In third grade, I remember learning about Martin Luther King. We listened to his “I Have A Dream Speech.” We read about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. We looked at photos of the marches in Selma. We were...
Tag - civil rights
Each year, on or around February 21st, my family (and countless others) commemorates Malcolm X‘s martyrdom (2/21/65). Sometimes we travel to Malcolm X’s burial ground in upstate New York (his heroine wife, Betty...
We all have the images in our minds. The torch-lit faces of white supremacists out in the open for all the world to see. The bravery and commitment of protesters seeking to disrupt a rally based on hatred and exclusion. And the...
“Money is a good servant, but a bad master.” Just like you flip a coin, people can flip-flop on an issue. Especially when there’s money involved. There are those, like Malcolm X, who reinvent themselves through careful...
All year our eighth-grade students have been grappling with social justice issues and how to address them. They’ve closely analyzed past movements in America and South Africa—especially those involving direct action of...
At times, Black people, like any group battered and oppressed by the state, may celebrate any perception of forward motion. Folks scour social media pages to see who has what appointment, what political power is being amassed...
“As a teacher, as a parent and as a citizen, it’s distressing to see the department [of education] walking away from its core responsibility of advancing equity.” Former U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. John B. King...
In 1967, Black students in Philadelphia staged a protest demanding Black History classes in their high schools and more Black teachers. It would take Philadelphia almost 40 years to implement Black History courses in all its high...
Gerald Dessus, a former literature/composition teacher, like many other teachers, is teaching a course that we believe all eighth-graders in Philly should engage in. Below is teacher leader Mr. Dessus’ response to our need to...