Daily Archives: February 6, 2021

Teaching Strategies

June 29, 2020 by Jackie Glassman

At BrainPOP, we are devastated and deeply disturbed by the senseless murder of George Floyd and many other Black Americans. We stand in solidarity with the Black community indeclaring that Black Lives Matterand we are inspired by the thousands upon thousands of people coming together to demand justice in protests across the country and around the world.

Just like adults, young people are trying to make sense of what is happening in their world. Understandably, they have lots of questions! Because every BrainPOP movie is inspired by a real question, weve been receiving tons of email from families and teachers with questions from kids! Here are a few:

Dear Tim and Moby, Why did the police kill George Floyd in Minneapolis?

Dear Tim and Moby, Im hearing stuff on the news about riots for racial equality. I thought that stuff was over with? Im confused.

My son asked, What is the Black Lives Matter movement? Can you add a kid-friendly movie to the site?

In support of our mission to empower kids to shape the world around them and within them, we produced a new movieBlack Lives Matter Protests.

The movie provides context for the ongoing protests, as well as background on the movement. Its development was made possible by the invaluable insight, expertise, and feedback of several key advisors: Dena Simmons, activist, educator, and author of the forthcoming book, White Rules for Black People; Renae Williams, COO & Co-leader at BLEND Employee Resource Group; and Christy Crawford, Director of Culturally Responsive/Sustaining Education & Equity Initiatives at Computer Science For All.

We strongly suggest parents, caregivers, and teachers preview the movie before watching it with children as it describes acts of racist violence. While we dont advise this movie for younger students, you can find collections of free, age-appropriate topics that support antiracism on both BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr. Please note we are committed to expanding these collections in the coming months.

Our hope is that the Black Lives Matter Protests movie opens the door to challenging and essential conversations at home and in the classroom, as well as inspires action. We understand that these discussions may not be easy, but silence is not an option. Silence allows racism to thrive.

Following are some suggestions from Dr. Jean Schlegel Ph.D., a New York-based clinical and school psychologist, to guide you on how to begin these important discussions and how to keep them going:

Create a space that is safe for kids to reflect on their emotional responses to the recent tragic events. Start by asking what theyve heard. Focus on themes they understand, such as fairness and empathy. You can point out that George Floyd was not treated fairly and in our school/family, we believe everyone should be treated fairly.

Its okay not to have all the answers. But its important to recognize that upsetting events are happening and this is a safe space to talk about it, listen to one another, and learn how we can change things. For more ideas on how to create a safe space for reflection, see Facing History and Ourselves.

Children, like adults, see skin color. Even from a young age, theyre aware of these kinds of differences. Its essential to acknowledge race even if you think it doesnt impact your family because it does, in fact, affect everyone. When we discuss identityand encourage kids to take pride in who they are and respect the differences in otherswe empower them to stand up to racial injustice. Talking about these issues with children also allows us to show how they can disrupt inequality and combat systemic racism. Talking about race is not racist. Its important!

White parents tend to avoid conversations about race with their children much more frequently than Black parents and other people of color, according to the study Identity Matters conducted by Sesame Workshop and NORC at the University of Chicago. There are multiple reasons why this may happen. Perhaps some white parents feel ill-equipped to have the conversations. Or they want to shield their kids from conversations about race. Or they worry about their own biasesthat its better to pretend that race doesnt exist. They think their kids will be happier and less racist if they dont talk about it.

Regardless of the reason, avoiding these discussions has negative consequences. For example, it places an undue burden on Black families because it means the people who are experiencing the effects of racism are the only ones talking about itand the only ones advocating for change.

The Child Mind Institute, in their article Racism and Violence: How to Help Kids Handle the News, makes these four suggestions for engaging in conversations about race with your child:

Be clear, direct, and factual about current events and history. Emphasize that racial violence is wrong.

Encourage questions even if you cant answer them. Its okay to acknowledge that this is a difficult topic and that you are uncomfortable, but its not a reason to stop talking.

