In response to the recent death of George Floyd, adding to the long list of Black men, women, and children killed in recent years by police in the United States, protests and demonstrations have erupted across the US, Canada, and the world, and the topic of violence, racism, and oppression have commanded the conversation.
While these conversations can be difficult for teachers and parents to have with youth, they are critical to address. While choosing not to talk about race, or oppression, or violence may seem like an option for some, it is an option many parents, especially those of colour, don’t have. Some children inevitably learn about it by confronting it in their everyday lives. And because of the oppression they experience, Black, Indigenous, Racialized, and LGBTQ2SIA+ youth are at a higher risk of being victimized by violence and bullying and need increased support at school.
PREVNet is committed to addressing the systemic oppression that puts certain groups at a higher risk of violence and raising awareness of bullying and teen dating violence through education, research, training, and policy change. We’ve collected these websites to provide educators, parents, caregivers, and anyone working with youth the resources to build safe and accepting classrooms.
Please check back on this list as we continue to add more resources.
Black Lives Matter at School
The Black Lives Matter at School coalition’s 2020 Curriculum Resource Guide contains free, downloadable lessons for every grade level to challenge racism and oppression and build happy and healthy classrooms.
Centre for Race and Culture
The Edmonton Centre for Race and Culture has brought together diverse people with an interest in promoting and supporting individual, collective, and systemic change to address racism and encourage intercultural understanding. CFRAC is a trusted source for generating, gathering, and sharing reliable and accurate information on anti-racism.
Courage to Act
Courage to Act has compiled a community-curated list of resources about understanding and challenging anti-Black racism for gender justice advocates.
Equity Literacy Institute
The Equity Literacy Institute offers equity training and assistance for schools, school districts, and other educational organizations. Find online and in-person professional training, self-paced courses, free downloadable handouts and resources, reading lists, and more.
Facing History and Ourselves
Facing History and Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. Facing History’s resources address racism, antisemitism, and prejudice at pivotal moments in history motivates students to become upstanders in their communities. Find compelling classroom resources and learn new teach methods and strategies with Facing History’s Educator Resources.
GLSEN
GLSEN knows the educators play key roles in creating affirming learning environments for LGBTQ+ youth. GLSEN conducts extensive and original research to inform their evidence-based solutions for K-12 education. GLSEN’s education team has created educator guides and other resources for increasing LGBTQ visibility and affirmation in any curriculum.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture today launched Talking About Race, a new online portal designed to help individuals, families, and communities talk about racism, racial identity and the way these forces shape every aspect of society, from the economy and politics to the broader American culture.
OK2BMe
OK2BMe provides services for LGBTQ2S+ children, youth, and families. Find a database of resources for schools and classrooms organized by category and grade level.
PBS For Parents
Children’s books are one of the most effective tools to engage with young children on important issues. To encourage conversations about race and diversity with children, PBS for Parents has created a list of 13 children’s books about race and diversity.
PREVNet
As Canada’s Healthy Relationships Hub, PREVNet is now bringing together researchers and national organizations to build research capacity, assess youth dating violence problems and promote evidence-based programs and effective policies across Canada to address and reduce youth dating violence.
Download our Factsheet on bullying LGBTQ2SIA+ Youth in Schools
Racial Equity Tools
Racial Equity Tools supports individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. The website offers 2500+ tools, research, tips, curricula, and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working toward justice at every level – in systems, organizations, communities and the culture at large.
Teaching for Change
Teaching for Change encourages teachers and students to question and re-think the world inside and outside their classrooms, build a more equitable, multicultural society, and become active global citizens. Find professional development opportunities, lesson plans, and curated resources for teachers to supplement their pre-k-12 curriculum.
Teaching Tolerance
Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators who work with children from kindergarten through high school. The program’s anti-bias approach encourages children and young people to challenge prejudice and learn how to be agents of change in their own lives. Find lessons, learning plans, teaching strategies, printable posters, and more.
The 1619 Project
The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.
Zinn Education Project
The Zinn Education Project promotes and supports the teaching of people’s history in classrooms, introducing students to a more accurate, complex, and engaging understanding of history than is found in traditional textbooks and curricula. The website offers free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme, time period, and grade level. Themes include civil rights movements, LGBTQ+, women’s history, and more.