Events | Book | Guides | Magazine | Add’l Resources
This resource page is for Teaching for Black Lives Study Group members only.
Events
As a Teaching for Black Lives study group, you are invited to attend monthly classes and workshops hosted by the Zinn Education Project.
All study group members are expected to attend at least three Teaching for Black Lives Campaign events, including the national welcoming and closing celebrations. Generally, there is one special event, workshop, class, or training per month.
All of these events are online, at 4:00 pm PT/ 7:00 pm ET, and last for 60 to 90 minutes unless otherwise noted.
ASL Interpretation will be available upon request. Please register at least four days in advance to give our team time to schedule interpreters.
♦ Study Group Members Only
2024
Kellie Carter Jackson
Monday, September 16
We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance with Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.
We Refuse is an “unsparing, erudite, and incisive” (Jelani Cobb) reframing of the past and present of Black resistance—both nonviolent and violent—to white supremacy.
Wednesday, September 25
Welcome Event for ALL study group coordinators and participants.
This participatory and engaging workshop will welcome study group members and coordinators into their year-long inquiry into Teaching for Black Lives. You will hear from the book’s editors (Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, and Wayne Au), meet each other, and share ideas about organizing. You will receive a calendar invite once you’ve filled out the member form.
Saturday, September 28
Indigenous Peoples’ Day Curriculum Teach-In (9:30am – 2pm ET) in Washington, D.C.
The 8th annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Curriculum Teach-In, hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in collaboration with Teaching for Change, is an in-person opportunity for educators to convene in person and strategize on uplifting indigenous voices directly into the classroom. Recommended for grades K–12. Teaching for Black Lives study group members can use discount code T4BL.
Monday, October 7
Brian P. Jones
Racism and Resistance in the North During the Civil Rights Movement with Brian Jones. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.
Did you know that the biggest Civil Rights Movement demonstration of the 1960s happened in New York City? Scholar Brian Jones, in conversation with Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian, will shed light on the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the North and ways that those stories can be included in the curriculum.
Monday, October 21
Teaching about Civil Rights in the North curriculum workshop for Teaching for Black Lives study groups
Saturday, October 26
Northwest Teaching for Social Justice Conference: “Rethinking Our Classrooms, Organizing for Better Schools” (9am – 4pm) in Seattle, Washington.
Saturday, November 2
2024 Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In (12 noon – 3pm ET / 9am – 12 noon PT)
An opportunity for educators around the world to access classroom resources from NMAI’s online education portal Native Knowledge 360°, the Zinn Education Project, and more. Hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in collaboration with Teaching for Change. Teaching for Black Lives study group members can use discount code T4BL.
Thursday, November 14
Collective Efforts Gathering (45 minutes) Current and alumni Teaching for Black Lives coordinators and members welcome.
Yoruba Richen
Monday, November 18
An American Coup: Wilmington 1898 with documentary filmmaker Yoruba Richen. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.
Yoruba Richen will discuss American Coup: Wilmington 1898, a new American Experience PBS documentary directed by Richen and Brad Lichtenstein that examines a white supremacist massacre of Black residents of Wilmington, North Carolina. Richen, and others from the film, in conversation with Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian.
Friday, November 22 – 24
104th National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference in Boston.
Orisanmi Burton
Monday, December 2
Black Radicalism, Prison Repression, and the Long Attica Revolt with Orisanmi Burton. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.
Historian Orisanmi Burton will discuss Tip of the Spear: Black Radicalism, Prison Repression, and the Long Attica Revolt, which argues that prisons are a domain of hidden warfare within U.S. borders, in conversation with Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian.
Monday, December 9
Rethinking Schools Writing Workshop with executive director Cierra Kaler-Jones.
Thursday, December 12
Check-in Gathering with Jesse Hagopian (30 minutes). Current and alumni Teaching for Black Lives coordinators and members welcome.
2025
Jesse Hagopian
Monday, January 13
The Healing of Organized Remembering: The Struggle to Teach Truth with Jesse Hagopian. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.
Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian and Rethinking Schools executive director Cierra Kaler-Jones will discuss Hagopian’s latest book, Teach Truth: The Struggle for Antiracist Education and the campaign to fight back against bans on books and education.
Thursday, January 16
Collective Efforts Gathering (45 minutes) Current and alumni Teaching for Black Lives coordinators and members welcome.
