This professional learning series provides a historical, conceptual, and practical foundation for Ethnic Studies educators. Each session includes slides, videos, readings, and interactive activities to explore key themes such as resistance, liberation, healing, power, privilege, race, identity, and systemic oppression. Participants engage in curriculum design, develop student-centered inquiry questions, and gain tools for fostering civic engagement and critical consciousness in the classroom.

Session 1: Foundations in Ethnic Studies

This session provides a historical foundation for Ethnic Studies, tracing its roots to the Third World Liberation Front and the fight for educational justice. Educators explore key concepts, course outcomes, and civic engagement strategies, equipping them with practical tools for curriculum design.

Session Resources

• Slides: Foundations in Ethnic Studies, Wheel of Power & Privilege, Problem Analysis Activity
• Videos: Session Video (Raw)
• Readings: School of Ethnic Area Studies (Third World Liberation Front, 1968), Handout: Wheel of Power

Session 2: Race & Identity

This session examines race, indigeneity, and identity in Ethnic Studies. Educators analyze intersectionality, cultural wealth, and student voice to develop student-centered curricula that reflect diverse experiences and histories.

Session Resources

• Slides: Race & Identity, Course Map Template, Power Flower Resource
• Videos: The Urgency of Intersectionality (Kimberlé Crenshaw – TED Talk), Being Multiracial in America (NY Times)
• Readings: Ethnic Studies Concept Sorting Document, What is Ethnic Studies Pedagogy?, Community & Cultural Wealth Excerpt

Session 3: Power & Privilege

This session explores power, privilege, and positionality in historical and contemporary contexts. Educators engage in privilege mapping, settler colonialism analysis, and power structure critiques to foster student self-awareness and critical consciousness.

Session Resources

Slides: Power & Privilege, Locations of Power

Videos: How to Understand Power (Eric Liu – TED Talk), Privilege vs Oppression (Diverse City)

Readings: American Settler Colonialism, Native Land Finder, Histories of Colonization Padlet

Session 4: Systems of Oppression

This session examines how systemic oppression functions, focusing on power structures, marginalization, and resistance strategies. Educators analyze the 4 I’s of Oppression, critique systemic inequalities, and explore healing-centered engagement as an instructional framework.

Session Resources

• Slides: Systems of Oppression, Expressions of Power, Location of Power – Lavender Scare
• Videos: Legos and the 4 I’s of Oppression (Eliana Pipes), Recorded Workshop
• Readings: The 4 I’s of Oppression, The Future of Healing, Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination

Session 5: Resistance, Liberation & Healing

This session introduces solidarity, resistance, and healing as core principles of Ethnic Studies. Educators explore historical and contemporary examples of collective action, engage in case studies, and develop strategies for teaching civic engagement and student activism.

Session Resources

• Slides: Resistance, Liberation & Healing, Manifestos for a Just Society, Integrated Action Civics Project
• Videos: Link to video (Raw)
• Readings: Solidarity Case Study Padlet, Youth Participatory Action Research Excerpt, Ethnic Studies Course Outline Form