September 2020

James Baldwin speaking from a lectern with microphone, black and white

#ScholarStrike: James Baldwin and Educating Against Society

By Lauren R. Kerby

On September 8-9, 2020, academics across the country, including faculty and staff at the Religious Literacy Project, are participating in teach-ins for racial justice known as the #ScholarStrike. I assigned these readings from James Baldwin, Patricia Hill Collins, and Tressie McMillan Cottom to my students at Harvard Divinity School to start our semester studying the history of education and religion in the U.S. For others interested in these questions, I offer them as resources for thinking about how critical pedagogy can serve the goals of racial justice. 

Protesters holding signs saying No Justice, No Peace, and Black Lives Matter

#ScholarStrike: Anti-Black Racism and Internal Diversity in American Christianity

By Lauren R. Kerby

On September 8-9, 2020, academics across the country, including faculty and staff at the Religious Literacy Project, are participating in teach-ins for racial justice known as the #ScholarStrike. As part of our contribution, we offer this lesson plan about American Christians’ responses to Donald Trump and the George Floyd protests as a resource for teachers seeking ways to connect religion and race in their discussions of current events.