Teaching Hard History: Recent Episodes
Learning for Justice
What we don’t know about American history hurts us all. Teaching Hard History begins with the long legacy of slavery and reaches through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the civil rights movement into the present day. Brought to you by Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) and hosted by Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Dr. Bethany Jay, Teaching Hard History brings us the lessons we should have learned in school through the voices of scholars and educators. It’s great advice for teachers and good information for everybody.
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries represents New York’s 8th congressional district. Our final episode this season takes us to the U.S. House of Representatives for a conversation between Rep. Jeffries and his brother, our host, Dr. Hasan Jeffries, to discuss the lingering effects of the Jim Crow era—including voter access, prison and policing reform and other enduring injustices—and to discuss the continued relevance of teaching “hard history” as it relates to public policy today.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
You can also receive professional development certificates when you listen to LFJ's other education podcasts—Queer America and The Mind Online!
And be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources for teaching about the intersection of sports and race during the Jim Crow era.
After emancipation, aspects of the legal system were reshaped to maintain control of Black lives and labor. Historian Robert T. Chase outlines the evolution of convict leasing in the prison system. And Historian Brandon T. Jett explores the commercial factors behind the transition from extra-legal lynchings to police enforcement of the color line. We examine the connections between these early practices and the more familiar apparatuses of today’s justice system—from policing to penitentiaries.
Learning for Justice has great tools for teaching about criminal justice during Jim Crow and after, like this article “Teaching About Mass Incarceration: From Conversation to Civic Action”.
Here’s the song “Jody” that Dr. Chase describes using in the classroom (from Bruce Jackson’s Wake Up Dead Man). To learn how coerced labor evolves after Jim Crow, you can read his book, We Are Not Slaves: State Violence, Coerced Labor, and Prisoners' Rights in Postwar America.
Check out Lynching in LaBelle, an amazing digital history project that Dr. Jett created with his students. And to learn more about the evolution of policing, you can read his book, Race, Crime, and Policing in the Jim Crow South.
For even more classroom resources about the history of convict leasing, policing and mass incarceration during the Jim Crow era, be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
From concertos to operas, Black composers captured the changes and challenges facing African Americans during Jim Crow. Renowned classical pianist Laura Downes is bringing new appreciation to the works of artists like Florence Price and Scott Joplin. In our final installment of Music Reconstructed, Downes discusses how we can hear the complicated history of this era with historian Charles L. Hughes.
And for helpful classroom resources, check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode.
When we consider the trauma of white supremacy during the Jim Crow era—what writer Ralph Ellison describes as “the brutal experience”—it’s important to understand the resilience and joy that sustained Black communities. We can experience that all through the “near-comic, near-tragic lyricism” of the blues. In part 3 of this series, acclaimed musician, songwriter and poet Adia Victoria shows how the bittersweet nature of blues does “the very emotionally mature work of acknowledging” this complex history.
And for helpful classroom resources, check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode.
Black political ideologies in the early 20th century evolved against a backdrop of derogatory stereotypes and racial terrorism. Starting with Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Agency, historian Minkah Makalani contextualizes an era of Black intellectualism. From common goals of racial unity to fierce debates over methods, he shows how movements of the 1920s and 1930s fed into what became the Civil Rights and Black Power Movement. Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd. And be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources for teaching about the intersection of sports and race during the Jim Crow era.
From ranches to railroads, learn about the often unrecognized role that African Americans played in the range cattle industry, as Pullman porters and in law enforcement. In part two of this special series, Grammy Award-winner Dom Flemons takes us on a musical exploration of the American West after emancipation. “The American Songster” joins historian Charles L. Hughes to discuss the complexity of his sounds, songs and stories about the Jim Crow era.
Dom Flemons shares even more songs in this 2020 online concert “Black Cowboy Songs and More from the American Songster” from the Library of Congress American Folklife Center. (He has been researching in their archives for over a decade. Your students can use their collections too!)
Read Rolling Stone’s interview with Dom—‘Old Town Road’ and the History of Black Cowboys in America—about the growing interest in mainstream entertainment.
Remember CDs and Vinyl? The physical copies of Black Cowboys from Smithsonian Folkways come with 40 pages of liner notes! They're full of photos and historical information (Want to see? Read to the end this article.)
And for even more helpful classroom resources, check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode.
This nation has a long history of exploiting Black Americans in the name of medicine. A practice which began with the Founding Fathers using individual enslaved persons for gruesome experimentation evolved into state-sanctioned injustices such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, among others. Award-winning author, historian Deirdre Cooper Owens details a chronology of medical malpractice and racist misconceptions about health while highlighting lesser-known stories of medical innovations by African Americans.
Be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources for teaching about medical racism during the Jim Crow era.
Like this online exhibition – Déjà Vu, We’ve Been Here Before: Race, Health, and Epidemics. This helpful resource was created by some of Dr. Cooper Owens' students for the Library Company of Philadelphia, where she also serves as Director of the Program in African American History.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
This is a special four-part series where historian Charles L. Hughes introduces us to musicians who are exploring the sounds, songs and stories of the Jim Crow era. In this installment, Jazz pianist Jason Moran discusses his acclaimed musical celebration of a man he calls “Big Bang of Jazz,” bandleader, arranger and composer James Reese Europe. During World War I, Europe fought as a Lieutenant with the fabled “Harlem Hellfighters” 369th U.S. Infantry and directed the regiment’s renowned band.
Watch his Kennedy Center performance and discover more about his Jason Moran's meditation on James Reese Europe.
Learn more about Black military service during Jim Crow in episode 409 – Black Soldiers: Global Conflict During Jim Crow with Adriane Lentz-Smith.
And for even more resources, check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode on our website.
During the Harlem Renaissance, more Black artists than ever before were asking key questions about the role of art in society. Oftentimes the Harlem Renaissance is misconstrued as a discrete moment in American history–not as the next iteration of a thriving Black artistic tradition that it was. Literature scholar Julie Buckner Armstrong urges educators to look deeper into the texts left to us by these artists and come to a fuller understanding of this stage in a long chronology of Black artistic expression.
