Anti-Racism Work

  • Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities: The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities works with K – 12 and higher education students, educators, and administrators to make learning environments more equitable and inclusive through consultation, workshops, and retreats.
  • Teaching Tolerance offers a plethora of resources to educators to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued, and welcome participants. In particular, "Why Teaching BlackLives Matters, Part 1" is a great starting point.
  • The first enslaved Africans arrived in America on Virginia soil. The 1619 Project, is a free curriculum that uses essays, images, stories, and poems to challenge students to reframe their understanding of U.S. history, the consequences of slavery, and the contributions of black Americans.
  • Afterschool Alliance has pulled together a number of racial equity & anti-bias tools developed by OST programs & youth workers, as well as their own campaign Tools to Build On: Creating Constructive Climates in Out-of-School Time which includes two webinars of interest, Responding to Hate and Bias and Engaging Youth in Tough Conversations.
  • In January, The National Afterschool Association released a report " The Afterschool Leadership Landscape: Strengthening and Supporting Racial Equity". Providing high-quality programming depends on investing in a skilled, successful, diverse afterschool workforce. The report examines that gap in retaining and growing staff of color into leadership positions, despite front-line staff is reflective of the communities they work in.
  • The Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture has tools and guidance for talking about race with sections dedicated to educators parents and community builders,
  • Project Implicit: Series of online assessments from Harvard to test your implicit-associations. This can help reveal unconscious bias for a range of features (skin tone, ability, weight, etc) Tests can be taken anonymously at your computer. 
  • Inspired by ballerinas Ava Holloway and Kennedy George, ‘My Ancestors' Wildest Dreams’, is a children's book about a chance encounter at the Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia, which catapulted these Black ballerinas into a summer of activism and dance.

Reaching out to LGBTQ+ Youth

  •  Live Out Loud inspires, nurtures, and empowers LGBTQ+ youth to build a successful future by connecting them to positive role models and affirmative experiences in the LGBTQ community. They have multiple lesson plans and resources for lesson plans for Gay-Straight Alliances, Diversity Clubs, and more.
  • The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25
  •  Side by Side is one of Virginia's leading LGBTQ+ serving organizations whose services include youth programs and training for youth-serving organizations across Virginia.

  • The Safe Zone Project (SZP) is a free online resource providing curricula, activities, and other resources for educators facilitating Safe Zone trainings (sexuality, gender, and LGBTQ+ education sessions), and learners who are hoping to explore these concepts on their own.