2025 Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum Fair
On Saturday, January 25, 2025, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice will host a virtual curriculum fair featuring a keynote speaker and workshops set to uplift the national demands based in the Black Lives Matter guiding principles that focus on improving the school experience for Black students.
Educators around the country are invited to virtually connect, collaborate, and prepare for the 2025 National Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action (February 3–7, 2025) and Year of Purpose.
Stay tuned for more updates! Read about the 2022, 2023, and 2024 curriculum fairs.
REGISTER TODAY!
SCHEDULE
11:30AM ET: Welcome & Keynote
12:05PM – 12:55 PM ET: Round 1 Workshops
A Rose by Any Other Name…Stinks: Addressing Trauma of Repeated Name Mispronunciation or Erasure
Finding Truth: Racial Reconciliation and the Power of Poetry
Go-Go as Public Pedagogy: Exploring Joy and Resistance through Arts and Culture
1:00PM – 1:50 PM ET: Round 2 Workshops
Empowering Change: Educators as Architects of Justice and Democracy
Global Histories, Local Classrooms: Teaching Radical Black Movements in the U.K.
What Color is Your Clock? An Afrofuturist Perspective on Spacetime, Power & Identity
2:00PM – 2:30 PM ET: (OPTIONAL) Group Collaboration
KEYNOTE
Jesse Hagopian teaches high school Ethnic Studies and English Language Arts in Seattle. He is an editor for Rethinking Schools magazine and the director of the “Black Education Matters Student Activist Award.” He is also the co-editor of the books Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice and Teaching for Black Lives and editor of the book More Than a Score: The New Uprising Against High Stakes Testing. Jesse is the recipient of the 2019 “Social Justice Teacher of the Year” award from Seattle Public School’s Department of Racial Equity, the Seattle NAACP Youth Coalition’s 2019 “Racial Justice Teacher of the Year” award winner, and the 2013 national “Secondary Teacher of the Year” award winner from the Academy of Arts and Sciences. He plays a lead role at the Zinn Education Project’s Teach the Black Freedom Struggle campaign. Read more at Jesse’s website, I Am An Educator. See Jesse’s articles and lessons at the Zinn Education Project site.
WORKSHOPS
Additional workshops and schedule to be announced.
A Rose by Any Other Name…Stinks: Addressing Trauma of Repeated Name Mispronunciation or Erasure
Principles: Empathy, Loving Engagement, Diversity, Globalism, Collective Value, Black Families, Unapologetically Black, Black Women,
Demands: Hire and retain Black teachers, Mandate Black history and ethnic studies
What’s in a name? It’s crucial to one’s identity. What happens when it is erased? Mocked, confused with another’s, or repeatedly mispronounced? Why, when so much accessible data points to long-term trauma, does mispronunciation continue? I along with five fellow students from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and its Equity and Inclusion Fellows program spent time looking at names and their huge impact for good or detriment. The fellow students are First Nation (Navajo), Korean, Southeast Asian, Taiwanese/Ashkenazi, Malaysian, and African-American. I will share their journeys and mine of race/ethnicity and our names, highlighting powerful impacts of decades of living with dual identities, constantly being nicknamed, suppressing a name, watching others disregard meaningful community names, and more. I will also share research, data, facing/overcoming harm, and methods for educators and colleagues to rethink names and get it right. I will engage attendees primarily through an activity surrounding pronunciation and by several powerful video testimonies related to name incidents from young people (middle schoolers) and adults and we will unpack ways to handle before I share resources and tips on what to do as well as invite attendees to share theirs. Recommended for Early Childhood, Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School, Adult Education
Subject: English Language Arts, History, Other
Presenter Bio
Samantha Fletcher (she/her) has worked in independent schools (PK-12), higher ed, EdTech and at the district level in the northeast region since 2009. She is the Director of DEI at The Siena School. Also a Research Associate at the Harvard Kennedy School, her work focuses on justice advocacy, policy and ways technology can be leveraged to enhance equitable education practices. Committed to the intersections of tech/STEM and inclusive representation, she recently earned a master’s in Technology, Innovation and Education and is the founder of TIE DIE, a one-of-a-kind identity-centered, critical thinking program focused on education, exposure and advocacy that prepares teens to thrive in tech/STEM spaces after high school. A former journalist, Samantha spent years in newspapers, magazines and radio. Passionate about writing and storytelling, she is the host and producer of Daily Border Crossings podcast. Samantha travels regionally and nationally, delivering speeches and trainings on inclusive teaching practices.
