Crafting Freedom Institute

Please check out the Zinn Education Project webpage.https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Not-Allowed-to-Teach-About-Juneteenth.html?soid=1101431245776&aid=CQrrhTrHee4

One district's response to a Directive from the new Director of the Dept. of Education:
April 8, 2025
To Whom It May (Unfortunately) Concern at the U.S. Department of Education:
Thank you for your April 3 memorandum, which I read several times — not because it was legally persuasive, but because I kept checking to see if it was satire. Alas, it appears you are serious.
You’ve asked me, as superintendent of a public school district, to sign a "certification" declaring that we are not violating federal civil rights law — by, apparently, acknowledging that civil rights issues still exist. You cite Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, then proceed to argue that offering targeted support to historically marginalized students is somehow discriminatory.
That’s not just legally incoherent — it’s a philosophical Möbius strip of bad faith.
Let me see if I understand your logic:
If we acknowledge racial disparities, that’s racism.
If we help English learners catch up, that’s favoritism.
If we give a disabled child a reading aide, we’re denying someone else the chance to struggle equally.
And if we train teachers to understand bias, we’re indoctrinating them — but if we train them to ignore it, we’re “restoring neutrality”?
How convenient that your sudden concern for “equal treatment” seems to apply only when it’s used to silence conversations about race, identity, or inequality.
Let’s talk about our English learners. Would you like us to stop offering translation services during parent-teacher conferences? Should we cancel bilingual support staff to avoid the appearance of “special treatment”? Or would you prefer we just teach all content in English and hope for the best, since acknowledging linguistic barriers now counts as discrimination?
And while we’re at it — what’s your official stance on IEPs? Because last I checked, individualized education plans intentionally give students with disabilities extra support. Should we start removing accommodations to avoid offending the able-bodied majority? Maybe cancel occupational therapy altogether so no one feels left out?
If a student with a learning disability receives extended time on a test, should we now give everyone extended time, even if they don’t need it? Just to keep the playing field sufficiently flat and unthinking?
Your letter paints equity as a threat. But equity is not the threat. It’s the antidote to decades of failure. Equity is what ensures all students have a fair shot. Equity is what makes it possible for a child with a speech impediment to present at the science fair. It’s what helps the nonverbal kindergartner use an AAC device. It’s what gets the newcomer from Ukraine the ESL support she needs without being left behind.
And let’s not skip past the most insulting part of your directive — the ten-day deadline. A national directive sent to thousands of districts with the subtlety of a ransom note, demanding signatures within a week and a half or else you’ll cut funding that supports... wait for it... low-income students, disabled students, and English learners.
Brilliant. Just brilliant. A moral victory for bullies and bureaucrats everywhere.
So no, we will not be signing your “certification.”
We are not interested in joining your theater of compliance.
We are not interested in gutting equity programs that serve actual children in exchange for your political approval.
We are not interested in abandoning our legal, ethical, and educational responsibilities to satisfy your fear of facts.
We are interested in teaching the truth.
We are interested in honoring our students’ identities.
We are interested in building a school system where no child is invisible, and no teacher is punished for caring too much.
And yes — we are prepared to fight this. In the courts. In the press. In the community. In Congress, if need be. Because this district will not be remembered as the one that folded under pressure. We will be remembered as the one that stood its ground — not for politics, but for kids.
Sincerely,
District Superintendent
Still Teaching. Still Caring. Still Not Signing.

Thank you Bruce Levy for the share of this.

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We have got to find ways to stand up to such threats and manipulations that hurt teachers and their ability to educate at the K-12 levels. And mostly, such policies and practices HURT KIDS.

According to the Zinn Education Project 3/4 of the teachers in the country are feeling "the chilling effect" of the so-called CRT bans and "Anti-Woke" legislations and attitudes. If you are one of those feeling the "chill" let us hear from you. If you would rather share via messaging or on the phone, (919 724 2316) we'd love to hear from you. With best wishes for you in 2025 !

Black History Month Greetings from all of us at CFI ! We are pleased to announce that long-term CFI historian and advisor Dr. Peter H. Wood has recently published a "re-boot" of his classic study of slavery in colonial South Carolina, BLACK MAJORITY. It has been updated with recent research findings and clarifications. I couldn't imagine such a great work of history getting better, but the updates are amazing and it is better than ever! You can order it on-line and retail book sellers. Mostly we learn about the Black historical experience during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, but this study provides a window into how slavery "came into being" in a major colony. We learn that the Black Majority's skills in rice growing were essential to the cultivation of rice in South Carolina and became the major cash crop that enabled the colony to prosper. Black Majority also examines the myriad ways enslaved Africans resisted their captivity from the moment they arrived on American shores. I was particularly impressed by the vast array of primary sources Dr. Wood includes and how sources such as runaway slave ads provide a very "vivid snap shot" of what enslaved people were actually doing on a day to day basis and how they were resisting their captivity in myriad ways. Fans of using Runaway Slave ads in their teaching will find some excellent ones in the chapter on fugitive slaves. There are even series of fugitive slave ads in the same newspaper on the same individual fugitive, which suggest many "teaching possibilities."

