Teaching Hard History

Latest Episodes:

Reframing the Movement – w/ Nishani Frazier and Adam Sanchez Aug 11, 2020

Show notes

Teaching the civil rights movement accurately and effectively requires deconstructing the myths and misconceptions about the civil rights movement. Most people are familiar with a very specific version of the Civil Rights Movement that exaggerates Government support and denies the existence and persistence of racism outside the South. Julian Bond called this the "Master Narrative." It celebrates sanitized icons and downplays grassroots organizing. It overhypes nonviolence while disparaging self-defense and Black Power. In this episode, we talk with historian Nishani Frazier and social studies teacher Adam Sanchez about how to separate civil rights fact from civil rights fiction in your classroom.

You can find links to useful resources—like Adam's "Who said it: Malcolm or Martin?" worksheet (and the answer key)—along with an enhanced transcript on our website.

And be sure to check out the Spotify playlist for this episode

Wrap Up: Teaching the Connections – w/ Bethany Jay Jun 09, 2020

Show notes

The systems that enabled and perpetuated African and Indigenous enslavement in what is now the U.S. have much in common, and their histories tell us a great deal about the present. Professors Bethany Jay and Steven Oliver join us to talk about connections between the first two seasons and how to teach them, and we preview what's to come in season three.

You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.

Hard History in Hard Times – Talking With Teachers May 08, 2020

Show notes

In this special call-in episode, listeners share their stories and questions from throughout season 2—including teaching remotely, working with families and stakeholders, and incorporating social justice into subjects like math and science. As educators, we're strongest when we support each other.

And you'll hear great suggestions from fellow teachers, like these resources we discuss from Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia:

Changes in Population (PDF 800 KB)
Dos and Don'ts of Teaching About Race, Culture, and Identity (PDF 130 KB)
The Role of Virginians During the Civil War (PDF 1.4 MB)
The Role of Virginians in the Founding of the New Nation (PDF 970 KB)

Of course, you'll find more even more resources, links and a complete transcript on our website.

Inseparable Separations: Slavery and Indian Removal Mar 27, 2020

Show notes

Indian Removal was a brutal and complicated effort that textbooks often simplify. It is also inseparably related to slavery. Enslavers seeking profit drove demand for Indigenous lands, displacing hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people. Some of these Indigenous people participated in chattel slavery. Focusing on the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, this episode pulls the lens back to show how Removal and enslavement must be taught together. This story must be told if we're going to understand the full hard history of American enslavement.

You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.

Slave Codes, Liberty Suits and the Charter Generation – w/ Margaret Newell Mar 06, 2020

Show notes

The Americas were built on the lands, labor and lives of Indigenous peoples. Despite being erased from history textbooks after the so-called first Thanksgiving, Indigenous peoples did not disappear. Colonial settlers relied on the cooperation, exploitation and forced labor of their Native neighbors to survive and thrive in what became North America. Focusing on New England, historian Margaret Newell introduces us to the Charter Generation of systematically enslaved people across this continent.

You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.

Using the WPA Slave Narratives – w/ Cynthia Lynn Lyerly Feb 14, 2020

Show notes

From 1936 to 1938, the Federal Writers' Project collected stories from people who had been enslaved. The WPA Slave Narrative Collection at the Library of Congress is a valuable resource; these oral histories are also problematic. Interpreting these narratives within literary and historical context, students can develop primary source literacy. Historian Cynthia Lynn Lyerly outlines unique insights these texts can add to your curriculum.

You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.

Groundwork for Teaching Indigenous Enslavement – w/ the Turtle Island Social Studies Collective Feb 08, 2020

Show notes

To better understand the United States' past and present, we need to better understand Indigenous identities—and our classrooms play a huge role. This starts with examining what's missing from our social studies, history, civics and government curricula. Throughout this episode, we reference the K-5 Framework for Teaching Hard History as we shed light on key topics like sovereignty, land and erasure.

You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.

Mid-season Recap: Key Lessons on Indigenous Enslavement Jan 24, 2020

Show notes

Educators can no longer ignore our country's history of Indigenous enslavement. Our students need a fuller understanding of the pivotal history of slavery to comprehend the present and develop a vision for our nation's future. In this mid-season recap, we highlight key lessons about this consequential part of American history—along with teaching strategies and resources—through the voices of leading scholars and educators featured so far.

And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these...

Resources and Readings

Guests

Maureen Costello (Episode 1): Teaching Tolerance
Eduardo Díaz (Episode 1): Smithsonian Latino Center
Renée Gokey (Episode 1): National Museum of the American Indian
Christina Snyder (Episodes 2 and 3): McCabe Greer Professor of History, Penn State University
Debbie Reese (Episode 6): American Indians in Children's Literature
Andrés Reséndez (Episodes 7 and 8): The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America

References:

Teaching Tolerance: Frameworks, Teaching Hard History
Teaching Tolerance: Lesson, Rethinking Discovery
Christina Snyder, Slavery in Indian Country: The Changing Face of Captivity in Early America
Christina Snyder, Great Crossings; Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in the Age of Jackson
Teaching Hard History, Summary Objective 2 (Colonial enslavement of Indigenous people)
Andrés Reséndez, A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca
Spain, Requerimiento: The Spanish Requirement of 1513
Teaching Tolerance, Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way
The New York Times, Everything You Learned About Thanksgiving Is Wrong
Teaching Tolerance, Emancipation Proclamation
Teaching Hard History, Summary Objective 16 (Lincoln and the Dakota 38)
The New York Times, Lincoln and the Sioux
Spanish forced labor, Encomienda
Spanish forced labor, Repartimiento
Southern United States, Convict leasing
PBS: Slavery by Another Name, Slavery v. Peonage

Silver, Resistance and the Evolution of Slavery in the West – w/ Andrés Reséndez Dec 20, 2019

Show notes

Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the forced labor and bondage of Indigenous peoples was integral to the economic and political history of what became the Southwestern United States. Historian and author Andrés Reséndez outlines the significance of silver mining, Indigenous enslavement and resistance in the history of New Mexico and Latin America. We also examine how, as white settlers moved west, so-called "free soil" states like California continued to institutionalize coerced labor.

You can find a complete transcript in the show notes for this episode, along with a list of resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode.

The Other Slavery – w/ Andrés Reséndez Dec 06, 2019

Show notes

A hundred years before the first ship carrying enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia, Europeans introduced the commercial practice of enslavement in "The New World." And for the next 400 years, millions of Indigenous people throughout the Americas were enslaved through several forms of forced labor and bondage. Historian and author Andrés Reséndez calls this "The Other Slavery," and his work is changing our understanding of the transatlantic slave trade.

And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these...

Resources and Readings