2026 Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum Fair
On Saturday, January 24, 2026, Teaching for Change’s D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice will host an online curriculum fair featuring a keynote speaker and interactive workshops that uplift the guiding principles and demands of the Black Lives Matter at School movement. These principles focus on improving the educational experiences of Black students by centering Black joy, confronting anti-Blackness, and fostering authentic partnerships with all who work toward creating equitable school communities across the nation.
Educators from across the country are invited to connect, collaborate, and prepare for the 2026 National Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action (February 2–6, 2026) and Year of Purpose.
The Black Lives Matter at School movement is a powerful, non-violent peace movement that systematically examines injustices that exist at the intersections of race, class, and gender, including mass incarceration, poverty, non-affordable housing, income disparity, homophobia, unfair immigration laws, gender inequality, and poor access to healthcare.
KEYNOTE
Jessica A. Rucker
Jessica A. Rucker (she/her) is a doctoral student in the Department of American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park where she is studying Black radicalisms. Jessica is a President’s Fellow, a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, a 2023-2025 graduate assistant at the Frederick Douglass Center for Leadership Through the Humanities, and a 2023-2024 DISCO Graduate Scholar. In 2023, she was a summer Tenant Organizing Fellow with DC Jobs with Justice and a 2022-2023 Prentiss Charney Fellow. Prior to Jessica’s graduate work, she was a high school social studies teacher, department chair, instructional coach, and a participant in the 2018 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Teacher Institute at Duke University. She has also volunteered as a docent at both the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of American History. Jessica resides in her home city, the U.S. colony of Washington, D.C., with her loving partner.
GLOBALISM AND LOVING ENAGEMENT
As part of the guiding principles of Black Lives Matter at School, this year's featured guiding principles are Globalism and Loving Engagement, a call to remember that we are part of a global Black family, united in the ongoing struggle for education, justice, and liberation. In these challenging times, we are invited to lead with courage, compassion, and truth, while creating space for reflection, learning, and authentic connection. Together, we can honor our shared commitment to build communities grounded in love, interdependence, and collective care.
SCHEDULE
Click on workshop title to read a detailed descriptions.
11:30AM ET: Welcome & Keynote
12:10PM – 1:00 PM ET: Round 1 Workshops
Echoes of Activism: Crafting a Lesson Plan with Oral History from DC Public Library/DC Humanities
Hairitage as Social Justice: Identity, Power, and Liberation Through the Lens of Hair
Justice in Action: Equipping Students to Reimagine Democracy
Searching for Truth in the Garden; Gonzaga's History with Slavery
1:10PM – 2:00 PM ET: Round 2 Workshops
Archives in Class: Teaching with the Emergency Committee on the Transportation Crisis Records
Beyond the Bell: Building Justice-Focused Thirdspaces in Schools
Teaching Public Memory Through the Breonna Taylor Mural Memorial Project
2:10PM: (OPTIONAL) Group Collaboration
WORKSHOPS
Archives in Class: Teaching with the Emergency Committee on the Transportation Crisis Records
SUBJECTS: History
GRADE LEVELS: High School
PRINCIPLES: Empathy, Loving Engagement, Diversity, Collective Value, Unapologetically Black, Black Women
Archives in Class is designed for educators who are eager to enrich their teaching with unique, historical materials and engage their students on the topics of local history and social justice. Participants are invited to dive into the world of archives and primary source instruction through:
- Learning how archivists can help them with their teaching goals.
- Discovering a 5-Step guide for constructing their own primary source instruction kit.
- Interacting with the history of the Emergency Committee on the Transportation Crisis (ECTC) through curated primary sources and activities.
- Gaining confidence in planning class visits to The People’s Archive.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, the federal government planned an urban expressway to connect Washington, D.C. to the national interstate system. This prompted strong opposition from local residents galvanizing some to form the Emergency Committee on the Transportation Crisis (ECTC). For almost two decades, ECTC used lobbying, public protests, and demonstrations to halt freeway construction and protect neighborhoods. The organization advocated for a public Metrorail system as an alternative to freeway development and supported broader issues such as civil rights, environmental justice, and D.C. Home Rule and statehood.