Be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources for teaching about literature and the arts during the Jim Crow era.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
In the United States, Black athletes have had to contend with two sets of rules: those of the game and those of a racist society. While they dealt with 20th century realities of breaking the color line and the politics of respectability, Black fans, educational institutions, and the Black press were building sporting congregations with their own wealth and energy. Historians Derrick White and Louis Moore trace how these great men and women worked to create a more just future on the field and off.
And be sure to listen to their podcast – The Black Athlete – to learn even more about the history of sports and race.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources for teaching about the intersection of sports and race during the Jim Crow era.
Opportunities created by the New Deal were often denied to African Americans. And that legacy of exclusion to jobs, loans and services can be seen today in federal programs and policies as well as systemic inequities in housing, education, health and the accumulation of wealth. Historian Jill Watts examines the complicated history of the New Deal, beginning with the growing political influence of Black voters in the 1930s, the election of FDR and the creation of the Black Cabinet.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the code word, then visit tolerance.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources for teaching about the intersection of Black military service and American Jim Crow.
U.S. involvement in world wars and the domestic Black freedom struggle shaped one another. By emphasizing the diverse stories of servicemen and women, historian Adriane Lentz-Smith situates Black soldiers as agents of American empire who were simultaneously building their own institutions at home. While white elected officials worked to systemically embed segregation into government, African Americans attempted to bolster their citizenship and freedom rights through soldiering.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the code word, then visit tolerance.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources for teaching about the intersection of Black military service and American Jim Crow.
Historian Tera Hunter describes Black institution-building post-slavery and throughout the Jim Crow era, illustrating how Black workers reorganized labor to their advantage, despite virulent white resistance. During the same period, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) produced future leaders while cultivating resistance to white supremacy—and continue to do so. Educator Jelani Favors explains the evolution of these institutions, noting their legacies of social activism and student advocacy.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Visit our enhanced episode transcript for even more resources about using current events to teach about Black-institution building during the Jim Crow Era.
Naming the 1921 Tulsa massacre a “race riot” is inaccurate. Historian David Krugler urges listeners to call this and other violent attacks what they were: premeditated attempts at ethnic cleansing. Decades before, African Americans moved North in record numbers during the Great Migration. Krugler delves into connections between diaspora and violence and highlights the strength of Black communities in resistance to white supremacist terrorism.
Visit our enhanced episode transcript for even more resources for teaching about the Great Migration and Anti-Black Collective Violence during the era of Jim Crow.
And Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Black American experiences during Jim Crow were deeply affected by the ever-present threat of lynching and other forms of racist violence. Historian Kidada Williams amplifies perspectives from Black families, telling stories of lynching victims obscured by white newspapers. She and Kellie Carter Jackson urge educators to confront the role of this violence in American history, how major institutions stood idly by, and how Black Americans fought for justice.
Content Advisory: This episode contains graphic descriptions of racial violence, and we discuss strategies for sharing this difficult content with your students. ****
Educators, you can get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for even more resources for teaching about Lynching during the Jim Crow era.
The Lost Cause narrative would have us believe that Confederate monuments have always been celebrated, but people have protested them since they started going up. Historian Karen Cox unpacks how the United Daughters of the Confederacy used propaganda to dominate generations of teachings about the Civil War through textbooks, legislation, and popular culture—and how, after the war, the South and the North prized white reconciliation over justice for all.
Educators, you can get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for even more resources for teaching about the role of the Lost Cause narrative in the Jim Crow era.
Just months after the Civil War ended, former Confederates had regained political footholds in Washington, D.C. In her overview of Reconstruction, Kate Masur notes how—in the face of evolving, post-slavery white supremacy—Black people claimed their citizenship and began building institutions of their own. Ahmad Ward then takes us to 1860s Mitchelville, South Carolina, where Black policing power, land ownership and more self-governance were the norm.
Visit the enhanced episode transcript for even more resources for teaching about Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era.
And Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Historian Ed Baptist provides context on the creation and enforcement of a U.S. racial binary that endures today, as well as Black resistance as a force for political change. And Aisha White urges educators to ask themselves, “What did you learn about race when you were younger?” before they engage with children. She argues that self-reflection and ongoing education are vital tools to combat the fallacy of ignoring students’ racialized experiences.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
To start the conversation in your classroom, this overview of the “Historical Foundations of Race” by David Roediger is a comprehensive and perfect for educators—from the National Museum of African American History & Culture.
For younger learners, P.R.I.D.E.’s Research Findings offer valuable insights into child development and race. And elementary teachers may want to use this lesson—“Looking at Race and Racial Identity in Children’s Books”—from Learning for Justice.
If you’re interested in bringing archival sources into your lessons, Freedom on the Move provides some wonderful, detailed K-12 lessons utilizing fugitive slave ads. And here’s the 1910 essay “The Souls of White Folk” by W.E.B. Du Bois that was quoted in the introduction.
And be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for even more classroom resources about teaching the construction of race and the history of whiteness.
People from all corners of public life are telling teachers to stop discussions about race and racism in the classroom, but keeping the truth of the world from students simply doesn’t work. English teacher Matthew Kay urges educators to create brave spaces instead. He provides examples of classroom strategies for engaging with students at the intersections of race, literature and lived experience. Hint: it involves vulnerability, accountability and quality affirmations.
Visit the enhanced episode transcript for even more resources about strategies for teaching about Race and the Jim Crow era.
And Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
This season, we’re examining the century between the Civil War and the modern civil rights movement to understand how systemic racism and slavery persisted and evolved after emancipation—and how Black Americans still developed strong institutions during this time. Co-hosts Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Bethany Jay discuss how students need to grasp this history to understand injustices many of them face today, from voter suppression to mass incarceration.
Visit the enhanced episode transcript for even more resources about teaching the era of Jim Crow.
And Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
In 2015, Coach Steve Bandura loaded the Anderson Monarchs, a little league baseball team from Philadelphia, onto a 1947 Flxible Clipper Bus for a barnstorming tour back in time. Bandura and the players recount lessons learned while visiting historic civil rights sites, meeting veteran activists and playing baseball along the way. And historian Derrick E. White, co-host of The Black Athlete podcast, explores the intersection of sports and civil rights history.
Listen to our latest Spotify playlist for even more Movement Music inspired by this episode!
For good advice on teaching about barrier breakers like Jackie Robinson, read “More Than a Name: Teaching Historic Firsts”.
See pictures of the Anderson Monarchs Civil Rights Barnstorming Tour from the team’s website. And see great footage from the road in this video about the tour.
After you listen to The Black Athlete podcast, check out Derrick White’s book about the history of Black College Football: Blood, Sweat, and Tears.
See Mo'ne Davis on the cover of Sports Illustrated in this article about the underdogs from Philadelphia who took the Little League World Series by storm.
Be sure to visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources for teaching about sports and the civil rights movement.
And Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen to the episode for the special code word. Then visit learningforjustice/podcastPD.
The civil rights movement offers critical context for understanding the systemic police violence, voter suppression efforts, ‘law and order’ rhetoric and criminalization of activism we see today. It also helps us understand the strategies activists use to fight these injustices. Historians Shannon King and Nishani Frazier explain how they use 21st-century Black activism to teach the movement’s history—and how they use the movement to help students better understand the contemporary Black freedom struggle.
Listen to our latest Spotify playlist for even more Movement Music inspired by this episode.
“You do know that when Dr. King was alive we had the Watts riots…” – Watch the exchange we discuss between Don Lemon and Rev. Jesse Jackson during the 2014 Ferguson uprising.
Are you qualified to vote? – This is an amazing collection of Jim Crow era state voter applications and literacy tests from before the Voting Rights Act.
“Voter suppression then and now” – This lesson plan offers students historical context and an examination of the issue today.
“Teaching About Mass Incarceration: From Conversation to Civic Action” – A teacher shares ideas from her own classroom.
Visit the enhanced episode transcript for even more resources about using current events to teach about the civil rights movement.
And Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
The history of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense can help us understand the transition from civil rights to Black Power, as well as contemporary issues like mass incarceration. From the Ten-Point Platform to survival programs, historian Robyn C. Spencer outlines key aspects of the party’s revolutionary ideology, grassroots activism and community service. And historian Jakobi Williams joins to share valuable classroom insights.
Want more Movement Music? Our latest Spotify playlist has even more songs inspired by this episode.
Check out this great Resource Guide (pdf) – “Teaching The History of the Black Panther Party: 5 Essential FAQ’s” – from The Intersectional Black Panther Party History Project.
And your students can find rich archival materials about the Black Panthers online. This collection of Black Panther newspapers from 1968-1973 offers amazing articles and images from the moment of the movement. Or they can view these FBI investigative files on the Black Panther Party to see how the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office tracked the BPP’s activities, income, and expenses from 1969 to 1976.
Visit the enhanced episode transcript for even more classroom resources about teaching the Black Panther Party and the transition from Civil Rights to Black Power.
And Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Historian Clarence Lang joins us for a conversation about Malcolm X. We discuss his commitment to Black pride and self-determination and his rejection of the white gaze and the myth of American exceptionalism. Learn how teaching about the life and works of Malcolm X can illuminate the universe of possibilities of the civil rights movement—and the diversity of ideology, strategy and political thought within the Black freedom struggle.
Our latest Spotify playlist has even more Movement Music inspired by this episode.
Tyree Boyd-Pates posted some great photos of Malcolm Little in this Twitter thread. In the news, the Washington Post published a recently discovered letter attesting to FBI involvement in the assassination of Malcolm X. And here's a quick guide to teaching the Autobiography of Malcolm X from Penguin Random House. And visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources about Malcolm X.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
In this episode, we talk with movement veteran Courtland Cox about lessons from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and his own development as a young organizer of the Emmett Till generation. We join Karlyn Forner and John B. Gartrell to tour the resources available through SNCC Digital Gateway. And we hear from student organizer Kaia Woodford about the lessons from the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements that inform her activism today.
Our latest Spotify playlist has even more Movement Music inspired by this episode.
New For Educators: Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources about Community Organizing, Youth Leadership and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Oral histories, historic sites, archives and museums expand students’ understanding of the past. They fill in gaps in our textbooks—complementing what’s included and capturing what’s not. This episode highlights online oral history collections including the Civil Rights History Project. It offers recommendations for students conducting their own oral histories. And it explores resources from the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
Our latest Spotify playlist has even more Movement Music inspired by this episode.
New For Educators Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources about using primary sources to teach the Black freedom struggle.
Teaching civil rights history to young learners creates both opportunities and challenges. The 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project and the subsequent Freedom Schools offer important lessons for helping elementary students to understand the civil rights movement. In this episode, we explore community-based strategies and activities for bringing the black freedom struggle into your classroom.
Our latest Spotify playlist has even more Movement Music inspired by this episode.
And visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources about Freedom Summer, Freedom Schools and teaching the civil rights movement to K-5 students.
New For Educators Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Teaching Tolerance. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
If you're finding this podcast useful, please support us by taking our Listener Survey—only 10 questions—at learningforjustice.org/podcasts.
And stay tuned! More episodes are on the way.
In the meantime, if you're looking for ways to talk with students about the relationship between the hard history of white supremacy and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, you can find resources for leading student-responsive, historically grounded discussions about the recent violence at tolerance.org.
From the hard work of organizing to the reality of everyday life under Jim Crow, films and literature can bring historical context to life for students. In this episode, we recommend several “must use” films, books, poems and plays for teaching the civil rights movement. We also discuss strategies for incorporating these works across the curricula and for turning even problematic texts into grist for meaningful critical discussions.
