By Vanessa Williams
DCAESJ and EmpowerEd DC’s third annual Unapologetically Black Educator Story Lounge was just as powerful, moving, and joyous as the previously held events.

By Vanessa Williams
There were no fresh baked, chocolate chip cookies in sight. No peppermints being discreetly offered and passed from big to little hands. All of the sweaters appeared to be store-bought, not hand knit. Yet everyone at Smothers Elementary School (DCPS) the morning of their Intergenerational Read Aloud were wrapped in the love, wisdom, and laughter only grandmas can give.

Bruce-Monroe ES @ Park View, a public elementary school in Washington, D.C., engages students, staff, and families in school-wide activities for Black Lives Matter at School. Each year it hosts a celebration of learning called the Marketplace of Knowledge. Assistant Principal Dr. Tamyka Morant explains…

On the evening of Tuesday, February 2nd, nearly 70 participants attended a virtual town hall on racial justice held by Glen Haven Elementary School. This was the third Town Hall for Racial Justice held by the school since June 2021.

On Friday, February 7, at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., audience members gathered for a post-play discussion of Dominique Morisseau’s play Pipeline, a drama following a family navigating through systems of racism in public and private school.

I led students in a “See, Think, Wonder” routine of a photo of a Black man drinking out of a water fountain labeled “whites only” and then asked them why do they thought I was wearing this on a day where we would be talking about the Black Lives Matter Movement. Then students broke out into groups to discuss one of the 13 guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Middle school students at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, a D.C. school serving deaf and hard of hearing students from birth through grade 8, created a video outlining the 13 Principles of the Black Lives Matter movement in their own words.

As a part of Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, high school students at EL Haynes Public Charter High School, learned about social justice activists. They used the Teaching for Change lesson Resistance 101.

I used a number of lessons from D.C. Area Black LIves Matter Week of Action resource page and others I collected at that BLM curriculum share. #Lastwords was one of the most powerful lessons for many of my students.I have a number of students with significant learning disabilities as well. So in their classes, I used the lesson related to the book Milo's Museum. We're still working on this unit, but they seem to really be enjoying it!

An Inspired Teaching Demonstration School educator wrote… "In a school where Black Lives Matter, we embrace uncomfortable, messy, and yet essential conversations about race. We recognize the systemic injustice of our society and we work daily to provide a school environment that is safe, inclusive, and affirming for every student, without exception." While a Student at the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School wrote...