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Miya Upshur-Williams is an archivist, gardener, and dreamer based in her hometown of Washington, D.C. She possesses over 15 years of experience working in the library and archives fields. Her studies and life’s work center the culture, history, and liberation of Black people globally. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College and Master of Science in Information for Library and Information Science from Drexel University’s College of Computing and Informatics. At DC Public Library’s local history and Black Studies center, The People's Archive, Miya collaborates with educators to create meaningful experiences for students in the archives.
Beyond the Bell: Building Justice-Focused Thirdspaces in Schools
SUBJECTS: Other
GRADE LEVELS: Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School
PRINCIPLES: All
DEMANDS: End “zero tolerance” discipline, and implement restorative justice
How can extracurricular spaces become incubators for student activism and identity affirmation? This interactive workshop explores how schools can create “thirdspaces” — liberatory environments where historically marginalized youth can build community, engage critical issues, and organize for justice — beyond the classroom. Grounded in research and praxis from the Thirdspace Collective, the session blends theory with hands-on design work. Participants will analyze real-world examples, collaborate to map out justice-focused programs for their own contexts, and leave with tools to co-create spaces that center student voice, cultural responsiveness, and radical possibility.
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Dr. Tia Dolet is an intersectional education researcher, equity strategist, and founder of the Thirdspace Collective Consulting, LLC., an education consulting firm that partners with schools and non-profits to build justice-centered extracurricular programs rooted in cultural responsiveness and youth empowerment. With over a decade of experience advancing college access, workforce development, and educational justice, Dr. Dolet works at the intersection of research, strategy, and practice to transform how schools and organizations support historically marginalized youth.
Her research and praxis center on creating “thirdspaces” in education: Liberatory environments where Black and Brown students can develop critical consciousness, affirm their identities, and organize for change. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Urban Education from UNC Charlotte, where her work focused on gender-responsive programming and liberatory learning for Black girls.
Whether mentoring students, designing programs, or leading educator workshops, Dr. Dolet is driven by the mission to help young people thrive unapologetically in spaces designed with them in mind. She is also the proud aunt of two amazing nieces, who remind her every day why this work matters.
Black Lives Matter at School 101
SUBJECTS: Other
GRADE LEVELS: Early Childhood, Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School, Adult Education
PRINCIPLES: All
DEMANDS: All
Join Black Lives Matter at School organizer in a worksop that highlights the history, focus areas, and ways to be involved with BLM at school. This workshop serves as a great introduction (or refresher) to educators engaging with BLM at School for the first time or looking for a refresh in foundations of BLM at School.
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Sam Carwyn is a community-rooted educator and activist with more than two decades of experience in advocacy spaces. With Black Lives Matter at School, she develops resources, provides tools, and partners with educators and community members to advance racial justice for students. In the classroom, she primarily taught in Special Education, yet also holds an endorsement in middle school social studies. She holds an MA in Teaching and an MDiv with a concentration in Social Transformation.
Sam's work has centered on supporting youth and families, advancing reproductive justice, and educating alongside survivors of violence. With intentional grace, She helps others examine default thinking, navigate coercive systems, and cultivate self-determination. Deeply committed to accessibility and justice, she works to move us toward more equitable schools and communities.
Echoes of Activism: Crafting a Lesson Plan with Oral History from DC Public Library/DC Humanities
SUBJECTS: English Language Arts, Science, Arts Education, Other
GRADE LEVELS: Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School
PRINCIPLES: Empathy, Loving Engagement, Diversity, Trans Affirming, Black Families, Black Villages, Black Women
DEMAND: Mandate Black history and ethnic studies
Presenter Sari Leigh introduces educators to oral history as a powerful tool for social justice education. In this 50-minute interactive session, participants will engage with excerpts from the Mind, Body, and Justice Oral History Project and other DC-based archives. Through guided deep listening, we will examine themes of community care and resilience, and explore how to translate these narratives into culturally responsive, student-centered lesson plans that uplift local voices and histories.
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Sari Leigh, aka the Anacostia Yogi, is a health advocate, education administrator and digital media activist living east of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. Sari Leigh teaches wellness classes and germinates creative projects that advocate for equitable health and wellness access for residents east of the Anacostia River. Sari recently completed the Mind, Body and Justice Project and the DC Superhero documentary about wellness and activism in Washington, D.C.
