For Law Enforcement This document is an archived copy of an older ADL report and may not reflect the most current facts or developments related to its subject matter. Introduction
The Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is a small virulently homophobic, anti-Semitic hate group that regularly stages protests around the country, often several times a week. The group pickets institutions and individuals they think suppor t homosexuality or otherwise subvert what they believe is…
Interview with Ami Polonsky, Children's Book Author
Podcast
For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers In this podcast, Ami Polonsky talks about why she wrote the book, how parents and teachers can discuss gender and transgender identity with young people and the importance of being an ally.
Ami Polonsky is a children’s book author and teacher. Published in 2014, Gracefully Grayson, a middle grade book, is her debut. Formerly a Chicago Public Schools teacher, Ami spent nine years out of the classroom to…
What the Women’s March Teaches Us about Intersectionality
Article
January 24, 2017
On Saturday, January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, 500,000 people gathered in Washington, DC for the Women’s March–to express their unity for women’s issues and to speak out against the demonizing and hateful rhetoric that pervaded the past election cycle. An additional 400,000 marched in New York City , 250,000 in Chicago and according to Women’s March organizers, there were 673 “sister marches&rdquo…
8 Ideas for Teaching National Hispanic Heritage Month
Lesson Plan
GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Language, Speaking and Listening Commemorating National Hispanic Heritage Month
In commemoration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we present this resource to help teachers engage students in thinking broadly and critically about the Hispanic American experience in all of its complexity. In highlighting the significant events as well as people that have made a substantial contribution…
by: Robert Trestan | March 24, 2016 The Times of Israel There is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to Janet Mock’s decision to cancel her “Redefining Realness” talk at Brown University this week. Ms. Mock, a transgender best-selling author, canceled her talk following pressure from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) to reject the invitation due to Brown Hillel’s involvement.
SJP cannot have it both ways — advocating to muzzle a speaker…
Turning Current Events Instruction Into Social Justice Teaching
Article
by: David Robbins March 11, 2016 Jinnie Spiegler
Director of Curriculum, Anti-Defamation League
This blog originally appeared on Edutopia
Marriage equality, refugees seeking safety in Europe, the Confederate flag, police shootings of black and Latino men, the presidential election, Caitlyn Jenner, ISIS, and immigration are just a few of the news stories that inhabited the headlines this year on our phones, laptops, and newspapers. Unlike 20 years ago when…
GRADE LEVEL: High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening Racial Discrimination and Safeguarding the Right to Vote In August 2015, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act which was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. The Voting Rights Act is landmark federal legislation that was enacted during the Civil Rights Movement and was intended to prevent racial discrimination in voting. Prior to that, even though Black…
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Civil Rights: Relevancy for Today
Lesson Plan
GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, History/Social Studies In commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, this curriculum for grades 3–12 provides grade-specific lessons, resources and extension activities to provide your students opportunities to examine civil rights in the United States past and present. The lessons provide an opportunity for students to delve deeper into Martin Luther King Jr…
70+ Years Later: The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education
Lesson Plan
GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Speaking and Listening, Language “We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” These are the words of the landmark Supreme Court decision on May 17, 1954 that declared segregated schools unconstitutional. More than seventy years later, even though much progress has been made, there are…
‘That’s So Gay’: Language That Hurts, and How to Stop It
Article
January 21, 2014
The phrase "that’s so gay" has persisted as a way for students to describe things they do not like, find annoying or generally want to put down, while it is promising that fewer students are hearing homophobic slurs than in previous years.
The phrase is used so commonly that many students no longer recognize it as homophobic because it is “what everyone says.” When educators and other adults intervene, common student responses include “I was just…
ADL and the LGBT Community: A Commitment to Equal Rights
Backgrounder
For Educators | For Law Enforcement | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers
The Anti-Defamation League has a longstanding commitment to protecting civil rights, and has been a key partner in advancing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights. At the federal, state, and local levels, ADL has advocated in support of anti-discrimination statutes, for strong and inclusive hate crime and bullying prevention laws, and for marriage equality. In addition, as one of the nation’s…