The murderers of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others have spurred Black lives Matter protests across the US and around the world. We, like many of you, have been following the evolving situation in the US with heavy hearts - but also with a burning desire to take action.
The volume of people flocking to the streets globally to protest in the midst of a global pandemic is a testament to just how dire the situation is and the need for change. We still don’t know the true number of deaths caused by the coronavirus and neither do we know the true number of lives lost to the disease of racism.
At HundrED, we are committed to continually improving to work towards our goal of providing quality education to all. We recognize that our work has not and will not always be perfect but we are committed to doing more. We plan to put in the work by listening, learning, understanding, and connecting in order to eradicate racism.
We can do better.
Over the past two weeks we have reached out to the HundrED Community in order to better understand the situation, we were overwhelmed by the responses. Therefore, we have decided to release a series of articles on the topic of social and racial justice.
In these articles, we will also be sharing resources and Innovations designed to help you navigate tough conversations about racial equality and social justice, be it with your students, friends, or families.
We also encourage you to reach out to us if you know of any educational innovations working on this issue.
We want to express our gratitude to you, the HundrED Community, for working to make this world a more equitable, empathetic, and sustainable place for us all. We look forward to engaging with you as we strive to build a more equitable world for us all.
Additional resources
Our innovator community inspires us daily, by providing up to date information and resources for children, parents, teachers, and leaders. The need for change and reflection on anti-racism is imperative. This happens when we come together as a global community to support anti-racism in the United States as well as in our own communities.
Change can start with a conversation.
- It’s never too early to talk to your kids about race. Check out this age 0-7 research-backed guide from Pretty Good Designs that explains the importance of creating a diverse inclusive world for your kids.
- Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators—teachers, administrators, counselors, and other practitioners—who work with children from kindergarten through high school. The program emphasizes social justice and anti-bias.
- Common Sense Media highlights the Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners; this award goes to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.
- PenPal Schools’ Race in America topic connects youth ages 12 to 18 to learn about the history of racial discrimination in the United States. After an introductory lesson on Bias & Identity, students move chronologically from Slavery & Abolition to Jim Crow & Civil Rights, finishing with Race & Activism in the 21st Century. Along the way, students share ideas and perspectives through written forums and creative projects. This topic was created with the assistance of the Southern Poverty Law Center (a source of many excellent antiracism resources for youth and adults).
If you have any feedback for us on how we could do better or if you have an innovation to share please email our Head of Media, Mariah O’Mara at mariahomara@hundred.org.