Dont hide your emotions. Letting your child know youre sad and angry about injustice is good modeling of human behavior that can assure them that its okay to express their feelings.

Keep the conversation open. Racism and violence are important topics that require ongoing dialogue. Let your kids know that youre always available to talk, and be sure to keep checking in on them, too.

From the Child Mind Institute

Black Lives Matter doesnt mean that only Black lives matter. It means that racism unfairly affects Black livesthe Black Lives Matter movement is calling on everyone to change that. Even if the intention is sincere, help your child understand that the phrase All Lives Matter implies that the BLM movements critique of systemic racism and its effects on Black people is invalid. For more teacher support on this topic, see Dena Simmons article, How to Be an Antiracist Educator. For more family support, read 6 Reasons All Lives Matter Doesnt Workin Terms Simple Enough for a Child from Parents.com.

Racial colorblindness is the idea that NOT seeing color is a good thing; that race shouldnt matter. But, in fact, it does the opposite. When we dont recognize race, we perpetuate racial misunderstandings and we erase the specific lived experience of those affected by racism. For a truly antiracist society to exist one day, its essential to be aware of and talk about race. We cant afford to be silent.

Acknowledge kids anxieties and fear, but also reassure them that many people are working very hard to change things and keep them safe. Its important to give children hope. We can give them hope by offering tools to work with. Explain that mass protest movementsfrom Civil Rights and Womens Suffrage to Black Lives Matterhave historically been able to change institutions and systems. Assure them that society can continue to improve. Empower young people by encouraging them to use their voice and actions to participate and make a difference. They can stand up for their friends and classmates, write letters, and engage in adult-guided activitieslike fundraisers.

Since BrainPOPs earliest days, weve helped kids understand difficult subjects, from September 11th to Coronavirus. By building background knowledge about challenging topics, we prepare and equip them to have critical conversations. To that end, BrainPOP is committed to developing additional new topics to help children, families, and teachers have necessary conversations about racism and identity.

For more on BrainPOPs thoughts and response to recent events, read the letter from our CEO which includes a link to a blog post featuring our free resources for supporting antiracist education.

Additional writing by Tamara Fisch.

Read more:

Helping Kids Understand the Black Lives Matter Movement ...

Taxpayers spend over $41 million per day collectively on police services across the country. This does not include spending on the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, railway and military police, and government departments enforcing specific statutes in the areas of income tax, customs and excise, immigration, fisheries and wildlife. In engaging in these policing practices, police forces across the country routinely engage in surveillance against Black and Indigenous People, constrain our movements, harm and kill us. We believe that Black communities, and all communities, deserve better.

The $41 million per day that is being spent on policing is not creating safer, more secure communities. This funding can be reallocated to create safer and more secure societies for all of us, and to rid Black and Indigenous communities of a serious threat to our safety.

We can and should have an emergency service that people can call if they are experiencing mental distress. We can and should disarm police, like the United Kingdom does, and like Oakland has committed to do. We can and should invest in shelters for people who are experiencing gender-based violence, so that the 300 women who are turned away from shelters each night in Canada have a place to go. We can and should create an emergency service for survivors and victims of sexual assault that will actually support them, instead of relying on the police forces in this country who have been routinely accused of sexual misconduct. We can and should provide nurturing educational environments, free of police interacting with our children without parental supervision. We can and should decriminalize drug use, and take a public health approach to providing support for those who need it. We can and should stop policing poverty, and reinvest funding into social housing, free transit, and food security. We can and should create a world where we all feel safe, and we all get what we need to live a life of dignity. And we can start that process by taking the funding that we currently waste on policing, and reinvest it in creating the safety and security we all need.

We are working toward the abolition of the police and toward a society where we can all be safe. While this is focused on law enforcement, we are also calling to defund jails, prisons, immigration detention centres, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA).

