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Freedom Summer not only marked the mobilization of civil rights organizers in Mississippi during the 1960s, but it also yielded the creation of Freedom Schools and historic legislation. The fight for civil rights continues today, from voting rights to efforts to keep educators from teaching truthfully about our country’s full history. Use these resources next school year to help students contextualize Freedom Summer and how it connects to movements today.

It’s essential that educators, students and the entire school community work to reduce stigma associated with mental health issues, especially during Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Month. Help interrupt school practices that disregard mental health—particularly for Black youth, who are less likely to receive adequate mental health care. Use these webinars to understand and practice self-care and address challenges students face.

So far this year, more than 80 anti-transgender bills have been proposed at the state level, and much of this legislation targets trans children and youth. As anti-LGBTQ groups and lawmakers attack trans rights, schools must ensure trans students and educators are supported. Use these resources to build policy and help create a safer space for all students who could be harmed by policies that rigidly define and police gender norms.

The rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in the United States requires us all to help ensure children’s right to an education free from bigotry in an inclusive and supportive environment. Our newest article provides essential overviews of Islamophobia and antisemitism and context for how these forms of hate and bias can manifest in schools. The accompanying toolkit shares practical guidance, strategies and resources for countering bigotry and fostering safer and more inclusive culture in schools and communities.

Students and educators have faced countless, unprecedented hardships over the past two school years. We hope that during this Mental Illness Awareness Week, you’ll incorporate mental health literacy into your work with students. These LFJ resources highlight ways to destigmatize mental illness and feature tips for interrupting harmful school practices, which especially affect Black youth. We all need to be good to ourselves and to each other.

“Disability is the way other people don’t accommodate you or respond to you.”
—Ashley Dalton, Southern Poverty Law Center

Changing the learning environment to be more inclusive—instead of a focus on changing the learner—creates opportunities for accessible education practices that benefit all young people. These LFJ magazine articles explain how, for children to thrive in more inclusive learning environments, social justice and equity movements must include intersecting identities and disability rights.

Serving as an educator is one of the most difficult professions, regardless of whatever else is going on in the world. Teaching is a 24-hour job that takes place both inside and outside of the classroom. And the past few years of political and societal tumult have only increased what were already extraordinary pressures. At Learning for Justice, we see you, appreciate you and celebrate all that you do for young people, their families, their communities and our nation.