Dear Social Studies Educators, 

We are at a critical juncture in history and we are on the frontlines of change. Adults, youth, and children are turning to history, geography, economics, and civics to cope with the complexities of our human experience and to seek answers to the questions that govern our daily lives. There is no time in our contemporary lives in which the study of social studies has been more critical and central to understanding and action. 

COVID-19 forced us to chart new paths of delivering remote education while also revealing the cavernous socio-economic and racial divisions in American society. Pandemics not only affect individuals; they change the world. Disease outbreaks have shaped politics, crushed revolutions, and entrenched racial and economic discrimination. Pandemics have altered societies, affecting personal relationships, the work of artists and intellectuals, and the man-made and natural environments. Stretching across centuries and continents, social, political, and economic structures, population settlement patterns, and the use of natural and human resources have also allowed diseases to flourish. Pandemics are not random events that afflict societies capriciously and without warning; on the contrary, every society produces its own vulnerabilities. To study them is to understand a society’s structure, its standard of living, its political and economic priorities, its inequities and pretense. While COVID-19 reveals the tenacity, perseverance, selflessness, and kindness of people, it also serves as a mirror to all things that society has not come to terms with. It has made transparent the digital access divide in America, elevated racial tensions, revealed socioeconomic and racial inequalities, and exacerbated political divisions. Helping students contextualize the significance of the outbreak of COVID-19 is both critical and timely as communities face unprecedented disruptions with far-reaching effects. We are in the midst of an economic recession due to the pandemic-related shutdown. Situating government responses to COVID-19 in historic, geographic, global and economic perspectives will deepen students’ understanding of their lived experiences and enhance their civic reasoning skills. But it is also necessary for students to examine more deeply structural inequalities pandemics reveal about society. Although the effects of COVID-19 have been felt by all, struggles and hardships continue to be disproportionally experienced among racial groups. 

We mourn the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Botham Jean, Terence Crutcher, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, and countless Blacks who are victims of racialized police brutality. We feel anger and we mobilize to fight injustice. We seek strategies to turn activism into lasting change--to end racism and the systemic pattern of dehumanizing and criminalizing people of color; to end longstanding, anti-black systems that obstruct justice and inhibit socio-political and economic progress (e.g. The Color of Law); to honor and safeguard the lives of Black people and people of color in America who for centuries have been racialized and terrorized without cause or consequence by state-sanctioned violence. We attend rallies in towns and cities across the country where we listen to the voices and experiences of Blacks and people of color in our local communities. We follow closely the stories and calls for change in social media. We are outraged and united in our cause-- Black Lives Matter. We are dismayed by the increased use of authoritarianism, police and military forces, and social-media bullying, all to stifle peaceful protests and to squelch social unrest which seeks to end oppression. We are citizen-educators who study the complexities of racism and Afro-pessimism and the many ways these manifest in power and privilege within our society. 

As social studies teachers, we know we must come to terms with our nation’s past—a nation founded in slavery and the legacy of deep-seated racism, anti-blackness, and systemic oppression. Race and racism have been interwoven with American history since its inception (Omi & Winant, 1986) with the genocide of Indigenous peoples, the enslavement of kidnapped Africans and Indigenous peoples, and the segregation of citizens of color through Jim Crow legislation. In addition, throughout history, race has been a determining factor for the eligibility of citizenship. We recognize the significant responsibility of facing the hard truth of our history and learning from it to inform our anti-racist actions as we work to create a more just society. 

While we may believe we teach the lessons our students must learn, these are shaped by our identities and implicit biases. We work in an education system that is complicit with de jure and de facto segregation. The same system marginalizes, politicizes, and sanitizes social studies curriculum and content. Students encounter narratives of white exceptionalism while depictions of Black, Indigenous, and people of color consistently focus on victimhood and oppression without embedding stories of perseverance and resistance (Brown & Brown, 2010; King, 2017). Rarely are students of color able to grapple with the precarious nature of their citizenship status and civic life. “In communities historically shaped by processes of de jure and de facto segregation; police repression; and lack of access to equitable housing, jobs, and labor-rights, young people find very little of this content reflected in their school-based learning” (Clay & Rubin, 2019, p. 161). 

We cannot remain complacent in the systems in which we work; nor can we continue with status quo social studies. If we sit by in silence and inaction, then we are complicit in shaping a future that directly mirrors our nation’s horrific past and present conditions. We must envision a new social studies that is culturally and critically responsive to our contemporary times. We must promote racial literacy (Guinier, 2004) by making explicit connections between past racism and present-day racial inequity, and challenging individual and structural racism within American society (King & Chandler, 2016; Pollock, 2008). We must use our collective voice to speak out against oppression, dehumanization, and abuse of power. We are presently situated within a political, cultural, and social context whereby collective values and legal rights are being challenged by those who hold power and privilege. We must galvanize our communities and youth to engage in the electoral process and to exercise informed civic action. We must use our collective voices to directly impact local, state, and national policies and priorities to ensure elect leaders hold agents of the state who engage in unlawful, unjust, and inhumane acts accountable to the people. 

