtXRXBB-T8W1BsIADnNsZkDgKWXDCLweGMwUGKoHUYK3F84NNffTncnGDegQeNPhlBVv511R68vRqJRx-Uw0OOMUPY0NtuinWZzxRhgrxSBs4zfk/s1600/White+Man+With+Sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2kzLKQyhIGMWOpbYT69Svw40gWxyUqjGwL248h8XBJcDLXjsXyjQM5ncNQXoX2OErRF1ZfvYHE3gj33OL4YR-w3ksaNekFSnZFx8hd-76xP6C4YlCnPgL6wOyH8UIeMf0f4tSJj3O5s/s320/Propaganda.jpg" width="244" /></a> <img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZiQeABOcZq-SLevZwM9qoYf9uk1SmtXRXBB-T8W1BsIADnNsZkDgKWXDCLweGMwUGKoHUYK3F84NNffTncnGDegQeNPhlBVv511R68vRqJRx-Uw0OOMUPY0NtuinWZzxRhgrxSBs4zfk/s320/White+Man+With+Sign.jpg" width="320" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. The Role of Race in Chemical Experiments on Soldiers </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">During World War II, the U.S. military experimented on
soldiers in an attempt to improve their ability to fight the Axis Powers.
Recently, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/06/22/415194765/u-s-troops-tested-by-race-in-secret-world-war-ii-chemical-experiments" target="_blank">NPR uncovered secret testing of chemical warfare</a>,
including mustard gas, on Black, Puerto Rican, and Japanese American soldiers to determine if certain ethnic
groups were more resistant to chemical warfare that could be used by Germany or Japan. Many of these veterans faced life long
health effects and premature deaths as a result.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNUZfLKOeIbcMKbemPdkAvPlEhLEb23TMFRQ47AVLF0uvLX1IJYhWFHYfxxHWev8rcIqaPUCv8YuuMuM6LqAzldyFm9HPZwQVTjhT4pg-KB3c_TrdJ09Htf8UfEUGHl1TN2ArKSfnBac/s1600/Soldier+Experiements.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNUZfLKOeIbcMKbemPdkAvPlEhLEb23TMFRQ47AVLF0uvLX1IJYhWFHYfxxHWev8rcIqaPUCv8YuuMuM6LqAzldyFm9HPZwQVTjhT4pg-KB3c_TrdJ09Htf8UfEUGHl1TN2ArKSfnBac/s320/Soldier+Experiements.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. The Impact of World War II on Indian Reservations</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In recent years, many students have learned about the
important contributions that American Indians made at home and abroad (including the famed <a href="http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/code-talkers/" target="_blank">Navajo Code Talkers</a>), but little is taught about the impact that
the war had on Indian reservations. The U.S. government used Indian lands as internment
camps (<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4310157" target="_blank">Poston</a> <a href="http://www.wgbh.org/programs/Passing-Poston-An-American-Story-2268" target="_blank">in Arizona</a> and <a href="http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Gila_River/" target="_blank">Gila River</a> in Colorado) and <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/1996/1209/120996.us.us.5.html" target="_blank">military bombing ranges</a> (<a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/a-13-a-2002-01-20-13-cleaning-66264872/539341.htm" target="_blank">Pine Ridge</a>).
In Alaska, the government imprisoned many <a href="http://www.aleutstory.tv/" target="_blank">Unangan people</a>
in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, because they lived in what the U.S.
government declared a war zone. With over 25,000 American Indians served in
the military during the war,
this caused a massive exodus of young Indian males from reservations, with many never returning after the war, which devastated many indigenous communities.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xZ7O756-tQdcP1TALbMKwc4lQC8wx27ZfhoVJXLr9PbGB1FAkefpoenWTUWXgGQmCgXcsumP5ErIbQT1ZrevfLYdl4G9H14E7QIPvGHFPHy0ceuE6lZe-4XMkScqZVP4r9ZsxLsWxAg/s1600/American+Indian+Soldiers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xZ7O756-tQdcP1TALbMKwc4lQC8wx27ZfhoVJXLr9PbGB1FAkefpoenWTUWXgGQmCgXcsumP5ErIbQT1ZrevfLYdl4G9H14E7QIPvGHFPHy0ceuE6lZe-4XMkScqZVP4r9ZsxLsWxAg/s320/American+Indian+Soldiers.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Racial Segregation and the Military</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While the United States was fighting a war against fascism,
it continued to practice Jim Crow-era racial segregation at home and in the
military. Many <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/alaska-WWII/" target="_blank">soldiers of color were relegated to labor roles </a>during the war,
were never appointed to the highest leadership roles, and, when they did see
combat, were often sent on some of the most dangerous missions (as many people know from the experiences of
the infamous <a href="http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/connect/talk-back/tuskegee-airmen/" target="_blank">Tuskegee Airmen)</a>.
