Black Lives Matter

Collected lessons for teaching Black History Month, primarily for high school and middle school.

Using tweets, video and a poster, students review the history of the Black Lives Matter movement, consider criticisms of it, and examine the movement's policy goals.   

NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has added momentum to a remarkable wave of protests by athletes against racial injustice and police killings. Students discuss tweets about the protests, consider multiple points of view about them, and construct a timeline of events.   

Through a series of engaging "opinion continuum" exercises, students explore a range of views about the phrases "Black Lives Matter" and "All Lives Matter."  

This first of three lessons on the Black Lives Matter movement serves as an introduction.  Students learn about the origins of the Black Lives Matter movement through tweets, quotes, and discussion of the movement's principles.    

What are the demands of the Black Lives Matter movement, and what progress has it made in bringing social change? Students explore these questions with readings and discussion.  

This lesson includes two parts. In Part 1, students review the facts about the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases.  In Part 2, students break into small groups to discuss six different proposals that have been made to address injustices related to these incidents.

Students explore the mainstream media's portrayal of Michael Brown (an unarmed teenager who was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, MO) and the conversation it has touched off about racial stereotyping. 

Students discuss the police killing of Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, MO, and consider the racial and economic backdrop to the killing and the protests that have followed.