Loyola Rankin (she/her) is Navajo from Coyote Canyon, NM. She has a BA from Brown University in Ethnic Studies and an EdM in Higher Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She currently works at a nonprofit scholarship provider that supports scholars through their academic journey.
Black Face as a Tool of Expression, Dialogue, and Empowerment; Addressing Racially Charged Imagery in Art Class.
Diamond Gray will prompt educators to exchange and discuss trauma-informed teaching and inclusive learning methods in visual arts education. Art educators will reflect on ways they implement trauma-informed and inclusive learning environment strategies in their art classroom and curriculum. Specifically, she will show various artists like Kara Walker and Wangechi Mutu who tackle themes such as Black face and racially charged imagery through collage portraiture and mixed media art. Through peer sharing, open discussions, and the Stop, Start, and Continue method, educators in this session will develop resources and practices across visual arts areas that support students' learning and ability to discuss artists' use of these topics. Recommended for Middle School, High School
Subject: Arts Education
Presenter Bio
Diamond Gray (she/her) was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. She has participated in the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Assets 4 Artists residency and the Studio Museum in Harlem's Museum Education Practicum. Her roles as an artist and Education Coordinator at the American Visionary Art Museum inform her art and pedagogical practices. She is passionate about BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ youth and encourages students to focus on process, research, and experimentation to create artworks that mirror their lives.
Do Black Lives Matter in the Spanish Speaking World?
Principle: Loving Engagement, Diversity, Globalism, Unapologetically Black
Ms. Lake presentation will be part of different displays to celebrate Black History Month at a global level. The main goal is for students to acknowledge the fact that Black folks contribute to all of the history of the Spanish Speaking World but are either not given enough exposure or celebrations in comparison to other groups in the Spanish speaking countries. Recommended for Middle School, High School
Subject: Arts Education
Presenter Bio
Ms. Rosalyn Lake (she/her) is a Spanish 1 & 2 Teacher at Paul International Charter School. She loves teaching her students Spanish and exposing them to all of the realities of the Spanish Speaking world through projects, fieldtrips, and current events.
Empowering Change: Educators as Architects of Justice and Democracy
Principles: All Guiding Principles and National Demands
This workshop session will emphasize the transformative role educators play in fostering justice and democracy while aligning with the themes of the Black Lives Matter principles and active civic engagement. Educators will leave this session reflectively thinking of their role in creating more equitable, informed, and inclusive learning spaces in their schools. Educators will be introduced to the democracy action cards, which I developed out of my doctoral research. The democracy action cards are an easy-to-modify template to incorporate student choice and youth expertise while teaching how to participate in a democracy, regardless of content. I have modified the card template for the BLM Week At At School to inspire educators and students to take meaningful actions toward justice, civic engagement, and equity. As a result, the four categories of the democracy action cards are educating for equity, empowering student voice, building community connections, and transforming through action. Participants will be provided with the "BLM Week At School democracy action card," I will model two - three activities from the card using Padlet as a place to house all of the card responses. Then I will give them time for a silent reflection to process the cards and how they could be implemented in their school community before breakout groups are created to enable them to voice those connections they see from the cards to their school community or how they envision the cards contributing to their school community. We will come back together, as a community, to talk about those connections and visions they have for the cards before an evaluation. I've uploaded an unfinished copy of the BLM Week of Action card. Recommended for Middle School, High School, Adult Education.
