Civil Rights in the United States: A Toolkit
“In a time of destruction, create something: a poem, a parade, a community, a school, a vow, a moral principle. One peaceful moment.”
—Maxine Hong Kingston
This website is a product of its time. Due to COVID-19, emergency school closures in Washington State began in March 2020. Summer camps and large gatherings have largely been cancelled. And then in May 2020, civil unrest began around the country with the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many more.
I’m the mother (public historian, community journalist, and former college professor) of a high school student in Tacoma, Washington. When I asked my oldest daughter what she wanted to learn over the summer, she said promptly, “Civil rights.”
That’s how this class was born. Welcome to our journey.