Competing Visions of Black Civic Participation
The approaches that Black leaders have embraced across space and time are numerous and have encompassed assimilationist and integrationist conceptions of social change, alongside contrasting approaches rooted in Black self-determination and nationalism.
![Photo of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Talking](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/MartinLutherKing_MalcolmX_talking_photo.jpeg?h=1cd998b4&itok=24p0LYIf)
10 Questions for the Past: The 1963 Chicago Public Schools Boycott
Students explore the strategies, risks, and historical significance of the 1963 Chicago school boycott, while also considering bigger-picture questions about social progress.
![Crowd fills LaSalle Street between City Hall and building housing Board of Education as hundreds of demonstrators marched in Chicago on Oct. 22, 1963 following a one-day boycott of public schools.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Democracy_1963_AfricanAmericanIntegrationAntiSchoolBoycott1963IL_FH2169828.jpg?h=12de4a96&itok=CAfhRaQg)
Remembering Rip Patton
Facing History commemorates the life of activist and Freedom Rider Ernest "Rip" Patton, Jr.
![Ernest "Rip" Patton, Jr. holding a picture of himself during a visit to the Freedom Rides Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/dr_ernest_rip_patton_freedom_rider_FH297343.jpg?h=1f0cc284&itok=ug3GbaWE)
Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries on Teaching Reconstruction
Facing History shares highlights from Dr. Jeffries’ remarks during his engaging presentation concerning the significance and legacy of the Reconstruction Era.
![Square headshot of Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-05/Dr_Hasan_Kwame_Jeffries_FH2191462_squarecrop.jpg?h=569f0efd&itok=19aFckKP)
6 Indigenous-Led COP26 Events You Can Stream
With the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) currently taking place, Facing History hand-selected a curated list of conference events that speak to the Indigenous ways of conceiving of the natural world and its relationship to humanity.
![Indigenous Justice is Climate Justice sign in crowd protesting for environmental justice.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/ijicj_large.jpeg?h=5dc822d2&itok=9Da4VNUE)
Remembering Sidney Poitier
In January, the nation stood still as we learned that renowned actor Sidney Poitier passed away at 94 years old. Poitier was both an actor and an activist—and despite a mixed array of perspectives over the years on the ways that he represented Black people in film—he undoubtedly played a leading role in African Americans’ fight for civil rights and more positive media representations from the silver screen to the streets.
![Sidney Poitier 1968 Portrait Photo](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/Sidney_Poitier_1968_Portrait_Photo.jpeg?h=9582604b&itok=SRzDQdJX)
5 New YA Books on Black History and Life
Some members of the Facing History staff are exploring these five new books published within the last year, and we invite you to explore them alongside us and share your reactions with us. These 5 titles cover essential topics from Black history with young audiences and address contemporary experiences of young Black people.
![Cover for the book: Ain't All Burned the Bright](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/aint_burned_all_the_bright_book_cover.jpeg?h=2ce16ca3&itok=EOMN4a3M)
10 Questions for the Present: Parkland Student Activism
Students identify strategies and tools that Parkland students have used to influence Americans to take action to reduce gun violence.
![Millbrook High School students demonstrate against gun violence outside their school in Frederick County, Va., Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, following a school shooting in which over a dozen people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., one week ago. (Jeff Taylor/The Winchester Star via AP)](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Democracy_2018_StudentProtestAfterParkland_FH289815.jpg?h=ffeece36&itok=XUEFh1qx)
Black Athletes and Civil Rights: 6 Upstanders to Introduce to Your Students
Beyond the 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team immortalized in the film Cool Runnings, Black athletes have played more central roles at the Winter Olympics than many people might realize. As we cheer on the 2022 Black Olympians, Black History Month is a great time to look back on the impact that Black Olympians and other Black athletes have beyond the world of sports.
![Portrait photo of boxing champion Jack Johnson in b&w](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/Jack_Johnson_portrait_photo_b%26w.jpeg?h=b388cfb8&itok=faMo6l1d)
Haiti in Historical Context
Facing History shares on Haiti’s often erased and obscured, yet extraordinary history of resistance.
![A woman holds a Haitian flag and roses at a church service following the earthquake of January 24, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/Haiti_flag_roses.jpeg?h=199d8c1f&itok=_xeHZ3uV)
The 1968 East LA School Walkouts
Students learn about education, identity, and activism through an exploration of the East Los Angeles school walkouts, when thousands of students protested unequal educational opportunities for Mexican American students.
![John Ortiz, Mexican-American student leader at James A. Garfield High School, addressing assembled students during a walkout.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/1968_LAStudentWalkoutatGarfieldHigh_FH2169821.jpg?h=61a57aa7&itok=I40HzuJ5)
January 6th
The January 6th investigation has deepened widespread concerns about rising threats of fascism, racism, white nationalism, and other phenomena that undermine justice for all. But in analyses that focus primarily on the role of white nationalism fomented within media echo chambers, for example, commentators have overlooked what may be a more pervasive parallel phenomenon: the widespread crisis of faith in U.S. media and institutions at large.
![Photo of Two People Watching the News on TV](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/two_people_watch_news_tv.jpeg?h=140710cd&itok=9u-6fk5n)