Subject: English Language Arts, History, Arts Education
Presenter Bio
Dr. Shelina Warren (she/her) is an Army veteran and social studies teacher at Dunbar High School in Washington, DC, currently completing her ninth year there and her 21st year in education. She teaches Constitutional Law, Law & Justice Advocacy, Youth Justice, and Human Rights and Social Action to students in grades 10-12. As the director of the Eleanor Holmes Norton Law and Public Policy Academy, she encourages students to use their voices for change. Before moving to DC, she spent ten years teaching 9th-grade Civics and Economics and three years with gifted K-6 students in Arkansas.
Dr. Warren holds a Bachelor’s in Social Science Education, two Master’s degrees in History and Educational Technology, and Gifted and Talented Education, as well as an Educational Specialist degree in Curriculum Development. She earned her doctorate in Urban Leadership from Johns Hopkins University in 2023, centering on student civic empowerment using democratic classrooms.
Notably, she achieved National Board Certification in Social Studies in 2013 and recertified in 2023. Her accolades include being a finalist for Arkansas Teacher of the Year in 2012, receiving the John Morton Excellence in Teaching Economics Award in 2015, and the Anna Julia Cooper Social Justice Award in 2020, among others. In 2021, she was recognized as DC Teacher of the Year, Second Runner-Up. In 2022, she was honored with the American Civic Education Teacher Award at the National Conference on Social Studies in Philadelphia.
Finding Truth: Racial Reconciliation and the Power of Poetry
Principles: Restorative Justice, Empathy, Loving Engagement, Intergenerational
This workshop explores how to teach local histories of racial violence within a framework of remembrance and reconciliation. Participants will learn about the Equal Justice Initiative’s Community Remembrance Project and its work to memorialize lynching victims, with a focus on the Montgomery County Lynching Memorial Project. The session includes practical strategies for engaging students in discussions about racial reconciliation through antiracist pedagogical practices and creative approaches like poetry. Attendees will participate in a model lesson inspired by Tracy K. Smith’s “Declaration” and explore curricular connections to texts such as To Kill a Mockingbird and For Lamb by Lesa Cline-Ransome. This workshop equips educators with tools to foster meaningful conversations and empower students to respond to difficult histories in their own communities. Recommended for Middle School and High School.
Subject: English Language Arts, History
Presenter Bio
Caitlin Atkins (she/her) teaches course on world religions, social justice, service learning and literature at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, MD. Along with co-presenter Lesley Younge, she chairs the education committee of the Montgomery County Lynching Memorial project (MoCoLMP). Together with Lesley, she provides workshops on teaching challenging local histories through poetry and primary sources.
Lesley Younge (she/her) teaches middle school math and humanities at Maret School in Washington, DC. Along with co-presenter Caitlin Atkins, she chairs the education committee of the Montgomery County Lynching Memorial project (MoCoLMP). Lesley is also author of two books: YA found verse novel Nearer My Freedom (co-authored with her mentor, Monica Edinger), and picture book A-Train Allen.
Global Histories, Local Classrooms: Teaching Radical Black Movements in the U.K.
Principle: Globalism Demand: Mandate Black history and ethnic studies
This workshop will explore the historical significance of the British Black Power Movement and walkthrough past Week of Action activities that approach this history using the guiding principles. Additionally, participants will learn about contemporary movements that demand greater inclusion of Black history in U.K. classrooms. Recommended for Middle School, High School, Adult Education
Subject: History
Presenter Bio
Ariel Simone Alford (she/her) is an experienced secondary educator and curriculum writer in Washington DC with a passion for the holistic development of young people and an unwavering dedication to collaboration throughout the African Diaspora. She has a demonstrated record in teaching & educational initiatives related African Diasporic history, The Black Radical Tradition, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and decolonizing curriculum within the United States and abroad.
