Article Round Up: Juneteenth Edition

Teachers are reckoning with a multitude of difficult, complex subjects that our world is facing, and how to engage with students about them. Here are just a few resources, opinions, and stories about Juneteenth, in the light of its recognition as a national holiday, and ideas for the larger conversations that it invokes.

So You Want to Learn About Juneteenth?

An introduction to the most recent federally-recognized national holiday: Juneteenth commemorates June 19th, 1865, when enslaved African-Americans in Texas learned of their emancipation. The history of the holiday, though, is still unfolding as legislation and cultural shifts unfold after the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Teachers Say Laws Banning Critical Race Theory are Putting a Chill on Their Lessons

As Juneteenth is commemorated, Asian-American hate crimes are on the rise, the 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre passes, and the Black Lives Matter Movement is still burning brightly, teachers are reckoning with the if and how to approach these topics in the classroom. Lawmakers are, too, and “newly adopted and proposed laws are already forcing teachers to second-guess whether they can lead students in conversations about race and structural racism that many feel are critical at a time the nation is navigating an important reckoning on those issues.”

Teaching Juneteenth

Advice on acknowledging the true history of our nation, while empowering students and their cultures to advocate for other narratives of power, freedom, and truth.

Please, offer your thoughts and join the conversation in your own classrooms and breakout rooms, here in the comments, or by reaching out to @drenzi@nebasecamp.org

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Teacher Spotlight: Jessica Tuttle of North Smithfield High School

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