Screenshot: nyccivilrightshistory.org

URL nyccivilrightshistory.org

Grade Level 9 Up

Cost Free

Overview Comprised of more than 120 primary sources, the New York City Civil Rights History Project (NYCCRHP) sheds a light on the history of educational activism in New York City. Conceived in 2019 by Teens Take Charge, a New York–based youth activist group, and in partnership with Teachers College-Columbia University, the NYCCRHP is a testament to the power of young learners organizing for justice in their education. The content in the collection endeavors to supplement the teaching of history with inclusive local history that is culturally relevant and responsive to New York City students and teachers.

Upon launching the NYCCRHP website, users encounter an acknowledgment page that outlines the nature and intent of the collection. The acknowledgment recognizes that some content may cause discomfort for many students, thus they provide links to resources that will help teachers thoughtfully integrate the collection in their teaching. These resources include Learning for Justice’s Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education, Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s Teaching Towards Genius: An Equity Model for Pedagogy in Action, Dr. LaGarrett King’s Black Historical Consciousness: A PK-12 Black History Framework , and Contracting: Creating a Community of Mutual Respect and Inclusion from Facing History & Ourselves.

Content The New York City Civil Rights History Project is a collection of primary sources designed to support teaching and learning about the histories and stories of oppression, ableism, racism, and resistance that have been excluded from K–12 curricula in New York City schools. Organized by theme, the project aims to uncover how Black and Latinx women and disabled New Yorkers were central to the fight for educational justice. These themes include Black and Latina Women’s Educational Activism, Boycotting New York’s Segregated Schools, Joyful Struggle, and Seeking Equity for Disabled Students. The NYCCRHP aims to expand the framework for teaching about the Civil Rights Movement by centering the activism of women and young people.

Ease of Use NYCCRHP currently contains a manageable number of videos, photographs, oral histories, and archival documents. The home page has an easy-to-navigate sidebar that links to varying ways of accessing the resources. In addition to being organized by theme, users can view the resources via a gallery view, a time line view, categories, tags, or by using a basic search bar. Offering multiple ways to find resources is essential to supporting diverse learning. Moreover, it helps to contextualize the artifacts within historical units of study.

As users select resources, they will find many archival documents available as downloadable PDFs in addition to plain text. All videos and photographs have captions describing their contents. Every resource includes a summary of its importance, inclusion in the project, and additional analysis. Below each summary, the resource is categorized, tagged, and linked back to its assigned theme. At the end of each resource page is an expandable menu with headers, including Item Details, Questions to Consider, and References. Item Details provides the date of the resource, creator, source, copyright, and how to cite it. Questions to Consider encourages users to interpret details from the summary and to think critically about what they have learned. References compiles the works cited in the summary.

Teachers Educators will find this curation of primary sources and teaching resources empowering. The small collection of key concepts, lesson plan samples, and semester-long outlines will equip teachers with the tools needed to foster an open classroom environment that will allow for more equitable and honest teaching and learning experiences.

Verdict Although the New York City Civil Rights History Project is not exhaustive, and the update frequency is unclear, it is a thoughtfully curated resource, rich with fully vetted and accessible materials that can be implemented outside of New York City, as well. Both teachers and students will appreciate exploring this collection and enhancing their understanding of the evolution of K–12 education. Overall, this is an important resource that will inspire activism and promote social change.

Maegen Rose, Brooklyn Friends School, NY