In reaction to the racial discrimination, many soldiers of color stood up this
this through different forms of protest, <a href="http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2008/spring/robinson.html" target="_blank">including Jackie Robinson</a> (the future baseball player), who faced a court
marshal trial for refusing to move to the back of a segregated military bus.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Detroit Race Riots</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In summer of 1942, the <a href="http://reuther.wayne.edu/node/8738" target="_blank">Detroit Race Riots</a> began at Belle Isle amusement park, when “a fight
erupted between a total of 200 African Americans and white sailors. Soon, a
crowd of 5,000 white residents gathered at the mainland entrance to the bridge
ready to attack black vacationers wishing to cross. By midnight, a ragged and
understaffed police force attempted to retain the situation, but the rioting
had already spread too far into the city."
Days of rioting by Whites and Blacks occurred. In the end <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/eleanor-riots/" target="_blank">25 Black residents and 9 White residents had been killed</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyz46ZZBhzuKFNIF4F6BDFvkIEdW5Dmc2zvXcqXFfyAGUGqwR7JEDgpcFcujGzE9KdR16xZiT1GqWxkuQVsTyfb0fw5lALgJ9naKV-3GPTwcjU2Opv3cTG-Ell3gyAbPXDK4WB3tlNcc4/s1600/Detroit+Race+Riots.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyz46ZZBhzuKFNIF4F6BDFvkIEdW5Dmc2zvXcqXFfyAGUGqwR7JEDgpcFcujGzE9KdR16xZiT1GqWxkuQVsTyfb0fw5lALgJ9naKV-3GPTwcjU2Opv3cTG-Ell3gyAbPXDK4WB3tlNcc4/s320/Detroit+Race+Riots.gif" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8. The Zoot Suit Riots</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Two years later in 1944, following the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/zoot/eng_peopleevents/e_murder.html" target="_blank">Sleepy Lagoon murder</a>, the city of
Los Angeles would also erupt in race-related violence often labeled the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/zoot/" target="_blank">Zoot Suit Riots</a>. What started as a turf battle between Mexican American
teenagers and White sailors, who were stationed on their edge of their
neighborhood, would <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/93227991/Mexican-Americans-in-the-Era-of-World-War-II-Studying-the-Sleepy-Lagoon-Case-and-Zoot-Suit-Riots-SocialEd-May-June2012" target="_blank">result in sailors and other White residents attacking Latinos</a> (as well as, Filipinos and African Americans) throughout the city, often stripping the young men of their Zoot Suits (which were culturally significant, but seen by Whites as excess in a time of textile rations).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPvYxhiRGeLzgce_TxVIF3stGgtTRt4MzR5Ag5qBeY_RT-r0rwlvrA7cmZMn0mFiKSiBs4rVx4r5f7YObiXDnx5Xck9FW3bGkxSCso1L8Tvva_DIDMXZLWYP0NzMvZT6hH_tKhrVO3JHc/s1600/Zoot+Suit+Riots+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0IpHoTq5eZHINjFb_HkJZ9qNHbOBeMo3IWqvl_zftac8gjoGi6Dvj40zZ1ZlayJ78XDKOIZqSM6G_7rMEYTZ_KGLAUm86Ivm4Q0rdaaH4Gw50D5MjBPaj3LJG1-QXLYQ2Tg4mI9ksImg/s320/Zoot+Suit+Riots+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPvYxhiRGeLzgce_TxVIF3stGgtTRt4MzR5Ag5qBeY_RT-r0rwlvrA7cmZMn0mFiKSiBs4rVx4r5f7YObiXDnx5Xck9FW3bGkxSCso1L8Tvva_DIDMXZLWYP0NzMvZT6hH_tKhrVO3JHc/s320/Zoot+Suit+Riots+1.jpg" width="320" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9. The Double-V Campaign and Sedition</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Often taught today as an act of patriotism, the Double V campaign (victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism at
home) waged by African American civil rights activists during the war,
connected segregation to the inequality and lack of democracy existed in