Our latest Spotify playlist has even more Movement Music inspired by this episode.
And visit the enhanced episode transcript for additional classroom resources about Civil Rights Literature and Films.
New For Educators Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Teaching Tolerance. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Everyone thinks they know the story, but the real history of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott is even better. This episode details the events that set the stage for Ms. Parks’ civil disobedience. You’ll meet the leaders and organizations who transformed a moment of activism into a 13-month campaign. And you’ll learn about the community that held fast in the face of legal and political attacks, economic coercion, intimidation and violence.
Language Advisory: This episode contains historical reenactments of interviews and courtroom testimony which contain some profanity and racial slurs.
Be sure to check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode for resources to help you teach the full story of the Montgomery Bus. Boycott.
For more movement music inspired by this episode, check out the new Spotify playlist.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
To fully understand the United States today, we have to comprehend the central role that slavery played in our nation’s past. That legacy is also the foundation for understanding the civil rights movement and its place within the history of the Black freedom struggle. This episode is a special look back at our first season. It explores and expands on the 10 key concepts that ground Teaching Tolerance’s K-12 frameworks for teaching the hard history of American slavery.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And for even more resources, check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode on our website.
You cannot teach the civil rights movement without talking about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But it’s critical that students deconstruct the mythology surrounding the movement’s most iconic figure to learn about the man, not just the hero. The real Dr. King held beliefs that evolved over time. A complex man, he was part of a much larger movement—one that shaped him as much as he shaped it. Our new Spotify playlist has even more movement music inspired by this episode.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And for even more resources, check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode. For example...
These Birmingham News file photos from the 40s, 50s and 60s, recollect the explosive death and destruction at the hands of racists in ‘Bombingham.’
And the lesson “Birmingham 1963: Primary Documents” asks your students to interrogate historical documents with differing opinions about this conflict.(Grades 6-8, 9-12)
New from Teaching Tolerance: Introduce your students to the history of Indigenous enslavement on land that is currently the United States with The Forgotten Slavery of our Ancestors (12 min)—along with Discussion Guide.
The Civil Rights Movement was never strictly a Southern phenomenon. To better understand the Jim Crow North, we explore discrimination and Black protest in places like Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland and New York. To examine the Black Freedom Movement beyond the South, we examine the Black-led fights to gain access to decent housing, secure quality education and end police brutality in these cities.
For more movement music inspired by this episode, visit this new Spotify playlist.
Be sure to watch our new classroom film The Forgotten Slavery of our Ancestors (12 min), which offers an introduction to the history of Indigenous enslavement on land that is currently the United States. And here's a Discussion Guide with Text Dependent Questions for the film.
The Roz Payne Sixties Archive, a one-of-a-kind digital archive of historical artifacts from a wide array of social movements.
In this lesson—"The Color of Law: Creating Racially Segregated Communities"—Students examine local, state and federal policies that supported racially discriminatory practices and cultivated racially segregated housing.
For even more resources, check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Armed resistance and nonviolent direct action co-existed throughout the civil rights era. In this episode, three historians confront some comfortable assumptions about nonviolence and self-defense. Wesley Hogan examines the evolution, value and limitations of nonviolence in the movement. Christopher Strain offers a three-part strategy for rethinking this false dichotomy in the classroom. And Akinyele Umoja offers insights about armed resistance from his research in Mississippi.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
For more movement music inspired by this episode, visit this new Spotify playlist.
And check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode.
Alice Qannik Glenn is the host of Coffee and Quaq and assistant producer of The Forgotten Slavery of our Ancestors. This short, classroom-ready film offers an introduction to the history of Indigenous enslavement on land that is currently the United States. This new resource from Teaching Tolerance features an extensive group of experts, many of whom will be familiar to listeners from Season 2.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And for even more resources, check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode on our website.
Jim Crow was more than signs and separation. It was a system of terror and violence created to control the labor and regulate the behavior of Black people. In this episode, historian Stephen Berrey unpacks the mechanics of racial oppression, the actions white people took—in and beyond the South—to maintain white supremacy, and the everyday ways Black people fought back. And the directors of the film An Outrage join ELA teacher Ahmariah Jackson to discuss teaching the racial terror of lynching.
For more movement music inspired by this episode, visit this new Spotify playlist.
Here's the Gordon Parks' 1956 Atlanta airline terminal photograph that Dr. Berrey describes.
Check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode. It is full of links to resources related to this episode, like this audio of Daisy Thomas Livingston from the Behind the Veil oral history collection about the Jim Crow South, this interactive map of "Sundown Towns in the United States." Or the teaching guide and full documentary An Outrage (free to stream at tolerance.org)
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Music chronicles the history of the civil rights struggle: The events, tactics and emotions of the movement are documented in songs of the era. From The Freedom Singers to Sam Cooke, historian Charles L. Hughes explains how your students can use music for both historical insight and evidence in the classroom.
For more movement music, check out this episode’s Spotify playlist.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And you can find useful resources—like how to bring Beyoncé into your classroom with "Pop Music as Critical Text"—along with a full transcript on our website.
Students don’t enter our classrooms as blank slates. When it comes to the civil rights movement, we often have to help our students unlearn what they think they know while we’re teaching them what actually happened. The people were more complex, the strategies more complicated and the stakes more dangerous than we like to remember. In this episode, historian Nishani Frazier and social studies teacher Adam Sanchez demonstrate the value of teaching the movement from the grassroots up.
Check out Nishani's Harambee City website and Adam's “Teaching SNCC" classroom activities.
You can find more useful resources like those – along with an enhanced transcript – on our website.
For more Movement Music, check out the Spotify playlist for this episode.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Teaching the civil rights movement accurately and effectively requires deconstructing the myths and misconceptions about the civil rights movement. Most people are familiar with a very specific version of the Civil Rights Movement that exaggerates Government support and denies the existence and persistence of racism outside the South. Julian Bond called this the “Master Narrative.” It celebrates sanitized icons and downplays grassroots organizing. It overhypes nonviolence while disparaging self-defense and Black Power. In this episode, we talk with historian Nishani Frazier and social studies teacher Adam Sanchez about how to separate civil rights fact from civil rights fiction in your classroom.
