Students as Superheroes
- Who is a superhero?
- Someone who stands up for themselves and their community?
- Someone who fights the good fight?
- Someone who works for justice?
At Discovering Justice, we know that students are superheroes when they engage in issues in their communities.
 During a time when COVID-19 has thrown students off of their regular routines, and people across America are rallying against injustice, Discovering Justice has provided an opportunity for them to stand up and stand out.
Discovering Justiceâs Civics Superhero Contest asked students to get active and create a project that works for justice and/or supports others during COVID-19. We have received more than 100 submissions. Award winners will be announced July 1 and will be featured on Discovering Justiceâs website and social media.
Click here to see a sample of the submissions.
Discovering Justice in a Pandemic
Americaâs legal system often provides a framework and guidelines on how we address issues that impact our communities. From civil rights and environmental concerns to individual freedoms and the rights of corporations, the legal system can help us address issues that impact us all.
Educational Resources on Race and Inequality
Discovering Justiceâs Education Director Laura Brenner compiled this list of resources to support learning and facilitate conversations around race and racism in America.
Books For Students
- Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners
- A Childrenâs Booklist for Anti-racist Activism
- Race Cars: A childrenâs book about white privilege, Jenny Devenny
- BLM Instructional Library (online read alouds)
- If You Come Softly, Jacqueline Woodson
- NYTimes Anti-Racism Booklist for kids 0-12+
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Books by Black authors to for Adults:
General:
- The Classroom and the Cell: Conversations on Black Life in America, Marc Lamont Hill
- How to be an Antiracist, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander
- Nobody: Casualties of Americanâs War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond, Marc Lamont Hill
- The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
- The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
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- Stamped: Racism, Anti Racism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning, Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds *a YA remix (other Jason Reynoldâs YA books here)
- This Book is Anti-Racist, Tiffany Jewell *a YA book
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Specifically for Educators:
- Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, Zaretta Hamond
- We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom, Bettina L. Love
- Cultivating Genius, Dr. Gholdy Muhammad
- Other Peopleâs Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, Lisa Delpit
- Schooling for Critical Consciousness, Daren Graves & Scott Seider
- Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom,  Bell Hooks
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*Please consider purchasing these titles and others from Frugal Bookstore, a Black-owned community bookstore in Boston that DJ tries to support whenever possible.
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Articles
- Tens Steps to Non-Optical Allyship
- 11 Things To Do Besides Say â This Has To Stopâ In The Wake of Police Brutality
- Fredrck Douglass Used Photographs To Force The Nation To Begin Addressing Racism
- White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
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Video
- Talks to help you understand racism in America
- âHow Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassionâ
- Raising Antiracist Kids: Empowering the Next Generation of Changemakers
- âThe Danger of a Single Storyâ
Specifically for Educators:
- Abolitionist Teaching and the Future of Our Schools
- Cultivating Genius: An Equity Model for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy
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Podcasts
- RadioLab Presents: More Perfect, (WNYC Studios)
- 1619Â (The New York Times)
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Netflix Series
- 13th
- When They See Us
- The Racial Wealth Gap, Explained
- The Death & Life of Marsha P. Johnson
- Teach Us All
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Amazon Prime
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HBO
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Social Media Accounts:
Welcome Discovering Justiceâs New Executive Director
Discovering Justice is excited to welcome Matt Wilson as our new Executive Director.
Wilson has a three-decade history as a nonprofit executive in the Commonwealth, most recently finishing a seven-year stint as the founding Executive Director of MASSCreative, the stateâs advocacy group for the arts and creative community.
âMatt brings a history of building and managing nonprofits that educate, prepare, and engage students and Massachusetts residents in civic actions,â said Tony Jordan, board president of Discovering Justice. âWe are excited that he is bringing his energy, experience, and passion for positive change to Discovering Justice. Especially in the current environment, Matt is the kind of leader we need to take Discovering Justice into the future and best serve our constituents.â
For thirty-six years, Wilson built and ran community-based initiatives for a healthier and more vibrant Commonwealth. As a community organizer, public advocate, fundraiser, and trainer, Wilson has worked with residents to help them envision, realize, and build their capacity and power for change. He has led campaigns for a cleaner environment, affordable and accessible health care, and increased investment in the arts.
âI am excited about the opportunity to help grow Discovering Justiceâs programs that help students understand how the legal system works and how they can act to create a more just Massachusetts,â said Wilson. âThere has never been a more important time to engage in civic action and ensure that our democracy is vibrant and holds our leaders accountable. I look forward to working with our dedicated staff to continue Discovering Justiceâs two-decade-long history of working with judges, teachers, lawyers, and civic leaders to teach students about the judicial system and to work for justice.â
Wilson was the founding Executive Director of MASSCreative, the statewide advocacy voice for Massachusettsâ arts, cultural, and creative community. Under his direction, MASSCreative grew to more than 400 organizational members with 25,000 individuals taking part in public education and advocacy actions. In his tenure, arts funding in the Commonwealth doubled and his advocacy work helped implement state policies to increase access and participation to quality arts education.
As the Director of Toxics Action Center from 1989 to 2005, Wilson built the organization from scratch to a New England-wide resource for hundreds of neighborhoods working to protect themselves from pollution threats.
Wilson graduated from Dartmouth College earned a Masters of Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
2018-19 Volunteer Impact
This year, Discovering Justice volunteers conducted Courthouse tours for nearly 2,000 visitors, served over 3,000 students through our field trip program, and dedicated over 4,000 hours to after school programming.
A huge thank you to all of the incredible volunteers who worked with us in May and June.
Annapurna Balakrishna, Leciana Barbosa, Andrew Barreira, Kevin Boyle, David Brown, Sabrina Chartrand, Ain Clinto Cerbito, Jacky Chong, Priscilla Cobb, Alisa De Dominics, Garrick Dust, Dean Elwell, Mark Este, Jonathan Feinberg, Eric Fist, Elicia Flemming, Betsy Gabrielson, Claire Gardner, Lauren Godles-Milgroom, Nathalie Hart, Lisa Jacobson, Hervens Jean-Baptiste, Rachel Jellinek, Julia Jonas-Day, Anastassia Korin, Thomas Kreeger, Tim Krumreig, Cheryl Lomaglio-Puleio, Allyson Lowitz, Amy Mahler, Emmylou Manwill, Sarah Marshall, Rajon Mitchell, Jenn Mori, Katie Moxam, Yani Ngo, Lydia Nicholls, Claire Nivolla, Jane Peachy, Marrissa Persichini, Graham Porell, Taisha Richmond, Maryrose Robson, Shawn Rossier, Annabel Rodriguez, Karen Rutherford, Jasmine Sadeghani, Suzanne Schlossberg, Meaghan Sheridan, Hillary Sullivan, Xiaxoue Sun, Julie Thames, Jane Triano, Joe Veilleux, Harry Wang, Ning Yang, and Liuyang Yu
If youâre interested in working with the next generation of civic leaders and getting involved with our programs, contact Johnny Sadoff at jsadoff@discoveringjustice.flywheelsites.com