2021 D.C. Area Black Lives Matter at School Virtual Curriculum Fair

 

The overall feeling of community is such a relief — even in the welcome session, how it’s just a given that we share pronouns and that things are as accessible as possible — and the general feeling of excitement to be talking about teaching truth on a Saturday morning. And then add on the fact that the workshops taught me many new things about the history of this city and how to pass it on to young children.  — Sophie S.

I had a wonderful time trying new things and engaging with some things I never thought I would in my life. It was a wonderful learning experience. — James P.

The D.C. Area Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum Fair, hosted by Teaching for Change and the Howard University School of Education, was held virtually on Saturday, December 11 from 10am - noon ET.

The curriculum fair kicked off with a welcome from Teaching for Change board member Dr. Tiffany Mitchell Patterson and opening remarks from Dr. Katherine Norris, department chair of Curriculum and Instruction at Howard University’s School of Education. Dr. Norris offered history on Howard’s founding, including some notable Black historical figures with ties to the university and the D.C. area, and charged attendees to be mindful of the importance of this work, to take care of themselves, and to embrace the community that is cultivated with everyone who is doing social justice work in education.

Following the welcome and opening remarks, teachers had the opportunity to join workshops featuring lessons related to D.C. area Black history.


Session I Workshops

Art as Empathy: How an Ordinary D.C. Hero Invites Us to Discover Beauty Wherever We Are

Dena Rapoport, a museum educator at the National Gallery of Art, began her workshop with an invitation for participants to see their world as an artist connecting to their world with empathy. She asked: “What is your favorite place in D.C.? If you had to pick one color that you associate with that place, what color would that be?” After everyone settled into an artist’s mindset, Rapoport told the life story of Alma Thomas, a well-known D.C. artist and teacher who broke many barriers, including becoming the first Fine Arts graduate of Howard University in 1924. The workshop ended with a restorative, hands-on exercise using colored pencils or markers and a piece of paper. As Rapoport noted, this is “not about perfection, but about the experience.” This exercise is one that teachers can easily bring into their classroom as a much-needed reminder to slow down and see the world’s beauty and colors in stressful times during the pandemic. 

Participants commented: 

[This workshop was] very restorative. A much needed time and space to breathe with a hands-on exercise that can be done with simple materials, such as markers and a piece of paper.

The workshop was very effective and allowed us the chance to actively learn and internalize strategies and practices to share and implement in our learning spaces.

Resources: 

The Historical Significance of Easter Monday in the Nation's Capital: From Racial Oppression to African Self-Determination!

“Uncle” Devin Walker, a national leader in the children’s music industry and an award-winning drummer and percussionist, shared the history of the actions Black parents in D.C. took to  make Easter Monday at the National Zoo a day of triumph over oppression and discrimination. In 1878, the White House began the tradition of an annual Easter egg roll for children. However, because of racial discrimination and segregation, people of African descent were not allowed to participate. To provide an opportunity for their children,  African Americans in D.C. got together and celebrated at the National Zoo. For more than 100 years, Black families have celebrated Easter Monday at the zoo, which  became a city holiday for many of these years.Walker used his song, "A Go-Go Fun Day," as a practical example of merging cultural and political expression to rekindle a movement of community control, which is the only solution to end racial oppression in our communities.

Participants commented:

“Thank you! As an early childhood teacher, as you were speaking I was wondering is there a children’s book about this? Because that’s how we teach everything at this age. And now I’m realizing — music can do this just as well or better for young kids.”

“The discrimination and racism turned to togetherness and unified resistance that is celebratory.”

Visitors on Easter Monday, 1936, National Zoo. Source: NMAAHC

Resources:

  • Want to learn more about Easter Monday? Read Phelps ACE High School Social Studies teacher Dr. Dianna Hall’s Easter Monday lesson.

Black Kinship Bonds in MoCo From the Antebellum Period to 1900

Social studies content specialist and DCAESJ secondary working group co-leader Tiferet Ani introduced participants to the database, Freedom on the Move, a host of primary resources that emphasized resistance stories of the endurance of Black kinship bonds over time that have never before been accessible in a single place. Ani displayed the importance and strength of Black families in Montgomery County, Maryland, from the height of the domestic trading of enslaved people to the turn of the 20th century using resources such as advertisements about self-liberating individuals, narratives of enslaved people, last seen advertisements that were taken out to find family following emancipation, and the community institutions built by freed people following emancipation. Ani highlighted her key concept — the ways in which enslaved people resisted the efforts of their enslavers to reduce them to commodities in both revolutionary and everyday ways — and taught this by examining how both enslaved and freed people maintained kinship bonds across time and space. Ani engaged participants by asking them to recall instances of Black kinship and love despite the assault of slavery, white supremacy, and racial terror. 

