Confronting U.S. slavery in the classroom

+ religious liberty v. gay rights at the Supreme Court US Edition - Today's top story: Here's what I tell teachers about how to teach young students about slavery [View in browser]( US Edition | 19 June 2021 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Happy Juneteenth! When I took a course in Black history as an undergraduate, I had a professor – the late Winston Van Horne – who was particularly adept at leading us on mental journeys back to the days of slavery. He had this peculiar way of making us feel we were witnessing the hardships and horrors of plantation life firsthand. Some of the lessons were quite upsetting. So I understand why there is such a fierce debate raging today over how and to what extent the history of slavery in the U.S. should be dealt with in America’s K-12 classrooms. That’s one reason I became intrigued when Raphael E. Rogers, an education scholar at Clark University, told me he helps train K-12 teachers to teach students about slavery. He recounts some of the things he tells teachers in an article he wrote about how they can use historical records and the [lived experiences of enslaved Black people]( to illuminate what America’s “peculiar institution” was really like. This week we also liked articles about [books for young people that deal with race](, why there’s no way to know whether the [coronavirus lockdowns were worthwhile]( and the [history of mobile phones](. Jamaal Abdul-Alim Education Editor U.S. teachers often struggle to depict the realities of slavery in America. Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images [Here’s what I tell teachers about how to teach young students about slavery]( Raphael E. Rogers, Clark University Few issues are as difficult to deal with in the classroom as slavery in the US. Here, a professor who trains teachers on how to present the topic offers some insights. Reading diverse books can help young adults understand conversations around race better. Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision [Summer reading: 5 books for young people that deal with race]( Sarah J. Donovan, Oklahoma State University While teachers are under increased pressure to tread carefully in the classroom on issues of race, books that deal with themes of racism can offer a way forward. Names of lynching victims at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala. AP/Brynn Anderson [How to heal African-Americans’ traumatic history]( Taasogle Daryl Rowe, Pepperdine University; Kamilah Marie Woodson, Howard University The National Memorial for Peace and Justice helps demonstrate that the lynching of black people was not the fault of victims. But telling this history risks re-traumatizing the black community. - [‘The Underground Railroad’ attempts to upend viewers’ notions of what it meant to be enslaved]( William Nash, Middlebury Director Barry Jenkins' delicate dance with beauty and suffering seeks to create a fuller picture of the world Black Americans – then and now – inhabit. - [What Greek epics taught me about the special relationship between fathers and sons]( Joel Christensen, Brandeis University On Father's Day, a scholar of ancient Greek poetry explains how he came to understand the father-son relationship and his journey of loss and yearning through reading the epics. - [Conservative hard-liner poised to be Iran’s next president – what that means for the West and the nuclear deal]( Nader Habibi, Brandeis University Ebrahim Raisi became the favorite to win Iran's June 18 presidential election after his top opponents were disqualified. - [Opioid overdoses spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, data from Pennsylvania show]( - [Why nobody will ever agree on whether COVID lockdowns were worth it]( - [Racial bias makes white Americans more likely to support wars in nonwhite foreign countries – new study]( - [5 ways MacKenzie Scott’s $8.5 billion commitment to social and economic justice is a model for other donors]( - [Lighter pavement really does cool cities when it’s done right]( - [Why do cats knead with their paws?]( - [A mix-and-match approach to COVID-19 vaccines could provide logistical and immunological benefits]( - [Federal policy has failed to protect Indigenous women]( - [Supreme Court unanimously upholds religious liberty over LGBTQ rights – and nods to a bigger win for conservatives ahead]( - [The first mobile phone call was 75 years ago – what it takes for technologies to go from breakthrough to big time]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe](. 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451