We are calling for a reinvestment into Black, Indigenous, racialized, impoverished, & other targeted communities.

We can defund the police, demilitarize the police, remove police from our schools, and invest in alternative approaches to creating safety and security for all of us.

More here:

Black Lives Matter Canada

BLM activists: Meet 9 people behind the Black Lives Matter movement - CNN

Story by Chris JamesVideos by CNN Digital Productions

Updated 7:00 AM ET, Sat February 6, 2021

Summer 2020 saw a paradigm shift in America's ongoing struggle for racial justice. In the midst of a deadly pandemic and historic levels of unemployment, people from all walks of life took to the streets to protest the deaths of Black citizens by police.

From George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020, to Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, and many others before them -- countless names in recent memory have been transformed into hashtags, human representations of a public safety system that time and time again has shown brutality and indifference toward Black lives.

But in the process of turning that devastating pain of untimely death into a purposeful rallying cry to "say their names," millions of peaceful and passionate voices have banded together in solidarity to demand a better society. These proud voices are inspiring hope, building community and breaking barriers.

The Tipping Point

The world watched in horror as then-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against the neck of George Floyd for more than seven minutes -- killing him while being filmed in front of horrified bystanders.

This single incident on May 25, 2020, would soon reverberate around the world. In a matter of days, Minneapolis became the epicenter of a reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement.

City Council member Jeremiah Ellison, 31, an artist turned politician, said he saw the crisis as an opportunity to reimagine public safety while actively listening to the concerns of constituents who felt victimized by an increasingly militarized system of policing.

For many residents, anger toward the status quo boiled over into what Kandace Montgomery, 30, founder of the Black Visions collective in Minneapolis, calls "righteous rage." As calls for equitable change are being rooted in reinvestment toward housing, education and health care, Ellison said he hopes Minneapolis can serve as an example for cities around the country.

Life of Activism

Over generations in America, the movement for civil rights and racial progress has been carried and organized by legions of dedicated Black women.

After the killing of Breonna Taylor by police in Louisville, Kentucky, in March 2020, it was largely the work of Black women that brought the case nationwide attention, as they took to the streets imploring as many people as possible to "say her name."

Nupol Kiazolu, 20, is one of these women, a self-described member of the "Trayvon Martin Generation."

As a sixth grader, she led a silent protest at her middle school. Armed with a bag of Skittles and a bottle of iced tea -- which Trayvon was carrying when he was killed nearly nine years ago -- and wearing a hoodie with the message "Do I Look Suspicious?" written on the back, Kiazolu said she understood at an early age the mere act of existing while Black could be deadly.

Nearly a decade later, she's become one of the most well-known activists in the Black Lives Matter movement and a member of the so-called Louisville 87.

After being arrested at a sit-in on the lawn of the Kentucky attorney general and fearing for her life in jail, she said she felt further emboldened to continue loudly and unapologetically spreading her message for justice.

A Social Movement

One fundamental difference between 2020's protest movement and others that have come before has been the increasingly sophisticated presence of social media.

With its growing influence over young people across the globe, the TikTok app became a particularly unlikely yet massive tool for activism and education.

Prior to the summer of 2020, TikTok influencer Jackie James, 17, said she had never felt the need to post about politics or social justice. But watching the video of George Floyd's death changed everything.

She began opening up about the racism she'd experienced as a Black teenager in Fargo, North Dakota -- urging her audience of 2.6 million to understand the devastating realities of inequality.

Across the country in Santa Clarita, California, Sofia Ongele, 20, was also employing TikTok to help her peers understand the Black Lives Matter movement. Using her expert coding skills as a so-called "hacktivist," she's created web apps and automatic email templates to help people more seamlessly lobby for change, helping mobilize thousands of her followers in calling for racial justice.

The Ally

One of the defining aspects of 2020's protest movement was its sheer diversity. At rallies around the country, people of all different races united in defense of Black lives.

