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Prompts for personal reflection and conversation with others:

> What do you experience in your body (sensations), heart (feelings), and/or head (thoughts) on reading the stories we just posted?

> What do these stories make you want to do/say? What feels possible for you to do/say? What feels hard and/or hopeful?

> Who has the power in these stories? Whose voice/s are not being heard?

> What choices might the people in these stories have had–and/or not have had? What is the impact of the choices they make?

> What might they have said or done differently in the moment–or afterward–and what impact might it have had?

This story was shared by an NPS student.

Image ID: the background of image 1 is orange (upper one-third) and purple (lower two-thirds), with a large white square with rounded corners overlaying and within that square, this text in purple: “One time, I was at a restaurant with my friend and dad. We were the only customers and the employees were just talking in the back. A white waiter started talking about slavery; he claimed it didn’t happen in the North. He went on for a bit and continued to give the North a lot of credit. Everyone seemed a little, I take that back, very uncomfortable. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t feel comfortable confronting anyone.”

Image 2 has the same orange/purple split background, with the white text “Story Themes” running up the lower left side and two columns of white boxes (four per column) displaying our eight story themes. Here, the themes Emotional Response and Race & Identity are emphasized with bright/bold colors.

This story was shared by an NPS parent/caregiver.

Image ID: the background of image 1 is orange (upper one-third) and purple (lower two-thirds), with a large white square with rounded corners overlaying and within that square, this text in purple: “I wish that languages besides English could be spoken freely in our schools without the speakers fearing embarrassment.”

Image 2 has the same orange/purple split background, with the white text “Story Themes” running up the lower left side and two columns of white boxes (four per column) displaying our eight story themes. Here, the themes Emotional Response and The Future are emphasized with bright/bold colors.

This story was shared by an NPS parent/caregiver.

Image ID: the background of images 1 and 2 is orange (upper one-third) and purple (lower two-thirds), with a large white square with rounded corners overlaying and within that square, this text in purple: “I was surprised to see that they were still teaching Thanksgiving the same (inaccurate and simplistic) way that they did 30 years ago. Our children are more capable of understanding and more sophisticated in their thinking than the current educational status quo allows for. It wasn’t until I was in college and graduate school that I learned ‘the people’s history’ of race relations in our country, and I want the possibility of more depth and understanding for my children, for their generation, and for our country as a whole. It’s time we change the story(ies) to include more voices and more perspectives.”

Image 3 has the same orange/purple split background, with the white text “Story Themes” running up the lower left side and two columns of white boxes (four per column) displaying our eight story themes. Here, the themes Educational Challenges and The Future are emphasized with bright/bold colors.