Week 6: Difficult History

This week, we were asked to blog about difficult history. I’m glad our class is taking the time to address this topic in this current era, where political tensions are high.

I know that, as one of the original colonies, New Hampshire too has a past shaped by slavery and injustices. That said, it's easy for us New Englanders to think of racist policy and hate groups mostly as problems that other states have. I see questionable educational policies on the news, and I go to work the next day and silently thank my union reps for existing. But this way of thinking is incorrect and lulls us into a false sense of security. 

One of our tasks this week was to explore Learning For Justice, a website filled with resources about hard history and social justice for educators. This site is sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center, so, on a whim, I decided to explore their website as well. What I discovered shocked me. The Southern Poverty Law Center has a tool called the Hate Map, which tracks hate groups across America. New Hampshire is a dark crimson. After doing some math, I learned that in 2022, New Hampshire had the fourth-highest rate of hate groups per capita in the country.

With this newfound knowledge in mind, I returned back to Learning for Justice to look for resources that might help. The website features a comprehensive lessons section. Premade lesson plans are available in all four Social Justice domains (Identity, Diversity, Justice, and Action) and sortable by a myriad of subjects, both within and beyond the traditional Social Studies umbrella. Educators interested in implementing the Teaching Hard History framework in their classrooms or schools can simply select a grade level and target subject and be presented with several ways to address the key concepts and standards. For example, this lesson, targeted at kids in grades K-5, asks children to explore pictures in books and then discusses what diversity and beauty they observed. It contains a premade graphic organizer, scaffolds for classrooms newer to discussions about race, and potential accommodations for children who cannot read or write independently. Finally, it provides further connected reading for teachers interested in learning more about the topic. This is just one of the many, many lessons available through Learning for Justice.

One of the key concepts of Learning for Justice’s Teaching Hard History framework is that slavery existed and was perpetuated throughout America. It can be hard, however, for students in New Hampshire to connect with this fact. Many history classes, especially in elementary school, may mention this in passing, but more emphasis is placed on the Civil War, where we are solidly Union members. The Black Heritage Trail NH is a local resource that educators can use, or maybe even visit. Markers commemorating important sites and people are present across the state, and one can even go on a self-guided walking tour in Portsmouth. Additionally, their website offers many New Hampshire-centric resources, from a local event hub to profiles on little-known Black historical figures.

This issue is too complex to address in a single blog post. But I hope I’ve given you some food for thought, and some good resources to look at going forward.

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!

    Mary

Black Heritage Trail NH. (n.d.) Black Heritage Trail NH. https://blackheritagetrailnh.org/ 

Learning for Justice. (2023, April 20). A Quick Reference Guide to Teaching Hard History: A K-12 Framework for Teaching American Slavery. Southern Poverty Law Center. https://www.learningforjustice.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/LFJ-Quick-Reference-Guide-Teaching-Hard-History-K-12-Framework-WEB-April2023-04202023.pdf 

Learning for Justice. (n.d.). Looking at Race and Racial Identity in Children's’ Books. Southern Poverty Law Center. https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/lessons/looking-at-race-and-racial-identity-in-childrens-books 

Southern Poverty Law Center. (2022). Hate Map.  https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map