As National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) President, I believe our professional association can lead in our collective efforts to advocate and educate for social justice; to speak out to end racial inequality and police violence against people of color; and to center anti-racism, anti-harassment, and anti-violence in PK-12 social studies. NCSS promotes human rights and justice for all human beings regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, sovereignty, or any other status. At the beginning of my presidency, I set three priorities to guide the association in addressing the NCSS mission and vision: 1) Advocacy, 2) Race, Equity, and Inclusion, and 3) Learning, Connecting, and Leading. Three NCSS task forces have worked throughout the year to advance these aims and will continue in promoting these priorities in the ongoing work of NCSS. The NCSS Board of Directors has taken action to respond to current issues related to these priorities. To recap our actions, here are the statements made by NCSS this fiscal year: 

• Contextualizing LGBT+ History within the Social Studies Curriculum
• Supporting Curricular Promotion and Intersectional Valuing of Women in History and Current Events  
• A Response to Mass Shootings from NCSS
• NCSS Response to the Updated NAEP Schedule 
• NCSS Response to the NAEP 2018 Grade 8 Assessment Results 

In 2016 when I was Chair of the Executive Board of the NCSS College and University Faculty Assembly (CUFA), we issued a Position Statement on Racial Injustice and #BlackLivesMatter, to call…

“…on social studies educators and researchers to acknowledge, study, and work to end racism and racial prejudice. Both continue to damage not only individuals and families but society and its institutions, including schools and the criminal justice system. We hereby declare our support for the #BlackLivesMatter movement, which identifies and challenges discriminatory and oppressive practices in institutions that should serve and protect the rights and interests of all citizens. Were we to remain silent, we would fail to model the very values, dispositions, and skills we advocate.” 

This week, NCSS will join other professional associations in advocating for The Free Press in a Time of Crisis. We “recognize the courage of the journalists who are under attack as they cover the national protest against police violence and racial inequality.” First Amendment rights to report why people are protesting and to digitally document the actions of authorities are essential freedoms at a historic moment like this. NCSS joins the American Historical Association and 37 professional associations in Confronting a Sordid History of Racist Violence in the United States. We contend, “Everything has a history, including our nation’s deplorable record of violence against African Americans, committed either outside the law or in the name of law enforcement itself… Throughout our history, those trusted to enforce the law have too often acted lawlessly, while too many civilians have acted with the tacit approval of law enforcement in targeting African Americans just going about their daily lives.” We stand for the lives of Blacks in America. 

On May 29, 2020, NCSS issued a statement Condemning the Killing of George Floyd and Countless Black People. NCSS “condemns the use of excessive violence or force, or extrajudicial processes, used discriminately by law enforcement against blacks in America when investigating or enforcing probable or non-probable causes of infractions, misdemeanors, or felonies. These actions are against the civic values and practices we teach all students through social studies education.” NCSS is currently working on new position statements: 1) to boldly confront in social studies curriculum and document with data racialized police violence against people of color, and in particular Blacks in America; and 2) to call for teaching about race, racism, racial literacy, and anti-racism in social studies as essential aspects of preparing children and youth for civic life. 

On May 18, 2020, the NCSS Board of Directors approved an official response to Anti-Asian Harassment and Violence during COVID-19. NCSS strongly condemns discrimination and violence against Asian Americans. NCSS urges those in the public sphere to recognize the harm that is occurring and to engage in education about the impact of discrimination and violence on our citizens and People of Color in America. Efforts this year and the persistent work of NCSS and its partners can challenge social studies educators and scholars to center anti-racism, anti-harassment, and anti-violence in PK-12 social studies. 

As social studies educators grapple with the schooling and societal implications resulting from school closures and shelter-in-place policies necessitated by COVID-19, we confront numerous challenges, such as the equity issues raised by a shift from face-to-face to online learning, the role of social studies in addressing the personal, societal and policy issues related to COVID-19, and quickly designing and implementing student and inquiry-focused online learning. Attending to the challenges of remote education imposed by COVID-19 restrictions, NCSS continues to update its Resources for Navigating Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to provide accessible and free professional learning opportunities. NCSS is also preparing the release of a report authored by the C3 Inquiry and Engagement Curriculum Task Force, titled: Fostering Digital Civic Participation through Critical Inquiry. In this timely policy and practice document, NCSS offers guidance to members on how best to incorporate inquiry into teaching and learning about matters of personal and public concern, civic advocacy and engagement, and technology and social media, especially at this time when many social studies educators are shifting toward online learning during a public health crisis and time of social distancing. 