fascist nations. However, this <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/11/12/classroom-connections-wwii-double-v-campaign-gr-10-12" target="_blank">was seen by some in power, including J. Edgar Hoover, as an act of sedition and disloyalty.</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMi8S0EKftsHNZct9w8fslZb6AT8pXD2GE853CTqaLczIKw2ED0GASH6MbmoMJeGa_X4Pvtw7tii6SY2Pc1xOOdjPSLhzYY-uJxUpVY01ACcY-otzaNVf5SIMCVCe9BB3P3QOn9-gexo/s1600/Double+V.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMi8S0EKftsHNZct9w8fslZb6AT8pXD2GE853CTqaLczIKw2ED0GASH6MbmoMJeGa_X4Pvtw7tii6SY2Pc1xOOdjPSLhzYY-uJxUpVY01ACcY-otzaNVf5SIMCVCe9BB3P3QOn9-gexo/s1600/Double+V.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10. Treatment of Veterans of Color on Their Return Home from
War</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We often think of the scenes of Time Square on V-J Day, where Americans
greeted returning soldiers with ticker-tape parades. While nearly 2 million people
of color served in the U.S. military during World War II, many <a href="https://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_home_civil_rights_minorities.htm" target="_blank">did not face the same fanfare as returning White soldiers</a>.
In fact, a large percentage returned home to segregation and discrimination. <a href="https://learn.uakron.edu/beyond/ww2_civilRights.htm" target="_blank">Blacks</a>, <a href="http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7609800.html" target="_blank">Latinos</a>,
and <a href="http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/life_18.html" target="_blank">American Indians</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>returned to higher rates of unemployment to Whites, segregated housing through redlining practices, and inability
to secure bank loans, and refused service in stores and restaurants. Many returning
Japanese American soldiers not only lost their homes and possessions when their
families were interned in prison camps, but they were often <a href="https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/after_internment.htm" target="_blank">treated as if they were “the enemy”</a> by many Whites.
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdiGPLmwjf1_prhDzBsb46RrYPfLHfh16xccYinlZ-57z71KrsQRo90fv_-lFgRvt0gvj8y4Il1pNqxDdCE9lNk6-3o3WPHEWReelW__qyMXFmxo0qJvW6BvXrTKUSsB8lToPhSEx5Uc/s1600/Internment1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdiGPLmwjf1_prhDzBsb46RrYPfLHfh16xccYinlZ-57z71KrsQRo90fv_-lFgRvt0gvj8y4Il1pNqxDdCE9lNk6-3o3WPHEWReelW__qyMXFmxo0qJvW6BvXrTKUSsB8lToPhSEx5Uc/s320/Internment1.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">11. The Use of the Atomic Bomb</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The last issue that should be addressed when examining the
role of race in World War II is the use of the atomic bomb on Japan. In his
book “<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Hiroshima.html?id=3VsdiHjwPqIC" target="_blank">Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb</a>,” historian Ronald Takaki argued that
beside a desire to reduce U.S. causalities and end the war quickly, Harry
Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb twice on Japan was motivated by
American’s “racial rage” toward the Japanese. These were not military targets that were bombed. Rather, they were major cities with large civilian populations. It is an event that had a profound impact not only on the people of Japan, but Japanese Americans, some of whom had family and friends in the bombed cities.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhFhPlFxiql3wrOGpF3igdCeZ0kjVrikKqZRD9auYrZK6ns9FQBadTkanc-Q-fQ96WzYO-mNNbcSYPZT9VwwiL7qiWWR8_vG085UVXIgu3F0Q5GZA20Vi3eu2wz_nGHkga1uar0nBXlU/s1600/Atomic+Bomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhFhPlFxiql3wrOGpF3igdCeZ0kjVrikKqZRD9auYrZK6ns9FQBadTkanc-Q-fQ96WzYO-mNNbcSYPZT9VwwiL7qiWWR8_vG085UVXIgu3F0Q5GZA20Vi3eu2wz_nGHkga1uar0nBXlU/s320/Atomic+Bomb.