Organizing Memorializing — Recaps — Activism Beyond the Classroom

What do we choose to memorialize? Who should decide what we memorialize? What constitutes a memorial? In 2013, the city of Philadelphia voted to close 23 schools for the 2013-14 school year. The schools ranged from elementary schools to high schools and were located across the city. The city cited under enrollment and budgetary restrictions as the reasons for these closures. As a result, thousands of students and teachers around the city were displaced, the buildings left abandoned, their fates unknown. In this class, we explored if and how the city of Philadelphia should memorialize these closed schools and honor the communities they once served.

2019, praxis, Organizing MemorializingKrystal StrongNovember 21, 20192019, Student and Youth Organizing-Memorializing

Student and Youth Activism: Impact and Memory

When we think about activism movements, we often think of the work of adults. In school history classes, on the news, in our public consciousness, we remember the adults who marched on Washington or occupied Wall Street. But what about the students? What roll has student activism played in making change in our political system? To what extent have student activist movements been remembered by their communities? How have student activists affected change in their communities? Why don’t we celebrate or honor student activists the way we do adults?

2019, praxis, Organizing MemorializingKrystal StrongNovember 14, 20192019, Praxis, Student and Youth Organizing-Memorializing