Resources for Educators
Below are links to suggested lessons, films, books, readings, and general teaching guides for Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action and beyond.
Readings for Educators of All Ages
Readings for Educators of Young Children
Teaching Young Children About Race
By Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards
Black is Beautiful
By Kara Hinderlie
Heather’s Mom Got Married: Second Graders Talk about Gay Marriage
by Mary Cowhey
It’s OK to be Neither: Teaching that Supports Gender-Variant Children
by Melissa Bollow Tempel
Beyond Pink and Blue
by Robin Cooley
I Didn’t Know There Were Cities in Africa!
By Brenda Randolph and Betsy DeMulder
Readings for Educators of Older Children
Black Like Me
by Renee Watson
A Guideline for Teaching about Controversial Topics
from Morningside Center
Happening Yesterday, Happening Tomorrow: Teaching the ongoing murders of black men
by Renee Watson
Home Buying While Brown or Black
from Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social Justice by the Numbers (Gutstein and Peterson)
Syllabus: A History of Anti-Black Racism in Medicine
by Antoine S. Johnson, Elise A. Mitchell, Ayah Nuriddin
Videos for Educators
Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum Fair 2025 Keynote
In his keynote address, Jesse Hagopian, Rethinking Schools editor and Zinn Education Project campaign director, celebrated the power of educators, parents, students, and community organizers in the fight for truth and justice in education. He reflected on the origins of the Black Lives Matter at School movement, tracing it back to the bravery of educators at John Muir Elementary in Seattle who faced threats for uplifting Blackstudents. Hagopian underscored how anti-racist teaching is an act of love and resistance, emphasizing the importance of intergenerational struggle in the fight against efforts to suppress Black voices and distort history.
Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action 2024 Keynote
Dr. Enid Lee reflected on the progress made and emphasized the ongoing commitment to ensuring that all Black lives matter in educational settings. She noted the importance of personal and community histories, affirming their role in liberating spirits. Dr. Lee motivated the audience to focus on making history that reflects the collective principle of including the lives, experiences, and work of ALL Black lives.
Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum Fair 2021
Teaching for Change and the Howard University School of Education hosted a virtual curriculum fair featuring workshops, keynote speakers, and time for educators to learn more about the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, taking place February 1-5, 2021. The keynote speakers for the curriculum fair were Jesse Hagopian and Denisha Jones, educators and editors of the new book, Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice.
Black Lives Matter at School: Early Childhood Edition
Early childhood educators Takiema Bunche-Smith, Laleña Garcia, Angela Harris, Denisha Jones, Makai Kellogg and Nancy Carlsson Paige discuss the struggle against systemic racism in schools, how we can win real educational justice and the lessons from Black Lives Matter at School organizing focused on early childhood education.They discuss how racism impacts the early educational experiences of Black children and share ideas from their own work.
Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice
Jesse Hagopian and Denisha Jones, editors of Black Lives Matter at School, discuss antiracist education with contributor Brian Jones.for the launch of Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Education Justice, an essential collection of essays, interviews, poems, resolutions, and more from educators, students, and activists who have been building the Black Lives Matter at School movement across the country, including a foreword by Opal Tometi.
Teaching Black History & Black Lives Matter Week of Action with Fidelity: Beyond Performative
In this professional development webinar, Cierra Kaler-Jones, Education Anew Fellow with Teaching for Change and Communities for Just Schools Fund, shares the history of the Week of Action and Year of Purpose, highlights potential lessons for different content areas and grade levels to spark ideas about how to incorporate or adapt these lessons in classrooms, and shares pedagogical strategies from leading some of these lessons, as well as resources for further learning and exploration. The webinar was developed for the DCPS Anti-Racist Educator University in December of 2020.
Teaching Guides and Additional Resources
Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum Guide
#TeachResistance Educators ToolKit
Civil Discourse in the Classroom from Learning for Justice
Classroom Resources from Learning for Justice
Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens from Learning for Justice
Ready, Set, Respect! from GLSEN
Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social Justice by the Numbers by Gutstein and Peterson
Freedom’s Unfinished Revolution: An Inquiry Into the Civil War and Reconstruction by American Social History Project
Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality from Rethinking Schools
Beyond Tolerance: A Resource Guide for Addressing LGBTQI Issues in Schools by NYCoRE
GSA Network: LGBTQ Inclusive Lessons and Activities
Lessons on the Civil Rights Movement from Teaching for Change
Suggested topics and lessons for teaching #BlackLivesMatter from Teaching for Change
Black Lives Matter Curriculum from the Philadelphia Caucus of Working Educators