Grow in Solidarity: Start Your Own Study Group
SUBJECTS: Other
GRADE LEVELS: ALL
PRINCIPLES: Empathy, Diversity, Collective Value, Black Families, Unapologetically Black
DEMAND: End “zero tolerance” discipline, and implement restorative justice, Hire and retain Black teachers, Mandate Black history and ethnic studies, Fund counselors not cops
This session will introduce attendees to the Teaching for Black Lives study groups, a free professional learning opportunity hosted by the Zinn Education Project. Educators will learn about the benefits and logistics of starting their own study group from ZEP staff member, alumni coordinator Dr. Kushya Sugarman, 4th-grade teacher and researcher in New York City, and Lindsay Paiva, 3rd-grade ESL teacher from Providence, Rhode Island. The session will include time to ask questions at the end.
Tonette Campbell, African American studies high school teacher and Teaching for Black Lives study group coordinator in Baltimore, Maryland, said,
“Teaching for Black Lives study groups aren’t just book clubs — they’re brave spaces where educators come together to learn, unlearn, and grow in solidarity. It gave me the tools, language, and collective energy to push back against inequity and reimagine what education can look like for Black students. You don’t need to have all the answers to start — you just need the courage to show up and the willingness to be transformed. “
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Jesse Hagopian, a high school educator for over twenty years, editor for the social justice periodical Rethinking Schools, author of Teach Truth, and co-editor of the books, Black Lives Matter at School and Teaching for Black Lives.
Julia Salcedo provides administrative support to educators coordinating the Teaching for Black Lives study group nationwide and highlights creative teachings stories of how participants celebrate Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action year after year.
Hairitage as Social Justice: Identity, Power, and Liberation Through the Lens of Hair
SUBJECTS: History
GRADE LEVELS: Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School
PRINCIPLES: Restorative Justice and Transformative Justice, Empathy, Loving Engagement, Diversity, Globalism, Black Families, Unapologetically Black, Black Women
DEMAND: Mandate Black history and ethnic studies
This interactive workshop uses HAIRITAGE—the hair customs, traditions, practices, and beliefs passed down through generations—as a powerful entry point into social justice education. Rooted in the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, immigration, and historical erasure, “Hairitage as Social Justice” reframes hair as both a cultural archive and a site of resistance. Participants will explore how dominant beauty standards, school discipline policies, and classroom practices shape student identity, belonging, and well-being.
Drawing from my award-winning children’s books and K–12 curriculum, this session weaves together storytelling, research, and hands-on learning to illuminate how hair can be used as a culturally responsive pathway into conversations about race, anti-Blackness, colorism, activism, and global cultural traditions. This workshop aligns with the Black Lives Matter at School guiding principles—especially Diversity, Restorative Justice, Empathy, and Loving Engagement—and leads educators toward practical classroom applications.
Why This Workshop Matters:
Hair is universal—but the politics around it are not. Using Hairitage as a social justice lens invites students and educators to explore identity with curiosity rather than fear, to challenge biased narratives, and to build classrooms where every learner feels seen, centered, and celebrated."
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Zenda Walker is an award-winning author, celebrity hair stylist and education consultant. Her consulting business, Know Your Hairitage LLC., partners with school districts to amplify Social Studies, ELA, S.T.E.A.M. and vocational learning by amplifying hairitage stories. Her books“Zara's Wash Day,"" and ""Zion's Crown,"" launched in partnership with Running Press Kids in 2024. Zenda is represented by The Seymour Agency. For more information, visit www.knowyourhairitage.com.
Justice in Action: Equipping Students to Reimagine Democracy
SUBJECTS: History
GRADE LEVELS: High School
PRINCIPLES: Empathy, Collective Value
How can educators empower students to challenge injustice and reimagine democracy in their communities? This session centers student voice, lived experience, and action through the use of the Democracy Action Card—a tool designed to spark critical inquiry and real-world change. This session offers concrete strategies to embed anti-racist, justice-driven civic learning in any classroom. Come explore how youth can become agents of change—because a just democracy depends on it.
