I’m pleased to share the video from the final speaker in the Literacies of Contemporary Civic Life series at CSU. Two weeks ago, Linda Christensen visited our campus to present:
The Tulsa Race Riot: Raising Voices Silenced by History
The past is not dead, and it needs to be remembered for students to understand contemporary patterns of wealth and poverty, privilege and marginalization. Our curriculum should equip students to “talk back” to the world. Students must learn to pose essential critical questions: Who makes decisions and who is left out? Who benefits and who suffers? What are the origins of today’s problems? What alternatives can we imagine? What is required to create change? In this presentation, Christensen will engage participants in an examination of a historical event from eyewitness accounts to revisit the history of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. Through this workshop, she will demonstrate how she uses “silences” in history to construct solid literacy practices including persuasive essays and historical fiction, building a framework for critical literacy that helps students navigate an increasingly unequal world.
The presentation was largely an interactive activity, so I did my best to take you-the viewer-on a tour of the various voices heard during the presentation. I hope you get a chance to watch!