In this article, the author reflects on his early moments as an educator and the harsh realities he faced, and shares his journey of the change he embraced and enacted.

Those who would ban or burn books recognize that the threat to their power comes when people learn to think for themselves.

Social studies classrooms should promote civil discourse, media literacy, and inquiry in a way that moves solutions forward rather than restricts or forbids conversations. This presidential address was delivered on December 2, 2022, at the NCSS annual conference in Philadelphia.

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We need a new and different kind of classroom conversation about free speech—one that not only considers the legal and aspirational dimensions but also weighs the practice and impact of speech in daily life.

This article offers examples of classroom texts as vehicles for teaching each BHC principle as encouragement for teaching Black histories long beyond Black History Month. For summaries of the texts suggested in this article, see the Pullout in this issue, which pairs each Black Historical Consciousness principle with children’s books and ideas for further investigation.