After five years of coordinating national Teach Truth Days of Action, the Zinn Education Project is helping usher the movement into a new phase — deepening its reach by embedding the fight for honest education in year-round social justice organizing rather than leading a single day of action ourselves, and bringing the demand for the #FreedomtoLearn to the growing number of coalition-led protests. We are also focusing on the American Revolution 250 in 2026.
For the past five years, the Zinn Education Project has coordinated the Teach Truth Days of Action each June — mobilizing thousands of educators, students, parents, and community members against the rising wave of educational gag orders and curriculum censorship. Our movement was born in a moment of urgency: a coordinated right-wing attack on the freedom to learn, with new state laws banning the teaching of race, gender, sexuality, and the truth about U.S. history. When we issued our first national call to action in 2021, few organizations were responding with the scale or urgency the moment demanded.
But educators showed up. From historical walking tours, to banned book swaps, to freedom-to-read flash mobs and public teach-ins, Teach Truth actions across the country sent a clear message: We will not lie to our students. We will not comply with laws that silence the histories of Black, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, and immigrant communities. We will teach the truth, regardless of the law.
Over these five years, the Teach Truth movement helped shape a national grassroots response to “truthcrime” laws — policies and legislation outlawing honest education about race, gender, and sexuality — especially as mainstream media coverage faded and political attacks intensified. The Zinn Education Project and our allies have been vital in building this movement.
Why We Are Shifting Our Approach
We are entering a new phase. Now that national coalitions are organizing days of action such as No Kings Day and May Day, we will focus our efforts on making sure those protests include visible demands for the #FreedomtoLearn and #TeachTruth.
Preserving historical truth is a safeguard against authoritarian rule, as Jason Stanley explains, “Schools and universities are indeed on the front lines of the multi-decade far-right effort to reinforce anti-democratic myths.”
While education is central to the fascist agenda, it is not getting adequate attention from progressive forces.
Therefore, instead of coordinating national Teach Truth Day of Action in June, we are shifting our organizing strategy to integrate the Teach Truth message into public events all year.
The demand for the right to Teach Truth belongs in No Kings, May Day, immigrant rights, Pride, Juneteenth, and other rallies and celebrations. The need to protect the freedom to learn is part of every fight for justice. Our approach to organizing must reflect those connections.
In 2026, we will also focus attention on teaching truthfully about the American Revolution.
Local Organizing Continues
Many local organizers have developed powerful traditions of hosting Teach Truth events in their communities. Some have done so every June for years. We encourage local groups to continue holding their annual events — in June or whatever date works best for their community. We will continue to support, amplify, and provide resources to local Teach Truth efforts throughout the year.
A Model for the Future: Teach Truth on Constitution Day
In September of 2025, we saw a powerful example of this new direction. We launched Teach Truth on Constitution Day, leveraging a day when federal law requires schools to teach about the Constitution. Instead of empty rituals or whitewashed lessons, more than 600 educators used Zinn Education Project lessons to help students not only recognize the rights they have, but also analyze who wrote the Constitution, who was left out, and what rights still need to be won.
By anchoring the Teach Truth message in existing curricular moments, we reached more classrooms, deepened student engagement, and showed that resistance doesn’t have to wait for a designated day.
Plans for 2026
We are hosting Teach Truth on Constitution Day (September 17) and Teach Truth About the American Revolution (all year.)
We will be working to support educators, parents, caregivers, librarians, students, and community partners year-round as they incorporate the Teach Truth framework into existing efforts. We will continue to offer:
- Lessons and teaching tools rooted in people’s history
- Resources for truth-telling initiatives around the country
- Media amplification for local actions defending public education
- Strategic partnerships with justice movements across the United States
- Advocacy with national organizations to include the demands for the #FreedomtoLearn and the right to #TeachTruth
We thank everyone who has helped build the Teach Truth Days of Action into a powerful national force for educational freedom. Your creativity, courage, and solidarity laid the foundation for this next chapter.
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