Anti-Racist Resources
This is inspired by the thread created by Melinda D. Anderson #CharlottesvilleCurriculum on Twitter in response to the White Supremacist/NAZI rally, violence and murder that took place in Charlottesville.
As educators, our job is to protect, support, love and educate all of our students. Anyone can add to this document. Please feel free to add & make your own copy. This is a working document.
I have changed the file to Comment only. I will add in anti-racist resources that are shared, and continue to curate sources that I find. Any hateful comments will be deleted with no response given. Thanks to everyone who has shared the file & contributed. Please feel free to tweet me resources @JulieBoulton12 or use a comment box to share a resource.
[1]Someone messaged me that they are unsure how to make a copy - you click on File in the top left corner, scroll down and click copy. Hope that helps! (If you are not familiar with Google Docs - you can also click File, scroll down to Download as and download this as a Word Doc). Please keep sharing & adding!
Thank you!
Table of Contents
Resources for Teaching After Charlottesville
Having Difficult Conversations in Class/Student Empowerment
From Provocative to Productive: Teaching Controversial Topics
Type of Resource | Notes | Audience | From |
Heart-rending read from a Black father dropping his daughter off at school after rally/murder in Charlottesville | Middle-High School | Kamau Bobb | |
Padlet with analysis handouts | Middle-High School | Jarred Amato | |
Article LA Times: How to talk to your kids about the violence in Charlottesville | Article providing ideas/tips/resources on how to speak to youth about the violence. | Tips and tools for elementary/high school level | LA Times |
Article explaining why Robert E. Lee himself thought that Confederate monuments would be damaging to American society | Middle-High School | PBS Newshour | |
Blog: My Fellow White Americans - Blog | Powerful blog on a woman’s perspective on the White Supremacist/Nazi rally/violence in Charlottesville | Middle school - High School | |
Collection of resources on civil rights/social justice, racial profiling & stereotyping and bullying prevention resources | Middle School - High School | ||
There Aren't 'Many Sides' - Article | Article looking at the events that took place in Charlottesville & Trump’s speech about ‘many sides’ & why it is so wrong | Middle School - High School | Globe and Mail Sarah Kendzior tisle |
Confronting White Supremacy: Lessons From a Counter-Rally at the Birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan | Article/Interview one month prior to August rally about Ku Klux Klan and race in Charlottesville | Middle School - High School | Truth Out |
Guardian news article: Woman killed at Charlottesville far-right rally was civil rights activist | News article that identifies Heather Heyer (the young woman killed) and provides some contextual information about her | Middle School - High School | The Guardian - Maev Kennedy |
Seven Ways That Teachers Can Respond to the Evils of Charlottesville, Starting Now | Article/resources on Anti-Racist Education | Teachers/Admin | Xian Franzinger Barrett Alt Net |
Article outlining how Twitter is identifying people at the rally. | Middle-High School/Teachers & Admin | ||
John Oliver on Trump's Charlottesville response: 'There's no point waiting for leadership' | Video & article on Trump’s response | Middle-High School/Teachers & Admin | |
Trump finally condemns Charlottesville racism, days after violence | Article - Trump finally condemns the NAZIs and white supremacists after extreme public/political pressure | Middle-High School/Teachers & Admin | |
A resource created by the Graduate Student Coalition for Liberation to help educate readers about the long history of white supremacy in Charlottesville | Middle-High School/Teachers & Admin | Graduate Student Coalition for Liberation | |
Democracy can’t be taken for granted. Charlottesville proves that. | Article - tragedy in Charlottesville is a reminder that democracy requires constant commitment. | Middle-High School | Macleans Magazine David Moscrop i |
Teaching activities based on a series of NY Times articles about Charlottesville, including a Warm Up activity, questions for the article(s), and a “tell us what you think” section, including a prompt for a response to an Op-Ed by Michael Eric Dyson | Middle and HIgh School | The New York Times Learning Network | |
Anti-Bias Education in Challenging Times | Article on Anti-Bias education in challenging times | Admin/Teachers | Anti-Bias Education |
Article looking at anti-semitism in the Charlottesville rally | Middle-High School | The Atlantic | |
Charlottesville: Trump reverts to blaming both sides including ‘violent alt-left’ | “Donald Trump has once again defended far-right protesters at the Charlottesville rally, saying they were not all neo-Nazis and white supremacists and laying the blame for the violence equally on what he called the “alt-left”.” | Middle-High School | The Guardian |
Outlining the differences between the NAZIs/Alt-Right Movement & Antifa | Middle-High School | The Atlantic | |
President Donald Trump Full Explosive Press Conference 8/15/17 | Video of Trump’s Press Conference | Middle-High School | Politico/YouTube |
