Lesson Examples
Lovecraft Country Lesson #1: Black women freedom fighters who did not back down.
Lindsay and her team at the Ida B. Wells Education Project were inspired by the HBO Series Lovecraft Country to create a series of lessons exploring important Black history topics that were touched on in the show. This popular lesson series was highlighted by the Zinn Education Project and the Lovecraft Country Exhibition at Penn State.
This lesson is a great example of Lindsay’s work, as it reveals a dark history but anchors in the resistance and strength of Black women organizers, supported by their communities. This is typical of Lindsay’s work, teaching under-examined topics in US history and connecting classroom learning to past and present movements for liberation. This lesson highlights the lives and work of organizers Ida B. Wells, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Gloria Richardson. Students will conduct mock interviews with these historical women, answering the questions: How did white supremacist terror affect Black communities in movements for justice? How did Black women keep fighting for justice in the face of that terror?
View the lesson introduction here
View the full lesson here
Lesson: How did the movement for LGBT equality go from assimilation to “coming out” in the 1950s-1970s?
Featured on Teaching LGBTQ History
Peta Lindsay designed this lesson in collaboration with the UCLA-History Geography Project and the ONE Archives Foundation. In this lesson students learn about the divers perspectives and organizations that shaped the movement for LGBTQ equality from the 1950s through the 1970s. Students will participate in a simulation where they play the role of members of specific, historically significant organizations that emerged in the LGBT movement between 1950-1970s, trying to form a united coalition and make decisions about the big political questions of the day. This is a very detailed historical lesson that allows students to simulate and better understand real discussions and decisions made by organizers in movements for liberation. Lindsay presented about this lesson at the 2019 Teaching History Conference hosted by UCLA, the theme of which was "Culturally Responsive Teaching in the History Classroom".
Education Conference Presentations & Workshops
Presenter: 4th Annual Teaching Black History Conference hosted by the Carter Center for K-12 Black History Education University of Missouri, 7/23/21-7/25/21.
Presenting workshop titled: "Shine the Light of Truth Upon It": Teaching Young People About Black Resistance to White Supremacist Violence" at this historic gathering of Black history educators on the anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre.
Presenter: 4th Teaching History Conference
hosted by UC Davis, 5/7/21-5/8/21
Presented workshop entitled: “Joy in Resistance: Teaching about Oppression with Joy and Inspiration”. This workshop offered framework, tips and modeling of practical activities to help educators teach about the hard history of the long Civil Rights movement in ways that center community, resistance and joy.
Presenter: Teaching LGBTQ History: From Mattachine to Liberation (1950s-1960s) hosted by the ONE Archives Foundation and Our Family Coalition. (3/2021)
Presented lesson simulation, framework, teaching tips and additional resources for national workshop on teaching LGBTQ history. Co-presented with Devlin Camp from Queer Serial Podcast, modeled best practices for bringing LGBTQ history into K-12 classrooms.
Presenter: Harvard Graduate School of Education Alumni of Color Conference hosted by the Harvard University Graduate School of Education (03/2021)
Presented workshop titled: “Building Community to Center Black Voices in the Classroom: Anti- Racist Teaching with IBWEP” to nationwide gathering of educators convened by the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Presenter: Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action Virtual Curriculum Fair hosted by Teaching for Change and the Howard University Graduate School of Education (01/2021)
Presented workshop “Joy in Resistance: Teaching About Oppression with Hope and Inspiration" showcasing Ida B. Wells Education Project Black- centered curriculum and providing educators with framework and resources for teaching hard history.
Presenter: Teaching the FAIR Act with Primary Sources hosted by the UC Davis History Project (09/2020)
Led workshop and presentation for teachers about how to incorporate LGBTQ history into Social Science curriculum using primary sources. Invited by UC Davis to present and model lessons on LGBTQ history for a cohort of educators.
Presenter: UCLA Teaching History Conference 2019 by UCLA Center X, UCLA History-Georgraphy Project (05/2019)
Presented simulation lesson on LGBTQ+ history, on a panel of educators entitled ""Queering the Curriculum:." Detailed process of researching, writing and implementing diverse history lessons. Theme of conference was "Culturally Responsive Teaching in the History Classroom", presentation provided guidance to instructors on implementing culturally responsive teaching practices.
Professional Learning:
2019 Cohort: New Orleans Music, Culture and Civil Rights Summer Institute hosted by National Endowment of the Humanities and Tulane University (06/2019)
Intensive history, culture and music education program for educators hosted by Tulane University. Wrote and presented inquiry-based lesson on the historical use of music in multicultural movements for justice and equality in the United States.
2018 Cohort: The History of American Immigration Through a California Lens Summer Institute hosted by The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Occidental College (06/2018)
Worked with historians to create primary source based lesson focusing on Chinese agency, advocacy and protest of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
2018 OUT Curriculum Cohort : LGBTQ History Institute hosted by the UCLA History-Geography Project, LA LGBT Center, ONE Archives
Selected for cohort tasked with using the ONE archives to produce FAIR Act compliant curriculum on LGBTQ History for 6-12. Worked with university professors and researchers to develop simulation lesson on the history of LGBTQ rights organizations and advocacy.
2016 Cohort: Rethinking the Gilded Age and Progressivisms: Race, Capitalism, and Democracy, 1877 to 1920 hosted by National Endowment of the Humanities and University of Chicago (06/2016 - 07/2016)
Collaborated with teachers from around the US in 4 week intensive institute focusing on social issues in the turn of the century US. Produced student-centered lessons utilizing primary source documents to analyze media coverage of early 20th century racial violence, highlighting the work of Ida B. Wells.
Notable Movement Conference Presentations & Workshops
Speaker: People’s Congress of Resistance hosted by PCOR at Howard University in Washington D.C. (9/16/17-9/17/17)
Traveled to Washington D.C. with delegation of high school student organizers from Los Angeles. Supported their presentation on organizing for rights for undocumented immigrant families in schools. See a short film featuring student’s reflection of their experiences here.
Delegate: Movement for Black Lives Convening hosted by the Movement 4 Black Lives in Cleveland, OH (07/2015)
Attended and participated in 3 day convergence of Black activists and organizers who have been leaders in the struggle for justice for victims of police brutality. Participated in workshops, panels and discussions about grassroots strategy and policy in the movement for Black lives.
Speaker: Next Generation Women's Leadership Conference hosted by the Stanford University Women's Community Center (04/2013)
Featured speaker and workshop presenter at Stanford’s Next Generation Women’s Leadership Conference. Led workshop on grassroots political organizing for progressive change.
Delegate: 3rd General Assembly of the Asia Wide Campaign Against US & Japanese Aggression and Domination of Asia hosted by AWC, grassroots organization in Japan (10/2009)
Invited to represent the US anti-war movement at international conference in Kyoto, Carried out intensive 2 week speaking tour in many cities in Japan. Engaged with activists and organizers from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines, coordinated international anti-war actions and solidarity.
Delegate: World Meeting of Artists and Intellectuals in Defense of Humanity in Caracas, Venezuela (12/2004)
Youngest delegate to international conference held in Caracas, Venezuela for the purpose of coordinating anti-war and social justice organizing. Other delegates included Amiri Baraka, Julia Belafonte, Cynthia McKinney and Alice Walker. Spoke in panels and workshops as a representative of the US anti-war movement.