Defend Right to Teach Truth in Georgia

Students gathered at the Georgia Capitol on Feb. 25, 2022, to protest legislation limiting what schools can teach about systemic racism. Source: Amanda Andrews / GPB News

Georgia Educators, Students, and Community Members,

Please sign the petition that will be delivered to state legislators. It reads:

As educators, students, and community members, we strongly oppose Senate Bill 375 (Divisive Concepts), Senate Bill 377 (Divisive Concepts), House Bill 888 (Teaching About Race), and House Bill 1084 (Divisive Concepts).

These bills are aimed at severely limiting, if not eliminating, the teaching of accurate history. These bills are a tremendous circumvention of local control and educational independence. They aim to replace American history with a mythology of America that erases the harms of slavery and racism in this country. They are also looking to limit teachings around civic engagement.

We urge you to take action to ensure that these dangerous bills do not become law and that Georgia’s students and teachers remain free to express their ideas and experiences — all of them — in Georgia’s classrooms.

Sign and Share the Petition

Jennifer Young. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Teach Truth Campaign and Resources

At a Georgia #TeachTruth teach-in, Decatur High School graduation coach Jennifer Young invited people to write on the sidewalk. Young said, “What we would love for you to do is cover the sidewalk with whatever you learned today, because that’s not being taught in your school and it can be taught in the Square. The reason we are using chalk today is because this is just like history. If we’re not careful, it can all get washed away.”

Read about the national attempts to ban teaching honestly about U.S. history and check out the lessons from the Zinn Education Project at the #TeachTruthSyllabus.