Initiative

Defining Democracy

Defining Democracy is a 1619 Education Initiative supporting more adequate teaching about democracy in the United States through the interrogation of historical narratives, acknowledgement of Black American contributions to democratic history, and exploration of the lasting legacies of slavery in our democracy today.

ABOUT THE RESOURCES

Our U.S. Education and Outreach Team worked in collaboration with '1619' Impact Grantees and other educators in our network to refine resources and develop models for teaching and learning about American democracy in both school and community environments. The Defining Democracy Initiative, launched in anticipation of the United States Semiquincentennial on July 4, 2026, is an invitation to go beyond simply marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by engaging with themes of democracy more deeply.

  • Activity Toolkits are compilations of learning activities from Defining Democracy events and projects. They're meant to be easy to digest and implement right away.
  • Lesson Plans are guided instructions for facilitating learning over the course of a class period.
  • Unit plans are a series of lesson plans designed for facilitation over several days or weeks.
  • Grantee Projects are models for engaging larger and/or more varied audiences with 1619 materials and themes. These can include school-based multi-classroom projects and community based work.
  • Impact Updates are blog reflections from Pulitzer Center Staff members and Educator Grantees about the impact of 1619 Programming related to initiative themes.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS

The Defining Democracy workshop series is designed to equip educators with resources and strategies for exploring the theme of American democracy in their classrooms and communities.The series will include structures to support continued learning and sustained impact throughout the year. During workshops, educators will engage with sample classroom and community projects around a focused theme and brainstorm an application of a relevant model to their own community. After each workshop, participants will have the opportunity to further network with other educators and submit evidence of their impact to be featured on the Center’s 1619 education website. At the conclusion of each workshop cycle, the participants with the strongest stories of impact in their communities will receive a prize from the Pulitzer Center Education Team.

Defining Democracy series
REGISTER FOR THE SERIES

ABOUT GETTING MORE INVOLVED

Whether you’re already using The 1619 Project, are looking for direction on how to get started, or would like to support the work we are doing with educators in classrooms and communities, we would love for you to get more involved.

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