You can find links to useful resources—like Adam’s “Who said it: Malcolm or Martin?” worksheet (and the answer key)—along with an enhanced transcript on our website.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to check out the Spotify playlist for this episode
The systems that enabled and perpetuated African and Indigenous enslavement in what is now the U.S. have much in common, and their histories tell us a great deal about the present. Professors Bethany Jay and Steven Oliver join us to talk about connections between the first two seasons and how to teach them, and we preview what’s to come in season three.
You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
In this special call-in episode, listeners share their stories and questions from throughout season 2—including teaching remotely, working with families and stakeholders, and incorporating social justice into subjects like math and science. As educators, we’re strongest when we support each other.
And you’ll hear great suggestions from fellow teachers, like these resources we discuss from Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia:
- Changes in Population (PDF 800 KB)
- Dos and Don’ts of Teaching About Race, Culture, and Identity (PDF 130 KB)
- The Role of Virginians During the Civil War(PDF 1.4 MB)
- The Role of Virginians in the Founding of the New Nation (PDF 970 KB)
Of course, you'll find more even more resources, links and a complete transcript on our website.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
It’s time for our first call-in show! We know things are chaotic for you and every other educator right now. We feel it too, so this seems like the perfect time to talk. Pick up the phone and dial 888-59-STORY (888-597-8679). Our lines are open until Sunday night, April 19. Teaching hard history is even harder right now, so let’s talk about resources you can use if you’re teaching virtually. Ask us your questions; tell us your stories. And let us know how you’re doing.
Whether you work with elementary, middle or high school students or whether you teach social studies or English language arts, the coming months are a good time to plan how you can bring accurate, foundational content about enslavement into your lessons. Tell us how you’ve been introducing your students to enslavement. What have you learned? What can we do to help? And we’ll try to have you on the show next week. P.S. If you like, you can also email us at podcasts@tolerance.org.
Indian Removal was a brutal and complicated effort that textbooks often simplify. It is also inseparably related to slavery. Enslavers seeking profit drove demand for Indigenous lands, displacing hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people. Some of these Indigenous people participated in chattel slavery. Focusing on the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, this episode pulls the lens back to show how Removal and enslavement must be taught together. This story must be told if we're going to understand the full hard history of American enslavement.
You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
The Americas were built on the lands, labor and lives of Indigenous peoples. Despite being erased from history textbooks after the so-called first Thanksgiving, Indigenous peoples did not disappear. Colonial settlers relied on the cooperation, exploitation and forced labor of their Native neighbors to survive and thrive in what became North America. Focusing on New England, historian Margaret Newell introduces us to the Charter Generation of systematically enslaved people across this continent.
You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
From 1936 to 1938, the Federal Writers’ Project collected stories from people who had been enslaved. The WPA Slave Narrative Collection at the Library of Congress is a valuable resource; these oral histories are also problematic. Interpreting these narratives within literary and historical context, students can develop primary source literacy. Historian Cynthia Lynn Lyerly outlines unique insights these texts can add to your curriculum.
You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
To better understand the United States’ past and present, we need to better understand Indigenous identities—and our classrooms play a huge role. This starts with examining what’s missing from our social studies, history, civics and government curricula. Throughout this episode, we reference the K-5 Framework for Teaching Hard History as we shed light on key topics like sovereignty, land and erasure.
You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Educators can no longer ignore our country’s history of Indigenous enslavement. Our students need a fuller understanding of the pivotal history of slavery to comprehend the present and develop a vision for our nation’s future. In this mid-season recap, we highlight key lessons about this consequential part of American history—along with teaching strategies and resources—through the voices of leading scholars and educators featured so far.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these...
Resources and Readings Guests
- Maureen Costello (Episode 1): Teaching Tolerance
- Eduardo Díaz (Episode 1): Smithsonian Latino Center
- Renée Gokey (Episode 1): National Museum of the American Indian
- Christina Snyder (Episodes 2 and 3): McCabe Greer Professor of History, Penn State University
- Debbie Reese (Episode 6): American Indians in Children's Literature
- Andrés Reséndez (Episodes 7 and 8): The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America
References:
- Teaching Tolerance: Frameworks, Teaching Hard History
- Teaching Tolerance: Lesson, Rethinking Discovery
- Christina Snyder, Slavery in Indian Country: The Changing Face of Captivity in Early America
- Christina Snyder, Great Crossings; Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in the Age of Jackson
- Teaching Hard History, Summary Objective 2 (Colonial enslavement of Indigenous people)
- Andrés Reséndez, A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca
- Spain, Requerimiento: The Spanish Requirement of 1513
- Teaching Tolerance, Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way
- The New York Times, Everything You Learned About Thanksgiving Is Wrong
- Teaching Tolerance, Emancipation Proclamation
- Teaching Hard History, Summary Objective 16 (Lincoln and the Dakota 38)
- The New York Times, Lincoln and the Sioux
- Spanish forced labor, Encomienda
- Spanish forced labor, Repartimiento
- Southern United States, Convict leasing
- PBS: Slavery by Another Name, Slavery v. Peonage
Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the forced labor and bondage of Indigenous peoples was integral to the economic and political history of what became the Southwestern United States. Historian and author Andrés Reséndez outlines the significance of silver mining, Indigenous enslavement and resistance in the history of New Mexico and Latin America. We also examine how, as white settlers moved west, so-called “free soil” states like California continued to institutionalize coerced labor.
You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
A hundred years before the first ship carrying enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia, Europeans introduced the commercial practice of enslavement in “The New World.” And for the next 400 years, millions of Indigenous people throughout the Americas were enslaved through several forms of forced labor and bondage. Historian and author Andrés Reséndez calls this “The Other Slavery,” and his work is changing our understanding of the transatlantic slave trade.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these...