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Dr. Shelina Warren is an Army veteran and social studies educator with 22 years of experience. Currently in her tenth year at Dunbar High School in Washington, DC, she teaches Constitutional Law, Law & Justice Advocacy, Youth Justice, and Human Rights and Social Action. Dr. Warren is also the director of the Eleanor Holmes Norton Law and Public Policy Academy, fostering student voices for change. She holds multiple degrees, including a Doctorate in Urban Leadership from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Warren is a National Board Certified teacher, with numerous awards such as the 2022 American Civic Education Teacher Award and the 2021 DC Teacher of the Year Finalist. Before moving to DC, she taught high school Civics, Economics, and gifted K-6 students in Arkansas.
Lessons from SNCC for Organizing Today
SUBJECTS: History
GRADE LEVELS: Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School, Adult Education
PRINCIPLES: Diversity, Collective Value, Intergenerational, Black Families, Unapologetically Black, Black Women
DEMANDS: Mandate Black history and ethnic studies
This workshop will introduce participants to SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and the organization's use of the Freedom Teaching during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. The workshop will be interactive and hands-on, using newly a developed toolkit on SNCC and Freedom Teaching. The toolkit is an 22-page, visually engaging introduction to SNCC and the organizing tradition that includes interactive exercises connected to the SNCC Digital Gateway website (SNCCdigital.org). Toolkit here.
Most people think about the Civil Rights Movement in terms of major public events, like the March on Washington and Dr. King's campaigns in Birmingham and Selma. They know much less about SNCC's longer-term "organizing tradition" approach to voting rights in the rural deep South from 1961 to 1966. SNCC's grassroots organizing with "local people" focused on skills and leadership development that helps us rethink the work involved in the Civil Rights Movement. This workshop will focus on SNCC’s use of Freedom Teaching as part of their organizing work. As they developed their organizing approach, SNCC incorporated Freedom Teaching informally in their daily work, and more formally through Citizenship Classes (that focused on literacy, preparing for the voter registration test, and leadership development) and Freedom Schools (aimed at young people). One of our exercises (that we plan to use in this workshop) uses photographs to illustrate SNCC’s approach to Freedom Schools. Another exercise will introduce participants to key people and events—not through lecture, but by exploring their profiles on the SNCC Digital Gateway. If we have time, we will also use an exercise with visually stimulating documents that SNCC used to teach those with low literacy about political candidates and elected positions.
The workshop will be led by SNCC veteran Judy Richardson in conjunction with history professor Emilye Crosby. Together they have considerable experience leading workshops and teaching SNCC's history from the inside out and bottom-up. The workshop presenters will provide some background and key stories but most of the time will be spend engaging participants in Freedom Teaching exercises that utilize the toolkit and SNCC Digital Gateway website.
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Judy Richardson was on SNCC staff in Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama. Her experiences in SNCC continue to ground both her film and education work. She recently co-directed the new visitor center film for the National Park Service’s Frederick Douglass House in Washington, D.C. In 1968, she was a co-founder of Drum & Spear Bookstore, once the country’s largest African American Bookstore. She was on the production team for all 14 hours of the seminal PBS series, Eyes on the Prize, as its series associate producer, then its education director, and then continued to produce documentaries for PBS, the History Channel, and museums. She co-edited Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC, a compilation of the testimonies of 52 SNCC women. She is a member of the SNCC Legacy Project board, was a Visiting Professor at Brown University, and has an honorary doctorate from Swarthmore College.
Emilye Crosby is the author of A Little Taste of Freedom: The Black Freedom Struggle in Claiborne County, Mississippi(University of North Carolina Press, 2005) and editor of Civil Rights History from the Ground Up (University of Georgia Press, 2011). She is working on several projects related to SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), which have received support from the James Weldon Johnson Institute, the National Humanities Center, the and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Crosby has been awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching, the Chancellor’s Award for Service, the Harter Mentoring Award, the Spencer Roemer Supported Professorship, and the President’s Award for Scholarship. Her first book was awarded the Liberty Legacy Foundation Award, Honorable Mention from the Organization of American Historians and the McLemore Prize from the Mississippi Historical Society. Her interest in the Civil Rights Movement grew out of her childhood in Mississippi and she especially enjoys working with the SNCC Legacy Project and Movement History Initiative.
