4/17/2023
4/24/2023
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Eastern

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Two part webinar: April 17 and 24, 7PM-8:30PM

We’ve seen enormous cultural wars in some states over teaching about racism and slavery in the US. New York has escaped the vitriol, but that doesn’t mean our curriculums are great. Most of us know that slavery happened in the south and that Jim Crow happened in the south and lynching happened in the south. You’d think there was never any racial problem in New York at all. The Antiracist Curriculum Project, hosted by PathStone, and co-led by Rochester educators Kesha James and Shane Wiegand, is working to change that. They have developed lesson plans for K-12 teachers covering the history of slavery in New York as well as racist policies in the 20^th century which have made residential segregation deeply entrenched. They also teach about the resistance to slavery and racism.
 
In 2022, the League of Women Voters of the Rochester Metro Area invited Kesha and Shane to tell us about their curriculum. We learned a lot and gave them our Making Democracy Work award. We believe that the information they’ve put together for school kids needs to be learned by adults as well, because we need information on the source of our problems to be able to solve them.
 

Kesha James	Shane Wiegand

In Session 1 (April 17, 7PM-8:30PM), they will teach us about slavery in New York. Yes, we had it! It provided the basis for many of the biggest and most profitable corporations, many of which are still around today. And New York is full of places named after enslavers, just like we hear about in the south.
 
In Session 2 (April 24, 7PM-8:30PM) they will teach us about racist policies in the 20^th century and the persistent legacy of segregation that continues to trap black and brown communities in poverty.
 
Prepare to be surprised by what you learn. And while much of it is disturbing, it is presented in a gentle manner that will draw you in rather than shut you down. Kesha and Shane are experts in social and emotional learning and their curriculum comes packaged with teaching techniques which make difficult subjects accessible and relevant to all.
 
Don’t leave learning about our past to the kids, join us. Please spread the word throughout your social networks. There is important work to do and we need to be educated to do it.

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