The murder of Ethiopian immigrant Mulugeta Seraw in Portland, Oregon, in 1988, brought into public view the increased organizing by violent White supremacists. In response, disparate groups came together to organize against White supremacist violence throughout Portland and the Pacific Northwest.
To provide context and understanding about these events in Oregon history and their relevance today, the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) recently released the It Did Happen Here curriculum, which is free and available for download on ohs.org. This curriculum was collaboratively created by Erin Yanke and Mic Crenshaw of the It Did Happen Here podcast, the Oregon Historical Society, and the Western States Center.
Through this curriculum, which supports the Oregon Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies, students in grades 9–12 will explore historical context, such as policies from Oregon’s early decades as well as racism in the last decades of the twentieth century, including the rise of hate groups in the 1980s. They will study the experiences and actions of the diverse activists who confronted hate groups, how they built coalitions, and the impact of that activism on their lives. The curriculum also invites students to consider how these histories are relevant today.
The It Did Happen Here curriculum is the latest addition to the library of online resources that OHS has created to support educators’ teaching an inclusive Oregon history that aligns with state standards. Through thematic lessons, students analyze primary sources, think about subjects and events from diverse perspectives, practice critical analysis, and establish and communicate their own ideas.
“This is a powerful addition to the Oregon Historical Society’s K–12 social science curriculum collection,” said Amit Kabrowski, Social Science Specialist for the Oregon Department of Education’s Office of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. “The inclusion of primary documents encourages critical thinking as students connect Oregon’s past to contemporary issues, and the story of the White supremacist killing of Mulugeta Seraw and the response from members of the Portland community is an excellent case study to support Oregon’s social science and Holocaust and other genocide standards.”
Visit ohs.org/curriculum to view It Did Happen Here and OHS’s other online educational resources for educators.