Resources and Readings * Teaching Hard History, Summary Objective 1 * Teaching Hard History, Summary Objective 2
Andrés Reséndez
History, University of California, Davis
- The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America
- A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca
References:
- Ancient History Encyclopedia, Atahualpa
- Spanish forced labor, Encomienda
- Spanish forced labor, Repartimiento
- Southern United States, Convict leasing
- PBS: Slavery by Another Name, Slavery v. Peonage
- Interviews with Historians, Brett Rushforth
- Portuguese slave trade, São Jorge da Mina
- American Heritage, Columbus and Genocide
- Massimo Livi-Bacci, The Depopulation of Hispanic America after the Conquest
- Spain, New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians
- Nancy E. van Deusen, Global Indios: The Indigenous Struggle for Justice in Sixteenth-Century Spain
And you'll find a full episode transcript on our site.
Andrés Reséndez is the author of The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America. His work has changed conventional wisdom about the institution of slavery in the Atlantic World. Over the next two episodes, host Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Reséndez will discuss key turning points in this history—exploring how it expands our understanding of the transatlantic slave trade and the lasting legacy of colonialism, which continues to reverberate in our communities. Be sure to join us.
And you'll find a full episode transcript on our site.
Each autumn, Thanksgiving brings a disturbing amount of inaccurate information and troubling myths into classrooms across the United States. Most students don’t learn much about the history of Native nations—and even less about Indigenous peoples today. Dr. Debbie Reese explains what to look for and what to avoid (or teach with a critical lens) when selecting children’s books by and about Indigenous people. She also recommends specific books to counter common misconceptions in your classroom.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these...
Resources and Readings * Teaching Tolerance, I Am the Blood of the Conqueror; I Am the Blood of the Conquered * Teaching Tolerance, Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way * ReadWriteThink: Debbie Reese, Native Americans Today: Lesson Plan
Dr. Debbie Reese
Editor/Publisher, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) | Twitter
References:
- AICL, A critical look at O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins
- Andrea L. Rogers, Mary and the Trail of Tears: A Cherokee Removal Survival Story
- Traci Sorell, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
- The New York Times, Everything You Learned About Thanksgiving Is Wrong
- Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
- Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese), An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People
- Carole Lindstrom, We Are Water Protectors
- First People, How the Chipmunk Got his Stripes
- National Indian Education Association, Policy Issues: Education
- Leilani Sabzalian, Indigenous Studies in Education, University of Oregon
- Sarah Shear, K-12 Teacher Resources
- Cynthia Leitich Smith, Hearts Unbroken
- National Indian Child Welfare Association, Indian Child Welfare Act
- AICL, L. Frank Baum: Author of Wizard of Oz books and racist editorials on American Indians
- Charlene Willing McManis, Indian No More
- Teaching Hard History, Summary Objective 16 (Lincoln and the Dakota 38)
- The New York Times, Lincoln and the Sioux
- Eric Gansworth, Writer and Visual Artist: Books
- Robbie Robertson, Testimony
And you'll find a full episode transcript on our site.
Children’s books are often the primary way young students are exposed to the history of American slavery. But many books about slavery sugarcoat oppression. Professor Ebony Elizabeth Thomas examines what we should consider when it comes to how children’s books portray African Americans and Indigenous people, their cultures and the effects of enslavement. She also explains why it’s crucial to create “a balance of narratives” when selecting books about marginalized and underrepresented communities.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these...
Resources and Readings * Teaching Tolerance, "Lies My Bookshelf Told Me" * Teaching Tolerance, "Hercules’ Daughter" * Rethinking Schools, Teaching for Black Lives
Ebony Elizabeth Thomas
- University of Pennsylvania, Literacy, Culture, and International Education
- Twitter, @Ebonyteach
- The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games
References:
- Virginia Hamilton, The House of Dies Drear
- Walter Dean Myers, The Legend of Tariq
- John Steptoe, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
- Tonya Bolden, Searching for Sarah Rector
- PBS Africans in America, Benjamin Banneker
- National Archives, "To Thomas Jefferson from Benjamin Banneker, 1791"
- Chinua Achebe (Wikipedia)
- Imani Perry, May We Forever Stand:A History of the Black National Anthem
- James Weldon Johnson (Wikipedia)
- Teaching Tolerance, Black History Month: Teaching Beyond Slavery
- N. K. Jemisin, How Long 'til Black Future Month?
- Rudine S Bishop, Free Within Ourselves: The Development of African American Children's Literature
- Glenda Armand, Love Twelve Miles Long
- Ashley Bryan, Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams
- Teaching Tolerance, Meet Frederick Douglass
- Detroit History, Frederick Douglass and John Brown Meeting Place
- Manumission (Wikipedia)
- Amma Asante film, Belle (Wikipedia)
- Emily Jenkins, A Fine Dessert: Four Centuries, Four Families, One Delicious Treat
- The New York Times, “Scholastic Halts Distribution of ‘A Birthday Cake for George Washington’”
- Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge
Hasan Kwame Jeffries
- Ohio State University, African-American History
- All Sides with Ann Fisher (radio), Black History Is American History
- Ohio State University, United Black World Month
And you'll find a full episode transcript on our site.
For elementary teachers approaching the topic of slavery, it can be tempting to focus only on heroes and avoid explaining oppression. But teachers’ omissions speak as loudly as what they choose to include. And what children learn in the early grades has broad consequences for the rest of their education. Dr. Kate Shuster guides us through the new Teaching Hard History K–5 framework from Teaching Tolerance. We also learn how four elementary teachers are beginning to use it in their classrooms.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these...