Rooted Teachers, Thriving Students: Strengthening Ourselves First to Grow Racial Pride, Belonging and Justice in Our Classrooms
SUBJECTS: Other
GRADE LEVELS: Adult Education
PRINCIPLES: Restorative Justice and Transformative Justice, Empathy, Loving Engagement, Diversity, Collective Value, Intergenerational, Unapologetically Black, Black Women
DEMANDS: End “zero tolerance” discipline, and implement restorative justice, Mandate Black history and ethnic studies, Fund counselors not cops
How do we expect students to thrive in their racial identities and be champions of racial justice when the adults guiding them have not done the same work?
This workshop examines the essential role educators play in expanding racial consciousness and pride in students and the importance of educators engaging in reflection and continuing education before praxis.
This session will highlight practical and actionable methods rooted in restorative and equity centered principles for supporting educators by growing their awareness of their own identities, biases and stamina and strengthening their ability to be advocates for themselves, as well as the communities they serve.
Through guided reflection and critical dialogue, participants will examine how their identities, biases and positionalities shape how they show up in their classroom. Educators will analyze the impact that can have on the students that they serve. Participants will also explore concrete strategies that help create classroom communities that cultivate racial pride, center student voice and embed racial justice naturally into everyday instruction.
Participants will leave this workshop with practical tools to strengthen their own racial equity stamina and to help them build liberated classroom communities with their students, where everyone, especially Black youth, experiences belonging, affirmation and the freedom to be themselves.
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Molly Means serves the University of Pittsburgh’s Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP) as both the Lead Restorative Practice Coordinator for the Just Discipline Project (JDP) and a facilitator and workshop developer for the Racial Equity Consciousness Institute (RECI).
As JDP’s Lead Restorative Practices Coordinator, Molly works at the intersection of racial equity, conflict resolution and school-based restorative practices. She designs and delivers teacher-informed professional development, coaches’ restorative staff across multiple schools and leads internal racial equity consciousness learning for the JDP team. Molly proudly serves the Duquesne City School District, implementing restorative justice programming, teaching SEL, conflict resolution, social justice, leadership and Black history to students.
Molly is the creator of Breaking Racial Inequities with Dialogue and Guidance for Educators (BRIDGE), a racial equity program that supports K–8 educators in developing the racial consciousness, racial pride and justice-centered pedagogies needed to build liberatory classrooms.
In addition to her work with JDP, Molly facilitates and develops workshops for CRSP’s Racial Equity Consciousness Institute (RECI), creating responsive and accessible programming to help participants grow their racial equity consciousness.
She also serves as a Middle School Programming Specialist for Parenting While Black, supporting racial identity development and coping skills for Black youth.
Molly's work centers the belief that both young people and educators can transform conflict into opportunity, connection and collective liberation.
Searching for Truth in the Garden; Gonzaga's History with Slavery
SUBJECTS: History
GRADE LEVELS: Middle School, High School, Adult Education
PRINCIPLES: Restorative Justice and Transformative Justice, Empathy, Loving Engagement, Diversity, Collective Value, Intergenerational, Black Families, Black Villages, Unapologetically Black, Black Women
DEMANDS: End “zero tolerance” discipline, and implement restorative justice, Mandate Black history and ethnic studies
This session will present the extraordinary work of a group of high school students who discovered their schools historical ties with slavery. Over the course of three years these students spent countless hours at the Georgetown University archives reading 19th century ledgers and other documents. The students found direct financial evidence of profits from Jesuit slave plantations being spent on the payments for the ground the school was built on. Most significantly, the students identified five enslaved people who worked at the school. The research focuses on one of those enslaved persons, Gabriel Dorsey. The students found historical evidence that shows he was enslaved at their school, transferred to Georgetown College, sold to slave traders and sent to New Orleans. The presentation includes the original historical documents that the students discovered. Following the presentation of historical documents is the question of how does a school grapple with this new found history. Student poetry written in response to the research will be shared as well as the story of an annual field trip my students take to the Freedom House Museum in Alexandria, Virginia. This is the site where Gabriel was held after he was sold by the Jesuits in 1829. My students follow Gabriel's last steps from the slave pen to the Potomac River waterfront where he was put on a ship and sold in New Orleans.
