In the Epilogue to his book, How the Word Is Passed, Clint Smith writes:The history of slavery is the history of the United States.It was not peripheral to our founding; it was central to it. It is not irrelevant to our contemporary society; it created it.This history is in our soil, it is in our policies, and it must, too, be in our memories.One of the ways this foundational history enters our memories is through the classroom. That is why we are delighted How the Word Is Passed will be available in a YA edition.Join us for class with Clint Smith on August 25. He will be interviewed by Jesse Hagopian and Jessica Rucker.ASL interpretation and PD certificates will be provided. Twenty-five attendees, randomly selected, will receive a free copy of the book.
Kick off the school year with a practical and inspiring look at how to bring high-quality civic education into your classroom from day one. Join our 60-minute virtual program on Tuesday, August 26, at 7 p.m. ET and get a roadmap for launching the Center for Civic Education’s We the People and Project Citizen programs. The session will feature scholar and political scientist Dr. Francene Engel, along with two experienced mentor teachers, who will share proven strategies for engaging students in constitutional principles, democratic practices, and real-world problem solving. Dr. Engel is an expert in American constitutional law, civil rights and liberties, constitutional theory, women and the law, and American government. She excels at making complex constitutional issues understandable to everyone.
Studying the Constitution is essential — especially now, as constitutional rights are increasingly under attack.
Each September, schools across the country celebrate Constitution Day — students create posters praising the document, watch patriotic videos, or recite the Preamble — rather than engage in critical inquiry. These rituals present the Constitution as a sacred text, not a document created and amended through struggle.
Students rarely learn who the Constitution was written for — and who was excluded. They are taught to revere the document as the cornerstone of democracy, not to question its origins or its limits.
Today, powerful figures wield the Constitution — and undermine it — in ways that intensify profound harms across the country. It is essential that students know their rights: not just to pass a test, but to protect themselves. They should learn that throughout U.S. history, people have fought to expand the rights the Constitution promises, and to demand the rights it omits. Constitution Day should not be a celebration of myth, but an invitation to think critically.
The schools that receive federal funding are mandated to teach about the Constitution on Constitution Day (September 17). So, let’s do that. Let’s engage young people in an active study of the Constitution.
We encourage teachers to use Constitution Day to do one or more of the activities outlined here.
Sign up to participate — let’s make our commitment to teaching truthfully visible and contagious. (Not a teacher? We suggest ways you can support the campaign and defend the freedom to learn.)
We are proud to launch the Kirby Edmonds Fellowship Campaign, one of our most important fundraisers of the year. Centered around the theme “The Future is Now: Shaping the Next Generation of Human Rights Leaders,” this campaign reflects our belief that investing in young leaders today is essential to building a more just and equitable tomorrow.
The campaign supports the Kirby Edmonds Summer Fellowships, created to honor the remarkable legacy of Kirby Edmonds, a founding member of Human Rights Educators USA and a lifelong advocate for social justice. These fellowships provide emerging human rights education leaders with invaluable mentorship and hands-on experience.
Your donation will go directly toward funding the training and mentorship of Edmonds Fellows for Summer 2026. Each fellowship costs us $2,000. This year, we are proud to support four Edmonds Fellows, and with your help, we hope to expand these transformative opportunities to even more young leaders next year.
To encourage a new generation of human rights activists, the 2025 Youth in Action for Human Rights Awards recognize youth leaders, one individual and one group, whose work explicitly or implicitly reflects and promotes human rights values. Because young activists must nominate themselves for the awards, HRE USA urges adults familiar with their work to urge them to apply.
The 2025 O’Brien Awards recognize an individual and an organization that has made a significant contribution to human rights education in the United States.
The 9th annual Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In, hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in collaboration with Teaching for Change, is an opportunity for educators to convene in person and strategize on uplifting Native voices directly into the classroom.
Teachers select two workshop sessions that include relevant and resource-rich experiences to support effective use of NMAI-NYC exhibitions, American Indian-focused classroom lessons, and resources from Teaching for Change and NMAI. Cost is $20 and includes morning coffee, lunch, and professional development credit.
Thanks to a generous donor, every attendee will receive a copy of Why You Can’t Teach United States History without American Indians.
Can’t make it to the in-person event hosted in New York City?Join us for an online teach-in. Teaching for Change and NMAI museum educators will share key concepts from NMAI’s Essential Understandings Framework, children’s literature from Social Justice Books, lessons from the Zinn Education Project, and classroom materials from NMAI’s Native Knowledge 360° education initiative. Register
This administration is promoting the upcoming 250th anniversary of the American Revolution as a time to celebrate “a new era of American greatness.”
U.S. history textbooks and standards are plastered with the country’s founding documents, so-called “Charters of Freedom”: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It is important that young people study these texts so they can better understand and act upon the system of government they have inherited. In most cases, however, the curricular charge accompanying these documents discourages critical thinking. Instead, they and their authors must be celebrated, if not worshipped.
In the face of the racial justice uprisings of 2020, the Trump administration doubled down on this approach with a glaringly whitewashed “1776 Commission.”
And state lawmakers have flooded legislatures with bills that outlaw teaching the history of racism or sexism, while insisting upon the “study” of founding documents. These measures demand that teachers and students never question the ruling class that founded this country — nor the one at the helm today.
For over a decade, the Speak Truth to Power video contest has empowered students to use filmmaking as a tool for social change. Screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, these films shine a light on pressing human rights issues and celebrate the defenders working to create change across the nation. “The STTP video contest has changed the lives and perspectives of my students,” shared Robin Kovat, a teacher at James Madison HS, Brooklyn. “So many have told me that now, as a result of this project, they look at the world differently.”
These student-made documentaries don’t just raise awareness; they drive real action and advocacy. Students interested in participating should submit their films for consideration by May 3, 2026.
HRE USA 