terminology
Writing About Slavery? Teaching About Slavery?
Senior slavery scholars of color community-sourced this short guide to share with and be used by editors, presses, museums, journalists and curricular projects as well as by teachers, writers, curators, archivists, librarians and public historians.
short videos & visualizations
Slate | The Atlantic Slave Trade in Two Minutes (2:24)
The Middle Passage | This video presents a set of infographic artifacts that unveil the impact of transatlantic transportation of enslaved people through the Middle Passage (6:04)
TED Ed | The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you Anthony Hazard (5:38)
slavevoyages.org | Slave Ship in 3D Video: View a reconstruction of the slave vessel L’Aurore (4:46)
curricular units & lesson plans
Teaching Hard History, A Framework for Teaching Slavery
From Learning for Justice at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Hard History offers resources for middle and high school educators and includes a popular 6–12 framework, as well as student-facing videos and primary source texts. Educators will also find teaching tools and professional development resources. Do not miss the Teaching Hard History Podcast: American Slavery.
Racial Slavery in the Americas: Resistance, Freedom, and Legacies
Racial Slavery in the Americas: Resistance, Freedom, and Legacies from The Choices Program at Brown University provides the opportunity for students to consider how the past shapes the present, providing a wide-ranging overview of racial slavery in the Americas over many centuries. It provides a broad and illustrative survey of the development of the colonial systems that led to the creation of racial slavery. The focus throughout is on how enslaved people experienced and resisted these systems of oppression and how the legacies of racial slavery have shaped our world today.
Lesson Plans from Voyages: The Transatlantic Slave Trade Database
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database has information on almost 36,000 slaving voyages that forcibly embarked over 10 million Africans for transport to the Americas between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. In order to present the trans-Atlantic slave trade database to a broader audience, particularly a grade 6-12 audience, a dedicated team of teachers and curriculum developers from around the United States developed lesson plans that explore the database. Utilizing the various resources of the website, these lessons plans allow students to engage the history and legacy of the Atlantic slave trade in diverse and meaningful ways. The lessons also suggest readings for more information about the Slave Trade.
MassMoments Teacher Resources
Mass Moments resources consist of three units for high school, two for the
upper elementary and middle-school level, and suggestions for third-grade
classrooms, where Massachusetts history appears in the state frameworks for
history and social science.
New England Colonies’ Use of Slavery
A National Geographic lesson plan with language tailored for grades from 3-12+ that focuses on Colonial New England’s role in the history of American slavery.
How Slavery Persisted in New England Until the 19th Century
History article which details the integral role enslavement played in the creation of New England communities and their economies. Written in the wake of Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island’s acknowledgment of the state’s slave trade involvement and plantations, the article explains how slavery evolved in New England starting with early local statutes and through the expansion of maritime trade.
The Case for Ending Slavery
This website features more than fifty primary sources from the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Library of Congress that reveal how slavery, and debates about slavery, contributed to the formation of the United States. Lesson plans for teachers; Teaching with Primary Sources Grant Program; Slavery in Massachusetts and New England; The End of Slavery in Massachusetts; Massachusetts and the Debate over Slavery…
African American History of Boston in a Tour and Timeline
An article written by educator Lillie Marshall with images from the Black Boston Tour, led by President and Historian of the North End Historical Society, Alex Goldfeld. Included is Alex’s 2012 Black History Timeline from the tour, which highlights significant moments in Boston’s Black history from the city’s founding in 1630 through 1870.
The 1619 Project Curriculum
The 1619 Project, inaugurated with a special issue of The New York Times Magazine, challenges us to reframe U.S. history by marking the year when the first enslaved Africans arrived on Virginia soil as our nation’s foundational date. Here you will find reading guides, activities, and other resources to bring The 1619 Project into your classroom.
podcasts
Teaching Hard History Podcast: American Slavery
Scene on Radio: Seeing White
NPR’s Maine Calling “Maine’s Role in the Slave Trade: Research Uncovers Significant Slave Trading in New England” with Dr. Kate McMahon and Dr. Meadow Dibble
How Do You Teach Slavery?
From NPR’s 1A. Slavery played a major role in America’s development, but a new study shows students don’t know much about it. One recent textbook referred to enslaved people as ‘workers’ … which suggests some schools still struggle to teach this topic. It’s hard history, but is there an easy fix? And what’s at stake if it’s not figured out?