More about what is being taught to children in Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. Its part of a national curriculum in the US.
13 Guiding Principles for Middle and High School Students
1. Restorative Justice
We are committed to collectively, lovingly and courageously working vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension all people. As we forge our path, we intentionally build and nurture a beloved community that is bonded together through a beautiful struggle that is restorative, not depleting.
2. Empathy
We are committed to practicing empathy; we engage comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their contexts.
3. Loving Engagement
We are committed to embodying and practicing justice, liberation, and peace in our engagements with one another.
4. Diversity
We are committed to acknowledging, respecting and celebrating difference(s) and commonalities.
5. Globalism
We see ourselves as part of the global Black family and we are aware of the different ways we are impacted or privileged as Black folk who exist in different parts of the world.
6. Queer Affirming
We are committed to fostering a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking or, rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual unless s/he or they disclose otherwise.
7. Trans Affirming
We are committed to embracing and making space for trans brothers and sisters to participate and lead. We are committed to being self-reflexive and doing the work required to dismantle cis-gender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.
8. Collective Value
We are guided by the fact all Black lives, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status or location.
9. Intergenerational
We are committed to fostering an intergenerational and communal network free from ageism. We believe that all people, regardless of age, show up with capacity to lead and learn.
10. Black Families
We are committed to making our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to fully participate with their children. We are committed to dismantling the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work “double shifts” that require them to mother in private even as they participate in justice work.
11. Black Villages
We are committed to disrupting the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, and especially “our” children to the degree that mothers, parents and children are comfortable.
12. Unapologetically Black
We are unapologetically Black in our positioning. In affirming that Black Lives Matter, we need not qualify our position. To love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a necessary prerequisite for wanting the same for others.
13. Black Women
We are committed to building a Black women affirming space free from sexism, misogyny, and male‐centeredness.
Talking to Young Children about the Guiding Principles of the Movement for Black Lives.
As we think about discussing big ideas with little people, we consider age-appropriate language so that our students or children can grasp the concepts we’re introducing and incorporate these ideas and language into their own thinking and conversation.
While adults can obviously talk about any of the principles (and many of us already do) without mentioning the Black Lives Matter movement, we can also mention the movement as a group of people who want to make sure that everyone is treated fairly, regardless of the color of their skin. We can say something along the lines of, "The Civil Rights Movement, with people we know about, like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, worked to change laws that were unfair. The Black Lives Matter movement is made up of people who want to make sure that everyone is treated fairly, because, even though many of those laws were changed many years ago, some people are still not being treated fairly." The idea of police violence is frightening to young children, and the same way we don't discuss the violence which met Civil Rights activists, I would not discuss this kind of violence with our youngest children.
After each principle, I’ve suggested some language you might want to use when talking to young children. Whenever possible, make connections to children’s lived experience, in your classroom, your home, or out in the world.
Restorative Justice is the commitment to build a beloved and loving community that is sustainable and growing.
We know that if you knock down someone's block building, you have to help them rebuild it, you can't just say, “Sorry,” and walk away. We also know that it’s important for kids to be able to make a better choice another time, and it’s grown ups’ job to help them make better choices and to give them chances to do that. Another way to say that is restorative justice.
Empathy is one’s ability to connect with others by building relationships built on mutual trust and understanding.
It’s so important to think about how other people feel, because different people have different feelings. Sometimes it helps to think about how you would feel if the same thing that happened to your friend happened to you. Another way to say that is empathy.
Loving Engagement is the commitment to practice justice, liberation and peace.
It’s so important to make sure that we are always trying to be fair and peaceful, and to engage with other people (treat other people) with love. We have to keep practicing this so that we can get better and better at it. Another way to say that is loving engagement.
Diversity is the celebration and acknowledgment of differences and commonalities across cultures.
Different people do different things and have different feelings. It’s so important that we have lots of different kinds of people in our community and that everyone feels safe. Another way to say that is diversity.
Globalism is our ability to see how we are impacted or privileged within the Black global family that exists across the world in different regions.
Globalism means that we are thinking about all the different people all over the world, and thinking about the ways to keep things fair everywhere.
Transgender Affirming is the commitment to continue to make space for our trans siblings by encouraging leadership and recognizing trans-antagonistic violence, while doing the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk.
Everybody has the right to choose their own gender by listening to their own heart and mind. Everyone gets to choose if they are a girl or a boy or both or neither or something else, and no one else gets to choose for them.
Queer Affirming is working towards a queer-affirming network where heteronormative thinking no longer exists.
Everybody has the right to choose who they love and the kind of family they want by listening to their own heart and mind.
Collective Value means that all Black lives, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status or location, matter.
Everybody is important, and has the right to be safe and happy. Another way to say that is collective value.
Intergenerational is a space free from ageism where we can learn from each other.
It’s important that we have spaces where people of different ages can come together and learn from each other. Another way to say that is intergenerational.
Black Families creates a space that is family friendly and free from patriarchal practices.
There are lots of different kinds of families; what makes a family is that it’s people who take care of each other. It’s important to make sure that all families feel welcome.
Black Villages is the disruption of Western nuclear family dynamics and a return to the “collective village” that takes care of each other.
There are lots of different kinds of families; what makes a family is that it’s people who take care of each other; those people might be related, or maybe they choose to be family together and to take care of each other. Sometimes, when it’s lots of families together, it can be called a village.
Black Women is the building of women-centered spaces free from sexism, misogyny, and male-centeredness.
There are some people who think that women are less important than men. We know that all people are important and have the right to be safe and talk about their own feelings.
Unapologetically Black is the affirmation that Black Lives Matter and that our love, and desire for justice and freedom are prerequisites for wanting that for others. These principles are the blueprint for healing and do not include nor do they support ignoring or sanitizing the ugliness and discomfort that comes with dealing with race and anti-race issues.
There are lots of different kinds of people and one way that we’re different is the color of our skin. It’s important to make sure that all people are treated fairly, and that’s why we, and lots of other people all over the country and the world are part of the Black Lives Matter movement.
www.dcareaeducators4socialjustice.org
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