Connecticut state K-12 curriculum features Black Lives Matter, promotes ‘Anti-Racism’ and ‘Implicit Bias’

The Connecticut State Department of Education document titled “Connecticut Public Act No. 19-12: An Act Concerning the Inclusion of Black and Latino Studies in the Public School Curriculum” features Black Lives Matter and instructs students to “examine the ways that the legacies of slavery, white supremacy and settler colonialism continue to affect life in what is now the United States.”

The document states that the coursework will “provide students with tools to identify historic and contemporary tensions around race and difference” and “contribute to the critical consciousness and civic-mindedness competencies of a twenty-first century graduate.” The curriculum also incorporates “Social Justice Standards” from Learning for Justice.

The lesson plans include resources such as the video “Institutional racism in US explained through a Michael Jackson song” and the “What Racism Looks Like” graphic.

Lesson 6.5 features a three-day unit focusing on the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement and includes its history, how students can be engaged in activism for the movement, and reparations. Following the day one lesson, students are required to reflect upon and write a response to a prompt including “Does the Black Lives Matter Movement inspire you to think about getting involved in activism on issues that are important to you? How so?” and “How will they dismantle, but more importantly rebuild outside of Eurocentric model?”

The BLM unit also includes the “Incorporating Black Lives Matter in a Science Classroom” document. The linked presentation on environmental science focuses on teaching students about “environmental justice” and food insecurity.

Additional lesson plan materials and resources linked in the document include sites such as libcom.org (Libertarian Communism), the Zinn Education Project, and the Black Lives Matter website.