Saturday, January 18
Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum Fair hosted by D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice. (11:30 am – 2:30pm ET / 8:30am – 11:30am PT)
Teaching for Change’s D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice will host an online curriculum fair featuring a keynote speaker and workshops set to uplift the 13 guiding principles that focus on improving the school experience for Black students. Educators around the country are invited to connect, collaborate, and prepare for the 2025 National Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action (February 2025) and Year of Purpose. Teaching for Black Lives study group members can use discount code T4BL.
Wednesday, January 22
Black Lives Matter at School Planning Meeting
Black Lives Matter at School coordinating committee member and Teaching for Black Lives co-editor, Jesse Hagopian, will talk about the origins of the movement. We will provide ideas for the annual Week of Action (February 3 – 7, 2025) in your school and give you time in breakout groups to connect with other study groups.
Monday, February 10
Reconstruction Robbery: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank with Justene Hill Edwards. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.
Historian Justene Hill Edwards and Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian will discuss Edwards’ book, Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank, a comprehensive account of the Freedman’s Bank and its depositors.
Monday, March 3
Rethinking Schools Writing Workshop with executive director Cierra Kaler-Jones.
Thursday, March 13
Collective Efforts Gathering (45 minutes) Current and alumni Teaching for Black Lives coordinators and members welcome.
Jeanne Theoharis
Monday, March 24
King of the North: Martin Luther King’s Freedom Struggle Outside of the South with Jeanne Theoharis. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.
Historian Jeanne Theoharis and Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian will discuss Theoharis’ book, King of the North: Martin Luther King’s Freedom Struggle Outside of the South.
Monday, March 31
Teaching with Jeanne Theoharis’ “King of the North” curriculum workshop for Teaching for Black Lives study groups
Mary Frances Phillips
Monday, April 14
Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins with Mary Frances Phillips. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.
Historian Mary Phillips, in conversation with Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian and Rethinking Schools executive director Cierra Kaler-Jones, will discuss her book, Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins. This is the first biography of Ericka Huggins, a queer Black woman who brought spiritual self-care practices to the Black Panther Party.
Monday, April 28
Teaching about the Black Panther Party curriculum workshop for Teaching for Black Lives study groups
Jarvis Givens and Imani Perry
Monday, May 5
Black Teachers: A Pedagogy of Organized Resistance with Jarvis Givens and Imani Perry. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.
Historians Jarvis Givens and Imani Perry, in conversation with Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian and Rethinking Schools executive director Cierra Kaler-Jones, will discuss the Black Teacher Archive, a digital portal centralizing materials created by professional organizations of African American educators, historically referred to as Colored Teachers Associations (CTAs).
Thursday, May 8
Collective Efforts Gathering (45 minutes) Current and alumni Teaching for Black Lives coordinators and members welcome.
Monday, May 19
End-of-Year Celebration for Teaching for Black Lives Study Groups
Monday, June 2
Traveling Black: A Long Journey of Resistance with Mia Bay. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.
Historian Mia Bay and Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian will discuss Bay’s book, Traveling Black: A Story of Race and Resistance, which explores racial restrictions on transportation and resistance to the injustice.
Guides
Guides
Study Guide
This guide, for teachers who are reading Teaching for Black Lives, includes thought-provoking questions for discussion, ideas for action, and resources for groups and individuals. Written by Cierra Kaler-Jones and Jesse Hagopian. Download the Teaching for Black Lives Study Guide.
Facilitation Guide
This month-to-month guide includes prompts and suggestions for study group meetings plus best practices for communication and engagement. Feel free to adapt and build off of to fit your own setting and your group’s particular needs.
Book
The heart of the study groups is collectively reading, discussing, and applying what you learn from the Teaching for Black Lives book. You’ll find a compilation of essays, teaching activities, role plays, poems, and artwork, designed to illuminate the movement for Black students’ lives, the school-to-prison-pipeline, Black history, gentrification, intersectional Black identities, and more. The book is edited by Wayne Au, Jesse Hagopian, and Dyan Watson.
Rethinking
Rethinking Schools
Each study group member receives a complimentary one-year Rethinking Schools subscription (digital and print). If you haven’t subscribed, please do so TODAY by following these instructions:
- Visit this dedicated page for your one-year subscription.
- Use code ZEPSTUDYSUB24
Beyond your study group members, do not share the code — there is only one subscription per study group member. For questions about the subscription, extending a current subscription, or if you don’t receive a printed issue, email orders@rethinkingschools.org.