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452173400632451815.post-273408659169786642015-05-10T20:47:00.000-07:002015-05-11T06:29:13.999-07:00Teaching the U.S. Occupation of the Dominican Republic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25GPQ227yk6z0M6QXqwgkUy1DjdJ7q61Kdad1zuIvDPd0AMhZeJ2lx5zwiwiHaG85Gvs-AP8FGp4k-b7npYpZWmStz0ccl9ifF9aySuxsayOc5PGlwFN3kiXfGpeclxLIO6q_7MTW_JE/s1600/DR-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXA7XXpzD0Gj8uu2sl67VSlg5gZjX9glH9AfOlE2mYFfgJS7BZWAWG8fxX30fpD3_UgzZ6khsiuAGgLVVk7vFytNqveZxEqj3QAKxLLrwH8_1XHz2fB1TdMu5if2tl-2-tClc34GvvyHs/s1600/DR-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDoOwhsLUa4PpYM2zMx3RsmcMlGMe9n6yrLaicmH6RyKRhdf8J_CKIt9GBmgmx5W1P1c7Y2ejC1KaeIO9W8wVL3ZZn_-jstHS0EMQESfDBQfqFJmFN4ek6lV21mURX6cF2EAdaPv9uoO4/s320/DR-1.jpg" width="320" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25GPQ227yk6z0M6QXqwgkUy1DjdJ7q61Kdad1zuIvDPd0AMhZeJ2lx5zwiwiHaG85Gvs-AP8FGp4k-b7npYpZWmStz0ccl9ifF9aySuxsayOc5PGlwFN3kiXfGpeclxLIO6q_7MTW_JE/s1600/DR-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXA7XXpzD0Gj8uu2sl67VSlg5gZjX9glH9AfOlE2mYFfgJS7BZWAWG8fxX30fpD3_UgzZ6khsiuAGgLVVk7vFytNqveZxEqj3QAKxLLrwH8_1XHz2fB1TdMu5if2tl-2-tClc34GvvyHs/s320/DR-2.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
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<i>Above: Protests opposing and supporting the U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic. The top picture reads, "July 12th, Get Out Yankees" in Spanish, while the other sign reads in English, "Yankees Come Back."</i> </div>
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Fifty years ago, the United States <a href="http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199766581/obo-9780199766581-0071.xml" target="_blank">invaded and occupied the Dominican Republic</a> (this was actually the second U.S. occupation, with the first lasting from 1916 to 1924). The 1965 occupation coincided with the early days of <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199891580.001.0001/acref-9780199891580-e-6872" target="_blank">Operation Rolling Thunder</a>, which was the first major American bombardment of Vietnam War and longest air campaign in U.S. history, and was one of the most important events in Dominican Republic history. However, this historical event is rarely taught in history classrooms, as it is usually overshadowed in curriculum by other events of the era, including the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0h5LPfEC5Wnk-JUjUIk7yrLSYqZrWZOkTY5oETvZ-jYUKhETlUFL__pwPaLX4QbXIwr-2wTFWCvUC8rvREgjzwOZfWtWfKCH9WwwhywSTJj8it7bgD3UlAqzVRPBRvgetK0nD-AEdEyU/s1600/Wessin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRUDC6ZZlhr5NpKCq32ceD6mzALOI6HjLkVb4XvjSWdafVX93kolOoLQ5v1n4ES42mqjgLcI9jVboPzw1EBBv-r0ZoXVYax0Cd1Ydexl2JwvklJiKoygHxHdEcKRTzbb7v3Lqz-halG08/s200/Trujillo.jpg" width="160" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCnS82ITXD-8NlOEqrp8XHqqepJuvlcIntX_FgEYcpKiulTlTFaiDR9tsflmWYtA9FjfJg4_IIju9Lt7ptx7J271KU6ou1_74OSkMUa1bXaAz4TCQ-vFPu7SsPBb4n2uXuvuQcXejJKc/s1600/Bosch.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCnS82ITXD-8NlOEqrp8XHqqepJuvlcIntX_FgEYcpKiulTlTFaiDR9tsflmWYtA9FjfJg4_IIju9Lt7ptx7J271KU6ou1_74OSkMUa1bXaAz4TCQ-vFPu7SsPBb4n2uXuvuQcXejJKc/s200/Bosch.jpg" width="152" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0h5LPfEC5Wnk-JUjUIk7yrLSYqZrWZOkTY5oETvZ-jYUKhETlUFL__pwPaLX4QbXIwr-2wTFWCvUC8rvREgjzwOZfWtWfKCH9WwwhywSTJj8it7bgD3UlAqzVRPBRvgetK0nD-AEdEyU/s1600/Wessin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0h5LPfEC5Wnk-JUjUIk7yrLSYqZrWZOkTY5oETvZ-jYUKhETlUFL__pwPaLX4QbXIwr-2wTFWCvUC8rvREgjzwOZfWtWfKCH9WwwhywSTJj8it7bgD3UlAqzVRPBRvgetK0nD-AEdEyU/s200/Wessin.jpg" width="151" /></a></div>
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<i>Above: (left) Rafael Trujillo, (right) Juan Bosch, and (bottom) Elías Wessin y Wessin</i></div>
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<b>The Back Story</b><br />
In 1961, the Dominican Republic's military dictator <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/607139/Rafael-Trujillo" target="_blank">Rafael Trujillo</a>
was assassinated. After a democratic election, <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/74607/Juan-Bosch" target="_blank">Juan Bosch</a>, the leader of
the Dominican Revolutionary Party, took office. Bosch pushed for a
series of economic and social reforms, which received widespread support from the rural and urban poor and working classes, but also strong push back
from both the military leadership and wealthy Dominicans. In September
