THINKING NATION PARTNERS WITH PUBLIC MEDIA BROADCASTER WETA TO MAKE HISTORICAL THINKING RESOURCES AVAILABLE WITH THE RELEASE OF GREAT MIGRATIONS: A PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

New Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Docuseries Tells the Story of African American Movement Over the Last Two Centuries; Thinking Nation Resources Support Educators in Teaching Social Studies as a Discipline, Empower Students to Thrive as Engaged and Critical Thinkers

NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Jan. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Thinking Nation, a national 501(c)(3) committed to empowering students to thrive as engaged and critical thinkers for the future of democracy, today announced its partnership with WETA, the flagship public media company in the nation's capital, to make historical thinking resources available across the nation concurrent with the release of the new PBS docuseries Great Migrations: A People On The Move. The series premieres Jan. 28 at 9 p.m. ET on public television stations nationwide and continues the following three Tuesday nights.

The four-part Great Migrations series will focus on African American movement over the 20^th and 21^st centuries and the meaning behind those movements. At the center of Great Migrations is renowned historian and scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and American Research at Harvard University. Dr. Gates also hosts the acclaimed series Finding Your Roots. Great Migrations will be broadcast on 350 public stations nationwide.

"We are delighted to collaborate with Thinking Nation on engaging educators and students with the themes of this series," noted Amy Labenski, Senior Director, National Impact & Engagement, WETA National Productions. "Our organizations have a shared goal of empowering deep engagement with history and civics, and this project allows us to serve communities across the nation with quality materials."

Through the partnership, WETA will make educational materials from Thinking Nation's inquiry-based platform available to high schools across America in tandem with the release of Great Migrations. Thinking Nation's materials support educators as they engage students and help them learn to contextualize information, assess the multi-layered causes of moments, evaluate the evidence they encounter, and empathize with the perspectives of others.

"We are thrilled to begin this partnership with WETA. Our nonprofit exists to ensure educational equity by empowering every student to think deeply about the information they engage with, and being able to provide schools with our resources in partnership with WETA means we can better realize our mission as an organization," said Zachary Coté, Executive Director, Thinking Nation. "Further, we cannot understand American history without understanding African American migration. We are grateful to WETA for allowing us to support the learning of this essential history."

WETA is the second-largest producing station for public television in the United States and serves the public with educational initiatives and high-quality programming on television, radio, and digital. WETA is known for producing and distributing a range of popular educational, cultural, and public affairs programming, including PBS News Hour; collaborations with Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. such as Finding Your Roots; and films by Ken Burns and Florentine Films, such as Leonardo da Vinci and the forthcoming The American Revolution. WETA also develops rich educational materials that inspire learning, support educators, and equips families with valuable resources to help children succeed.

For more information on Thinking Nation's innovative approach to fostering historical thinking in social studies education, visit thinkingnation.org. To donate and support the organization's work to transform social studies classrooms across the country, go to thinkingnation.org/donate. 

About Thinking Nation
Thinking Nation is a national 501(c)(3) committed to empowering students to thrive as engaged and critical thinkers by supporting teachers with meaningful curricula, training, and technology to transform social studies education for the future of democracy. We believe that education is our greatest equalizer, and that every student, regardless of zip code or socio-economic background, deserves access to learning practices that reflect the diversity of identities, histories, contributions, and experiences to support enriched educational opportunity, equity, and success for all. Thinking Nation currently serves more than 35,000 students in 16 states and the District of Columbia. For more information about Thinking Nation or to support the organization's work to transform social studies classrooms across the country, please visit thinkingnation.org/donate. 

Media Contacts
Laura Wessells and Martha Holler
ShinePR for Thinking Nation, [email protected] 

SOURCE Thinking Nation