Amid the pandemic, the very act of attending a demonstration in itself represented physical sacrifice. But for undocumented immigrants who joined the protest, they were taking on an entirely different level of risk by adding their voice for change.

Getting arrested at a protest could quickly jeopardize immigration status.

Mxima Guerrero, 30, is a DACA recipient who was taken into custody after attending a protest in Phoenix. If it weren't for the mobilization of her fellow activist community and quick-acting legal representatives, she could have been deported to Mexico.

While some might wonder why anyone would choose to risk so much just to attend a protest, Guerrero is adamant that she was doing the right thing. She said she sees the struggles of Black and brown people as interconnected, and is working with young organizers to inspire the next generation of leaders.

A Political Future

For some members of Generation Z, the death of George Floyd gave birth to an impassioned and unexpected sense of activism.

Chi Oss, 22, had never attended a protest until the summer of 2020.

Unable to forget the horrific video of Floyd's death, he said he found a therapeutic outlet for that pain and sadness on the streets of New York.

Protesting helped Oss process underlying trauma that he said had built up over his years living as a Black man in America. Within just a few weeks, he became one of the loudest voices calling for systemic change. And after months of organizing and engaging with community, he decided to take his activism a step further by announcing his candidacy for the New York City Council. If elected, Oss would be the youngest elected official in the city's history. In deciding to engage in democracy, he said he hopes to inspire others to realize the power of claiming a seat at the political table.

Going Viral

Within social movements of the digital age, there are often specific moments caught on camera that encapsulate much larger issues.

Whether they spark agreement or outrage, the raw emotion captured in these viral videos resonates with the millions of people who watch, share, debate and analyze.

In 2015, Kwame Rose, now 26, ascended to this viral fame after a confrontation with Fox News' Geraldo Rivera that was filmed by a bystander. Rivera had gone to Baltimore in the wake of Freddie Gray's death in police custody, in April 2015, which prompted massive protests and unrest.

Rose was livid that so many news outlets had come to his city to report on the burning buildings and not the millions of people living in poverty for generations.

This video would catapult Rose to the forefront of activism, changing his life in both positive and negative ways. Today he is dedicated to a guiding principle of helping people in his city, working with World Central Kitchen to provide meals for those in need during the Covid-19 crisis.

Creating Community

At a New York Pride Month protest called Brooklyn Liberation, thousands of people stood together wearing all white to call attention to the epidemic of violence against the Black trans community.

One of the attendees of that rally, Vanessa Warri, 29, said she sees her mere existence as a Black trans woman in America as a form of resistance in a society that has historically failed to ensure her safety. She's using her platform as a social welfare MSW/PhD candidate at UCLA to give a voice to a community that has long been silenced.

Warri said she is committed to this work not just for her own future, but to help improve the lives of an untold number of transgender people who continue to face immense challenges in a predominantly transphobic society.

The Survivor

Inner-city Black communities were hit particularly hard in 2020, and not just by the deadly coronavirus pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis.

Aalayah Eastmond, 19, is a college student in DC who has experienced the terror of gun violence firsthand. As a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, she witnessed the murder of her classmates and managed to escape death herself.

In the aftermath of that mass shooting, she discovered her voice as a gun violence prevention activist. She's made it her mission to advocate for increased investment in inner-city communities, and says she sees it as the only way to effectively stop the disproportionate impact of gun violence on Black Americans.

Video producers: Chris James, Isabela Quintero, Alice Yu and Allison BrownEditors: Nick Blatt, Jesse Threatt and Amy Marino

Go here to see the original:

These BLM activists are fighting for the civil rights of the next generation - CNN

The five leaders named, Anthony Vickery, 21, Kongie Richardson, Keith Joseph, 24, Raelyn Person, 23, and Jason Bryson, were responsible for organizing one of Lompoc'slargestdemonstrations for social justice following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a Caucasian police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes on Memorial Day.

