Apply for the 2022 Sharing History Initiative to amplify marginalized voices.
The Sharing History Initiative introduces oral history and social justice storytelling to under-resourced classrooms and communities around the United States by providing educators, organizations, and advocates with free Voice of Witness books and free corresponding curricula. VOW’s Sharing History Initiative is geared toward public schools, community colleges, and universities, as well as arts, education, advocacy, or community-based nonprofits.
This national book placement program has placed 5,500 copies of our books in almost 200 schools and organizations around the US since 2015, and offers a dynamic approach for teaching and learning about our most pressing human rights issues.
This year, the Sharing History Initiative is offering free sets of VOW’s two latest books and corresponding teaching resources.
Many educators and advocates are searching for resources that explore racial injustice, climate disaster, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through personal narrative. That’s why the Sharing History Initiative will offer FREE teaching resources and sets of either:
Mi María: Surviving the Storm, Voices from Puerto Rico — The latest in our oral history series, this book shares stories of the aftermath of Hurricane María that explore what it means to be a US citizen in a colonial context and how communities come together in the wake of climate disaster.
Unheard Voices of the Pandemic — This booklet features narratives from refugees, farmworkers, incarcerated folks, and others impacted by injustice, illustrating the ways in which the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequities.
VOW’s corresponding lesson plans for Mi María provide an opportunity for students and teachers to learn about the issues Puerto Ricans are facing, and the social, cultural, and historical forces that inform these experiences. The lesson plans support learning about colonialism, globalization, the climate crisis, and interrelated issues: representation and cultural identity, unjust economic policies, access to resources, migration, disaster response, and more.
The corresponding discussion questions for Unheard Voices of the Pandemic offer a jumping off point for groups to explore the varied impacts of COVID-19 on individuals and communities.
For advocates and organizations, these first-person stories and resources can serve as powerful advocacy tools in your work to advance racial justice, climate change, and equity.
Applications open on May 1st! Learn more and apply here.
The Sharing History Initiative is made possible with the generous support of the Germanacos Foundation and the Abundance Foundation.
