Welcome to Exploring Black Narratives
Our Program
Exploring Black Narratives is an immersive program at Jewish day schools that foregrounds plays and other notable texts by acclaimed Black writers. Through in-depth scene study; virtual performance viewing, discussion of theme, structure, and style; historical analysis; embodied learning experiences, and workshops with professional artists who have brought the texts we study to life, our students gain substantive insights into storytelling, connections between communities, and the world around them. Our accomplished educators draw from expertise in interviewing, writing, theater making, and teaching to create eye-opening, immersive, nonjudgmental, and engaging learning experiences in the classroom.
What People Are Saying
“We set a high bar for the organizations that we invite to bring their curricular program into our classrooms and it is rare that we invite a program back the following year to share the materials with a broader swath of our student population. With Exploring Black Narratives, we did both.”
— Miriam Krupka, Associate Principal at Ramaz Upper School, New York
"Thank you so much for bringing this program to our students. The students were very engaged and all participated on a high-level. I love the way you brought each student into the discussion. You brought out the best in them."
— Sarah Antine, Director of Deborah Lerner Gross Jewish Cultural Arts Center, Berman Academy in Rockville, Maryland
"Exploring Black Narratives was such an enlightening experience for my students and a wonderful catalyst for inviting them to empathize with people who face challenges in life that are vastly different than their own. A few students were so moved, they took the initiative to go see a production of Dominique Morisseau’s work all on their own."
— Brian Forrester, English teacher at Shalhevet High School in Los Angeles, California
“The actor's scene work was so helpful. The kids were very excited that he recorded them "just for us." They also commented on what a great actor he is. I had the students journal about their understanding of Act III both before and after watching him perform, and it's clear that his performance significantly advanced their understanding of the shift at the end of the play. I couldn't have done it -- truly! -- without his help.”
— Gillian Steinberg, English teacher at SAR High School, New York
“I cannot thank Lonnie Firestone and Kendell Pinkney enough for bringing their remarkable project, Exploring Black Narratives, to my classroom. They taught my students how to prepare thoughtful and in-depth interview questions and gave them the opportunity to ask their questions to actors in the production."
— Na'amit Sturm Nagel, English teacher at Shalhevet High School in Los Angeles, California
“Thank you so much for coming to our class and giving us an experience we have never had before. We enjoyed our learning very much. We really enjoyed doing our Q & A with our guest artist and acting out the play together as a class. We appreciate everything you have done for us.”
— 8th grade students at Luria Academy in Brooklyn, New York
“Lonnie, it was an absolute pleasure welcoming you into our class. The students' enjoyment of and engagement in the program was largely due to your masterful and gentle guidance of conversations and reflection, classroom management, and infectious commitment to the play and the work. It was also a wonderful experience having a guest director in our room weighing in and directing our students. I look forward to continuing this relationship and partnering with you on future classroom programs.”
— Toby Daina Barg, English teacher at Schechter Manhattan
"My students came to realizations about Black experiences that they would never have had if not for the interview process in this program. I could hear a pin drop during the artist interview and one of my students commented that that was the moment that he really understood the play. Thanks so much for helping us to these powerful realizations."
— Dr. Thomas Worden, English teacher at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland
"Working with people of color helped to amplify the lessons of this unit. I feel that this is especially significant for our school because there is very little diversity. I believe that these sessions helped to create a discussion that pushed each of us to think deeper, and I think as a Jewish school, it is critical.”