The death of Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for more than 8 minutes on Memorial Day, sparked a national response that also shook Lompoc.

The June 2 protest, which drew hundreds of participants from various racial, religious and political backgrounds, remained peaceful, according to officials, who reported that no vandalism occurred.

Both Joseph and Vickery, on behalf the their group, thanked prize sponsorsValley of the Flowers United Church of Christ, and Vickery acknowledged all the nominees for their own community outreach and acts of kindness.

"It goes beyond the award just knowing that the community can come together when it wants to," Vickery said. "Everybody is so scared to make that change, but once one person does it, it's like a ripple effect. Things can happen."

Joseph explained that although brutality is nothing new, for him the death of Floyd tookmore time to process.

"To watch someone dieslowly on camera," Joseph said, "that one was different."

In contrast to focusing on Black lives solely, Joseph said the group's efforts were meant to benefit the community as a wholeand serve as a powerful reminder that the nation's not-too-distant history was plagued by racial segregation.

While the aim to improve mental health resources for local schools remains central to his campaign, Murkison, who is Black, said he also hopes to cast a wider net on youth representation and diversity while serving on the school board.

"We just spoke from the heart," he said, recalling the intensity of the protest and the many challenges of organizing it. "It wasn't just Black lives; it's just wanting to help the community."

Read more from the original source:

Lompoc Black Lives Matter organizers awarded Valley of the Flowers Peace Prize - Lompoc Record

Launched right here in the Bay Area, the Black Lives Matter movement has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Plus, a restaurant may return to the iconic building once home to Cliff House, and more local stories to start your weekend winning streak.

Black Lives Matter Movement Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize, KQED

Come October, the social movement cofounded by the Bay Area's own Alicia Garza could receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Read more.

Life-Sized Ox Statues Arrive All Over Town to Celebrate Lunar New Year, SFist

With the parade called off, some of the artists who usually create the floats have been busy at work painting 11 life-sized oxen. Go find them! Read more.

San Francisco's Cliff House likely returning as a restaurant after all, landlords say, SF Chronicle

Just months after the picturesque restaurant closed its doors, a National Park Service spokesperson confirmed that the iconic building will likely host a new eatery in the future. Plus, before a long-term lease is secured, expect some temporary uses. Read more.

The story behind 'Blue Check Homes': How an SF artist created a fake company that fooled thousands, SFGate

After tweeting about a fictitious service called Blue Check Homes, which said it would allow public figures to emblazon their homes with Twitter-style "Verified Badge crests," Danielle Baskin was shocked to receive 495 applications. Read more.

East Bay's Free Mini Take-Home Art Gallery, Funcheap SF

Functioning much like the ever-growing number of Little Free Libraries, Concord's Art Cottage's green mini house is stocked with special pieces of art, free for the taking. Bonus points if you leave a creation too. Read more.

Go here to see the original:

Black Lives Matter is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize + more good news around the Bay Area - 7x7

From Black Panthers to Black Lives Matter: The fight for Equality Continues

Hear from original Black Panther, Dr. Saturu Ned, BLM Bay Area's Cat Brooks, and young activists about the historical and continued efforts for equality. Candese Charles reports.

In 1967, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense walked into the California state capitol, armed. Dr. Saturu Ned, then known as James Mott, followed them inside.

"We walked onto the floor of the senate and they were all under their desk right and they werent there to do anybody no harm. They were there to read the statement that talked about our constitutional rights to defend our community," says original Panther, Dr. Saturu Ned.

It was the first of many public actions with the Black Panther Party for Saturu, but not the last.

The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was born in Oakland in 1966 to police the police.

An extension of the Civil Rights movement, the Party members fought for freedom.

"The idea was taking it a step forward and the concept came out," says Dr. Ned, "What do we really need? Black Power."

Saturu helped create 63 surivial programs based on the 10 point platform and program to build a foundation of stability for black Americans.

