PBS LearningMedia resources on race, racism, protests, civil rights and more

Arizona PBS education staff has collected resources from PBS LearningMedia to support educators and families while discussing race, racism, protesting, civil rights, Black history and historical individuals, bias, past and current events, and more. These resources are free and open for all to use. If you have any questions about these tools, please contact Arizona PBS education and community impact at [email protected].

Please note: This is not an exhaustive list of resources. These educational materials are to be used in conjunction with other resources, conversations, and instruction to provide the most complete context for students. These resources are appropriate for middle and high school students, unless otherwise noted.

As with all educational materials, please preview these resources prior to utilizing with students to check for appropriateness.

Download this list as a PDF here.

Protests

Peaceful Protests
Protest and Politics
American Experience: Freedom Riders | The Tactic
Freedom Rides of 1961
March on Washington | Racial Equity: How Far Have We Come and How Far Do We Still Need to Go?
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Theater as Protest
Protests at the White House
Youth Explain Why They March
Art for Change
Decisions in the Streets
Whose Streets?

Black History & Historical Individuals

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross
Georgia’s Black History Collection
Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise
Coded Geographies: The Green Book | South Central Civic Action
Lorraine Hansberry: A Raisin in the Sun: Jim Crow, Home Ownership, and the American Dream
East Lake Meadows: Redlining | Stereotyping and the Narrative of the Welfare Queen
The Lowdown: How Many Americans Live in Poverty, and What Does That Actually Mean? | What You Need to Know About Gentrification
A New Gilded Age: Income Inequality in the United States Today
Finding Your Roots: Ruth Simmons | Maya Rudolph | Sean Combs | Valerie Jarrett | Derek Jeter | Courtney B. Vance | Condoleeza Rice | Samuel L. Jackson | John Lewis | Wanda Sykes
American Icons: Malcom X | Rosa Parks | Muhammed Ali | Sojourner Truth | George Washington Carver | Martin Luther King Jr. | Jackie Robinson
American Masters: James Baldwin | Maya Angelou | Lorraine Hansberry | August Wilson | Zora Neale Hurston | Bill T. Jones | Sammy Davis Jr. | Ralph Ellison

Race

What is “Race”?
Race & Jazz in New Orleans
Is Race Real?
America After Ferguson: America and Race
The Talk: Race in America

Riots of the Past

The Atlanta Riot
1964: Anger in Harlem
Wilmington, North Carolina, 1898: Prelude to a Riot
The Harlem Riot
The Atlanta Race Riot of 1906
The Lowdown: Police, Race and Unrest in America’s Cities
Riots & the Birth of Black Television
Wilmington: A Peaceful City Turned Violent

Bias

Confronting Bias
Who, Me? Biased?: Understanding Implicit Bias
Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle: Objectivity and Bias in Journalism
The Lowdown: How Good Are You at Detecting Bias?
And Then They Came For Us: Confronting Bias and Hate

Civil Rights

Civil Rights: Then & Now
The Supreme Court: Civil Rights & Civil Liberties
Civil Rights
American Experience: Civil Rights
The Lowdown: The Unfinished Business from the March on Washington and the Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Landscape Today for People of Color
The Economic Impact of Racial Discrimination

Current Events & News

Frontline

How the Deck is Stacked?
Investigating the Newark Police Department
Perspectives on Police Encounters
The Return of School Segregation in Eight Charts
Separate and Unequal | School Integration

Exploring Racial Barriers at NASA
PBS NewsHour Daily News Story

Above the Noise

Affirmative Action: Should Race Be a Factor in College Admissions?
Why Are Schools Still So Segregated?
How Do Algorithms Predict Criminal Behavior?

News and Media Literacy

Resources for Adults Working with Young Children

PBS Parents

How to Teach Young Children about Cultural Awareness & Diversity
Learning to Appreciate Diversity Through Play
Celebrate Family Diversity
Talking to Kids: Families Come in All Shapes and Sizes
Play Pretend: How to Include Others
How to Teach Your Child to Be An “Includer”
7 Ways for Kids to Learn Empathy Through Acting
Creating an Emotionally Supportive Home Environment

PBS NewsHour

6 Books to Read with Your Kids That Celebrate Differences and Diversity

The Talk

It’s Never Too Early to Talk to Your Kids About Race
How One Parent Talks to His Biracial Kids About Race

Non-PBS Resources

Teaching Tolerance: Race & Ethnicity
The Conscious Kid: Antiracist Children’s Books
We Need Diverse Books
The Zinn Education Project: Explore by Time Period | If We Knew Our History
Social Justice Books: Curated Booklists | See What We See: Children’s and Young Adult Book Reviews | Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books