On Friday we said "farewell" to the Apprend House on Alston Avenue in the Research Triangle Park neighborhood. This was the home of the Crafting Freedom Institute ( previously the Apprend Foundation) for 22 years. Covid made us aware we don't need such a large office space for the foundation which has become a more "virtual organization." But it was sad to say good bye to such a great old house which saw a lot of wonderful people come and go. It served us well.

If in New York City in April or May of 2023, check out this Crafting Freedom exhibit on little known Black 18th century potter, Thomas Commeraw at the New York Historical Society The exhibit is not affiliated with CFI although we recommended lessons and materials from the Crafting Freedom website for the exhibit's teacher professional development.

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw | New-York Historical Society The first exhibition to bring overdue attention to a skilled craftsman whose racial identity was long overlooked.

“The CRT bans are having a chilling effect on the kind of deep teaching CFI enables.’” Lisa Guernesy, Senior Fellow & Strategic Advisor, Education Policy Program, New America Foundation - Washington, DC

Greetings Everyone! We apologize for being away from Facebook for so long! It has been a very tough couple of years for CFI, because of Covid and also because of the politically motivated efforts to silence educators and educational organizations committed to telling the truth about American slavery and the role race and racism have played in our nation's history. We hope to be much more vocal on FB in the coming year! This is a time for all of us - educators committed to integrating African American history and culture into the K-12 curriculum - to be vocal! So please stay tuned and please share your thoughts/ experiences ! Here's a panel discussion on the Fight Against Black History we found to be particularly enlightening. Feedback welcome! Stay tuned for more!

The Fight over Black History: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Khalil Gibran Muhammad & E. Patrick Johnson We host a roundtable discussion with three leading Black scholars about the College Board's decision to revise its curriculum for an Advanced Placement cours...

The Crafting Freedom Institute in collaboration with Carolina K-12 is pleased to announce to a two-part webinar series being offered later this month! This event is free thanks to support from the North Carolina Humanities and the North Caroliniana Society. Register now at bit.ly/MosesRoper

Nellie "Chubb's" Miles of the Crafting Freedom Institute , passed away in her sleep Friday night due to an aneurysm. "Ms. Chubb's", born in 1944, was a traditional seamstress and fashion designer who served as a presenter at the NEH-funded Crafting Freedom Workshops ( 2004-2017) which brought over 1000 teachers from around the nation to NC to study the era of slavery and its on-going impacts. "Ms. Chubb's" rich, detailed stories about growing up in generational to***co sharecropping in the 1940s were "living history" one can't get from textbooks or film documentaries. She was a gifted story-teller who made you feel what it was like to walk in her shoes whether she was putting worms on the hook of her grandmother's fishing pole or dodging stray bullets when her family was being terrorized by White neighbors driving around in a pick-up truck and shooting their guns in the air. She passed away in a bed that teachers in the 2017 Crafting Freedom Workshop helped her to buy. She casually mentioned to one of them she needed a better bed and a collection was immediately taken up! She was so proud of her new bed! The generosity of teachers is ever present.

A magnificent human being, mother, grand-mother, great grand-mother, mentor, life-changing teacher and loving, faithful friend is gone from this earth. Yet she will live on forever in the hearts or the thousands of teachers and students whose lives she impacted

There will be an opportunity to view her body this coming Saturday, July 18th at Sassafrass Grove Baptist Church in Yanceyville, NC between 3:00 - 6:00 PM. Due to COVID-19, only 10 persons at a time will be allowed in the church and both masks and gloves will be required. For more information, see the obituary at :
https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/16978632/Nellie-Chubb-Miles

A memorial celebration of her life will be held on her birthday next year : June 13, 2021 post COVID-19 (hopefully! )

https://fee.org/articles/why-you-should-read-what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july-to-your-kids/

Why You Should Read “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” to Your Kids | Kerry McDonald As we celebrate the Fourth of July holiday and share the Declaration of Independence with our children, let’s remember to also share Frederick Douglass’s speech as a reminder that championing freedom for all may have imperfectly begun in 1776 but must always be ongoing.

Apr. 16, 1848 | Enslaved Africans Attempt Escape in Washington, D.C.; Later Captured, Punished Learn more about this history of racial injustice.

This heartfelt letter, written by Harriet Jacobs, was published in The Liberator on this day in 1863.

To learn more about Jacob's amazing story and how to share it with your students visit http://www.craftingfreedom.org/jacobs/

Harriet Jacobs' report "Colored Refugees in Our Camps" The Liberator, April 10, 1863 Harriet Jacobs' report "Colored Refugees in Our Camps" The Liberator, April 10, 1863