We Need To Talk About The Anti-Semitism At The Charlottesville Protest | This article looks at how the rally used anti-semitic language/rhetoric against people of the Jewish faith (using language from NAZI Germany). It also discusses the deep roots of anti-semitism in the south | Middle-High School | Lily Herman Refinery29 |
Article about how the Jewish community is coming together in Charlottesville in the aftermath of the white supremacist rally. Response from synagogue president in Charlottesville | Middle-High School | ReformJudaism.org Alan Zimmerman | |
“In one single day in Charlottesville, Va., all of that is lost. A generation, and so much more, stolen away. There is the trauma of those assaulted by Nazis on American soil and the tragedy that is Heather Heyer’s murder that belongs to her and her family alone. And then there is what all the rest of us share — the pain and violence and the lessons we draw from them. Because the children who witness a day like that, and a president like this, will not forget the fear and disrespect tailored to the black child, the Muslim child, the Jewish child.” | Middle-High School | New York Times | |
Vice Documentary depicting what took place in Charlottesville | Middle-High School | VICE News | |
Confederate monuments in Baltimore were quietly removed and hauled away on trucks in darkness early Wednesday | Middle-High School | Toronto Star | |
Interview explaining why Trump’s statements are so harmful and dangerous to American society. | Middle-High School | YouTube | |
WATCH: Takiyah Thompson Explains Why She Helped Topple the Confederate Statue in Durham | Takiyah Thompson was arrested on August 15 after helping to topple a Confederate statue in Durham, North Carolina, following the racist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. | Middle-High School | Colorlines |
Confronting Anti-Semitism | A very powerful and impactful blog post about Anti-Semitism and American history, and how society tends to treat it as something in the past whereas Charlottesville shows that it is still very prevalent in American society. (Many links to useful resources as well) | Middle-High School | Aliza Werner Classroom Communities |
Resources for Teaching After Charlottesville | Compilation of lessons/resources on different areas in relation to Charlottesville | Middle-High School | Facing History |
Type of Resource | Notes | Audience | From |
Unit Plan from Facing History 17 Lessons for teaching students decision-making in times of injustice | 17 Lessons focusing on the Holocaust that look at the roots/causes/impacts of discriminations, prejudice and racism (can do entire unit or pull certain lessons on their own) | Middle School to High School | Facing History |
There are certain moments in US history where confederate monuments go up | CNN article with many useful infographics showing the history of Confederate monuments in the United States. | Middle School to High School | CNN |
In America | Readings/lessons that trace the history of the Ku Klux Klan in America | Middle School to High School | Southern Poverty Law Centre |
Choices in Little Rock is a teaching unit that focuses on efforts to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957—efforts that resulted in a crisis that historian Taylor Branch once described as "the most severe test of the Constitution since the Civil War. | Middle School to High School | Facing History | |
Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race & Racism - From Ferguson to Charleston | Collection of resources, articles and tips for parents on raising racially conscious children | Age depends on resource used | |
SPLC Explains why Confederate Monuments are offensive | Middle/High School/Teachers Admin | SPLC | |
While slavery was not the only cause for which the South fought during the Civil War, the testimony of Confederate leaders and their supporters makes it clear that slavery was central to the motivation for secession and war. | High School | James Oliver Horton Washington University | |
Article about insights on the Origins of Totalitarianism | Middle-High School | Moyers & Company Kathleen B. Jones | |
Lesson plan that tells the story of how Bills, Montana responded to intolerance in their community | Middle-High School | Facing History | |
Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s Address on Removal of Four Confederate | Speech from the mayor of New Orleans explaining why Confederate statues are not a benign historical legacy | Middle-High School | |
Short story/Google Slide Presentation by Beverly Naidoo | Beverly Naidoo/Heather Marshall | ||
Heather Heyer's Mom Tells White Supremacists: 'You Just Magnified Her' | Heather Heyer’s Mom’s speech | Middle-High School | Huffington Post |
An interactive timeline (1791-1969) of African Americans’ fight for equality and the racism they faced (including the 1920s KKK march in DC). It includes historical newspapers, photos, newsreels and interviews with journalists who covered the movement in the 1960s. | Middle-High School | NewseumED | |
A collection of social justice resources for Social Justice. |
Type of Resource | Notes | Audience | From |
To Fight Institutional Racism, Teachers Are Going Back To School | Article looking at the “systematic way our education system has tried to ignore the central role of race and culture” | Teachers/Admin | The Village Voice |
