2024-2025 WITNESS Resources

Thank you for being a WITNESS Partner School!  Enjoy these free resources funded by institutions and individual donors. Scroll down to view a variety of resources created by the VocalEssence Learning and Engagement team staff. We hope you and your students will use and learn from these throughout the school year.

Emma Jirele, Engagement and Communications Manager
Robert Graham, Learning and Engagement Manager | Conductor, VocalEssence Vintage Voices Program
G. Phillip Shoultz, III, Associate Artistic Director

2024-2025 Resources

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    Teachers and Teaching Artists will use these questions and information to guide their conversation during the pre-workshop planning meeting. At the end of the meeting, be sure to complete and sign the "Planning Meeting Checklist" and return that to Rob Graham via email.
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    After using the Planning Meeting Guide to help guide your conversation and planning process, please complete this checklist by placing a checkmark by each category discussed, and then the Teaching Artist and Primary Contact teacher are to sign and date the checklist form. Please return to Rob Graham via email.
  • Download lessons, planning guides, checklists, and PDFs in Spanish
  • Meet our three trailblazers: Claudette Colvin, Ruby Bridges, and Mari Copeny, young activists who made significant contributions to civil rights and social justice. From Claudette’s pivotal role in the 1950s bus boycotts to Ruby’s integration of New Orleans schools and Mari’s advocacy for clean water and youth empowerment, these figures exemplify the power of youth leadership in driving change.
  • Learn the Freedom Song, "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round", which is our overarching WITNESS theme song.
  • Sing along with our teaching artists on our Freedom Song, "We Shall Overcome".
    Vimeo
    YouTube
  • Learn the Freedom Song, "We Shall Not Be Moved", which goes with our Trailblazer, Claudette Colvin.
  • Sing along with our teaching artists on our Freedom Song, "We Shall Not Be Moved".
  • Learn the Freedom Song, "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round", which goes with our Trailblazer, Ruby Bridges.
  • Sing along with our teaching artists on our Freedom Song, "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round".
  • Learn the Freedom Song, "Eyes on the Prize", which goes with our youngest Trailblazer, Mari Copeny.
  • Sing along with our teaching artists on our Freedom Song, "Eyes On The Prize".
  • Learn about Claudette Colvin, a teenage civil rights pioneer who challenged segregation on Montgomery buses before Rosa Parks.
  • Discover Ruby Bridges, the brave six year old who desegregated an all-white elementary school in New Orleans, becoming an enduring symbol of courage.
  • Explore the activism of Mari Copeny, the young advocate known for her leadership in addressing the Flint water crisis and empowering youth voices.
  • Create a personal portrait where students examine their own "Eyes On The Prize," reflecting on their goals, values, and aspirations in the fight for equality.
  • Reflect on the "Eyes On The Prize" concert by identifying key takeaways, emotions, and insights about the connections between the Civil Rights Movement and current social justice efforts.