Events | Book | Guides | Magazine

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.

♦ Invite Only

2024

Monday, August 12

♦ Coordinator Orientation: General Overview

This participatory orientation is for Teaching for Black Lives study group coordinators. Participants will hear from Teaching for Black Lives editor, Jesse Hagopian. Coordinators will plan for the 2024–2025 school year and meet study group coordinators across the country to exchange ideas.

Thursday, September 12

♦ Coordinator Orientation: Racial Identity Activity

Wednesday, September 25

♦ Welcome Event for ALL study group coordinators and participants.

This participatory and engaging workshop will welcome study group members and coordinators into their year-long inquiry into Teaching for Black Lives. You will hear from the book’s editors (Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, and Wayne Au), meet each other, and share ideas about organizing. You will receive a calendar invite once you’ve filled out the member form. 

Monday, September 16

Kellie Carter Jackson

We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance with Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.

We Refuse is an “unsparing, erudite, and incisive” (Jelani Cobb) reframing of the past and present of Black resistance—both nonviolent and violent—to white supremacy.

Saturday, September 28

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Curriculum Teach-In  (9:30am – 2pm ET) in Washington, D.C. 

The 8th annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Curriculum Teach-In, hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in collaboration with Teaching for Change, is an in-person opportunity for educators to convene in person and strategize on uplifting indigenous voices directly into the classroom. Recommended for grades K–12. Teaching for Black Lives study group members can use discount code T4BL.

Monday, October 7

Brian P. Jones

Civil Rights Movement in the North with Brian Jones. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.

Did you know that the biggest Civil Rights Movement demonstration of the 1960s happened in New York City? Scholar Brian Jones, in conversation with Teaching for Black Lives co-editor Jesse Hagopian, will shed light on the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the North and ways that those stories can be included in the curriculum.

Thursday, October 17

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

Monday, October 21

♦ Teaching about Civil Rights in the North curriculum workshop

Saturday, October 26

Northwest Teaching for Social Justice Conference: “Rethinking Our Classrooms, Organizing for Better Schools” (9am – 4pm) in Seattle, Washington.

Saturday, November 2

2024 Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In (12 noon – 3pm ET / 9am – 12 noon PT)

An opportunity for educators around the world to access classroom resources from NMAI’s online education portal Native Knowledge 360°, the Zinn Education Project, and more. Hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in collaboration with Teaching for Change. Teaching for Black Lives study group members can use discount code T4BL.

Thursday, November 14 

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

Monday, November 18

An American Coup: Wilmington 1898 with Yoruba Richen. This session is a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Online Class.

Friday, November 22 – 24

104th National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference in Boston.

Thursday, December 12 

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

2025

Thursday, January 16 

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

Saturday, January 18

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 use discount code T4BL.

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.

Thursday, March 13 

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

Monday, March 31

♦ Teaching with Jeanne Theoharis’ “King of the North” curriculum workshop

Monday, April 28

♦ Teaching about the Black Panther Party curriculum workshop

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

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.

Bookcover of the Teaching for Black Lives 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 already, 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, email orders@rethinkingschools.org.