10 Things Every White Teacher Should Know When Talking About Race (Podcast) (click here for written transcript version) | Podcast (28 min) on a variety of truths regarding the intersection of race and teaching, specifically for white teachers. Extremely well thought out and articulated. Crafted by a teacher/educator. | Teachers, administrators, ed workers - specifically white folk in those roles | |
How to foster humanity as teachers in the wake of Charlottesville | Blog post/strategies on how to build a positive community of empathetic caring students | Teachers, administrators | Facing Today: Facing History & Ourselves Daniel Braunfeld |
Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack | The seminal text on “white privilege”. Introduced the term and concept to larger audience, and efficiently and effectively clarifies what white privilege is/how it presents itself via 50 first-person examples. | Teachers, students (likely high-school aged), administrators, ed workers | (Wellesley College) |
13 Ted Talks that cover a variety of issues intersecting racism, colorism and prejudice | Middle School - High School | TED Talks | |
Brief explanation of what an anti-racist approach to education looks like | All ages | University of Calgary |
Seven Ways That Teachers Can Respond to the Evils of Charlottesville, Starting Now | Article/resources on Anti-Racist Education | Teachers/Admin | Xian Franzinger Barrett Alt Net |
This document was produced to explain why addressing Connecticut’s achievement gaps demands a greater emphasis on race and culture. The document examines the racial achievement gaps; includes data showing racial disparities in student outcomes; discusses why we believe a focus on the intersectionality of race and education is important; proposes potential solutions to eliminate disparities; and describes SERC’s own transformational approach to achieving equity from within. | The State Education Resource Center(SERC) is a quasi-public agency primarily funded by the Connecticut State Department of Education. SERC provides professional development and information dissemination in the latest research and best practices to educators, service providers, and families throughout the state, as well as job-embedded technical assistance and training within schools, programs, and districts. www.ctserc.org http://www.ctserc.org/assets/documents/equity/equity-in-education.pdf | ||
The package contains tools, protocols and practical advice for making your school more open and welcoming to all students. Like all of our materials, these resources are FREE to download, print and use in your school | Teachers/Admin | Tolerance.org | |
How to open space for reflection and conversation amid difficult events | Teachers/Admin | Harvard Edu | |
Tools for responding to hateful language and graffiti in the hallways | Teachers/Admin | Tolerance.org | |
Why #BlackLivesMatter in Your Classroom Too | Article looking at individual, systemic and institutional racism & what teachers can do to support their students | Teachers/Admin | Cornelius Minor Medium Heinemann Publishing |
Resources and tools for explaining white supremacy | Teachers/Admin | MidAmerica Region Regional Assembly, April 2017 | |
Lessons to teach and learn from ‘Unite the Right’ | Tools, resources and strategies for how to talk to students about Charlottesville and the Alt-Right | Teachers/Admin | ADL |
Type of Resource | Notes | Audience | From | |||
A toolkit for facilitated conversations about race, bias, and prejudice so we can listen, lead, and teach toward equality | Teachers/Admin | UnboundEd | ||||
Four Guiding Principles in Difficult Conversations | Tools and suggestions on how to have difficult conversations in the classroom | Middle school to high school | Facing History (Author: Tanya Huelett)
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Google Slide Presentation to teach students/discuss how to have difficult conversations | Middle school to high school | Julie Boulton | ||||
Strategies for talking to children about these issues | Elementary School | Edutopia (Jinnie Spingler) | ||||
From Provocative to Productive: Teaching Controversial Topics | Strategies for creating a respectful yet vibrant environment to have these conversations. | Teachers/Middle and High School | NewseumED | |||
Helping Children Cope With Traumatic Events | Lesson plans/resources to support administrators and teachers on supporting students through crisis | Teachers/Admin | Share My Lesson | |||
The Four Agreements of Courageous Conversations | Four agreements to practice when having difficult conversations. | All ages/Teachers/Admin | Adapted from Glenn E. Singleton & Curtis Linton, Courageous Conversations about Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools. 2006. pp.58-65. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. | |||
Comic about the backfire effect (why we resist emotionally challenging ideas) | Comic explaining why we can have a visceral reaction to certain topics. | Middle school and up | Oatmeal Comics | |||
Resources to assist with discussions about racism in the Classroom | Teachers | React to Racism | ||||
Information and resources on Title VI and students’ right to education free from racial harassment and discrimination | Students of all ages/parents and caregivers/educators | Save Your VI | ||||
