Dear Ally,

Thank you for giving me really good reasons to keep going with this work. It’s been a heavy couple of weeks (ahem, years?) and I am finding the more I push into this work of raising up allies, something that me purpose and joy, the more sensitive I have become to the weight of it all.

I’m grateful for the allies who have stepped into my discouragement to tell me it’s okay to rest, bring me London Fogs, and remind me that I can’t just grit my teeth and do this work alone, Luisa Madrigal style. I need my community, and I’m so grateful you are a part of it.

My counselor asked me last week how it would be for me to surrender to the discouragement, to give up and be silenced about the message I feel compelled to share and the conversation was exactly what I needed to open up my computer, trust the outline I drafted weeks ago, and get to work. I hope this newsletter will be a source of encouragement and inspiration for you, as it was for me while I wrote it, to keep going on your allyship journey. Our world needs you!

Cheering for us,

Jamie

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//Teaching Kids Hard History//

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Listen, you all know I love to teach with storytelling. I usually share a personal story to illustrate the topic de jure, but this February I am at a loss about what story to use for such an important topic as teaching kids hard history. (Hard history, by the way, is history that’s hard to teach because we don’t know much about it, it makes us uncomfortable, or it has been framed as something that is divisive to discuss.)

I’ve decided the best thing I can do is let the stories speak for themselves. Here’s just a few headlines from the first two weeks of Black History Month, 2022.

A couple from the national stage:

• ​'I'm just tired of being terrorized like my grandparents were': More than a dozen HBCUs got bomb threats on the 1st day of Black History Month​
• ​Amir Locke's death highlights perils for Black gun owners: Advocates​

And a couple that are more personal to me:

• ​Polk County Schools to form review committee over 16 books removed from school libraries (This is my friend Shawanda’s school district, and I’m proud of her for speaking up in this interview!)
• ​One Idaho lawmaker claims CRT is being taught at the pre-k level in Boise County. School districts, lawmaker fight back (Y’all, I grew up going to school in Boise County and I can say that CRT is not something they are teaching up there…this headline has me shaking my head.)

Clearly, there is a lot to be done and we aren’t going to be able to do it if we don’t get better about teaching kids hard history.

As allies, we have to understand that we are being lied to when we are told that talking about race and teaching kids about hard history is divisive. Oppression is divisive and silencing conversations that would dismantle oppressive systems is pure evil. As allies, we have a responsibility to teach hard history so that when it repeats itself, we can do better. We have to do better.

As an educator, I can see that we are facing two different barriers when we try to teach hard history.

One is the assumption that teaching hard history inevitably makes white kids feel bad about themselves.

This accusation is the human shield being used to push the anti-CRT hysteria that regularly threatens to overtake the conversation when it comes to teaching history from diverse perspectives and learning from diverse voices that challenge the status quo.

The argument centers the white experience, and, while incredibly frustrating and hurtful to folks of color because it’s just one more example of prioritizing the protection of whiteness over ending racist systems, as an educator and parent, I know it’s a concern that needs to be addressed.

No person, child or not, should ever be made to feel badly about themselves because of the color of their skin (or their culture), and this is especially important for educators to understand because without a psychologically safe space, learning cannot take place. It would be counterproductive for someone wanting to teach kids hard history for the sake of raising up allies to snuff out the opportunity for meaningful learning by shaming someone for the color of their skin.

Does talking about race, racism, white supremacy, and other must-teach topics of hard history make people uncomfortable? Hopefully. But, as I explain in episode three of Adopted Into Allyship: The Podcast, that discomfort has a purpose and it is to lead us into an equipped, reliable, and action-oriented allyship that fights for justice and connection.

In my experience, teaching kids hard history without making kids them bad is an attainable ambition. In fact, I can say that all the kids I’ve interacted with in my time as a professional educator have been better able to process hard history and be inspired to take action against oppression than a lot of adults I know. Unfortunately, fear often wins and the hard history gets pushed aside in favor of a more sugar-coated version, perpetuating the problems rooted in the very history that goes unacknowledged.

The second barrier we face is the heartbreaking reality that if and when hard history is taught in the classroom, it is often done with a deficit perspective.

This barrier centers the students of color, but like the first barrier, is rooted in white supremacy. Unfortunately, hard history is typically taught by focusing on the shameful parts of our country’s history in a way that manages to humiliate, devalue, or embarrass students of color rather than the actions of those who oppressed and inflicted pain. A more accurate and productive way of teaching kids hard history would be to focus on the excellence, leadership, cultural contributions, and joy that emerged despite of our country’s seemingly committed relationship with oppressive systems.

