Online Content Session – Era Eight: Civil Rights Struggles
April 2, 2026 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm CDT
Go beyond the 1960s to explore long civil rights movements, from the Great Migration to Black Power, and their relevance for students today. Led by Dr. Yohuru Williams and moderated by Dr. Katharine Gerbner, this session will provide deep historical context, source analysis, and thematic framing.
View Dr. Yohuru Williams’s Bio
Dr. Yohuru Williams is a Distinguished University Chair, Professor and the Founding Director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas. A noted scholar of the civil rights and black power movements, an education activist and frequent national commentator, he is an important voice on the topics of race and social justice.
Dr. Williams holds a joint appointment in the Department of History and the School of Law. As a Distinguished University Chair, he helps the university address equity and justice topics that are outside any one school or college and separate from the internal-facing portfolio of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Dr. Williams collaborates with people across the university already engaged in community work in order to leverage the full intellectual capacity of St. Thomas to be of even greater service to the community.
All Content Sessions will be conducted via Zoom and a Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)-hosted Canvas learning community. Each session’s lectures and discussions will be recorded and registered participants will receive access to the Canvas course with session recordings, curated resources, and collaborative planning tools.
High school U.S. History teachers and 5th and 7th grade educators are invited to participate in companion Pedagogy Sessions.
Registration
Content Sessions are open to all K–12 educators interested in historical content and source-based instruction. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.
This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.
Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us
This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.