28 WAYS TO CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH

from the NAACP

• 50 Resources for Black History Month – KQED Education 

• Black History Month resources for teachers – WeTeachNYC 

• Black History Month Lessons & Resources – National Education Association 

• 6 Teaching Tools for Black History Month – Edutopia 

• BLACK HISTORY MONTH RESOURCE GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS AND FAMILIES 

  At Center for Racial Justice in Education, we believe that the histories, stories, and voices of Black people should be centered, honored, and uplifted in school curricula every day. We also acknowledge the importance, relevance and origins of Black History Month. In 1926, Carter D. Woodson and the ASALH (Association for the Study of African American Life and History) launched “Negro History Week” to promote the studying of African American history as a discipline and to celebrate the accomplishments of African Americans. Today, we still see the absence of Black history and experience in our textbooks, required readings, STEM, and overall curriculum of our educational system. As we enter February, Border Crossers is providing resources to be used beyond the scope of this one-month. Unless Black history is taught throughout the year, it perpetuates an “othering” of Black Lives and Black students, and is also a manifestation of anti-blackness. Ensuring the ongoing integration of Black history and experiences throughout all curriculum is imperative as educators continue to uplift every student and reinforce that Black Lives Matter everyday.

Auma's long run     Call #: FIC ODH    Odhiambo, Eucabeth A.

When AIDS devastates thirteen-year-old Auma's village in Kenya during the 1980s, Auma must choose between staying to help her family and working toward a track scholarship that will take her away from home.

Fire in the streets  Call #: FIC MAG    Magoon, Kekla

In the aftermath of Dr. King's assassination in 1968, Chicago fourteen-year-old Maxie longs to join the Black Panthers, whether or not her brother Raheem, ex-boyfriend Sam, or her friends like it, and is soon caught up in the violence of anti-war and civil rights demonstrations.

Free boy : a true story of slave and master   Call #: 920 MCC    McConaghy, Lorraine

Presents the true story of how the thirteen-year-old slave Charles Mitchell escaped from his master, James Tilton, in Washington Territory in 1860 with the help of the Underground Railroad of the western United States.

Rosa Parks  Call #: 921 PAR    Parks, Rosa.  

An autobiographical account by Rosa Parks.

One crazy summer  Call #: FIC WIL    Williams-Garcia, Rita

In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

The rock and the river  Call #: FIC MAG    Magoon, Kekla 

 In 1968 Chicago, fourteen-year-old Sam Childs is caught in a conflict between his father's nonviolent approach to seeking civil rights for African Americans and his older brother, who has joined the Black Panther Party.

• It’s Black History Month. Look in the Mirror. By George Yancy 

• ‘Black Season’ at My White Middle School – Baratunde Thurston 

• Black History Month Isn’t Racist, It’s a Form of Reparations – Jenn M. Jackson 

• Black history is bigger than slavery. We should teach kids accordingly – The Guardian 

• What Kids Are Really Learning About Slavery – Melinda D. Anderson 

Click the calendar for a list of social justice events. 

World Day of Social Justice

February 20
 

On 26 November 2007, the General Assembly declared that, starting from the sixty-third session of the General Assembly, 20 February will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice.

Background

The International Labour Organization unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008. This is the third major statement of principles and policies adopted by the International Labour Conference since the ILO’s Constitution of 1919. It builds on the Philadelphia Declaration of 1944 and the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998. The 2008 Declaration expresses the contemporary vision of the ILO’s mandate in the era of globalization.

This landmark Declaration is a powerful reaffirmation of ILO values. It is the outcome of tripartite consultations that started in the wake of the Report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization. By adopting this text, the representatives of governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations from 182 member States emphasize the key role of our tripartite Organization in helping to achieve progress and social justice in the context of globalization. Together, they commit to enhance the ILO’s capacity to advance these goals, through the Decent Work Agenda. The Declaration institutionalizes the Decent Work concept developed by the ILO since 1999, placing it at the core of the Organization’s policies to reach its constitutional objectives.

The Declaration comes at a crucial political moment, reflecting the wide consensus on the need for a strong social dimension to globalization in achieving improved and fair outcomes for all. It constitutes a compass for the promotion of a fair globalization based on Decent Work, as well as a practical tool to accelerate progress in the implementation of the Decent Work Agenda at the country level. It also reflects a productive outlook by highlighting the importance of sustainable enterprises in creating greater employment and income opportunities for all.

The General Assembly Recognizes that social development and social justice are indispensable for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security within and among nations and that, in turn, social development and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace and security or in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

It further recognizes that globalization and interdependence are opening new opportunities through trade, investment and capital flows and advances in technology, including information technology, for the growth of the world economy and the development and improvement of living standards around the world, while at the same time there remain serious challenges, including serious financial crises, insecurity, poverty, exclusion and inequality within and among societies and considerable obstacles to further integration and full participation in the global economy for developing countries as well as some countries with economies in transition.