How America Spreads the Disease that is Racism by not confronting racist family members and friends | Article explaining how racism is like a mental illness deeply embedded in American culture | Middle-High School | April Harter, LCSW The Medium |
Type of Resource | Notes | Audience | From |
Documentary: I'm Not Racist Am I? | Copied from film’s description: I’m Not Racist… Am I? is a feature documentary about how this next generation is going to confront racism. 12 teenagers from New York City to come together for one school year to talk about race and privilege in a series of workshops and in conversations with friends and family members. | Middle-High School | http://www.notracistmovie.com/about-the-film/ |
Documentary: The Skin We're In | Documentary investigating and depicting racism within Canada. | Middle-High School | http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/episodes/the-skin-were-in |
Digital Content: Exploring American Identity through Art | Art Appreciation and American Identity digital content (can be used in fully online or blended classroom settings). Topics include:
Register for free Online PD to use digital content | Grade 7 to adult learners | |
Shared media artefacts that explore the politics of identity | Middle to High School | The Critical Media Project | |
25 Mini-Films for Exploring Race, Bias and Identity With Students | To help teachers make the most of these films, we also provide a grab-bag of teaching ideas, related readings and student activities. | Middle and High School | The New York Times Learning Network |
Vice Documentary depicting what took place in Charlottesville | Middle-High School | VICE News | |
Vice Documentary | High School | VICE News |
Type of Resource | Notes | Audience | From |
Resources, lessons, articles for teaching young children | 2-12 | Bounceback Parenting | |
Lesson ideas/classroom activities | 3-12 | Racism No Way | |
List and description of children’s picture books | 2-12 | ||
Nine books for students of different ages conveying experiences of refugees | 3-12 | Edutopia | |
Author/Illustrator Grace Lin speaks about how to approach children’s books with racist content. | Exceptional tips for teachers and a good resource to forward to parents. | Grade 2-8 |
Type of Resource | Notes | Audience | From |
A collection of Antiracism resource by the BCTF | All ages | BCTF | |
Brief overview of First Nations sniper | Middle-High School | CBC | |
An annotated guide/resources to Black Canadian History | All ages (depending on resource that you use) | Historica Canada | |
Google slides lesson plan on Residential schools | Middle-High School | Julie Boulton | |
Stories of the military service of Chinese Canadians in WWII (often overlooked) | All Ages | Veteran Stories | |
Google Slide Presentation | Middle-High School | Rachele La Neve/Julie Boulton | |
Canadian Encyclopedia Article | Early elementary-High School | Canadian Encyclopedia | |
Teaching Guide | Middle-High School | Simon Wiesenthal Centre | |
US War Department Anti-Fascist PSA (from 1943) | YouTube Video | Middle-High | |
News article about Canada’s failure with racism | Middle-High School | Toronto Star | |
Free ebook of lesson plans & resources or you can purchase book | Middle-High School | Facing History Canada | |
Lesson plans for teaching about residential schools through the use of the Secret Path | Early elementary-High School | Manitoba Teachers Association | |
Janaya Khan: “Don’t Kid Yourself, White Nationalism Is on the Rise in Canada Too” | Article detailing the rise of White Nationalism in Canada | Middle-High School | Janaya Khan Flare Magazine |
U of T says no ‘nationalist rally’ to be hosted on campus, not ruling out possibility | U of T says that no rally is permitted on their campus for now & discussion of alt-right groups in Canada who view multiculturalism as a destructive force | Middle-High School | Shanifa Nassar CBC News |
“Collection of resources to help educators and students to gain knowledge about the history and contributions of African civilizations and people of African descent in Canada while using media literacy skills as a vehicle to explore various aspects of Black history.” | Middle School to High School | Natasha Henry Toronto Star Classroom Connection | |
Google slides presentation | Middle School to High School | Julie Boulton/Rachele La Neve | |
Quebec City mosque attack suspect known as online troll inspired by French far-right | Article about Alexandre’s Bissonnette’s interest and devotion to the far right | Middle School to High School | Les Pereraux & Alex Andrew-Gee The Globe and Mail |
Article about the Rebel’s support of the white supremacists at the rally/murder in Charlottesville | Middle School to High School | Jason Markusoff Macleans Magazine | |
Article looking the rise of Canada’s alt-right extremist/white supremacist movement | Middle School to High School | The Globe and Mail | |
Responding to Pittsburgh
How can we help students make sense of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting and a week of violence in the United States? | Lesson plans and tools for discussing the horrific Anti-Semitic attack in Pittsburgh | Middle School to High School | Facing History Canada |
How to discuss anti-Semitism in the wake of the Pittsburg shooting | PBS lesson plan and discussion questions | Middle School to High School | PBS.org |