American slavery shaped our modern world and most certainly the foundation and development of what is now the United States. The Smithsonian’s Eduardo Díaz and Renée Gokey discuss the importance of learning about Indigenous enslavement. And Teaching Tolerance Director Maureen Costello explains all of the program’s classroom resources available for teaching this history, including a first-of-its-kind K-5 framework.

Educators! Get a professional development certificate for listening to this episode—issued by Learning for Justice. Listen for the special code word, then visit learningforjustice.org/podcastpd.

And you can find a complete transcript on our website, along with resources to help you teach the hard history explored in this episode. Resources like these... 

Resources and Readings

• Teaching Hard History: American Slavery
• Teaching Hard History Key Concept Videos
• Teaching American Slavery Through Inquiry

Maureen Costello Director, Teaching Tolerance

References:

• Ira Berlin, The Making of African America: The Four Great Migrations
• Ira Berlin, The Long Emancipation: The Demise of Slavery in the United States
• Kathy Swan, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Kentucky
• National Council for History Education
• Teaching Tolerance: Text, I Have a Dream by MLK
• Teaching Tolerance: Webinar, Beyond the Bus: Teaching the Unseen Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
• Teaching Tolerance: The Moment, Teaching the Truth about Confederate History

Eduardo Díaz Director, Smithsonian Latino Center 

Renée Gokey Teacher Services Coordinator, National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) | Teaching Tolerance author

References:

• Andrés Reséndez, The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America
• NPR Genevieve Valentine, Horrors Pile Up Quietly In 'The Other Slavery'
• Stephen Warren, The Worlds the Shawnees Made: Migration and Violence in Early America
• Christopher Columbus, Extracts from Journal
• Indigenous Peoples' Curriculum Day and Teach-In
• Native Knowledge 360°
• National Museum of African American History and Culture
• NMAI exhibition, Taíno: Native Heritage and Identity in the Caribbean
• NMAI exhibition, T.C. Cannon: At the Edge of America
• Teaching Tolerance: Text, Indian Removal Act: Primary Documents in American History
• National Museum of American History, Molina Family Latino Gallery

Hasan Kwame Jeffries Department of History, Ohio State University | Teaching Hard History author

References:

• CARTER Center for K–12 Black History Education, Teaching Black History Conference
• Carter Conference 2019, Teaching about the Beauty, Power, and Resistance of Black History
• Dr. LaGarrett King, founding director CARTER Center, University of Missouri
• James Madison’s Montpelier (Ohio State University students' visit)
• Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
• Barry Thomas, Director of Equity and Diversity, Omaha Public Schools