With the hopes of blowing up both of those barriers, in this newsletter I’m bringing my best Professor McGonagall game and sharing:

• five mindset shifts,
• four reasons,
• three methods,
• two topics,
• and one freebie,

all to help us all become better at teaching kids hard history.

5 Mindset Shifts For Teaching Hard History

1. Let go of the idea that learning about hard history only matters if you live in a diverse area where you will interact with a lot of people of color.

That’s not how allyship works. It’s more like “Allyship: If you build it, they will come!” Decide now to become an equipped, reliable, and action-oriented ally, then prepare accordingly so that when the moment comes to show up with strong allyship skills you are ready!

2. Let go of the idea that kids are too young to learn about hard history and acknowledge that we adults could learn from them about how to be curious, inclusive, and kind.

Kids of color learn about hard history at an early age because they have to. And, I do have white friends who have been teaching their kids hard history and they are just fine—in fact, they are some of our girls’ best allies.

3. Let go of the ideas that talking about race is racist and that colorblindness is the moral standard.

Honor the beauty of God’s Imago Dei and experience it by learning about diverse experiences and practice lament as a form of worship as needed.

4. Let go of pride and adorn yourself in humility.

This allows you to learn alongside the kids in your life and models to them that allies choose to be life-long learners.

5. Let go of shame and allow the discomfort of reality do its job.

Shame prevents us from engaging in the productive struggle necessary for meaningful learning. We do need a psychologically safe space to learn, but safe doesn't mean comfortable. Discomfort can move us into solution mode, leading us to use the higher level thinking skills of questioning, getting a bigger picture, problem solving and application. Those are allyship skills!

4 Reasons To Teach Hard History

1. We know that history repeats itself, but in the words of Dr. Maya Angelou, once you know better, you can do better.

Our world is desperate for a generation of allies who can do better.

2. History is unfolding around us every day.

My hope is that we are witnessing white supremacy’s last stand and when future generations look back on this time, we want our families to have been a part of the solution, not the problem.

3. We who self-identify as Christians are rooted firmly in the values of reconciliation.

And, there is no reconciliation without an honest accounting of the wrongs (confession) and then genuine efforts to right them (repentance and repair).

4. We know that the American experience has always been an experiment.

True democracy demands both an informed citizenry and the eradication of oppression.

3 Methods for Teaching Hard History

1. Make it interesting.

Utilize a variety of learning modalities: books (obviously, right?), music, magazines, plays, tik-toks, movies, documentaries, podcasts, field trips, interviews, etc.

2. Make it relevant.

Pay attention to what’s going on here and now, then connect it to the past.

3. Make it wholly true.

Teach the fundamental differences between facts and opinions, as well as the importance of citing credible sources.

2 Topics That Must Be Covered When Teaching Hard History

1. What happened/Is happening:

Teach the full picture—talk about excellence, cultural contributions, joy, and leadership alongside slavery, racism, and oppression.

Don’t whitewash history—but also don’t forget to teach about the fact that white allyship is a part of the solution and isn’t a new concept!

Pay attention to your words—there is a big difference between saying “Black people were slaves”, and saying “White people enslaved Black people.” When in doubt...take a breath, lean into the discomfort, and find grace.

2. What we are going to do about it:

Pay it forward—find an organization that fights to end racism and donate to the cause.

Speak up—commit to being brave when faced with a hard history moment and practice things to say when racism is in front of you.

Invite others in—share what we’ve learned with others. I’m not talking about social media sharing, I’m talking about thoughtfully identifying where you can actually influence change and taking intentional action. Whether this means passing resources along to friends and family as conversations come up, offering resources to educators at your kids’ school, or maybe even passing resources along to your church leadership team, there are many allies who are waiting to find a community of like minded game-changers like you!

1 Freebie for Teaching Hard History

I created a one page family resource guide that summarizes this newsletter and links to a few of our family’s favorite resources for teaching hard history. If you end up taking the time to download it, I would encourage you to try at least three of the links—even the smallest baby steps move us forward!

Download the Family Resource Guide Here

That’s it for this month, you guys!

Thank you for being my people,

Jamie

P.S. If you have topics or questions you would like me to cover in future newsletters, I *really* want to hear about it!

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Click Here To Submit Questions, Comments, or Suggestions

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