Massachusetts Teachers Association conference includes workshops on “Considering Marxism,” “Anti-Blackness in Schools,” and “Gender Diversity in Multilingual Classrooms”

The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) has announced that the union’s 2025 Summer Conference will take place July 27-30 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The keynote speakers are known left-wing political activists Cornel West, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Maurice “Moe” Mitchell. The conference notably has a workshop for attendees called “Considering Marxism” for teachers to share “what they have heard, question the validity, and explore the advantages and disadvantages of this perspective.” The description asks: “Is this a method of analysis and activism that can empower our organizing?”

An entire category of workshops is labeled as “Anti-Oppression.” Topics for workshops in this category include “Using Literature for Challenging Conversations,” “LatinX Heritage: History, Identity and Cultural Complexities,” “Equitable Assessment of Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Students,” “Anti-Blackness in Schools,” “Fighting for Immigrant Rights,” “A Critical Exploration of Colonization & Intersectionality,” and “Gender Diversity in Multilingual Classrooms.”

The goal of the “Anti-Blackness in Schools” workshop is to focus “on concrete steps to establish Black-affirming educational spaces” and to advance “racial justice by identifying how anti-Blackness impacts schools (in curriculum, discipline, etc.) while also providing actionable, culturally-relevant approaches that educators can use to lift up Black youth.”

The “Fighting for Immigrant Rights” workshop is to help teachers protect illegal aliens: “Learn how local educator unions and members across Massachusetts have responded to the immigration crisis in our communities through safe schools resolutions, partnerships with community organizations and Know Your Rights resource distribution in schools and on campus.”

The “Gender Diversity in Multilingual Classrooms” workshop is to cover how “queer culture and characters are not often included for a variety of reasons, even though queer individuals exist in all cultures” because “students who are a part of that community need to see themselves as well.”