Two movies about events in 1963 and 1972 are discussed. They are Rustin and Shirley. The movies concern the actions of Bayard Rustin in organizing the March on Washington for Peace and Jobs and the actions of Shirley Chisholm in organizing her campaign for the Presidency of the United States. The events took place more than half a century ago.…

In this article we outline the importance of centering Black women as critical historical actors within social studies curricula and teaching. We explored the ways in which Black women were represented throughout 38 secondary lesson plans within the fully online National Women's History Museum and discussed how traditional curricular content and…

Two movies about Black protest movement leaders in the 1960s are playing on home screens during African American History Month during the COVID-19 pandemic. The movies are made by African American moviemakers and are focused on Black protest movements. One Night in Miami and Judas and the Black Messiah present the lives and activities of Black…

The challenges of selecting and reading children's literature about slavery have implications for the kinds of slavery narratives students internalize. Guiding principles for teachers' critical selection of literature depicting slavery remain increasingly necessary as needed critical discussions of children's literature with depictions of slavery…

The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the vast social-psychological, economic, and political inequities in our society. Education has become even more important than before to counter systemic oppression and institute justice. Parents, students, and educators are thrown into chaos where opportunity and access are diminished and dissipated. This…

In this article, we share our process of reflecting together and our resulting thoughts on the idea of anti-racist schooling amid our current experiences as Black men and fathers, as educators and researchers, as faculty colleagues, and as friends. In our respective careers, we have each continually posed questions that critically examine a range…

"Detroit" and "Step" are two recent movies in the context of urban riots in protest of police brutality. They refer to time periods separated by half a century, but there are common themes in the two that seem appropriate to both times. The movies are not primarily concerned with the riot events, but the riot is a major…

This article unfurls in the aftermath of an event where three first grade children at a reputable progressive elementary school were found playing slavery during school recess. As word caught on, parents ignited into a frenzy: some railed against the teacher, others demanded an answer, while still others believed this was precisely the meaning of…

Different subgroups in society have diverse motives for remembering or forgetting important events in history. In American history, slavery has had a deep and enduring bad effect on everything that came afterward. There have been attempts to forget or remember this chapter in the national narrative related to the intentions of subcultural groups…

In this article the author speaks to the teaching of Barack Obama in U.S. schools. Drawing from scholarly literature on the heroification of American historical figures in public memory, the author argues that focusing on Obama's firstness as an African American may lead students to have incomplete and misleading understandings of what the…

The movie "42" shows memorable events that have faded from our view in recent years. The events are important to the evolution of a multicultural society in America because of the importance of baseball to the common national culture that all the American people have created. Jackie Robinson's significance as a cultural hero is…

Sub-cultural groups that depend on a historical account to validate their thoughts and practices may need to revise and repair those accounts as changing circumstances present new issues affecting them. The year 2013 gave us three movies that dealt with racism, mobility, and political action: Lee Daniels' "The Butler," "12…

Social and public sites are becoming a popular medium for intellectual consumption of Black history. Given the educational climate in which many students' exposure to Black history may come from outside of schools, the authors examine how Walmart's Black History Month Web site produced simplistic and safe narratives about African American history.

The theme of this column is African American Women's Memories of Racial Oppression and Segregation in the U.S. South and Its Relevance to Multicultural Education. The focus of the review is on Anne Valk and Leslie Brown's "Living with Jim Crow: African American Women and Memories of the Segregated South" (2010). In "Living with Jim…

Every February, schools celebrate Black History Month and teachers teach the grand narrative of famous African Americans such as Martin Luther King, Jr. While the stories communicate bravery, they are also about racism and violence. Here, through narrative inquiry, a teacher deconstructs Black History Month, inviting student responses to stories…