2023 Forging Justice Commemoration Week events

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WELL, BACK AT HOME, BIRMINGHAM SET TO MARK 60 YEARS SINCE A HORRIFIC ATTACK ON A HISTORIC CHURCH. FOUR YOUNG GIRLS WERE KILLED IN A BOMBING AT THE 16TH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH. THE WVTM13’S LISA CRANE JOINING US LIVE OUTSIDE THAT CHURCH TONIGHT. AND, LISA, THE CITY HAS A FULL WEEK OF EVENTS PLANNED TO MARK THAT ANNIVERSARY. YEAH, THEY SURE DO. YOU KNOW, IT ALL KICKED OFF YESTERDAY, BUT THERE ARE PLENTY OF EVENTS LEFT THIS WEEK. YOU CAN TAKE PART IN TODAY. I MET WITH A GROUP OF TEACHERS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY IN TOWN TO LEARN LESSONS FROM ALABAMA’S PAST. THEY CAN TAKE BACK TO THEIR STUDENTS, BUT ALSO HAVE ON HERE ALREADY. THESE TEACHERS ARE THE STUDENTS ON THIS DAY, THEY’RE LEARNING HOW TO MAKE HISTORY COME ALIVE FOR THEIR STUDENTS. FIRST, WE NEED TO EXPLORE THE HISTORY. WE DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT THAT IT HAD ON ON A CITY, ON THE STATE, THE NATION AND THE WORLD. DR. MARTHA BOYER WANTS CHILDREN TO NOT JUST KNOW THE PAST, BUT BE ABLE TO LEARN ENOUGH FROM IT NOT TO REPEAT IT. IT’S A LIFE CHANGING TRAINING FOR THESE EDUCATORS. IT WAS TRANSFORMATIONAL FOR ME. I’VE BEEN TEACHING A LONG TIME, BUT THIS IS DEFINITELY THE TOP EDUCATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. I’VE BEEN PART OF THIS IS OUR HISTORY. WE WE OWN IT. WE CREATE IT, CREATE IT. AND I THINK WE’RE SHOWING THE NATION AND THE WORLD THAT ALTHOUGH THINGS MAY HAVE BEEN BAD IN THE PAST, THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO LIVE THERE. BUT WE HAVE TO ADDRESS WHAT HAPPENED. IF NOT, WE DON’T MOVE FORWARD. THESE TEACHERS WANT TO TAKE HORRIFIC EVENTS THAT HAPPENED DECADES AGO, LIKE THE 16TH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH BOMBING, TO CREATE CONVERSATIONS IN CLASSROOMS THAT LEAD TO CHANGE IN THE WORLD REALLY HAVE BEEN STRUCK WITH HOW CAN I, IN MY OWN COMMUNITY, WITH MY OWN VISION, PUT SOMETHING IN MOTION THAT HELPS US ACKNOWLEDGE OUR HISTORY IN THE NORTHWEST THAT NEEDS TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED AND THEN MOVE FORWARD AND HOW TO CREATE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS IN THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. WE’VE LISTED EVERY EVENT THIS WEEK IN A SINGLE ARTICLE ON OUR WEB PAGE. WVTM 13.COM. YOU CAN ALSO OPEN UP THE WVTM 13 APP AND FIND THE STORY ON OUR HOME PAGE THIS WEEK. BY THE WAY, CULLMAN STATES WITH A KEYNOTE ADDRESS FROM SUPREME COURT JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN.

Teachers from around the country in B'ham to learn how to teach hard history

Birmingham is set to mark 60 years since a horrific attack on a historic church. Four girls were killed in a bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church on Sept. 15, 1963. The city has a week full of events planned that kicked off Sunday. On Monday, a group of teachers from all over the country met at New Bethel Baptist Church, learning lessons from Alabama's past they can take back to their students.On this day, the teachers are the students. They're learning how to make history come alive for their students. Martha Bouyer with Bethel Baptist Church said, “First, we need to explore the history. If we don't know what happened, we can't understand the impact that it had on a city, on the state, a nation in the world.”Bouyer wants children to not just know the past, but be able to learn enough from it, not to repeat it. It's life-changing training for these educators.Jen Reidel is a teacher from Bellingham, WA. She said, “It was transformational for me. I've been teaching a long time, but this is definitely the top educational professional development I’ve been part of.” Bouyer said, “This is our history. We own it. We created it, and I think we're showing the nation and the world that although things may have been bad in the past, we don't have to live there. But we have to address what happened. If not, we don't move forward.” The teachers want to take horrific events that happened decades ago to create conversations in classrooms that lead to change in the world. Reidel said, “I really have been struck with how can I, in my own community, with my own vision, put something in motion that helps us acknowledge our history in the Northwest, that needs to be acknowledged and then move forward and how to create those opportunities for students and the community at large.” The week culminates with a keynote address from Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

On this day, the teachers are the students. They're learning how to make history come alive for their students. Martha Bouyer with Bethel Baptist Church said, “First, we need to explore the history. If we don't know what happened, we can't understand the impact that it had on a city, on the state, a nation in the world.”

Bouyer wants children to not just know the past, but be able to learn enough from it, not to repeat it. It's life-changing training for these educators.

Jen Reidel is a teacher from Bellingham, WA. She said, “It was transformational for me. I've been teaching a long time, but this is definitely the top educational professional development I’ve been part of.”

Bouyer said, “This is our history. We own it. We created it, and I think we're showing the nation and the world that although things may have been bad in the past, we don't have to live there. But we have to address what happened. If not, we don't move forward.”

The teachers want to take horrific events that happened decades ago to create conversations in classrooms that lead to change in the world. Reidel said, “I really have been struck with how can I, in my own community, with my own vision, put something in motion that helps us acknowledge our history in the Northwest, that needs to be acknowledged and then move forward and how to create those opportunities for students and the community at large.”

The week culminates with a keynote address from Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

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