Black Athletes and Civil Rights: 6 Upstanders to Introduce to Your Students
Beyond the 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team immortalized in the film Cool Runnings, Black athletes have played more central roles at the Winter Olympics than many people might realize. As we cheer on the 2022 Black Olympians, Black History Month is a great time to look back on the impact that Black Olympians and other Black athletes have beyond the world of sports.
African Americans and the History of "Human Rights"
As a United Nations panel of experts is set up to investigate systemic racism and human rights abuses against Black people around the world, we explore a series of African American leaders who have invoked the language of “human rights” to underscore the urgency of their situation here in the U.S.
5 New Books on Black History
These titles cover themes in Black history that are closely connected to the themes of our educator resources including the significant roles of Black people in the construction of the U.S. and the implications of decisions to memorialize (or not memorialize) those events.
Deep Dive into Black History: 12 Events + Resources for Educators
Below is a curated list of classroom resources and educator-relevant events available from Facing History’s peer and partner organizations across the education space this month and beyond.
The Union As It Was
Students examine documents that shed light on life in the South under the policies of Presidential Reconstruction in 1865 and 1866.
Radical Reconstruction and the Birth of Civil Rights
Students learn about the responses to Johnson’s policies by Republicans in Congress and examine the fourteenth amendment that overturned Presidential Reconstruction.
Expanding Democracy
Students reflect on the revolutionary changes that occurred because of the landmark legislation and amendments passed during the Reconstruction era.
The Targeting of Uighur Muslims in China
Help students understand the Chinese government’s violations of Uighur people’s human rights, hear the voice of a young Uighur woman, and consider the international community's response.
Dismantling Democracy (UK)
Students examine the steps the Nazis took to replace democracy with dictatorship and draw conclusions about the values and institutions that make democracy possible.
Exploring Identity (UK)
Students identify the social and cultural factors that help shape our identities by analysing a story and creating personal identity charts.
The Holocaust - Bearing Witness (UK)
Students are introduced to the enormity of the crimes committed during the Holocaust and look closely at stories of a few individuals who were targeted by Nazi brutality.