21026 - Teaching About Racism and Racial History in Chicago and Illinois

Description

Currently there are widespread calls to provide a more robust, complex and accurate curriculum about the history and present-day circumstances of racism in our society. The racial reckoning of the last few years has accelerated already existing calls for the expansion of ethnic studies, for increasing collective racial literacy, and for providing the kind of foundation that will help young people to understand their communities and to advance racial justice. Educators across the country continue to press forward with this work despite a significant organized legal and cultural backlash (often termed “whitelash”) spearheaded against teaching about race / racism. Chicago presents an important context for understanding how schools and teachers, often engaged with organizers, are pushing ahead. In Chicago schools today there are both local and state-mandated racial history and racism-related curriculum requirements that have been or are about to be implemented (e.g., Reparations Won, Asian American History), as well as new Chicago-based curriculum materials being created by groups such as Facing History and Ourselves and the Folded Map Project. This panel will talk about the history of these efforts, some of the opportunities and challenges of the moment and why this work is critically important for our young people and society more generally.

Sub Unit

• Regional Spotlight Session

Panelists

• Yamali Rodriguez-Gruger, Chicago Public Schools

• Jessica Marshall, Spencer Foundation

• Tonika Johnson, Folded Map

• Ken Garcia-Gonzales, Facing History & Ourselves, Chicago

Session Organizers

• Amanda Evelyn Lewis, University of Illinois-Chicago

• Maria Krysan, University of Illinois-Chicago