Nizam B. Ali — co-owner of Ben’s Chili Bowl, son of Ben Ali, and former Teaching for Change board member — is donating a portion of the royalties from the book Ben’s Chili Bowl: 50 Years of a Washington, D.C., Landmark to Teaching for Change.
From the days when U Street was hailed as “Black Broadway” to today, Ben’s Chili Bowl has been a key gathering place for the local community. On August 22, 1958, Mahaboob Ben Ali and Virginia Rollins, opened a hot dog and chili shop on U Street. They never imagined that Ben’s would become world-renowned or such a beloved restaurant in the nation’s capital.
The images in Ben’s Chili Bowl: 50 Years of a Washington, D.C., Landmark provide a look back over the 50-year history of Ben’s Chili Bowl, U Street, the Ali family, and the patrons who have helped define Ben’s as a key D.C. landmark.
Many thanks also to co-editor Tracey Gold Bennett for this donation.
We are honored thatE. Ethelbert Miller,a man of many talents,hasbeen a long time friend and ally of Teaching for Change.
E. Ethelbert Miller is a poet and author of almost a dozen books including the most recent publication The Fifth Inning (PM Press and Busboys and Poets). He is the board chairperson of the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and since 1974 has served as the Director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University. Here, in his own words, is why he supports Teaching for Change:
“Teaching for Changeisbuilding a better tomorrow for our children. I feel blessed to be a witness to the motion of history. “Oh, and where would educators, parents and students be without the Teaching for Change bookstore located at Busboys and Poets? This place is a combination of Eden, Mecca and Oz.”
Joann Malone served on the Board of Teaching for Change in the 1990s and was one of the participants in Teaching for Change’s educators tour to El Salvador.
She was a well-loved social studies teacher for 20 years in DC and Maryland, also offering classes on peace studies and coordinating diversity workshops. Recently retired, she is preparing to publish a book about her life called The Power of Love: How a Nun Became a Revolutionary. The book describes her role in the DC-9 action against Dow Chemical’s involvement in the Vietnam War in 1969. We look forward to her reading at our bookstore at Busboys and Poets once the book is ready. In the meantime, you can follow her new blog. The Blair High School newspaper published a story about activist educators, including Joann Malone.
Along with Joann’s contribution to the 20th anniversary fundraising campaign, she wrote: “Thank you for the privilege of being remembered as a board member of Teaching for Change. It was an honor then and an honor now to be associated with the fine work of Teaching for Change to educate and inspire young people.”
Sonia Nieto, internationally respected scholar on multicultural education, is donating a portion of the royalties from her latest book, Dear Paulo: Letters from Those Who Dare Teach to Teaching for Change and Seeds of Solidarity. We received the first check from Paradigm Publishers in March of 2010, just in time for our 20th anniversary campaign.
We already benefit from the contributions Sonia Nieto makes everyday through her research, writing, public speaking, and her unwavering commitment to social justice throughout her work. While retired from teaching, she stays in touch with and supports her students throughout the country.
It is a much appreciated honor to be selected as one of two organizations to receive this donation.
We love our motivated supporters, like Mr. Kimathi Tull. Originally drawn to Teaching for Change by his sister, Mr. Tull, a Myles Horton Donor, remains a steadfast supporter because he appreciates the practical and solution-oriented approach Teaching for Change uses to make schools a place where social justice is not left at the door.
He especially admires our bookstore:
“The bookstore is great; one of the things I like about it is that the selection of books is excellent. I go to Busboys and Poets once a month, and I always find myself buying books because of the selection they have. Often times I go in and walk out with several books because they have titles that just JUMP OUT at you, that spark an interest that makes me want to read and keep reading.”
Robert Babiak is an annual donor to Teaching for Change. Originally from Pittsburgh (and forever a Steelers fan), this 20+ year educator lives in Alexandria, Virginia and works in Charles County, Maryland. Here is why Robert Babiak supports Teaching for Change:
“Being an educator myself, I strongly believe that education is a way to uplift and empower people to improve their lives, and ultimately, society.
“I am a former social studies teacher and now Principal at a middle school in Southern Maryland. I often share materials from Teaching for Change with my social studies teachers who are looking for ways to engage their students.
“I am pleased that Busboys and Poets provides an opportunity for Teaching for Change to reach more educators and beyond.
“I will be staying connected with Teaching for Change and will continue to get the word out about the great work being done.”
Close to 60,000 copies of Beyond Heroes and Holidays have been used in schools and teacher education courses since it was first published in 1998. The book continues to be popular.
“The latest “last word” in anti-bias curricular material? It’s got to be Beyond Heroes and Holidays: A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist, Multicultural Education and Staff Development is a weighty compendium of essays covering topics of technology, language and literacy, holidays, schoolwide activities and resources. Impervious to the size of their task, the authors take on issues of classism and individual versus collective rights with incisive deliberation.” – Teaching Tolerance
Beyond Heroes and Holidays “is a must-have for educators at all levels… I highly suggest this book for beginning and advanced multicultural educators, schoolteachers, and college professors across disciplines, as well as activists and intellectuals outside of formal educational institutions.” — Jerome E. Morris, assistant professor in the Department of Social Foundations of Education at The University of Georgia
Read more including the introduction, table of contents, and reviews.
We welcome your comments or stories about using Beyond Heroes and Holidays.
In 2005, Teaching for Change partnered with the Yale Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies to publishCaribbean Connections: The Dominican Republic, a unique resource for middle school readers to adults.
We are honored that award-winning author Julia Alvarez wrote the foreword. In it she said, “…And so you, reader, are now holding one end of a string of many voices. I can’t help but hope in these times of division and wars and rumors of wars, that the string played out in books such as this one might indeed provide lifelines. In place of glib sound bites and the violence of chauvinistically severing connections, dividing people into us and them, we can posit connection. By reading, by listening, by speaking in turn, we can create a string of understanding that circles the world.” Full foreword.
Over 100 teachers, parents, and friends of Teaching for Change had a wonderful evening at the preview of Federico García Lorca’s play, El retablillo de Don Cristóbal/The Farce of Don Cristóbal and the Maiden Rosita. The play is directed by acclaimed Argentine director Adhemar Bianchi and puppeteer Ximena Bianchi. In this staging of the play, Republican soldiers and members of the Abraham Lincoln International Brigade who are fighting in the Spanish Civil War celebrate their cause for freedom with impassioned songs of the war and a creative performance of Lorca’s puppet play. In Spanish with English surtitles.
We extend our special thanks to the GALA Theatre for selecting Teaching for Change as the beneficiary for this preview night. (The play runs through May 2, 2010 at GALA Theatre 3333 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20010.)
Thanks to Rick Reinhard who took photos of the reception. Special thanks to Ad 2 DC for preparing professional posters for display about the work of Teaching for Change.
Rather than one big gala event for our 20th anniversary, we plan to celebrate all year and all over the place. We invite you to host a house party where you can introduce your friends to the work of Teaching for Change and help us raise critically needed funds for the next 20 years. We will provide you with materials to handout, a slide show, and/or a speaker. The house party can feature our work overall, or one particular project. You pick the date and the focus. For more information, contact Associate Director Julie Choe.
The images in Ben’s Chili Bowl: 50 Years of a Washington, D.C., Landmark provide a look back over the 50-year history of Ben’s Chili Bowl, U Street, the Ali family, and the patrons who have helped define Ben’s as a key D.C. landmark.
Handcrafted plaques for donors of $250 or more will be displayed at