By Bridget Fuller

On February 12, the DCAESJ People’s History Secondary Working Group met to connect as a community of educators, discuss a people’s history lesson about transportation protests, and continue their Teaching for Black Lives book study.

The sixteen participants began the meeting in breakout rooms, where they introduced themselves and learned why they were drawn to gather in this space. Working group members also reflected on their lessons from Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, from Jan. 31st – Feb. 4th. Beth Barkley shared about her lesson on student marches throughout history. Her students created a life-sized march in the hallway with cutout tracings of themselves that could be scanned to learn more information about their topic. Back in the full group, Vanessa Williams presented highlights from the BLM Week of Action, including a gallery walk of children’s books and lessons taught in classrooms throughout the DC area.

The group then split into teams to answer Black History Month Health and Wellness Trivia. Rose Vigil said, “I really loved the trivia and I know so much to bring back to my class and research!” In addition to expanding their knowledge of lesser-known Black history, the winning team received copies of Harriet A. Washington’s Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present. 

After trivia, participants collaborated to discuss Ben Williams’ draft lesson on the Montgomery Bus Boycott. His goal in the lesson is to “present a textbook critique of the Montgomery Bus Boycott to help students understand the deeper, fuller, and more honest story of what is commonly thought of as the ‘start of the Civil Rights Movement.’” Participants quietly read and then shared what should be kept and ideas for improvement. They provided feedback on a jamboard, allowing participants to add to each other’s ideas. Some suggested using audio and visual resources in addition to text. Another suggestion was to extend the history beyond the Montgomery Bus Boycott using the Civil Rights Teaching’s timeline of transportation protests. Resource suggestions included Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Daybreak of Freedom: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, as well as primary sources from the Civil Rights Movement Archive and Chronicling America. In the full-group discussion, we talked about adding a focus on the long history of transportation protests and the large number of people who participated - history that is often left out of textbooks.

Finally, Tiferet Ani facilitated a discussion for the Teaching for Black Lives book study. To begin, the group read a selection of quotes from the chapters on restorative justice (pp. 273-283). Tiferet posted the quotes on a slide deck. In breakout rooms, members shared the quote that resonated with them and their approach to restorative justice and wrestled with questions to guide discussion:

• To what extent is your school or space committed to restorative justice? Has there been a retreat from or backlash to restorative justice at your school?

• Have you engaged in restorative practices in your own classroom? If so, what did that look like? If not, what ideas from this section of the book might help you implement restorative practices?

• What challenges or barriers are you facing in your classroom or in your space? How might you address them with a restorative approach?

Back in the main room, we shared highlights from the small group discussions dialogue. Many participants connected with the quote that “restorative justice doesn’t work as an add-on,” citing how they involve or would like to further involve the entire school and district in their practices. Other participants connected with restorative justice as a healing opportunity that is “based on teachers hearing, understanding, and responding to the academic, social, and emotional needs of students.”

In evaluating the session, Erin Coppola Klein “appreciated being in community once again,” while Alison Rice shared that “it is nice to know we are not alone in our feelings right now!”  Stacey Cohen felt inspired to use what she learned in her own “year long course on African American studies, and… appreciated brainstorming about Ben's lesson and seeing his feedback.” Danika Robison is “looking forward to practicing implementing restorative circles in my classroom as well as some of the topics about DC history this month.” The group left the call feeling restored and fueled for their upcoming weeks in the classroom.

Bridget Fuller is an intern with Teaching for Change in Spring 2022 while studying sociology and education at the University of Notre Dame.