Last week NCSS announced its NCSS Centennial Celebration and provided updates on changes to the 100th Annual Conference which was to be held in Washington, DC. Rather than replicating the numerous COVID-19 professional association messages indicating conference cancellations or postponements many of us have received over the course of the last three months, NCSS leadership seized the opportunity to think differently about our member services and professional learning. Our message (see below) conveys what I appreciate and value in NCSS: passionate leaders who believe in the significance of social studies education and the capacity of its members to lead in new directions when faced with challenging and unprecedented times. 

“The year 2021 marks one hundred years of NCSS service to social studies teachers, administrators, and professionals. To celebrate the significance of this monumental moment in the history of social studies education, NCSS is planning a year-long calendar experience of signature events including our first-ever NCSS Virtual Conference in December 2020. Our Centennial Celebration continues with the 101st NCSS Annual Conference in Minneapolis (scheduled for November 19-21, 2021) and culminates with festivities at the 100th Anniversary Conference in Washington, DC (to be rescheduled for December 2021).”

The NCSS Centennial Celebration is but one example of the numerous decisions by the NCSS 2019-2020 Board of Directors and Staff demonstrating foresight, innovation, and bold statements on behalf of the association members and social studies educators more broadly. 

Where do we go from here? 

NCSS and social studies educators on the frontlines of change must continue to be active participants in the goal of combating racism, Afro-pessimism, anti-blackness, gender discrimination, xenophobia, ageism, ableism, and other forms of bigotry in our communities, nation, and world. We must continue to advocate for the right of all students to learn social studies and not accept a PK-12 education in which social studies is pushed aside. Social studies matters in fighting injustice and safeguarding democracy through education. NCSS has not been silent this year and will continue to act, to advocate, and to work for change. 

When our lives resume some sense of familiarity and normalcy in a post-pandemic era, let us not forget the struggles of today. It is our responsibility to present in social studies a more critical examination of American society—its structural inequalities, its unequal standard of living, its divisive political and economic priorities, and its racial inequities and pretense. How might social studies curriculum change to meet the new challenges of a post-pandemic era and the era of racial consciousness? How might we use COVID-19 to rethink schooling structures, racialized power and privilege, and longstanding instructional practices in classrooms? How might we ensure the Black Lives Matter protests today serve as a catalyst for societal and systems-level change? How might we engage in measured, intentional civil rights and social justice initiatives designed to ensure that communities of color have the same equal protection under the law that is extended to other groups? How might social studies and NCSS lead in conversations on race, sovereignty, equity, and inclusion? These are questions that will continue to guide NCSS in its efforts to achieve its vision and mission in the coming years.

My monthly contributions to TSSP have shared the great work of this professional association and the decisions of NCSS Board of Directors over the course of my presidency. This year has afforded me the privilege of connecting with numerous scholars and educators, state social studies specialists, district leaders, committee and community leaders, and Affiliated Councils who passionately share their knowledge and time to collaboratively advance the purposes of social studies locally, nationally, and internationally. It has been an honor to work closely with an admirable and tireless NCSS Staff. I am also honored to serve and lead NCSS with such an esteemed, thoughtful, and considerate Board of Directors. Thank you to the many social studies educators and NCSS leaders who have stepped up to share their expertise, creativity, and boldness with peers, colleagues, and other professionals as we work together to navigate uncharted waters. You are what makes NCSS great!  

As I conclude my final remarks, I share with you my confidence in the NCSS Board of Directors and Officers who will lead NCSS in the coming years: President-Elect Stefanie Wager, Vice President Anton Schulzki, and Vice President-Elect Shannon Pugh. 

Onward.

Sincere and humble regards,

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Tina L. Heafner, Ph.D.

NCSS President 2019-2020

References

Brown, K. D., & Brown, A.L. (2010). “Silenced Memories: An Examination of the Sociocultural Knowledge on Race and Racial Violence in Official School Curriculum.” Equity & Excellence in Education, 43(2), 139-154.

Clay, K. L., & Rubin, B. C. (2020) “I look deep into this stuff because it’s a part of me”: Toward a critically relevant civics education, Theory & Research in Social Education, 48:2, 161-181, DOI: 10.1080/00933104.2019.1680466

College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies’ Position Statement on Racial Injustice and #BlackLivesMatter passed November 3rd, 2016. Retrieved at https://cufa.socialstudies.org/resourcesmain/new-item 

Guinier, L. (2004). “From Racial Liberalism to Racial Literacy: Brown v. Board of Education and the Interest-divergence Dilemma.” The Journal of American History, 91(1), 92–118.

King, L. J. (2017). “The Status of Black History in U.S. Schools and Society.” Social Education, (81) 1, 14–18.

King, L. J., & Chandler, P. T. (2016). “From Non-Racism to Anti-Racism in Social Studies Teacher Education: Social Studies and Racial Pedagogical Content Knowledge.” In A. R. Crowe & A. Cuenca (Eds.), Rethinking Social Studies Teacher Education in the Twenty-First Century (pp. 3-21). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

Omi, M. & Winant, H. (1986). Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1980s. New York, NY: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Pollock, M. (2008). Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real About Race and School. New York, NY: The New Press.