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.
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)
Exploring Black History through Black Poets
Engage with the powerful voices of Black poets and the rich history of poetry during Black History Month and beyond.
![black notebook and pen](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-04/blackPoetry.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=JdZbuFgb)
New Teaching Resources for They Called Us Enemy and Author Event with George Takei
Participating in our All Community Read? Our recommended resources can support you and your school as you learn about Japanese American incarceration.
![Group of teenagers reading together](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-01/Group_of_teenagers_reading_together.jpg?h=9d5da6b6&itok=97iiMXGm)
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_)
George Takei on Standing Up to Racism, Then and Now
George Takei speaks to the Facing History community about his childhood experience in an incarceration camp and anti-Asian racism on the rise today.
![A black and white photo of George Takei](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-09/George%20Takei%20_v2.png?h=9a1378d6&itok=sRJKlDnn)
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)
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom
David Blight’s celebrated biography of Frederick Douglass provides insight into a complicated hero of the 19th century.
![Photograph of Frederick Douglass.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-06/frederick_douglass_2%20%28FH235%29_0.jpg?h=455cec67&itok=1eZvL_VC)
How One Lesbian Couple Defied the Nazis: An Interview with Dr. Jeffrey Jackson
Meet Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe (better known as Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore), a French lesbian couple who defied the Nazis with art.
![Dr. Jeffrey Jackson and his book, Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-03/image%20%282%29.jpg?h=1bdf24e3&itok=7Enx4K9t)
Student Reflections on Black History Month
Assistant Headteacher and Facing History Teacher Leader Sanum Khan shares an important conversation she had with students during Black History Month.
![Picture of students from Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-10/shfgs2_0.jpg?h=feb2fd08&itok=Dr4cPY9H)
Common Ground Revisited
Learn about the play Common Ground Revisited, which explores various ways that key historical actors may have experienced the 1970s school desegregation in Boston and the different ways that contemporary Bostonians relate to these historical events.
![Busing Information Phone Bank; City of Boston Mayor's Office in September 1974.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/Busing_Information_Phone%20Bank_City_Boston_Mayors_Office_September_1974.jpeg?h=18da7b47&itok=et7KRWL8)
Why Teach Reconstruction Today?
Studying the history of Reconstruction reveals that American history is lined with recurring cycles of social progress and backlash in which everyday people have surmounted immense barriers to drive powerful change.
![Man representing the Freedman's Bureau stands between armed groups of Euro-Americans and Afro-Americans.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-09/Freedman_bureau_harpers_cartoon_FH21213.jpg?h=83f3d97f&itok=jf0SD3Wz)