When ‘Just Joking’ Is No Joke: How to Respond When Students’ ‘Jokes’ are Biased or Offensive
Tools and Strategies
There are many benefits to humor. A good joke can ease tension in a stressful situation. Humor can connect people and bring them together. Jokes can bring levity to a situation that begs for lightheartedness. Being funny can signal to others who you are. Humor can even open a conversation that previously felt closed or off-limits. However, jokes and humor, when they target social identity groups, can do the opposite. They can make people feel unsafe, disconnected, excluded and…
On February 17 and 18, 2023, approximately 15 individuals associated with the virulently antisemitic Goyim Defense League (GDL) distributed propaganda and protested across Florida. Many of the participants traveled from out of state, including individuals from Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
GDL is a network of rabidly antisemitic provocateurs led by Jon Minadeo who recently relocated to Florida from California. GDL…
Navegando en un mundo digital: Consejos para los jóvenes
Tools and Strategies
For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers | For Students Tweens and teens spend a lot of time using technology, much of it positive, but it can move into cyberbullying and other online mean behavior. Below are tips young people can use in their digital lives to help them have a positive online experience and effectively respond to negative online behavior and cyberbullying. Before going online...Set guidelines.Limit electronic use.Consider what it means to be responsible online…
Teach students about what gossip and rumors are and the impact they have on others, especially those identity groups which may be more vulnerable to and marginalized by rumors and gossip.
For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers | For Students Here are some simple things you can do to be an ally to targets of name-calling and bullying. And remember—always think about your safety first when deciding the best way to respond. 1. Support targets, whether you know them or not.Show compassion and encouragement to those who are the targets of bullying behavior by asking if they’re okay, going with them to get help and letting them know you are there for them…
How A Texas Teen Turned Bias and Body-Shaming into Advocacy and Action
Article
Olivia Julianna (who uses only her first and middle name publicly to protect her privacy) has been an activist for several years, advocating voting rights and reproductive-health care. Like many in her generation, she found the political side of TikTok where young people post about important issues facing them. Olivia is involved with Gen-Z for Change, a nonprofit organization leveraging social media to promote civil discourse and political action on a variety of topics including…
Table Talk: Family Conversations About Current EventsWhen there are periods of heightened violence and war in the news, oftentimes one or more marginalized identity groups can become the focus of attention, anger, hostility and bias even far removed from the location of the conflict. When there is conflict in the Middle East, Muslims and Muslim Americans often face such hostility, bias and even violence. With the continued scrutiny and conflict with Israel since 2023, ADL has tracked an uptick…
9 Ideas for Teaching Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Lesson Plan
Use these activities to bring the history, culture and experience of the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) people and community to your classroom.
The Horrific Mass Shooting in Buffalo: How to Talk with Young People
Article
Another mass shooting has taken place, a violent massacre in which the shooter targeted a Black community after posting a white supremacist tract online that espoused virulently antisemitic and racist beliefs.
On May 14, 2022, a gunman entered a supermarket in a largely Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York and shot thirteen people, killing ten people and injuring at least three others. Almost all of the victims are Black. The gunman was identified by law enforcement as eighteen…
Buffalo Shooter's Manifesto Promotes "Great Replacement" Theory, Antisemitism and Previous Mass Shooters
Article
On May 14, 2022, a gunman killed 10 people and injured 3 more inside a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, after espousing violent white supremacist and antisemitic views online. In court following his arrest, the alleged gunman, identified as 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron, from Southern Tier, New York, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and was ordered held without bail.
According to an online screed Gendron allegedly posted shortly before the attack, his goal was to &ldquo…
The Rise Above Movement Plants a Flag in the White Power Music Scene
Article
In January 2022, the white supremacist Rise Above Movement (R.A.M.) announced the creation of Will2Rise Records, a music production company catering to white supremacist artists.