Resources and Readings * Teaching Tolerance magazine, "We Are Our Ancestors' Wildest Dreams" * James Madison's Montpelier, The Mere Distinction of Colour (exhibition)
Kate Shuster
- Teaching Tolerance articles
- Teaching Tolerance, Teaching the Movement
- Teaching Hard History, K-5 Framework: Essential Knowledge
Bria Wright
Fifth grade, Raleigh, North Carolina, Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board
References:
- Teaching Hard History, K-5 Framework: Essential Knowledge #1
- Beyoncé, Freedom feat. Kendrick Lamar (video)
- Glenn E. Singleton, Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools
- Teaching Tolerance, My Multicultural Self
Marvin Reed
Third grade, Berkeley, California, Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board
References:
- Teaching Tolerance, Remembering My Four Friends 50 Years Later
- Teaching Hard History, K-5 Framework: Essential Knowledge #5
- Teaching Tolerance, The Story of César Chávez, Dolores Huerta and a Great Movement for Social Justice
- Teaching Hard History, K-5 Framework: Essential Knowledge #7
- English Language Arts (ELA) Standards
- Teaching Tolerance: Lesson, The Little Rock Battle for School Integration
- Sharon Draper, Fire from the Rock
- Teaching Tolerance: Feature, Beyond the Little Rock Nine
- Langston Hughes
- Maya Angelou
Alice Mitchell
Fifth grade, Boston, Massachusetts, Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board
References:
- Teaching Hard History, K-5 Framework: Essential Knowledge #12
- NEA, K-W-L Charts (Know, Want to Know, Learned)
- Teaching Hard History, K-5 Framework: Essential Knowledge #14
- Teaching Tolerance, Poster Warning Blacks in Boston: Kidnappers
Marian Dingle
Fourth grade, Atlanta, Georgia, Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board
References:
- Teaching Hard History, K-5 Framework: Essential Knowledge #15
- The New York Times: Nikole Hannah-Jones, The 1619 Project
- U.S. Supreme Court, Dred Scott v. Sandford
- PBS/WGBH, Africans in America: The Middle Passage
And you'll find a full episode transcript on our site.
Understanding Indigenous enslavement expands our conception of slavery in what is now the United States. It spread across the entire continent and affected millions of people of different backgrounds. If we define slavery too narrowly, we can fail to see its persistence over time and even its modern-day permutations. Historian Christina Snyder examines the Civil War, Lincoln and emancipation with Indigenous people in mind.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these...
Resources and Readings * Teaching Hard History, K-5 Framework: Essential Knowledge #18 * Teaching Hard History, 6-12 Framework: Objective #8 * Teaching Hard History, 6-12 Framework: Objective #16 * National Museum of the American Indian, Native Knowledge 360° * Minnesota Historical Society, Dakota War of 1862
Christina Snyder
McCabe Greer Professor of History, Penn State University
- Slavery in Indian Country: The Changing Face of Captivity in Early America
- Great Crossings; Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in the Age of Jackson
References:
- Teaching Tolerance, The Underground Railroad
- U.S. Supreme Court, Worcester v. Georgia
- Smithsonian film, The “Indian Problem”
- Malinda Maynor Lowery, The Lumbee Indians: An American Struggle
- University of Minnesota, Holocaust and Genocide Studies
- Teaching Tolerance, Emancipation Proclamation
- Time, How a Court Answered a Forgotten Question of Slavery’s Legacy
- WNET, Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)
- Crooked Media podcast, This Land
And you'll find a full episode transcript on our site.
Millions of Indigenous people lived in North America before European colonial powers invaded. Along with an insatiable desire for free labor, Europeans brought systems of slavery that significantly differed from the historical practices of enslavement among Native nations. Historian Christina Snyder explains what happened when these worlds collided. European concepts of bondage transformed the way Native nations interacted, resulted in the enslavement and death of millions and sparked widespread resistance.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these...
Resources and Resources * Teaching Tolerance: Lesson, Rethinking Discovery * Teaching Tolerance: I am the Blood of the Conqueror, I am the Blood of the Conquered * Teaching Tolerance: Stowage on the Slave Ship Brooks, 1788 * Wikipedia: Requerimiento: The Spanish Requirement of 1513
Christina Snyder
McCabe Greer Professor of History, Penn State University
- Slavery in Indian Country: The Changing Face of Captivity in Early America
- Great Crossings; Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in the Age of Jackson
References:
- Teaching Tolerance: Lesson, Precolumbian Native Peoples and Technology
- Doctrine of Discovery
- Teaching Tolerance: The Atlantic Slave Trade what too few textbooks told you
- U.S. Supreme Court, Johnson V. M’Intosh
- Wikipedia: Requerimiento: The Spanish Requirement of 1513
- Mapping the Mississippian Shatter Zone: The Colonial Indian Slave Trade and Regional Instability in the American South
- Sarah Shear, Social Studies & Multicultural Education, University of Washington-Bothell
American slavery shaped our modern world and most certainly the foundation and development of what is now the United States. The Smithsonian’s Eduardo Díaz and Renée Gokey discuss the importance of learning about Indigenous enslavement. And Teaching Tolerance Director Maureen Costello explains all of the program’s classroom resources available for teaching this history, including a first-of-its-kind K-5 framework.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these...
