Events | Book | Guides | Magazine | Add’l Resources

This resource page is for Teaching for Black Lives Study Group members only.

Events

As a Teaching for Black Lives study group, you are invited to attend monthly classes and workshops hosted by the Zinn Education Project. 

All study group members are expected to attend at least three Teaching for Black Lives Campaign events, including the national welcoming and closing celebrations. Generally, there is one special event, workshop, class, or training per month. 

All of these events are online, at 4:00 pm PT/ 7:00 pm ET, and last for 60 to 90 minutes unless otherwise noted.

ASL Interpretation will be available upon request. Please register at least four days in advance to give our team time to schedule interpreters.

Study Group Members Only

2024

Thursday, December 12 

Check-in Gathering with Jesse Hagopian (30 minutes). Current and alumni Teaching for Black Lives coordinators and members welcome. 

2025

Jesse Hagopian

Monday, January 13

The Healing of Organized Remembering: The Struggle to Teach Truth with Jesse Hagopian. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.

Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian and Rethinking Schools executive director Cierra Kaler-Jones will discuss Hagopian’s latest book, Teach Truth: The Struggle for Antiracist Education and the campaign to fight back against bans on books and education.

Thursday, January 16 

Collective Efforts Gathering (45 minutes) Current and alumni Teaching for Black Lives coordinators and members welcome. 

Wednesday, January 22

Black Lives Matter at School Planning Meeting

Black Lives Matter at School coordinating committee member and Teaching for Black Lives co-editor, Jesse Hagopian, will talk about the origins of the movement. We will provide ideas for the annual Week of Action (February 3 – 7, 2025) in your school and give you time in breakout groups to connect with other study groups.

Saturday, January 25

Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum Fair hosted by D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice. (11:30 am – 2:30pm ET / 8:30am – 11:30am PT)

Teaching for Change’s D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice will host an online curriculum fair featuring a keynote speaker and workshops set to uplift the 13 guiding principles that focus on improving the school experience for Black students. Educators around the country are invited to connect, collaborate, and prepare for the 2025 National Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action (February 2025) and Year of Purpose. 

Teaching for Black Lives study group members can register for free using the discount code T4BL.

Justene Hill Edwards

Monday, February 10

Reconstruction Robbery: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank with Justene Hill Edwards. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.

Historian Justene Hill Edwards and Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian will discuss Edwards’ book, Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank, a comprehensive account of the Freedman’s Bank and its depositors.

Tuesday, February 25

Teaching Reconstruction curriculum workshop for Teaching for Black Lives study groups

Monday, March 3

Rethinking Schools Writing Workshop with Cierra Kaler-Jones. 

Participants will write about teaching experiences, whether it’s a breakthrough as a result of participating in a Teaching for Black Lives study group, how you taught a lesson or created curriculum, how you engaged in Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, how you handled pushback, how you managed a difficult conversation, how you gathered research and testimonies to advocate for a policy change, how you organized a local action in support of teaching truth, and/or the value of connecting with study groups across the country.

Thursday, March 13 

Collective Efforts Gathering (45 minutes) Current and alumni Teaching for Black Lives coordinators and members welcome. 

Jeanne Theoharis

Monday, March 24

King of the North: Martin Luther King’s Freedom Struggle Outside of the South with Jeanne Theoharis. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.

Historian Jeanne Theoharis and Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian will discuss Theoharis’ book, King of the North: Martin Luther King’s Freedom Struggle Outside of the South.

Monday, March 31

Teaching with Jeanne Theoharis’ “King of the North” curriculum workshop for Teaching for Black Lives study groups

Mary Frances Phillips

Monday, April 14

Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins with Mary Frances Phillips. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.

Historian Mary Phillips, in conversation with Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian and Rethinking Schools executive director Cierra Kaler-Jones, will discuss her book, Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins. This is the first biography of Ericka Huggins, a queer Black woman who brought spiritual self-care practices to the Black Panther Party.

Monday, April 28

Teaching about the Black Panther Party curriculum workshop for Teaching for Black Lives study groups

Jarvis Givens and Imani Perry

Monday, May 5

Black Teachers: A Pedagogy of Organized Resistance with Jarvis Givens and Imani Perry. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.

Historians Jarvis Givens and Imani Perry, in conversation with Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian and Rethinking Schools executive director Cierra Kaler-Jones, will discuss the Black Teacher Archive, a digital portal centralizing materials created by professional organizations of African American educators, historically referred to as Colored Teachers Associations (CTAs).

Thursday, May 8 

Collective Efforts Gathering (45 minutes) Current and alumni Teaching for Black Lives coordinators and members welcome. 

Monday, May 19

End-of-Year Celebration for Teaching for Black Lives study groups

Mia Bay

Monday, June 2

Traveling Black: A Long Journey of Resistance with Mia Bay. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.

Historian Mia Bay and Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian will discuss Bay’s book, Traveling Black: A Story of Race and Resistance, which explores racial restrictions on transportation and resistance to the injustice.

Guides

Guides

Study Guide

This guide, for teachers who are reading Teaching for Black Lives, includes thought-provoking questions for discussion, ideas for action, and resources for groups and individuals. Written by Cierra Kaler-Jones and Jesse Hagopian. Download the Teaching for Black Lives Study Guide.

Facilitation Guide

This month-to-month guide includes prompts and suggestions for study group meetings plus best practices for communication and engagement. Feel free to adapt and build off of to fit your own setting and your group’s particular needs.

Book

The heart of the study groups is collectively reading, discussing, and applying what you learn from the Teaching for Black Lives book. You’ll find a compilation of essays, teaching activities, role plays, poems, and artwork, designed to illuminate the movement for Black students’ lives, the school-to-prison-pipeline, Black history, gentrification, intersectional Black identities, and more. The book is edited by Wayne Au, Jesse Hagopian, and Dyan Watson.

Rethinking

Rethinking Schools

Each study group member receives a complimentary one-year Rethinking Schools subscription (digital and print). If you haven’t subscribed, please do so TODAY by following these instructions:

  1. Visit this dedicated page for your one-year subscription.
  2. Use code ZEPSTUDYSUB24

Beyond your study group members, do not share the code — there is only one subscription per study group member. For questions about the subscription, extending a current subscription, or if you don’t receive a printed issue, email orders@rethinkingschools.org.

Additional Resources

Over the years, study groups have requested additional support to expand on topics found in an article or chapter of Teaching for Black Lives. We’ve gathered resources that have been requested the most.

As you adapt Zinn Education Project lessons and resources, please take photos, collect student comments, and share your teaching stories via this link or email Julia Salcedo at jsalcedo@zinnedproject.org.

Additional Resources