Webinar On-Demand: The '1619' Impact Series Recap

In celebration of the fifth anniversary of The 1619 Project, and the Pulitzer Center's partnership with The New York Times, we are excited to host The 1619 Impact Series.

Designed to cultivate a transformative learning community for educators interested in or actively engaged in the work of racial justice education, this series offers participants inspiration, strategy, and tools from experts dedicated to this important work.

We kicked off the series on October 19, 2024, with our “Preparing for the Work” webinar. In this session, 1619 Education Program alumni Noncy Fields, Bernice Mayfield, Shauna Russell, and Maya Wilson shared their insights on preparing for the work of teaching hard histories. Moderated by Katie Harlan-Eller, an assistant professor of education at Marist College, the conversation centered on the learning these educators engaged in before and during their experiences teaching materials from The 1619 Project.

"Until I took the time to investigate that history, I was not going to be able to support my students to do that work," said Mayfield, a professor of early childhood education at Northern Virginia Community College. Her reflections demonstrate that racial justice education requires educators to immerse themselves in the hard histories in order to effectively support students in their own wrestling and exploration of them. Fields, designer of the Identity Resource Screening Tool, echoed this sentiment, encouraging educators to give themselves time and permission to do the research and the work.

The panelists were candid in their reflections, sharing that while doing this work, they were learning histories that they had never been taught. Although they found the histories to be challenging to digest, they also found them to be empowering.

Fields, reflecting on her own journey, recalled, "I was uncovering pain, histories that might have helped me hold my head up high when we were learning about colonial history."

The webinar empowered attendees to embrace the challenge of teaching hard histories while also reminding them that the difficulties of this work do not diminish its rewards. 

A critical part of racial justice education is intentionally cultivating joy. “There can be joy in this work as well, and that is something we can be more intentional about,” said Wilson, a member of the Baltimore City College High School Team.

In our “Teaching Truth Is Standard” webinar, a panel of 1619 Education Network alumni—including Fatima Morrell, Cyrisse Allen, Theresa Maughan, and Shamia Truitt-Martin—shared their approaches to integrating 1619 Project resources into existing curricula.

They highlighted effective strategies for weaving the project’s themes into lessons that engaged students and aligned with content standards. Moderated by Teaching for Change Executive Director Deborah Menkart, the conversation explored how educators can incorporate the Project into existing curriculum in ways that not only ensure alignment with state standards, but also foster critical thinking, empower students to utilize their agency, and present hard historical truths with accuracy.

A key theme of the session was the role of standards in guiding curriculum development. Theresa Maughan, a veteran educator with over 40 years of experience, explained, “Everything always begins with the standards. The standards help us to look at and keep a focus on how we want this unit to progress.” 

Fatima Morrell, who oversaw the infusion of The 1619 Project into the Buffalo School District’s Emancipation Curriculum, shared how aligning the Project with state standards was one of the keys to successful districtwide implementation. 

After overseeing the implementation of the curriculum in 60 school buildings, reaching over 30,000 students, Morrell noted that teachers were able to successfully teach the curriculum when they saw it aligned to the standards. “It was tough work, but it was really important that we did that so that teachers could see how it [The 1619 Project] easily fit in and how these ideas work together,” Morrell reflected. 

Shamia Truitt-Martin, whose team developed units focused on the history of Durham's Black Wall Street, explained how standards alignment helped her team avoid pushback in their school district. 

“Basically, if you’re driving your curriculum through the standards, there is no pushback,” she said, underscoring the importance of aligning lessons with state curriculum standards.

The panelists also discussed how integrating The 1619 Project into their classrooms helped fill significant gaps in the curriculum and created opportunities for inclusive teaching. Morrell shared that the curriculum work her team completed offered students an opportunity to learn about a history of enslavement from a perspective that was neither Eurocentric nor romanticized, and that avoided perpetuating negative racial stereotypes. 

Morrell shared, “We wanted to create opportunities for liberating pedagogical practices where the history of Black people could be taught from a platform of historical accuracy and inclusion. And we wanted to ensure that we were uplifting marginalized voices for all of our children, but particularly our Black, brown, and Indigenous children whose voices are often silenced in the classroom.”

Cyrisse Allen explained how she used The 1619 Project to fill gaps in a longstanding curriculum by providing students with essential historical context. Through her work with The 1619 Project Education Network, she developed a unit that not only offered this context but also enhanced students’ research and technology skills, while deepening their understanding of African American experiences during the Colonial and Revolutionary War periods.

The conversation offered insights into how these educators are transforming the teaching of American history and providing empowering educational experiences for students. Interspersed throughout were valuable perspectives on teaching hard histories and navigating pushback. 

On the latter, Maughan advised, “No matter what district you’re in, the way to meet that pushback head-on is through transparency,” emphasizing the importance of involving the community in the process. 

The panelists also stressed the need to center joy and agency in these histories. Maughan highlighted the importance of teaching students about the power and agency of historical figures, while Morrell cautioned against shying away from difficult topics, stating, “It is disempowering to hide the truth.” 

She advocated for creating safe spaces that foster trust and openness, allowing students to process challenging material. Truitt-Martin encouraged educators to focus on the successes within struggles, reminding everyone that Black history is not just a history of suffering, but one of resilience, brilliance, and joy.

Deborah Menkart, the guest moderator, concluded the session with encouraging words for the panelists.

“Your lessons are powerful for the very students who’ve been denied that history, who it is their history—but really for the whole country … Your lessons show that the history of resistance is a daily, creative history.”

Both of these conversations resonated with educators, who shared their thoughts and reflections in the chat, affirming their commitment to this critical work. 

If you are interested in joining this transformative learning community, register for our upcoming 1619 Impact webinars.