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This article recalls the painful lessons of a 1920 lynching of three of six African-American circus workers accused of robbery and rape. For African-American families in Duluth, the black-and-white photo taken in 1920 was a shocking reminder of the incident which this small city had tried for decades to forget. African-Americans believe that the racial climate in the city they have called home still hasn't changed. All the undercurrent of emotion and hate and fear that drove this community to do what it did in 1920 still exists.

Describes the use of film documentaries by students to promote dialogue and activism in their communities, explaining that marginalized youth equipped with video cameras can transform issues that once hobbled their academic and social development into opportunities for research, problem solving, and social action. A sidebar includes an annotated list of resources. (SM)

Discusses the importance of creating safe school environments for gay and lesbian students. Anti-gay bias has been called the last acceptable form of discrimination in the United States, and many U.S. public schools are complicit in cultivating this intolerance. Describes one public and one private high school's efforts to make safe environments for homosexual students. (SM)

Describes how students in Denver, Colorado, confronted racial tracking at their high school. Over 1 year, they interviewed classmates, researched the issue, and developed a report, "On the Outside Looking In: Racial Tracking at Denver's East High School." The students discovered that in their 60-percent minority school, 75 percent of students in advanced placement and accelerated classes were White, and staff discouraged or misinformed minorities about these classes. (SM)

Describes Wake County, North Carolina's, new socioeconomic integration plan, which is intended to improve academic performance. Examines previous and unsuccessful school desegregation plans and their impact on poor students of color. Discusses how educators and lawmakers must develop innovative, multidimensional policies to promote integration that can also maneuver around political and legal obstacles. (SM)

Describes the street libraries program of the Fourth World Movement, which has been bringing books to children in neighborhoods in New York City, Boston, and New Orleans for more than 15 years. Recently, the program has added computers to their community programs. (SLD)

Discusses problems with the zero tolerance policy and exclusionary discipline in schools, describing how one Kentucky school district formed a continuum of services to support students with behavioral problems, using exclusionary models as a last resort. Students are taught the skills they need to solve their problems and get along with others without resorting to violence. (SM)