Go-Go as Public Pedagogy: Exploring Joy and Resistance through Arts and Culture
Principles: Intergenerational, Black Villages
In this workshop, we explore the cultural phenomenon of go-go music as a lens for understanding public pedagogy — how learning happens beyond traditional classroom settings. Participants will explore how go-go embodies joy and resistance, serving as a tool for community education and activism. Through interactive discussions and hands-on activities that center lived experiences and the environment, we will analyze the role of go-go in preserving cultural heritage and challenging oppressive systems. Recommended for Middle School, High School
Subject: History, Arts Education
Presenter Bio
Destini Collins (she/her) is a DC-based educator with several years designing and facilitating music curriculum across the district. She earned her Master of Arts in Music and Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and her Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Towson University. Her non-formal classroom experience includes curating thematic performing arts showcases, hosting arts and culture forums, and serving in the Education Department at arts organizations, including Strathmore Music Center and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. Her interests as a curriculum studies scholar focus on fostering curiosity, creativity, and criticality in teaching and learning that challenge students to see and reimagine their communities.
Liberating Music for the Black Child
Principle: Loving Engagement, Collective Value
Demand: Mandate Black history and ethnic studies
Viewed within the historical context of chattel-slavery and settler-colonialism, this workshop explores the history of racism in children’s music in the United States and abroad; how popular nursery rhymes continue to be used to reinforce inferiority complexes in children; and the cultural appropriation of African music in popular children’s movies.
This workshop includes videos of cartoons, songs, images, and provides extensive references for follow-up study. It will discuss the role of negro spirituals as a tool for resistance by enslaved Africans and will provide practical solutions and resources to help parents, teachers, and guardians take back control of their children’s music listening experience. Recommended for Early Childhood, Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School, Adult Education
Subject: History, Arts Education
Presenter Bio
Devin Walker (he/him), a.k.a., “Uncle Devin, the Children’s Drum cussionist,” is a national leader in the children’s music industry and an award-winning drummer and percussionist specializing in Family Funk. He owns The Uncle Devin Show®, an interactive musical experience for children that uses percussion instruments to cultivate their minds- a dynamic cross between DC’s Trouble Funk and Schoolhouse Rock.
Uncle Devin and 25 other artists are members of the 1 Tribe Collective, whose album “All One Tribe” was GRAMMY-nominated for Best Children’s Music Album in 2022."
Mending Our Classrooms through Community Art Practices
Principles: Empathy, Loving Engagement, Diversity, Unapologetically Black
Discover how Mending Walls RVA, a community-engaged mural project, fosters collaboration and social justice in education. This session will equip educators with interdisciplinary strategies for integrating Mending Walls into classrooms, providing real-world applications of art's impact on humanity and promoting interconnectedness and empathy in students. Recommended for Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School
Subject: Arts Education
Presenter Bio
Jazmine Beatty (she/her) is an art teacher at Chesapeake Bay Academy in Virginia Beach, VA. In 2020 she received her BFA in Communication Design from Texas State University. Through her art & design experiences, she unlocked her passion for fostering learning spaces that actively address diversity, inequality, and discrimination. Developing an artistic practice centered around social justice, youth empowerment, and community engagement led her to obtain her Master's of Art Education from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2022. Through her educational work, she uses the arts as a platform to heal, educate, and motivate students.
What Color is Your Clock? An Afrofuturist Perspective on Spacetime, Power & Identity
Principles: Restorative Justice, Empathy, Loving Engagement, Collective Value, Intergenerational
This workshop will discuss how an Afrofuturist perspective can represent one way to reclaim ourselves through examining spacetime, power, and bodily identity. These elements were previously used to engender erasure, silence & disconnection amongst people. Can we co-opt them to disrupt the status quo? How might we confront our circumstances and imagine new pathways for the future using everything we already know about the past & present? Recommended for Middle School, High School, Adult Education
Subject: English Language Arts, History, Science, Arts Education
Presenter Bio
Karla Roberts (she/her) is a Philadelphia native, Afrofuturist thinker, and interior design educator. As an Adjunct at Drexel University, where she earned her Master’s in Interior Architecture and Design, her award-winning thesis reimagined Black histories and futures beyond anti-Blackness. Karla advises thesis students at Drexel, leads an adult Visual Culture course at Fleisher Art Memorial, and mentors high school students through Moore College of Art & Design. Through her practice, rooted in Afrofuturism, ethnography, and phenomenology, Karla advocates for design education that empowers BIPOC communities, fostering belonging, agency, and ownership in spaces while honoring cultural legacies and advancing transformative design.
