It’s a common refrain that the United States is a “nation of immigrants.” Yet, this credo is not always representative of the narratives told in schools or in the formation of classroom cultures. Fostering an inclusive pluralistic society entails schooling that develops the knowledge, skills, and understanding students need to navigate changing communities. Join us as we collaborate with Adam Strom, founder and executive director of Re-Imagining Migration, to discuss the ways in which schools can nurture cultures of belonging, create understanding, and promote unifying migration narratives. 

Standards:
[Grades 8-12] History & Social Science Practice Standards 1 and 7
[USII.T5.1] Analyze important policies and events of presidential administrations during the 1960s such as the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act
[USII.T5.5] Analyze some of the major social trends and issues of the late 20th and early 21st century such as major immigration and demographic changes.

During the Cold War, fear, paranoia, and anxiety about Communism took hold of the American government and society, as seen during the Second Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s. At the same time, members of the LGBTQIA+ community were barred from government service in what has become known as the Lavender Scare. This action was justified by “Cold Warriors” who claimed that government employees were already vulnerable to Soviet espionage and that the threat of exposure could result in LGBTQIA+ people aiding Soviet spies. These attacks took place even as queer communities and individuals were beginning to create new forms of political action and social spaces.

Join Primary Source and Michael Bronski, Professor of the Practice in Media and Activism in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University and author of A Queer History of the United States as we explore the Lavender Scare, discussing the intersection between gender and sexuality, politics, international relations, and social anxieties.

Standards:
[USII.T3.9] Analyze factors that contributed to the Cold War;  [USII.T4.2] Analyze the roots of domestic communism and anti-communism in the 1950s…and congressional investigation into the Lavender Scare
[USII.T4.8]Using primary and secondary sources, analyze the causes and course of a political movement (e.g. the LGBTQ civil rights movement) including the role of protest, advocacy organizations, and active citizen participation

Explore the empowering history of advocacy for equal rights by people with disabilities in America. This interactive online seminar will help you identify points where this rich history melds with the common history curriculum, including immigration, reformers, effects of wars, movements for civil rights, and more. It will help you address history and civics standards that increasingly call for disability history content. Our guiding expert is Rich Cairn, a History and Civics Inclusion Specialist with the Collaborative for Educational Services and a long-time collaborator with the online Disability History Museum. Special bonus: you’ll get an insider tour of a remarkable new curriculum—Reform to Equal Rights: K-12 Disability History—that is free, inclusive, and inquiry-based. Rich Cairn developed this curriculum in partnership with the Library of Congress. 

The seminar is especially for teachers of history and civics, curriculum leaders and librarians, and special education teachers.

Standards:
[8.T4] Rights and responsibilities of citizens
[USI.T4.2] Using primary sources, research US reform movements in the 19th century
[USI.T7.1-2] Explain Progressivism and Progressive era policies; analyze text or images by a Progressive leader
[USII.T2.1-4]  Use primary and secondary sources to research, analyze, and evaluate figures, movements, and media related major political, economic, and cultural changes in the first two decades of the 20th century
[USII.T4.4-9] Use primary and secondary sources to research, analyze, and evaluate figures, movements, and media related to civil rights in the 20th century [and] the causes and course of a political movement (e.g. disability rights) including the role of protest, advocacy organizations, and citizen participation