The Six Triple Eight

I just watched this movie on a popular streaming platform, and I think it’s worth featuring on the blog due to its compelling example of resilience against both gender and racial discrimination, as depicted in this little-known story from World War II.

The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was a unique and historic military unit of the United States Army during World War II, known as the "Six Triple Eight." It was composed entirely of African American women, led by Commander Charity Adams Earley, and was the only African American women's unit deployed overseas during the conflict.

The battalion’s mission was to address a critical problem: a massive backlog of military mail intended for American soldiers stationed in Europe. This correspondence was essential for troop morale, but piles of undelivered letters and packages had accumulated due to logistical and organizational challenges. The "Six Triple Eight" was first sent to Birmingham, England, and later to Rouen, France, to tackle this task.

The women of the 6888th faced racism and sexism both within and outside the military, including segregation in their accommodations and workplaces. They worked in 24-hour shifts in cold, poorly lit warehouses.

Despite their vital contributions, the 6888th was largely overlooked in military history for decades. However, in recent years, their legacy has been recognized. In 2019, a monument was unveiled in their honor at the U.S. Army Women’s Museum. More recently, in March 2022, the members of the 6888th were posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor granted by the United States Congress.

You can find information about the movie through this link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Six_Triple_Eight

The Library of Congress offers an intriguing collection of resources (in English) about this unit, including testimonies from its members. Access it here:

https://guides.loc.gov/6888th-central-postal-directory-battalion

This website is dedicated to these women and their achievements:

https://www.womenofthe6888th.org/

Photo source: https://www.womenofthe6888th.org/photo-gallery?lightbox=dataItem-jfe4criy4 

Learning for Justice

Learning for Justice, an education program of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), focuses on community engagement to foster dialogue, learning, reflection, and action among those most affected by injustices in the South.

This program aims to support the SPLC’s mission of promoting racial justice in the South and beyond by collaborating with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance human rights for all. Learning for Justice emphasizes education as a means to inspire action towards liberation and justice.

Visit:

https://www.learningforjustice.org/ 

Classroom resources:

https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources

The No Project

The No Project is a worldwide educational campaign aimed at raising awareness among young people about modern slavery and human trafficking. They utilize various forms of media such as film, music, art, dance, theatre, journalism, creative writing, education, and social media to engage youth in this cause.

Their mission is to ensure that every young individual possesses an accurate understanding of modern slavery, enabling them to make well-informed and ethical choices as responsible global citizens in the future.

The campaign provides comprehensive educational resources, including videos, visuals, reading materials, slides, and a step-by-step Teacher's Guide, which assists educators in delivering lessons effectively. The content is specifically designed for older teenagers, young adults, and adults. These resources can be used with students who have a high level of English proficiency as a second language.

For more information, please visit:

Website:

https://www.thenoproject.org/

Lesson plans: 

https://www.thenoproject.org/lesson-plans/

#FightRacism

Racism and racial discrimination take many forms and impact all aspects of life. Racism harms not just the lives of those who endure it but also society as a whole.

This UN campaign is a global call for concrete action against racism, xenophobia and related intolerance. Through it you can find a lot of materials about these discriminations and its social impact. Education is a fundamental tool to prevent them and to make them visible to new generations.

Find this campaign on:

https://www.un.org/en/fight-racism

I Have a Dream #MartinLutherKing

Our entry today commemorates the birth of Martin Luther King, a prominent leader of the civil rights movement, on this day in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Freedom’s Ring is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, animated. Here you can compare the written and spoken speech, explore multimedia images, listen to movement activists, and uncover historical context. 

An amazing educational resource that you will fall in love with.

http://freedomsring.stanford.edu/?view=Speech

The No Project (An educational anti-slavery campaign)

The No Project is a global, educational anti-slavery campaign that specifically targets youth awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking through film, music, art, dance, theatre, journalism, creative writing, education and social media. 

Their commitment is that every young person has an accurate understanding of modern slavery so that they can then make well-informed, ethical choices as responsible global citizens of the future. 

It provides supporting educational resources that include videos, visuals, reading material, slides, and a step-by-step Teacher’s Guide to inform and guide  teachers through the different stages of each lesson. 

The content has been created for older teens, young adults and adults. You can use them with students who have a high level of English as a second language.

Visit:

https://www.thenoproject.org/ 

Lessons plans 

https://www.thenoproject.org/lesson-plans/ 

#BlackLivesMatter at school resources

If you are interested in resources to help facilitate conversations about race, lesson plans, guides, art and video, and ideas to engage classrooms and communities to support racial and social justice, visit this webpage:

NEA EdJustice engages and mobilizes activists in the fight for racial, social and economic justice in public education. 

https://neaedjustice.org/black-lives-matter-school-resources/ 

More about #BlackLivesMatter on.

https://blacklivesmatter.com/