New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the release of ‘Teaching About Hate Crimes and their Impacts,’ a series of hate crimes lessons designed to teach students in New York City public schools about hate crimes and bias incidents, as well as their impact on individuals and communities. As hate crimes continue to rise around the nation, with a particular influence on young people, the New York City Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), with support from the New York City Department of Education (DOE), partnered with Facing History & Ourselves to develop the curriculum and provide training for educators.
‘Teaching About Hate Crimes and their Impacts’ includes five lessons that empower educators to enrich students’ understanding of diversity, sharpen critical thinking skills, and foster a culture of increased civic engagement — all of which are crucial skills for instilling social responsibility. Students will learn to identify motives and behaviors that cause hate crimes, examine the impacts of current hate crime trends on communities, and design initiatives that promote inclusion and collective action.
“Our children are at a breaking point, and investing in programming that fosters a greater understanding of diversity and the importance of inclusion is an important way to dam one of the many rivers that feeds the sea of hate,” said Mayor Adams. “Despite the uptick in hate crimes we are seeing across the city and nation — whether it be against someone’s religion, culture, gender, sexual orientation, or anything else — we know that New York City is the greatest city in the world because of our extensive diversity. This curriculum builds on our ‘Breaking Bread, Building Bonds’ initiative and will help ensure that our school children are part of the solution to stamp out hate wherever it rears its ugly head.”
The lessons are available to students in grades 6-12 and are offered as a virtual resource to the public on the OPHC and Facing History & Ourselves’ websites.
“Hate has no home in our schools, and we are proud to partner with the OPHC in the fight against bigotry,” said DOE Chancellor David C. Banks. “We are educating our youth about the dangers of hate both to meet this challenging moment in our world and to build a brighter future for us all.”