1963, there was a coup d'état and Elías Wessin y Wessin would eventually take power while a
civil war broke out in the streets of Santo Domingo. During months of
fighting, the pro-Bosch forces gained control of the capital city.
Fearing another Cuban-styled revolution, Lyndon Baines Johnson ordered the U.S. Marines into Santo Domingo (named <a href="http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/PowerPack.pdf" target="_blank">Operation Power Pack</a>). The Dominican people remained divided in their support of the U.S. invasion. In 1966 election, running on a platform of peace and stability and with the endorsement of the U.S. government, <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/49725/Joaquin-Balaguer" target="_blank">Joaquín Balaguer</a> (a former official under Trujillo) defeated Juan Bosch. Balaguer would rule the Dominican Republic of-and-on for the next 22 years, with many people considering him a puppet of the U.S. government. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25GPQ227yk6z0M6QXqwgkUy1DjdJ7q61Kdad1zuIvDPd0AMhZeJ2lx5zwiwiHaG85Gvs-AP8FGp4k-b7npYpZWmStz0ccl9ifF9aySuxsayOc5PGlwFN3kiXfGpeclxLIO6q_7MTW_JE/s1600/DR-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinunKVmrZroDadhxj9Hp6q6m81in8da5aAmDKneLLhYcA-5J2G0GsZOW5viIRlM0oHF24fcWfWEugwUaAU2fD4ho9ociD7dhuHVAOwB5Pnt2Sqj_WjsGdyWPKlJcCssfQ-mj0rO7lCWrk/s200/DR-4.jpg" width="158" /> <img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25GPQ227yk6z0M6QXqwgkUy1DjdJ7q61Kdad1zuIvDPd0AMhZeJ2lx5zwiwiHaG85Gvs-AP8FGp4k-b7npYpZWmStz0ccl9ifF9aySuxsayOc5PGlwFN3kiXfGpeclxLIO6q_7MTW_JE/s200/DR-3.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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The U.S. Occupation of the Dominican Republic should be an essential component of any Cold War unit in U.S. or world history. First, there are over <a href="http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/06/27/hispanics-of-dominican-origin-in-the-united-states-2010/" target="_blank">1.5 million Dominican Americans in the United States</a>. Dominicans have had a particularly important influence on many communities in New England, New York, New Jersey, and Florida. In fact, <a href="http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199913701/obo-9780199913701-0015.xml" target="_blank">the 1965 turbulence and civil war was a major influence on Dominican immigration</a> to the U.S., which dramatically increased from the 1960s through the 80s. In many ways, Dominican Republic history is U.S. history. Second, this is an important place in the curriculum to connect the Cold War to the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/latino-americans/en/watch-videos/#2365076190" target="_blank">Latino experience</a>. It is typical that Cuba is the only Latin American country that plays a prominent role in Cold War curriculum units (i.e. Cuban Revolution, Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis). By teaching the U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic, it allows students to see other incidences of U.S. intervention. Finally, the occupation is an important side story of the Vietnam War. Much like Vietnam, LBJ and the U.S. government used the fear of spreading communism (and a plea to protect American citizens abroad) to justify another use of military force. It is also a prime example of American imperialism during this period and should be taught in conjunction with the first U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916-1924) and rooted in the long history of <a href="http://resources.primarysource.org/content.php?pid=86804&sid=645699" target="_blank">military force used by the U.S.</a> in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Cuba (1898/1961), Puerto Rico (1898), Panama (1908/1912/1989),
Haiti (1915/1994), Guatemala (1954/1966), Nicaragua (1981), El Salvador
(1981), and Grenada (1983).<br />
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I would suggest that students use the below sources to examine the following inquiry question: <i>Was the United States justified in occupying the Dominican Republic in 1965?</i><br />
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<b>Primary and Secondary Sources:</b><br />
