ADL Logo
ADL Logo

156 Results

Now More Than Ever: Why We Need to Address Inequity and Justice in Schools

Article
Diverse Students Holding Sign, "Can We Talk About Equity"
October 28, 2015 We live in an increasingly pluralistic, multicultural and connected world. In order to prepare students to live, learn and eventually work successfully in society, we need to prepare them.  Diversity in the United States is rapidly increasing, especially among young people entering our school system. 2014 was the first school year when more children of color were enrolled in U.S. public schools than white children. However, the diversity of our teaching force is…
Read more about Now More Than Ever: Why We Need to Address Inequity and Justice in Schools

Louis Farrakhan’s Pleas for Justice are Blunted by Bigotry and Calls to Violence

News
by: Jonathan Greenblatt | October 08, 2015 The Washington Post From Charleston to Baltimore and Ferguson, it’s undeniable that our country continues to wrestle with racism and inequality. But recently there have been some notable and hopeful developments — including bipartisan prison reform and the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina statehouse. This weekend in Washington, a major demonstration will take place that is billed as a call…
Read more about Louis Farrakhan’s Pleas for Justice are Blunted by Bigotry and Calls to Violence

Race Talk: Engaging Young People in Conversations about Race and Racism

Tools and Strategies
High School Students Taking Part in Group Discussion Circle
For Educators Because discussions of race and racism are part of our public discourse, educators feel a sense of responsibility to bring these topics into their classrooms—because young people want to be part of the conversation and should be.  If handled effectively, these discussions provide opportunities for timely learning. Below are suggestions and strategies for having classroom conversations with young people about race and racism. Prior to these discussions and…
Read more about Race Talk: Engaging Young People in Conversations about Race and Racism

David Duke

Profile
For Law Enforcement David Duke, perhaps America's most well-known racist and anti-Semite, promotes anti-Semitic and white supremacist views as the leader of the white supremacist European American Unity and Rights Organization, as a writer of anti-Semitic tracts, and, in recent years, as an international figure who has promoted his anti-Jewish ideology in Europe and the Middle East, devoting particular attention to Russia and the Ukraine. Duke has been active in the white supremacy…
Read more about David Duke

The Rachel Dolezal Teachable Moment

Article
by: Jinnie Array June 19, 2015   Rachel Dolezal, President of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), made headlines and became the top trending item on Twitter last week when it was discovered that she had been posing as Black for many years. In her interview on the Today Show, she continued to assert: “I identify as Black.” These events have sparked strong emotions—anger, confusion, sympathy,…
Read more about The Rachel Dolezal Teachable Moment

Swimming Pools and Segregation: A Long History

Article
Pullen Park public pool in Raleigh, NC closed in 1962 because of four Black male swimmers
June 15, 2015 In Summer 2015, an incident caught on video captured a police officer outside a community pool who appears to be waving his gun at young partygoers who approached him as he tried to subdue and eventually hold down a teenage girl. She was wearing a bikini because she was at a pool party. The party was held at the community pool in the Craig Ranch North subdivision, which is predominately white although McKinney, Texas is racially diverse. A group of African American…
Read more about Swimming Pools and Segregation: A Long History

Why Is It Important to Teach Young Children to Appreciate Diversity?

Tools and Strategies
Early Childhood Question Corner For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Although children are not born with prejudice, by early childhood they have already acquired stereotypes or negative attitudes toward those that they perceive as “others.” An article in The Buffalo News reports that about 85 percent of the brain develops between ages 3 and 5, and that impressions and ideas formed between ages 2 and 4 are lasting (Lessons in Respect, 2003). Researchers tracking the…
Read more about Why Is It Important to Teach Young Children to Appreciate Diversity?

To Confront Racism, We Must Also Look In the Mirror

Article
by: Jinnie Array March 16, 2015 Last week, disturbing video emerged of fraternity brothers from the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) chapter at the University of Oklahoma laughing while singing a racist chant: “There will never be a ni**** SAE. You can hang him from a tree, but he can never sign with me. There will never be a ni**** SAE.” The news comes on the heels of the recent findings from a Department of Justice investigation in Ferguson, MO which, among other things,…
Read more about To Confront Racism, We Must Also Look In the Mirror

How Can Outdoor Play Increase Children’s Anti-Bias Skills?

