Since 2018, the D.C. Area Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action has given a powerful start to Black History Month in classrooms across the Washington, D.C., area. Pre-K to 12th-grade teachers in more than 100 schools each year have taught lessons about structural racism, intersectional Black identities, and Black history.
The key demands issued by the Black Lives Matter at School national movement are:
End “zero tolerance” discipline and implement restorative justice.
Hire more Black teachers.
Mandate Black history and ethnic studies in K–12 curriculum.
Fund counselors, not cops.
The D.C. metro area is one of many sites across the country that participates annually in the national Black Lives Matter Week of Action.
Below, we share what we have learned from hosting the D.C. Area Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. Short examples of what teachers have done in the classroom during the Week of Action are woven throughout this article. You can find more than 100 teaching stories at DCAreaEducators4SocialJustice.org.