8: Engaging Students in Social Justice Lessons Using Multiple Forms of Media

In this chapter, we highlight our efforts to partner with community members to uncover facets of educational equity and social justice regarding efforts to desegregate schools in the context of Kansas City, Missouri across both research and education goals. We concentrate on the value of a historical project that deals with educational and community desires and lived experiences as a means for students to engage actively with and question their inherited curricular circumstances. Looking to the past is significant for supporting students in making sense of the present and for scaffolding their efforts to forge new possibilities into the future. We outline how adding public voicing and public education components to historical projects may serve to breathe life into lessons for students and provide them with possible avenues to leverage past lessons to pave new paths for future growth.