Pulitzer Center Update March 7, 2025
Chicago Teachers Explore Labor Rights in ‘The 1619 Project’
“It was such an honor to be a part of this. The pacing was great. Getting a portion of several sections of the lessons and then the opportunity to talk with fellow educators was fantastic. The webinar with the journalists was awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
-Meghan O'Driscoll, Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center
Fifteen Chicago educators met on Saturday, February 22, 2025, to engage with The 1619 Project and racial justice reporting supported by the Pulitzer Center. The half-day workshop was held at the School of the Art Institute, a Pulitzer Center campus partner, and supported by the Julian Grace Foundation.
The workshop attracted interest from educators representing various content areas, grade levels, and neighborhoods. KIPP Bloom College Prep educator Evonne Bankston shared: "As an inner-city social studies teacher, I was drawn to this workshop because of its focus on diverse narratives and the opportunity to bring more inclusive stories into my classroom. I strive to provide my students with a well-rounded understanding of history that goes beyond traditional perspectives, and this workshop seemed like a great way to deepen that approach."
After exploring elements of The 1619 Project and accompanying curricula through a labor issues lens, teachers extended their analysis by reading a selection of underreported news stories supported by the Pulitzer Center, making connections between the reporting below to The 1619 Project.
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Working Wage: Black Labor Advocacy in the South by Herbert L. White for The Charlotte Post
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Reclaiming the History of American Indigo by Caroline Gutman for Smithsonian Magazine
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The Woman Behind the State Department’s New Direction by Kayla M. Smith for The Pulitzer Center
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Drowning in Debt by Mary Hall, Alden Loury, Charmaine Runes, Matt Kiefer, María Inés Zamudio, and Manuel Martínez for WBEZ 91.5
Finally, teachers met Illinois-based journalists Molly Parker and Julia Rendleman, who described their reporting about how food deserts in Cairo, Illinois, not only signal the social and economic shifts of rural American life, but also echo government and policy failures rooted in racism.
93% of attendees reported in a post-workshop survey that they increased their understanding of racial justice and 67% of attendees increased their understanding of labor rights and human rights as a result of the workshop. More specifically, attendees reported that they learned about the impact of the prison-industrial complex and the connection between racism, labor issues, and food deserts.
When asked what attendees liked most about this workshop, Margaret Leiby from KIPP Bloom Primary shared, “I liked the exposure to all of the different resources and the rich discussions that occurred around them.”
Attendees left the workshop with ideas and activities to introduce to their students.
“I left with two unit ideas for my classroom that will directly connect with our Freedom Dreaming project,” said Zanneta Kubajak from Owen Scholastic Academy.
Brandon Grijalva, a teacher at Lindblom Math & Science Academy, said he would be “looking to redevelop [his] unit on the constitution utilizing The 1619 Project.”
The Pulitzer Center plans to hold another paid workshop for Chicago teachers focusing on stories of migration. Applications are open until March 31, 2025.
To read more about our Chicago workshops held last year which includes the AI workshop held in December and the workshop focused on journalism and empowered action we hosted in May, 2024.