Ideas This Week
Ideas This Week is your hub for updates on all things Facing History—from announcements and featured press to expert interviews, impact stories, and essays on the ideas driving our work.
Understanding Our Past and Shaping Our Future During Civic Season
Learn more about Civic Season in this interview with upstander Alex Edgar, Youth Engagement Manager of Made By Us.
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![Volunteers plant a tree](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-06/Volunteers%20Planting%20a%20Tree%20%28FH2207952%29.png?h=93522f88&itok=TpyRhe1-)
Fostering Civic Imagination and Empowering Students to Shape the Future
Help students consider and pursue a better world, become empowered civic actors, and build connections using their imaginations.
![Students sitting around round table working on projects](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-04/Students%20sitting%20around%20round%20table%20working%20on%20projects%20%28FH2196858%29.jpg?h=1ed8eb50&itok=ijO4D_s5)
We Learn by Doing and Reflecting: Civic Voice and Action
Discover best practices on cultivating your students’ voices and facilitating civic action projects.
![Image of youth from KQED Youth Media Challenge event](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-02/CallForChange-Lockup.jpg?h=4c6c0eb8&itok=0Bah1OEZ)
Aliens in Their Own Land: The Incarceration of Japanese Americans
When racism and discrimination are deployed as national security measures, how can a nation make amends?
![An obelisk memorial with Japanese Kanji characters that read “Soul Consoling Tower.”](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-02/Manzanar_NHS_memorial_tower_3_0.jpg?h=9a3874b6&itok=pQmA5i7X)
Educators Have the Power to Strengthen Democracy
See how Facing History's civics education resources strengthen students' civic skills and attitudes about democratic participation.
![Teacher And Students having a discussion](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-01/SL_190522_0014.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=gP64QyiG)
Teaching about the January 6 Insurrection and its Impact on US Democracy
The January 6 insurrection remains important to understand and discuss, as well as the larger questions it raises about the state of US democracy. A recent poll found that 52% of young people between 18 and 29 believe that either US democracy is "in trouble" or "failed," while only 7% agree that it is "healthy," further highlighting the need to teach students about democratic institutions.
![Black and white photo of the US State House](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/b%26w_photo_us_state_house.png?h=a6c55029&itok=OVK2Jup-)
5 Tips for Speaking across Difference over the Holidays
As social gatherings commence this holiday season, explore these suggestions to help keep dialogue around sensitive topics productive and meaningful.
![A group of friends and family of Indian ethnicity sit at a table set with traditional Indian food. A high angle view from overhead of the food, plates, and dishes at the dining table.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-11/iStock-1064762202.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=zd-9v8JG)
Reflections on Plymouth: "This is where our people are."
Cheryl Andrews-Maltais talks about feelings around the Mayflower landing, celebrating Indigenous survival, and how to teach true history.
![Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, Chairwoman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah, is seen on July 8, 2019 in Boston, Boston Herald](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-09/Cheryl%20Andrews-Maltais%2C%20Chairwoman%20of%20the%20Wampanoag%20Tribe%20of%20Gay%20Head%20Aquinnah%2C%20is%20seen%20on%20July%208%2C%202019%20in%20Boston%2C%20Boston%20Herald.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=IjjcaSu_)
Commemorating Landmark Voting Rights Legislation and Celebrating Youth Activism
To celebrate International Youth Day and the anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, we reflect on the importance of youth in advocacy movements.
![African American demonstrators outside The White House, with signs "We Demand The Right To Vote, Everywhere" and signs protesting police brutality against Civil Rights demonstrators in Selma, Alabama](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-08/AfricanAmericansRightToVote_FH21247.jpg?h=6521bd5e&itok=9j0NUjW9)
How Two Teenagers Created a Textbook for Racial Literacy
Activist and author Winona Guo discusses the importance of personal narratives in fostering racial literacy and promoting democracy.
![Winona Guo And Priya Vulchi At TED Talk](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-08/24270063028_4e8fb648da_o%20%281%29.jpg?h=b69e0e0e&itok=-tjt-JsC)
Co-creating a New American Tradition
Explore how understanding Juneteenth and the Fourth of July together can tell a story of America that belongs to everyone.
![Woman With US Flag On Her Shoulders](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-06/josh-johnson-ALGRkWz3-yc-unsplash.jpg?h=c9f93661&itok=pltDxmSl)