The D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice hosted a Teach Truth Day of Action event at the Mall — marching (with a brass band) from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) to the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).

The event launched with remarks from representatives of two lead co-sponsors of the national day of action — Becky Pringle (president, National Education Association) and Lisa Varga (associate executive director, American Library Association Public Policy and Advocacy Office).

Becky Pringle, National Education Association

You look fabulous. We are in the shadow of this incredible museum and all the truth that it holds and has been teaching our students and people who have come from all over the world. We know that it is under direct attack. I want to start by reminding you of this.

Of all the civil rights for which this world has fought and died for five thousand years, the right to learn is the most fundamental. The freedom to learn has been bought by bitter sacrifice. So, whatever you might think about the curtailment of other civil rights, you must fight to the last ditch to keep open the right to learn.

Are you ready to fight to the last ditch? Will you keep open the right to learn?

Those words by W. E. B. Du Bois capture the magnitude of the work we must do.

A lot of people talk about and they add to the end of what I just said, “in this moment.”

But those of you who are gathered here, you know this is not just a moment.

It is important that you are here today. And guess what? You are joined by thousands of people all over the country in two hundred cities. From Alaska to Puerto Rico, people are standing up, they are lifting up their voices, [and] they are standing in their power today. But they know this is not a moment: this is a season. And we have to be ready for that long battle.

But I need to say this. We can’t just fight against. We have to fight forward. We have to keep that vision in our head so we know what we’re going toward. We want to make sure that we create learning environments where students can have those mirrors so they can see themselves, and windows so they can see others, so that our students are prepared to be the leaders of a just society. That is the vision of what we want to create.

But here we are. And so I need to challenge you to live up to the spirit of a great union organizer, Mother Jones. She was called “the most dangerous woman in America” because she said, “I am not afraid of the pen, or the sword, or the scalpel. I will tell the truth wherever I please.”

So, I need you to tell the truth. Tell the truth of books being ripped out of our babies hands. I need you to tell the truth of our students’ curriculum being censored. I need you to tell the truth [that they’re] trying to dismantle and destroy public education in this country so that we won’t have an educated citizenry to stop their unfettered march toward power. I need you to tell the truth. Tell the truth!

I know that you will not stop. You will not stop until this country lives into the promise of its Constitution: “We the people.”

We the people, we the people, ALL of us deserve that right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of justice. We will read ALL the books. All the books! All the books!

And I know that you’re standing here. Because it can’t always be night. The daylight and the sun is coming and I know you will bring the light when we fight. When we fight, we win. Onward!

Lisa Varga, American Library Association

For several years now, librarians, library workers, and educators have been pushing back on the removal of books from our classrooms and libraries. We have been on the front lines, in school board meetings, city councils, talking to our legislators about the importance of reading and the fundamentals of literacy. We know and understand the devastating, generational impacts of removing books as a means of control.

Ensuring that children see themselves reflected in their reading materials is paramount. We learn from one another’s stories, and the museum behind me is a testament to that. Stories deserve context — we learn from each other, we grow from seeing life through the unique lenses and perspectives of others.

It is events like this, people just like you, who are helping to push back and protect the first amendment rights of readers all across our nation. We thank you for showing up, for speaking up, for using your voices to amplify the message that Free People Read Freely.

I’ll say it again: Free People Read Freely.

Photo and video clip by Hampton Conway, Firebug Productions.