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Overview: Dominican Republic Historical Timeline (2014): <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1217771.stm">news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1217771.stm</a><br />
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Overview: The U.S. in the Caribbean, 1877-1920 by Jason Colby (2015): <a href="http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/empire-building/essays/united-states-and-caribbean-1877%E2%80%931920">www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/empire-building/essays/united-states-and-caribbean-1877%E2%80%931920</a><br />
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Essay: Occupation by the United States, 1916-1924 by Richard A. Haggerty (1989): <a href="http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/10.htm">countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/10.htm</a><br />
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Primary Source: TIME Magazine Article on Trujillo's Rule (1945): <a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,886652,00.html">content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,886652,00.html</a><br />
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Primary Sources: U.S. Occupation of the Dominican Republic: <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/cola/orgs/hemispheres/_files/pdf/newsletters/cold_war_docs/DominicanCrisis.pdf" target="_blank">www.utexas.edu/cola/orgs/hemispheres/_files/pdf/newsletters/cold_war_docs/DominicanCrisis.pdf </a><br />
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Primary Source: U.S. Military Newsreel: Marines in Action (1965): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbhJ7v6wkrM" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbhJ7v6wkrM </a><br />
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Primary Source: LBJ's Speech on the Dominican Republic (1965): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOYKHY2mBmQ">www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOYKHY2mBmQ</a><br />
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Primary Source: British Newsreel: Dominican Revolt (1965): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6oS3BGABTc">www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6oS3BGABTc</a><br />
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Primary Source: TIME Magazine Article on the Military Coup: <a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,898727,00.html" target="_blank">content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,898727,00.html </a><br />
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Report: LBJ on Dominican Republic by David Coleman (2015): <a href="http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB513/">nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB513/</a><br />
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Report: Hope Denied: The U.S. Defeat of the 1965 Revolt in the Dominican Republic by Piero Gleijeses (2014): <a href="http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/CWIHP_Working_Paper_72_Hope_Denied_US_Defeat_1965_Revolt_Dominican_Republic.pdf">www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/CWIHP_Working_Paper_72_Hope_Denied_US_Defeat_1965_Revolt_Dominican_Republic.pdf</a><br />
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Editorial: Dominican Republic 40 Years After U.S. Occupation by Juleyka Lantigua (2005): <a href="http://www.progressive.org/media_la2505">www.progressive.org/media_la2505</a><span id="goog_2095305001"></span><span id="goog_2095305002"></span><br />
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Editorial: LBJ's Other War by Rory Fanning (2015): <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/04/dominican-republic-occupation-united-states-1965/">www.jacobinmag.com/2015/04/dominican-republic-occupation-united-states-1965/</a><br />
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<br />Christopher Martellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00861524063465518200noreply@blogger.com0