"The black panther party refuses to let you get slaughtered," Bobby Seale said this in 68 at the memorial service for a young Black Panther.

It was his death, the death of Lil Bobby Hutton in 68, that amplified the focus on police brutality.

Decades later a new movement would spring up, sparked by the death of yet another young black man that would go unpunished: Trayvon Martin.

"This is a stop on a long continuum in the struggle for black liberation,"

Shaped by the realities of the moment, the black lives matter movement continues to fight the iusses that spurred the Panthers into existence.

"We still cant get those 10 things done: decarceration, education, housing, food, clothing,"

Cat Brooks organizes Black Lives Matter demonstrations and marches against police brutality and says though the organizations aren't idential, the hopes are the same.

"We would not exist were it not for them," says Brooks, who also runs the Anti Police-Terror Project.

With technology propelling the movement, the world was forced to listen.

"We say now that the camera was more effective than the gun,"

The hashtag, #BlackLivesMatter, stretching from sea to sea and giving activists the safety net, access, and exposure the Panthers never had, sparking a new generation ready to take the movement further.

"It feels weird to just be like yea Im here and these are the consequences and Im not going to do anything about it," says Jayden Brooks, Cat's 15 year old daughter.

This summer she helped organize BLM demonnstrations with the Black Youth for People's Liberation.

"Im not the type of person to let the government, to let the state, walk all over me," Jayden says.

It is unclear what the future of these organizations hold. But, the streets of Oakland, the hometown of both organizations, will forever feel their legacy.

Though the Pather Party officially shut down in the early 1980s, they are far from one. The party continues to pair former Panthers with the youth in the Black Panther Party Legacy Keepers Program.

Passing on the fight to liberate all people to a new generation.

"Who knows I might be the next revolutionary," says 13 year old Anaya Cooley of the Black Panther Party Legacy Keepers Program.

Brooks tells me she believes the way to continue to propel the movement is to create a united front. She says she hopes black activists in neighborhoos throughout America will come together to work toward a greater good.

Find out more about the Black Panther Party here, the BPP Legacy Keepers here, the Anti Police-Terror Project here, and the Black Youth for the People's Liberation here.

Follow this link:

From Black Panthers to Black Lives Matter: The fight for equality continues - KTVU San Francisco

The five leaders named, Anthony Vickery, 21, Kongie Richardson, Keith Joseph, 24, Raelyn Person, 23, and Jason Bryson, were responsible for organizing one of Lompoc'slargestdemonstrations for social justice following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a Caucasian police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes on Memorial Day.

The death of Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for more than 8 minutes on Memorial Day, sparked a national response that also shook Lompoc.

The June 2 protest, which drew hundreds of participants from various racial, religious and political backgrounds, remained peaceful, according to officials, who reported that no vandalism occurred.

Both Joseph and Vickery, on behalf the their group, thanked prize sponsorsValley of the Flowers United Church of Christ, and Vickery acknowledged all the nominees for their own community outreach and acts of kindness.

"It goes beyond the award just knowing that the community can come together when it wants to," Vickery said. "Everybody is so scared to make that change, but once one person does it, it's like a ripple effect. Things can happen."

Joseph explained that although brutality is nothing new, for him the death of Floyd tookmore time to process.

"To watch someone dieslowly on camera," Joseph said, "that one was different."

In contrast to focusing on Black lives solely, Joseph said the group's efforts were meant to benefit the community as a wholeand serve as a powerful reminder that the nation's not-too-distant history was plagued by racial segregation.

While the aim to improve mental health resources for local schools remains central to his campaign, Murkison, who is Black, said he also hopes to cast a wider net on youth representation and diversity while serving on the school board.

"We just spoke from the heart," he said, recalling the intensity of the protest and the many challenges of organizing it. "It wasn't just Black lives; it's just wanting to help the community."

Read more from the original source:

Valley of the Flowers Peace Prize awarded to Lompoc Black Lives Matter organizers - Lompoc Record