Our Commitment to Fighting Racism – and How You Can Help
Mission US was developed to help young people understand how ordinary Americans have struggled to realize ideals of freedom, democracy and equality — and, through this understanding, to develop greater historical perspective and empathy, and draw meaningful connections between our past and present. Across our educational games and resources, we have sought to amplify the stories and voices of diverse and often underrepresented communities as they have engaged in resistance at key turning points in our history.
Black lives matter. Black stories matter. We stand in solidarity with the Black community and their ongoing struggle to achieve justice and equity. We are committed to helping educators and parents around the country evolve their history and humanities curricula to combat racism, and to deepening student understanding of and reflection on the critical issues of our time.
In our continued efforts to connect today’s movements to movements of the past, the Mission US team is currently developing a new educational game that focuses on the role of African American teens in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The influence of these African American teens and their calls for justice in the 1960s can be seen in 2020, as Black teens around the world continue to organize, protest and demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and countless other Black lives lost at the hands of systemic racism.
We also realize that we must do more to combat systemic racism and recognize that the inclusion of more diverse voices and perspectives can only strengthen our efforts. Throughout the development of our games and educational materials, we have always involved community stakeholders: educators, gamemakers, educational researchers, universities, community-based organizations, history learning organizations and others that share our mission.
Moving forward, we invite you to join us. We are creating a new advisory board of educators and other stakeholders that will bring new, diverse perspectives and experiences to collaborate on our ongoing work, and we hope to involve new institutional and organizational partners as well. If you are interested in participating in this process, please complete this brief survey and we will be in touch soon.