Tools and Strategies
Early Childhood Question Corner For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Children’s outdoor play offers many opportunities to teach and reinforce anti-bias behavior. To get you started, incorporate some of the below tips excerpted from Bias-Free Foundations: Early Childhood Activities for Educators (2005, 28): Take advantage of these opportunities by helping children to learn skills such as taking turns, sharing toys and inviting new children to play. For example,…
Read more about How Can Outdoor Play Increase Children’s Anti-Bias Skills?

From Selma to Ferguson: Standing Together for Justice

Article
We March With Selma
March 02, 2015 What do you know about the events in Selma, Alabama in the 1960’s? What part of that history speaks to you? This year marks the 50th anniversary of the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. In the history books, we know this as Bloody Sunday, where 600 peaceful protestors were met with brutality. As events unfolded, the media captured photos and film of what would later become the impetus for thousands to become a part of the movement. Dr. King and his followers…
Read more about From Selma to Ferguson: Standing Together for Justice

Beyond the Dream, Teaching King in Context

Article
Martin Luther King Hand Raised
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is Monday, January 16, and many educators will take the opportunity to teach about King and his enormous contributions to our society. As educators, how we approach the teaching of this holiday makes an impact on how students understand the larger context of the Civil Rights Movement and whether they make a connection between the past struggles to the current day and their own lives. Here are some thoughts about teaching the topic in a meaningful way…
Read more about Beyond the Dream, Teaching King in Context

Beyond Ferguson and Staten Island: Where Do We Go From Here?

Article
by: Oren Segal December 05, 2014 In the wake of two grand jury decisions—in Ferguson, MO and Staten Island, NY—not to indict the police officers who were involved in the killing of black men, the time has come to ask ourselves: Where do we go from here? There are a myriad of ideas and legislation on the table--diversity training for the police, funding to provide body cameras for police officers and legislation to tighten standards on military-style equipment for local police…
Read more about Beyond Ferguson and Staten Island: Where Do We Go From Here?

Identity-Based Bullying

Lesson Plan
Girl Student in Class Being Bullied
GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School, Middle School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Writing, Speaking & Listening SEL STANDARDS*: Self Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making Bullying is a major problem in our schools. When it targets aspects of a person’s identity, it is called identity-based bullying, and may include bias about appearance, race, culture, gender and gender expression, language, religion, socioeconomic status,…
Read more about Identity-Based Bullying

National Bullying Prevention Month

Tools and Strategies
Pupils Friends Teasing a Pupil Standing Alone
October is National Bullying Prevention Month National Bullying Prevention Month is an opportunity to reflect on the classroom and school culture and assess the extent to which bullying is part of that culture. It is a time to examine best practices when it comes to creating respectful school environments that foster inclusion and respect. The large body of research on effective responses to name-calling and bullying concurs that schools and other educational institutions can best…
Read more about National Bullying Prevention Month

Embracing Technology, Challenging Cyberbullying

Article
by: Oren Segal July 29, 2014 If you have been reviewing any number of parenting or education blogs lately, you’ll see headlines proclaiming the menace and dangers of technology.  Technology, and more specifically, social media and mobile apps are often treated like “monsters” to guard against and the creators of all matter of social ills.  Even if technology is scary and daunting to some adults, for youth it is a necessary and positive part of life.  In…
Read more about Embracing Technology, Challenging Cyberbullying

Teachers Teasing Youth is No Joke, It’s Bullying

Article
by: Mark Onofrio March 17, 2014 A teacher raises his hand in A World of Difference® Institute training and says, "I like to kid around with my students." He says, "I like to have fun in my class so they are more likely to come to me when they need help."   He calls one student his “favorite Mexican,” another student “Dopey” and the only African-American student “MLK” (short for Martin Luther King Jr.) This well-intentioned…
Read more about Teachers Teasing Youth is No Joke, It’s Bullying

Stereotyped Theme Parties Are Way More than a Joke on College Campuses

Article
by: Oren Segal February 26, 2014   It happened again. College students dressed up like members of a “culture” for a stereotyped theme party. In the most recent example, sorority students at Columbia University were photographed wearing sombreros, thick mustaches, ponchos and holding maracas. They also portrayed other nationalities. What’s worse is that these types of parties are not anomalies, but common occurrences on college campuses. African-themed…
Read more about Stereotyped Theme Parties Are Way More than a Joke on College Campuses