#2892MilesToGo: Reimagining the Mother Road

Growing up here in the Texas Panhandle and traveling to New Mexico for late-summer visits, Route 66 has been a familiar, kitchy ribbon of two-lane blacktop. So many of my own ideas about “motoring west,” as Bobby Troup wrote in the lyrics to “Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” were formed from pop culture centering the idea of a white, middle-class, daytripper looking for adventure. Later, my own understanding of Route 66 shifted through hearing stories of desperate economic refugees from the Dust Bowl driven away from their farms and down what John Steinbeck named “The Mother Road,” seeking better times in California.  Continue reading #2892MilesToGo: Reimagining the Mother Road

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How We Tell Stories Will Shape Our History, Our Land, and Our People

I love my city. I’m sure you love yours just as much and feel like your community holds the same importance, whether you live in America or somewhere else in the world. And it does, as do the people who live within it. This is the essence of #2892MilestoGo: Take your step to tell the stories within your community that deserve to be heard.  Continue reading How We Tell Stories Will Shape Our History, Our Land, and Our People

2,892 Miles to Go – A Geographic Walk for Justice

This post was written by educator and National Geographic Explorer Ashley Lamb-Sinclair. Last summer, while my community of Louisville, Kentucky – and the world – took to the streets in protest of the killing of Breonna Taylor, I participated in a Healing Ceremony hosted by Black Lives Matter Louisville. My goal was to be quiet, to listen, and to respond as requested by the leaders … Continue reading 2,892 Miles to Go – A Geographic Walk for Justice

Storytelling Is Essential in the Fight for Social Justice

This post was written by 2020 Young Explorer Zoë Jenkins. In middle school, I was placed into the gifted program. To me, it seemed like administrators put the gifted students into some of the lowest-performing schools in the district. The kids in the gifted program tended to be bussed in from the other side of town, and I felt like we were unfairly placed on … Continue reading Storytelling Is Essential in the Fight for Social Justice

Educator Spotlight: Exploring Social Inequities Through Storytelling

Laura Chase’s 11th-grade biology students investigated social inequities that impact their local communities. Collaborating with a humanities teacher, Laura asked her students to draw from the analytical skills they learned in science, the persuasive methods they learned in English, and the technical skills they learned in film in order to communicate their stories in a thoughtful way. Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Exploring Social Inequities Through Storytelling