This Monday, we will celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s transformative life and legacy. The day provides an important opportunity for students to study the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, as well as our country’s continuing struggle to create a more just society and representative democracy. Here are 9 Facing History resources that can help you reflect on your own teaching practices, teach the history of the Civil Rights Movement, and explore contemporary issues around racial justice and democracy in the United States.

On January 6, 2021, an estimated 2,000 people stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. As we mark the 1-year anniversary of the insurrection, we continue to learn more about what happened that day through the congressional investigation and ongoing trials of insurrectionists. The January 6 insurrection remains important to understand and discuss, as well as the larger questions it raises about the state of U.S. democracy. A recent poll found that 52% of young people between 18 and 29 believe that either U.S. democracy is “in trouble” or “failed,” while only 7% agree that it is “healthy,” further highlighting the need to teach students about democratic institutions.

This is the first in a series of blog posts based on interviews with nine educators and their suggestions for how you can address anti-Asian violence with your students and incorporate API histories and identities into your teaching.

A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we know that many educators are continuing to teach partially or fully online, even as more schools in the United States are slowly shifting towards in-person learning. Hybrid and remote teaching requires educators to navigate new ways to connect with students during an immensely challenging and uncertain time in our communities, when students’ (and teachers’ own) social-emotional needs are just as critical as academic goals. We have adapted a collection of teaching strategies to support online learning, with a focus on sustaining community, supporting students, and creating engaging, meaningful learning experiences.

On March 2, 2019, a group of high school students in Southern California decided during a party to arrange red Solo cups in the shape of a swastika and took pictures of themselves next to the symbol, raising their hands in Nazi salutes. When Leslie White—Holocaust Studies teacher at Tarbut V’Torah and Director of Education at JFCS Holocaust Center—heard what happened, she stepped up to teach the students about the Holocaust and help them understand the significance of what they had done and they symbols they had invoked. White’s account of these events offers educators rich insights into the continuing importance of Holocaust education, as well as the pedagogical approaches that are most effective—and vital—in this time of rising hatred.

After I read the news, I often feel powerless. What can any of us do to prevent genocide, to dismantle structural inequalities, or to stop the other horrors we hear about in the news? The massive scale of the problems in the world can feel overwhelming, but we shouldn’t let it be paralyzing. My own involvement in activism changed dramatically in high school, when a human rights activist inspired me to hope.