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In the Classroom: How Educators are Teaching Thanksgiving Lessons to the Next Generation

THE AFRO — In real life, the situation was anything but a celebration. According to Holocaust Museum Houston, “when European settlers arrived in the Americas, historians estimate there were over 10 million Native Americans living there. By 1900, their estimated population was under 300,000. Native Americans were subjected to many different forms of violence, all with the intention of destroying the community.”

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1 year ago

November 29, 2024

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By DaQuan Lawrence | AFRO International Writer
DLawrence@afro.com

On Nov. 28 the Thanksgiving holiday will arrive, complete with family gatherings, community events and opportunities to give back and be grateful. While conversations about the origin of Thanksgiving and the purpose of the holiday remain suspended between myth and fact-based reality, educators in the state of Maryland grapple each year with how the holiday is addressed in the educational setting.

According to Brittanica, “Thanksgiving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people.”

While millions of American citizens use the holiday as the opener to a season of gratitude, for others the holiday is overshadowed by the death and destruction experienced by Native Americans at the hands of Europeans as colonization spread.

According to Dr. Kelli Mosteller, who serves as Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Cultural Heritage Center director, the holiday “disregards against Native Americans and chooses to take…one tiny snapshot.”

“The world of social media puts pretty filters on it so that it doesn’t look the way it truly did,” she said, in a statement.

In real life, the situation was anything but a celebration. According to Holocaust Museum Houston, “when European settlers arrived in the Americas, historians estimate there were over 10 million Native Americans living there. By 1900, their estimated population was under 300,000. Native Americans were subjected to many different forms of violence, all with the intention of destroying the community.”

Information released by the museum states that “in the late 1800s, blankets from smallpox patients were distributed to Native Americans in order to spread disease. There were several wars, and violence was encouraged; for example, European settlers were paid for each Penobscot person they killed.”

Then came more atrocities.

According to the museum, “In the 19th century, 4,000 Cherokee people died on the Trail of Tears, a forced march from the southern U.S. to Oklahoma.”

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation is the federally recognized government of the Indigenous population and represents over 38,000 tribal members.

Some members of society believe the factual history behind the holiday provides ample reasons for citizens to not celebrate what is billed to the American public as a time to be thankful. To many Native Americans, the holiday ignores over 400 years of mayhem against Indigenous people and maintains the bloody colonialism system responsible for millions of lives lost.

Erica Frank, a social studies teacher specialist in Maryland, expressed concern over the topic of Thanksgiving and highlighted the significance of educational approaches to engage students.

“As a historian and curriculum writer, I struggle with how the narrative of Thanksgiving is relayed,” Frank said. “Like many American historical events, I struggle with the fact that from a young age we condition our students to be compassionate of individuals who created harm towards other cultures that still have reverberating impacts on society today.”

Frank was born and raised in Anne Arundel County, Md. and is currently in her 11th year of education. She remembers learning about the holiday during her own formative years.

“Unfortunately, my experience with Thanksgiving in grade school was more of a teaching in nostalgic American history–rather than accurate American history,” Frank told the AFRO.

“My grade level holiday themed lessons revolved around making turkey and pilgrim crafts to celebrate the coming together of two cultures during one meal. I was not taught about the Wampanoag tribe or the negative impact of Pilgrims– really, colonists– on Native Americans during this time period,” Frank said. “I appreciate that there are a growing number of resources available which discuss the varied perspectives. I have seen growth on the secondary level of both teachers and students asking the right questions about this day and other similar topics.”

Though the origins of the holiday go back to Plymouth, Mass., 1621, President Abraham Lincoln formally established Thanksgiving as a holiday in the U.S. over 200 years later in November 1863 during the Civil War. The holiday was created as a social mechanism to develop improved relations among northern states, southern states and tribal nations.

Unbeknownst to many Americans, is the fact that during the previous year, President Lincoln ordered 38 Dakota tribal members to die from hanging after corrupt federal agents prevented the Dakota-Sioux from receiving food and provisions. Members of the tribe retaliated while enduring starvation, causing the Dakota War of 1862.

Lincoln ultimately believed that Thanksgiving created an opportunity to reduce Indigenous populations’ negative sentiments and to restore their relationship with the federal government.

But the loyalty to the holiday runs deep- especially in the classroom, where Thanksgiving is formally introduced during the elementary school years, amid a student’s formative development period.

“I remember as far back as kindergarten, when teachers had us play the roles of pilgrims and Native Americans,” said Erica Sellman, an English Language Arts department chair at a middle school in Anne Arundel County. “They separated the class, and the Pilgrim group created a ship while the Native American group created beautiful head pieces from feathers. I recall being upset because I wanted to make a head piece, but I was not in that group.”

Voter registration for young Black women in 13 key states is on the rise, with 175 percent more engagement when compared with 2020 — nearly triple the rate. The surge highlights long standing political engagement within this demographic. (Photo courtesy of Word In Black)

The decision of whether to discuss the history of the Thanksgiving holiday in an in-depth manner is largely a matter of an educator’s discretion and dependent upon the educator’s experience and comfortability by addressing the subject with young learners.

“History should be a part of instruction– however, all educators cannot teach sensitive topics without biases,” Sellman said. “It is hard for some educators regardless of ethnicity to discuss some of the context behind historical events, but it can be done, and it should be done.”

Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education provides resources for educators who are interested in teaching about the Thanksgiving holiday in a culturally responsive manner. Their guide, titled “Teaching Thanksgiving the Culturally Responsive Way,” notes how teachers need to start by deconstructing myths surrounding the holiday.

Experts from Rutgers say myths such as “the arrival of The Mayflower was the introduction between the Pilgrims and Native Americans,” need to be addressed, explored and corrected.

“Europeans had already initiated contact with the Wampanoag tribe through violent slave raiding. When The Mayflower arrived, there were at least two Wampanoag tribe members that spoke English, due to traveling to Europe and back,” states information from Rutgers University’s guide.

The university explains how the myth of “the Wampanoag tribe wanted to help the Pilgrims” is also wrong because “Wampanoag leader Ousamequin chose to welcome the Pilgrims as a strategy. At the time, his tribe was weak and had lower numbers due to coming in contact with disease. He thought an alliance would help strengthen the tribe and protect against rivals.”

Even the Thanksgiving dinner between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans is steeped in incorrect information, according to the university.

“Annual harvests are a tradition in Native American communities, and the Wampanoag’s annual harvest is what the Pilgrims experienced. In reality, a loose version of Thanksgiving was established in 1637 by Massachusetts Bay Governor William Bradford,” report historians from Rutgers. “Instead of commemorating a shared feast, the observance celebrated the Anglo-Pequot War, where armed soldiers surrounded the Pequot village and set it on fire, shooting anyone who tried to escape. During the two-year war, 700 Pequot people were killed or enslaved, with the tribe eventually being eliminated.”

The guide encourages culturally responsive teaching when it comes to the sensitive topic of Thanksgiving in the classroom.

In 2020, the National Education Association took note of Native educators who declared that lessons on the subject and holiday can be both accurate, respectful and interesting to learn about with an element of commemoration.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Published

1 week ago

May 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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1 week ago

May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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1 week ago

May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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