Resources and Readings * Teaching Hard History: American Slavery * Teaching Hard History Key Concept Videos * Teaching American Slavery Through Inquiry
Maureen Costello
Director, Teaching Tolerance
References:
- Ira Berlin, The Making of African America: The Four Great Migrations
- Ira Berlin, The Long Emancipation: The Demise of Slavery in the United States
- Kathy Swan, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Kentucky
- National Council for History Education
- Teaching Tolerance: Text, I Have a Dream by MLK
- Teaching Tolerance: Webinar, Beyond the Bus: Teaching the Unseen Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
- Teaching Tolerance: The Moment, Teaching the Truth about Confederate History
Eduardo Díaz
Director, Smithsonian Latino Center
Renée Gokey
Teacher Services Coordinator, National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) | Teaching Tolerance author
References:
- Andrés Reséndez, The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America
- NPR Genevieve Valentine, Horrors Pile Up Quietly In 'The Other Slavery'
- Stephen Warren, The Worlds the Shawnees Made: Migration and Violence in Early America
- Christopher Columbus, Extracts from Journal
- Indigenous Peoples' Curriculum Day and Teach-In
- Native Knowledge 360°
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- NMAI exhibition, Taíno: Native Heritage and Identity in the Caribbean
- NMAI exhibition, T.C. Cannon: At the Edge of America
- Teaching Tolerance: Text, Indian Removal Act: Primary Documents in American History
- National Museum of American History, Molina Family Latino Gallery
Hasan Kwame Jeffries
Department of History, Ohio State University | Teaching Hard History author
References:
- CARTER Center for K–12 Black History Education, Teaching Black History Conference
- Carter Conference 2019, Teaching about the Beauty, Power, and Resistance of Black History
- Dr. LaGarrett King, founding director CARTER Center, University of Missouri
- James Madison’s Montpelier (Ohio State University students' visit)
- Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
- Barry Thomas, Director of Equity and Diversity, Omaha Public Schools
We’re turning our attention to the enslavement of Indigenous people, spending more time with teachers in the classroom and adding support for K–5 educators. Tune in next week for more advice about teaching the history and long legacy of American slavery.
And you'll find a full episode transcript on our site.
Historian Bethany Jay returns – answering questions from educators across the country. Host Hasan Kwame Jeffries and the co-editor of Understanding and Teaching American Slavery confront teacher anxieties and counter misconceptions in our season finale.
Visit the show notes for this episode to find a complete transcript and a list of resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
From elementary to high school, YA literature can introduce fundamental themes and information about slavery, especially when paired with primary sources. John H. Bickford shows how to capitalize on the strengths and weaknesses of trade books about slavery.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the show notes for this episode, for a complete transcript and resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
Using the present to explore the past. Tamara Spears and Jordan Lanfair suggest a Social Studies unit about Resistance & Kanye West, and a set of English Language Arts lessons examining holidays—from Juneteenth to Columbus Day—to understand the legacy of American slavery.
Visit the show notes for this episode to find a complete transcript and a list of resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
How it’s done. Tamara Spears teaches middle school Social Studies in New York and Jordan Lanfair is a high school English Language Arts teacher in Chicago. Each has been developing additional lessons about slavery for years. They share their experiences.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the show notes for this episode, for a complete transcript and resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
Over the next few episodes, we're bringing Season One to a close. Tune in for stories from the classroom, guidance for elementary teachers and language arts classes. And answers to questions from listeners like you. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
Enslavement didn’t end with Emancipation. Historian James Brewer Stewart discusses modern-day slavery happening across the world—and right here in the U.S. – showing educators how to connect the past with the present.
Visit the show notes for this episode to find a complete transcript and a list of resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
A listener’s question leads to a meaningful moment. And now we want more! Take a listen, then email podcast@tolerance.org to tell us your story about teaching hard history for an upcoming, special episode. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
At James Madison’s Montpelier, the legacy of enslaved people isn’t silenced—and their descendants have a voice. Christian Cotz, Price Thomas and Dr. Patrice Preston Grimes explain how that happened, and why it’s important.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the show notes for this episode, for a complete transcript and resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
In the United States, justice was never blind. Historian Paul Finkelman goes beyond legal jargon to illustrate how slavery was entangled with the opinions of the Court—and encoded into the Constitution itself.
Visit the show notes for this episode to find a complete transcript and a list of resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Constitutional historian Paul Finkelman explains the deeply racist bargains the founding fathers struck to unify the country under one document and discusses what students should know about how slavery defined the United States after the Revolution.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the show notes for this episode, for a complete transcript and resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
Film historian Ron Briley returns with more documentary, feature film & miniseries suggestions for history & English teachers. From Ken Burns to Black Panther, this episode offers background & strategies to incorporate pop culture into classroom lessons.
Visit the show notes for this episode to find a complete transcript and a list of resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Film has long shaped our nation's historical memory, for good and bad. Film historian Ron Briley offers ways to responsibly use films in the classroom to reframe the typical narrative of American slavery and Reconstruction.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the show notes for this episode, for a complete transcript and resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
Most students leave school thinking enslaved people lived like characters in Gone with the Wind. Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens reveals the remarkable diversity of lived experiences within slavery and explains the gap between what scholars and students know.
Visit the show notes for this episode to find a complete transcript and a list of resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
To see a more complete picture of the experience of enslaved people, you have to redefine resistance, Dr. Kenneth S. Greenberg offers teachers a lens to help students see the ways in which enslaved people fought back against the brutality of slavery.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the show notes for this episode, for a complete transcript and resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
Students learning about slavery often ask, “Why didn’t enslaved people just run away or revolt?” Lindsay Anne Randall offers a lesson in “Process Drama”—a method teachers can use to answer this question, build empathy and offer perspective.
Visit the show notes for this episode to find a complete transcript and a list of resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
In many ways, the U.S. has fallen short of its ideals. How can we explain this to students—particularly in the context of discussing slavery? Professor Steven Thurston Oliver has this advice for teachers: Face your fears.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the show notes for this episode, for a complete transcript and resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
When we think of slavery as a strictly Southern institution, we perpetuate a “dangerous fiction,” according to Professor Christy Clark-Pujara. Avoid the trap with this episode about the role the North played in perpetuating slavery and the truth behind the phrase “slavery built the United States.”
Visit the show notes for this episode to find a complete transcript and a list of resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
Dr. Bethany Jay is back to talk about teaching the end of the Civil War, and how enslaved people’s participation in the war helped subvert the institution of slavery.
Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.
And be sure to visit the show notes for this episode, for a complete transcript and resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
What really caused the Civil War? In this episode, Salem State University Professor Bethany Jay offers tips for teaching lesser-known history that clarifies this question and cuts through our cloudy national understanding of the Confederacy. With host Hasan Kwame Jeffries. (Teaching Tolerance / Southern Poverty Law Center)
Visit the show notes for this episode to find a complete transcript and a list of resources to help you teach the ideas explored by our guests.
And educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.