Board assignment takes Wa-Hi teacher to Alabama to study civil rights

Teaching Tolerance board assignment takes Wa-Hi teacher to Alabama to study civil rights issues

Walla Walla High School Social Studies teacher Michelle Higgins traveled to Montgomery, Alabama in July to attend Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board meetings. The goals of the meetings for board members were orienting them to the mission of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the work of Teaching Tolerance; familiarizing Board members with their roles and responsibilities and establishing expectations and working procedures; providing an opportunity for SPLC staff to hear directly from practitioners about how materials are used and what educators need; and fostering professional networking and sharing ideas among participants. The SPLC funded the trip.

Morris Dees, the founder of SPLC, spoke with board members about the three parts of their mission, which includes the legal side of civil rights, identifying hate groups and raising awareness about their locations, and supporting educators in their classrooms. Dees said that if children and teenagers become more aware of civil rights' issues and develop tolerance and understanding of others, many hate crimes could be prevented. Teaching Tolerance has a lot to offer educators and other people concerning civil rights--a presence on social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, free classroom curricula and resources, and a print and online magazine, according to Higgins.

"One of the best resources I encountered during our meetings was the online program ‘Perspectives for a Diverse America’," said Higgins.”This free K-12 Literacy-based anti-bias curriculum has developed into a comprehensive and dynamic set of free resources that helps teachers add diverse literacy texts to their classroom curriculum. I explored a beta-version of this program about 18 months ago and it has developed into a powerhouse of essential questions that are supported by central texts, tasks and strategies. Rarely have I seen online tools as thorough as 'Perspectives. I am excited to take this back to my state and begin sharing this program with other administrators and educators in Washington."

The day before their meetings started, Higgins took time to trace the steps of people like Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, and countless marchers who began their famous walk in Selma, AL and ended at the steps of the Alabama state Capitol. Both Reverend Abernathy and King's churches were located less than two blocks away from the front entrance of Alabama's capitol.

Higgins walked from Montgomery's former central slave market where Rosa Parks boarded a city bus bus and followed its route to the spot where Parks was taken from the bus and arrested--right outside the entrance of the modern Rosa Parks Library and Museum. She also explored the Rosa Parks Library and Museum afterwards at Troy University.