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Ed Donnellan is a United States history teacher at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. He worked with a group of students beginning in 2018 that uncovered Gonzaga's historical ties with slavery. The student research has been displayed at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C., Georgetown University and the Freedom House Museum in Alexandria, V.A. Ed was the recipient of the 2020 Gilder Lehrman DC History teacher of the year as well as the 2025 Mary Tachau award given by the Organization of American Historians in in recognition of the contributions made by precollegiate teachers to improve history education within the field of American history.
Taking Action for DC’s Black Students: Changemakers Exemplify the BLM at School Guiding Principles and Demands
SUBJECTS: History
GRADE LEVELS: Middle School, High School, Adult Education
PRINCIPLES: Black Villages, Unapologetically Black, Black Women
DEMANDS: Hire and retain Black teachers, Mandate Black history and ethnic studies, Fund counselors not cops
Take a close look at three different episodes of critical DC Black education, as told by Changemakers profiled in the DC History Center’s new long term exhibit — Class Action: Education and Opportunity in the Nation’s Capital. Examine how Nannie Helen Burroughs, Julius Hobson, and Parents United for the DC Public Schools exemplified the BLM at School guiding principles and national demands by addressing misogynoir in teacher education programs, disassembling segregation via tracking in the curriculum, and rallying against inequity in funding and resources in K-12 schools. Participants will analyze primary and secondary sources relating to each historical episode, and connect with each other to discuss how to (further) apply to their curriculum. All will leave with free digital resources.
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Vanessa Williams is the manager of education at the DC History Center, and previously served as the program manager for DC Area Educators for Social Justice. Vanessa holds a masters in Education, Culture, and Society from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, as well as a B.A. in Anthropology and Education from Davidson College. She has been featured on panels for the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium. She’s also been a guest on the EmpowerEd Educator Wellness Revolution, and Anti-Racist table podcasts. Her writing is published in Washington History magazine, Rethinking Schools and Education Post. She was raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and points to trailblazers like Mary McCleod Bethune, Anna Julia Cooper, and Zora Neale Hurston for shaping her combined love for public history and K-12 education and serving as pedagogical inspiration.
Azia Richardson-Williams is the Education Coordinator at the DC History Center, where she develops curriculum that helps educators and students explore Washington, DC’s history through inquiry-based learning. She also helps steward National History Day in DC, collaborating with teachers, judges, volunteers, and community partners to support students as they research, write, and present original history projects. Azia is also pursuing dual master’s degrees at George Washington University, a Master of Public Administration and an MA in Museum Studies, bringing a program evaluation lens to cultural and education work. Her work centers on civic learning, equity, and helping communities see themselves reflected in history.
Teaching Public Memory Through the Breonna Taylor Mural Memorial Project
SUBJECTS: History, Arts Education
GRADE LEVELS: Middle School, High School, Adult Education
PRINCIPLES: Empathy, Loving Engagement, Black Villages, Black Women
DEMANDS: Mandate Black history and ethnic studies
In this workshop, Dr. Alisa Hardy introduces the Breonna Taylor Mural Memorial Project (BTMMP), an interactive ArcGIS StoryMap that documents murals honoring Breonna Taylor across the United States. The StoryMap presents public art as a form of remembrance and community storytelling by linking murals to the neighborhoods where they appear. This digital humanities project was developed by Dr. Hardy as part of her field research on murals portraying Taylor and other victims of police violence within marginalized neighborhoods. During her fieldwork, Dr. Hardy visited each mural site in person, photographed and filmed the surrounding spaces, and captured drone and 360° images. Participants in the workshop will take part in a guided tour of the BTMMP with Dr. Hardy, discuss the implications of StoryMaps that honor Black lives, and explore classroom activities that educators can use alongside the project. Educators will learn how to use the BTMMP to help students examine public memory, social justice, and the role of art in civic life.
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Alisa Hardy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on the public memory of Black women, especially how communities remember women who have been killed by police. Drawing on examples from the #SayHerName movement, her work examines how digital media, public art, and community memorials are used to honor Black women’s lives and tell their stories. Hardy’s scholarship helps educators think about how memory, history, and technology shape the ways students encounter social justice issues both online and in public spaces.