Charlottesville Resources
compiled by Erica Pernell
Part 1: Key Questions about Charlottesville
This section contains a series of frequently asked questions about what happened in Charlottesville on Friday, August 11 and Saturday, August 12 and the groups involved. The answers to the FAQs are direct quotes from linked sources that contain a wealth of information. At the end of the FAQ section, you will find additional links if you’d like to continue learning about specific aspects of this moment in our history.
Part 2: Best Practices for Teaching and Talking with Young People
Part 2 contains best practices for teaching and talking with young people. This section begins with content that is more general and could be applied to the teaching of any difficult topic. You’ll find content that is specific to teaching about Charlottesville at the very end of the section.
Part 1: Key Questions about Charlottesville
What happened in Charlottesville?
On Friday, August 11, hundreds of marchers descended on the University of Virginia carrying torches and Nazi flags while yelling white supremacist and nationalist phrases and Nazi slogans. This march preceded a rally planned for Saturday, August 12. This rally, known as “Unite the Right,” was organized by Jason Kessler, a former journalist and “white rights activist,” to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. After several skirmishes between rallygoers and anti-racist counter-protesters, the Governor declared a state of emergency and cancelled the rally. Hours later, a vehicle driven by one of the rallygoers plowed into a crowd of marching counter-protesters. One woman, Heather Heyer, was killed and 19 people were injured. This was deemed an act of domestic terrorism by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
For more information: Recounting a day of rage, hate, violence, and death, Washington Post
Why Charlottesville?
Confronting White Supremacy: Lessons from a Counter Rally at the Birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan:
Part of the reason that the Klan is coming back is because of the city council vote to remove the Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee statues from two public parks in the area. The Klan has a really long and intimate history with those statues. The Klan was formed [in Charlottesville] in 1921 at Thomas Jefferson's grave at Monticello. So, they are very closely tied with a long history that goes all the way back to the founding of the United States as a sovereign nation in terms of the history of white supremacy.
Then, the Klan, with various supporters, put up these statues. They were actually put up overlooking what, at the time, were two prominent Black communities as a way to intimidate people of color and Jews and immigrants in the area. They served as a kind of warning. In a lot of ways, the Klan coming back today to this particular park and to rally around this statue was a kind of homecoming for them and shows us the ties between historical white supremacy and its persistence in the city to this day.
What is the context and history of Confederate statues in Charlottesville?
While there was a surge of Confederate memorialization directly succeeding the end of the Civil War, all of the Confederate monuments in Charlottesville, and many in other Southern cities, were installed in the 1920s as a way to materialize and reinforce Jim Crow within the expanding townscape.
What is white supremacy?
Associated Press (adapted):
The racist belief that whites are superior to people of color used to justify political, economic and social suppression of people of color and other minority groups.
What is White Nationalism?
“A subset of racist beliefs that calls for a separate territory and/or enhanced legal rights and protections for white people. Critics accuse white nationalists of being white supremacists in disguise.”
White nationalist groups espouse white supremacist or white separatist ideologies, often focusing on the alleged inferiority of non-whites. Groups listed in a variety of other categories - Ku Klux Klan, neo-Confederate, neo-Nazi, racist skinhead, and Christian Identity - could also be fairly described as "white nationalist." These groups range from those that use racial slurs and issue calls for violence to others that present themselves as serious, non-violent organizations and employ the language of academia.
What is the alt-right?
A political grouping or tendency mixing racism, white nationalism, anti-Semitism and populism; a name currently embraced by some white supremacists and white nationalists to refer to themselves and their ideology, which emphasizes preserving and protecting the white race in the United States.
The Alternative Right, commonly known as the Alt-Right, is a set of far-right ideologies, groups and individuals whose core belief is that “white identity” is under attack by multicultural forces using “political correctness” and “social justice” to undermine white people and “their” civilization. Characterized by heavy use of social media and online memes, Alt-Righters eschew “establishment” conservatism, skew young, and embrace white ethno-nationalism as a fundamental value.
What is the alt-left?
Alt-Right, Alt-Left, Antifa: A Glossary of Extremist Language, New York Times:
Researchers who study extremist groups in the United States say there is no such thing as the “alt-left.” Mark Pitcavage, an analyst at the Anti-Defamation League, said the word had been made up to create a false equivalence between the far right and “anything vaguely left-seeming that they didn’t like.”
“In 2016, The Washington Post made a similar argument, saying “alt-left” is used as “a way to point out that there are also extremists on the left,” but said the term has been “coined by its opponents and doesn’t actually have any subscribers.”