Resources:

Discovering the Historical Context of Contemporary Neighborhood Growth and Change: A Curriculum for Youth (Grades 7-12) 

Dr. Bertha Holliday and Jacqueline Jackson shared with participants the Bloomingdale Civic  Association’s “Taking Village History to Our Youth” curriculum that highlights the Bloomingdale neighborhood’s historical foundation, impactful residents, and legendary history. Participants learned about the rich history of the Bloomingdale neighborhood through the curriculum’s key resource: a timeline. Through the use of the timeline, participants learned about racial covenants, redistricting, gentrification, and opportunities for youth leadership. One workshop attendee noted that they, “[L]earned about the importance of oral history, geography, [and] centering voices from the neighborhoods where students live.”

Resources:

Session II Workshops


Resistance to Colonization Through Reclamation of Culture and Community

Practicing the intergenerational guiding principle of Black Lives Matter at School, 4th graders at Mundo Verde PCS spoke about their processes for creating zines that incorporate how historical fiction, informational writing, and the arts in their unit about modern and historical peoples — led primarily by Black and Indigenous people of color — have resisted colonization by reclaiming aspects of culture and community. Elementary working group member and organizer Dani McCormick began the session by introducing the intersectional dilemmas of teaching history with a commitment to truth and made multiple calls to action, one of which was to explore the methods of how educators may show students that this history can be used as a means of empowerment and inspiration to be active changemakers in today’s society. McCormick presented participants with a host of resources that could be used in their own lessons. McCormick thoroughly identified priorities to ground this work and showed how all their resources were applicable by bringing in their students to talk about their learning experiences in breakout rooms. 

One workshop participant shared:  

I LOVED the resources Dani put together and absolutely loved hearing from the Mundo Verde students about their zines, their historical fiction, and what they have been learning!

Resources:

“Fostering Leadership, Followership and Scholarship”: Historical Ethnographies of the Virginia Interscholastic Association 1954-1970

This workshop, co-facilitated by Dr. Joshua Wright, associate professor of history at Trinity Washington University, and Dr. Kristal Moore Clemons, national director of CDF Freedom Schools, highlighted the Virginia Interscholastic Association (VIA), an organization of Black high schools created in 1954 through the efforts of Black secondary school principals and administrators. The VIA is a story about a vision for a society that acknowledged Black high school students for their intelligence, creative skills, and athletic abilities. The facilitators engaged participants in uplifting the intergenerational and Black villages guiding principles of Black Lives Matter at School by analyzing primary sources found on the VIA’s digital archive.  

Participants commented:

Providing students an exploration of OUR history by visiting the D. C. History Museum to explore OUR contributions and activism.

Teaching About D.C. Activism

Domonique Spear, education manager at the DC History Center, introduced participants to the Teaching Black Lives Matter at School libguide. This guide includes primary resources and a lesson plan on activism which explores profiles of famous and less well-known African Americans in D.C. history There was time for participants to explore the guide and DC History Center website in small groups where they also shared ideas about how to bring this history to their classrooms.

One participant said, 

Learning that this resource exists was extremely helpful and will be utilized. Sharing this on Social Media & at my school!

Black Music Matters

Anne Smith, elementary music educator in Alexandria City Public Schools, took participants through an interactive workshop about D.C. area Black musician history. Designed to help participants analyze and evaluate classroom materials and lessons presented in music education through a cultural lens, Smith celebrated D.C. area Black musicians unapologetically in this workshop. In uplifting artists such as jazz musician Duke Ellington, the godfather of go-go Chuck Brown, and R & B icon Marvin Gaye, Smith reinforced how influential Black people from the DMV have been in all genres of music.

One participant shared: 

Many thoughts that I’ve kept to myself were shared during this workshop. I enjoyed the discussion about Black music and what it means. I could go on and on about this topic, but I appreciate the raw truth that Anne shared in this presentation.

Anne Smith (top left) taught Nadine (bottom left) when she was in the 2nd grade. Both are members of our DCAESJ working groups. Here they reconnect after decades!

Anti-Blackness Ain’t Beautiful: A Participatory Approach to Analyzing Artwork of the Black Experience

Stephen Newbold engaged participants in a close study protocol to examine art work by Black artists like Toyin Ojih Odutola, Kehinde Wiley, and Amy Sherald. Participants used D.C. Public Schools’ instructional routine to move through the five encounters, ranging from initial responses and general understanding to connections and opinion. At the end of the session, participants discussed ways to incorporate art and close examination into their classrooms.

Participants said,

“I felt that there was a true passion for this and that things that needed to be said and acknowledged were without any sugar coating. I hope this future professor will do wonders in his classes” and “I loved the resources shared of Black artists to incorporate in my art classroom and methods for critique; framing our exploration of artwork and the cultures tied to those works meaningfully, breaking away from a deficit frame of mind.”

It’s a celebration! Here are just a few of the people who worked the back end or presented at the Dec. 11th virtual curriculum fair gathering to celebrate and reflect on the day.

 
 
Black Lives Matter at SchoolAllison AcostaAll 13 Principles