Who are the antifa?
“Shorthand for anti-fascists, an umbrella description for the far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations and other events.”
Alt-Right, Alt-Left, Antifa: A Glossary of Extremist Language, New York Times:
“For some so-called antifa members, the goal is to physically confront white supremacists. “If they can get at them, to assault them and engage in street fighting,” Mr. Pitcavage said. Mr. Lenz, at the Southern Poverty Law Center, called the group “an old left-wing extremist movement.””
Who are the Antifa?, Washington Post:
...radical pan-leftist politics of social revolution applied to fighting the far right. Its adherents are predominantly communists, socialists and anarchists who reject turning to the police or the state to halt the advance of white supremacy. Instead they advocate popular opposition to fascism as we witnessed in Charlottesville.
More resources:
The Charlottesville Syllabus: Extensive background, history, and context
The Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of Democracy: Lessons from Facing History
3 Angles to the Confederate Monument Controversy: Lessons from Facing History
The whole point of Confederate monuments is to celebrate white supremacy: Washington Post
We Need to Start Telling the Truth about White Supremacy in Our Schools - Discriminology
Part 2: Best Practices for Teaching and Talking with Young People
“My goal as an educator is not to make you feel safe. It is to make you feel safe in your discomfort.”
- Irshad Manji
Thoughts on Balance and Truth from NPR Tries to Get its Pressthink Right:
Our goal is not to please those whom we report on or to produce stories that create the appearance of balance, but to seek the truth. Our primary consideration when presenting the news is that we are fair to the truth. If our sources try to mislead us or put a false spin on the information they give us, we tell our audience. If the balance of evidence in a matter of controversy weighs heavily on one side, we acknowledge it in our reports. A report characterized by false balance is a false report. It introduces a new and potentially powerful concept of fairness: being "fair to the truth," which as we know is not always evenly distributed among the sides in a public dispute.
Characteristics of Effective Courageous Conversations in Classrooms
Universal physical & emotional safety: Free from harassment & harassing behaviors.
Minds open to different ways of thinking.
Controversy and discomfort with civility.
Exploration of concepts & ideas that push against comfort boundaries.
Challenge by choice.
Complete acknowledgment of experiences, especially those of oppressed groups.
Planning & Facilitating Courageous Conversations
Provide clear guidelines (see below).
Start with purpose & pitfalls. Be clear about what is acceptable vs. unacceptable.
Be prepared to pause the conversation to apply guidelines.
Write intentional, objective-driven prompts & provide modeling/examples.
Prepare and provide strong, informed facilitation with equitable perspectives.
Study the guidelines and the topic extensively.
Include voices of color and voices of other marginalized groups through the use of video, audio, and literature. In majority-white spaces especially, don’t rely on students of color to provide essential viewpoints through revealing their personal experiences and thoughts.
Build in opportunities for reflection.
Time to think: After reading prompts & examples always provide total silence for a period of time to allow students to think or write before speaking.
Journaling and reflective writing: before, during, and after.
Maintain an equitable, organized structure for discussion.
Serial testimony: Each person has an equal amount of time to speak (1-3 minutes). When each person speaks, the rest of the group listens silently. Can be done with whole class or in smaller groups. Optional: conclude with informal crosstalk.
Paper passing/Silent discussion: Students share and discuss topics through writing, reading, and responding to each other on paper.
Monitor which voices are prominent. Intentionally make space for less prominent voices to come out.
Manage time and social dynamics.
Use a timer or a clock.
Create collaborative class agreements.
Manage power distribution.
Sample Community Norms (aka Discussion Guidelines)
Honor confidentiality.
Speak from the “I” perspective.
Listen to understand vs. listen to respond.
Accept the speaker's viewpoint as true for the speaker in the moment.
Be willing to admit mistakes and take risks.
Own both intent and impact.
Be fully present.
Lean into discomfort. Be willing to have the tough, candid, caring, courageous conversation.
Be crisp, say what is core.
Accept working through conflict to its resolution as a catalyst for learning.
Teaching & Talking about Charlottesville, Race, and Racism
Four tips for talking to kids about White Supremacism - by Sivan Zakai
The Dos and Dont’s of Talking to Kids of Color about White Supremacy - Colorlines
Lessons to Teach and Learn from 'Unite the Right' - Anti-Defamation League
Why do Confederate monuments crumple so easily? - 3 minute video on history of mass-produced Confederate monuments
Let’s Talk: A Guide & Webinar to Discussing Race, Racism, and Other Difficult Topics With Students - Teaching Tolerance (you must make a free account to access this)