Calling all authors, artists, athletes, educators, and truth-seekers: We need your help to defend quality education for all young people.
Teachers can’t do it alone. They need our public support. Make some noise. Make resistance visible and the norm.
More than half of students in the United States today are prevented from learning the truth about history by laws, executive orders, corporate textbooks, and high-stakes testing. Here are just a few of countless topics that are frequently censored in classrooms.
- LGBTQ+ history and identity
- Systemic racism and sexism
- Resistance to enslavement
- Federal role in slavery
- Foundational role of enslavement and genocide of native people
- Reconstruction
- Voter suppression after 1965
- Black Freedom Movement
- Collective organizing for change (instead of just individual heroes)
- Contemporary Native Americans
- Environmental racism
- Climate change
- Policing and criminal justice
- U.S. foreign policy
- and many more.
Book bans are just the tip of the iceberg. Proponents of anti-history education bills argue they are protecting children from feeling guilty and from propaganda.
In truth, what concerns the right is young people learning to ask critical questions, to organize for social change, and about the power of interracial solidarity.
Let the media, the White House, and state legislators know that this well-funded rightwing hate campaign is outnumbered by the people in support of truth telling. Let students and teachers know we are by their side.
We extend this request on the occasion of the 5th annual national Teach Truth Day of Action.
Around the country, teachers and allies will gather at historic sites to speak out against anti-history education bills and to defend the freedom to learn for all students. You can join in by taking a photo and/or recording a statement.
Request a Poster
We can send you a Teach, Vote, Resist, Organize poster to hold or place behind you as you are speaking.
Request a free poster: 11″ x 17″ or 17″ x 22″.
Or make your own.
Three Ways to Engage
We invite you to use the power of your network on your social media platform to ensure that children learn the truth about history so that they can shape a more just future. Anytime from now through June 7. Here are three recommendations:
Post a Photo
Take a photo of yourself with a Freedom to Learn or Teach, Vote, Resist, Organize poster and post it on social media with the hashtag #TeachTruth.
You can take the photo anywhere — ideally at a historic site, library, museum, city hall, school, park, or other public space that represents the history and institutions that are threatened.
Submit a Video Recording
Record a 45 to 60 second statement that we can share online about why it is so important to defend the freedom to learn and the rights of all students, no matter their race, gender identity, or immigration status. We will share these statements on social media and our website. If there is a choice, use a vertical landscape. Introduce yourself in the opening and note that you support the campaign to Teach Truth and the freedom to learn. Do not mention the date so that the recording is evergreen. Send the recording to zep@zinnedproject.org in a Google folder or drop box. (See video recording suggestions after Sample Statements.)
Write to the Media
Write an op-ed, letter to the editor, or social media post in support of teachers and about why teaching the truth matters can provide critically needed moral support to teachers and students at this time. Include #TeachTruth so that we can find and amplify your message.
Sample Statements
A goal of education is to teach how to think, not what to think. A truthful, multifaceted history is the best foundation for developing critical analytical skills, vital for an engaged society.
A history that ignores the struggles for justice – from abolition to Civil Rights to labor movements – erases the contributions of ordinary people who fought for the rights we enjoy today.
The most “divisive” thing we can do is lie to children about our country’s past.
Teaching about oppression and resistance is not about making students feel guilty; it’s about empowering them to recognize injustice and become agents of change.
Teaching the truth is not dangerous — suppressing it is. When politicians try to whitewash history and silence educators, it’s our responsibility to speak up. I support the teachers, students, and families fighting back. Join the campaign to #TeachTruth.
All kids deserve an education that prepares them to think critically, ask hard questions, and build a better world. I’m standing up for the right of every student to learn the full story. I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
Generations before us fought for the right to read, to write, to learn. Today’s attacks on education are part of a long pattern of silencing truth-tellers. We won’t go back. I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
From apartheid South Africa to Selma to Standing Rock to Palestine, truth-telling has always been essential to struggles for freedom. Attempts to censor these stories are attacks on freedom everywhere. I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
Teachers are on the frontlines of a battle they didn’t ask for — targeted for simply doing their jobs. We owe them more than silence. We owe them our solidarity. I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
Politicians are using a caricature of diversity, equity, and inclusion to resegregate our country, rob us of our history, and censor the knowledge we need to solve our biggest challenges. We can’t let them. That is why I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
Having honest and courageous conversations about systemic racism helps us achieve the promise of racial equity. That is why I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
Knowledge can help create a more just society. When young people study the roots of injustice, they can address those root causes and shape a better future for everyone. That is why I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
Whether they’re about illuminating our past to make a better future or mirroring our present, books are for all of us. Let us stand together to protect the freedom to read, the freedom to learn, and the freedom to thrive. Together, let us create a better future for ALL students. I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
Certain politicians are trying to get and hold onto power by silencing young people — stoking fear against Black and brown kids leading protests for racial justice, and punishing students and families for being their authentic selves. Whenever a powerful few have tried to pick and choose who counts, there have always been those of us who showed up for each other and built welcoming communities. Now is the time to show up, reject division, and chart a better future for all of us, no matter our ages, races, or genders. I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
Our stories matter. They can serve as a mirror to reflect unique experiences, affirming our own identities, or a window into the lives of those around us. At a moment when our stories and communities are under attack by some decision makers who want us to turn against each other and our public schools, we are coming together to make sure that our kids have the books and resources needed to respect and support each other across our differences. Together with parents, educators, and students, we will protect the power of diverse stories and teaching truthfully. I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
Whatever our color, background, or zip code, we want our children to have an education that imparts honesty about who we are, integrity in how we treat others, and freedom to pursue our dreams. While some politicians want to limit our stories and restrict our freedom to learn by whitewashing history and banning books, we are coming together to ensure our kids can access stories that reflect the diversity of our communities, no matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we love. Let us make this a country where every child has the freedom to learn, grow and thrive – no exceptions. I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
Every child deserves a quality education, no matter the color of their skin or where they call home. But in recent years, some decision makers have targeted our students’ freedom to learn, attempting to censor librarians and teachers, whitewash our histories, and ban books. But today, educators, parents, and students are coming together to make sure all our schools have the freedom to meet every child’s needs to grow, learn, and thrive. I support the campaign to #TeachTruth.
Here are more statements and a media guide.
Video Recording Suggestions
For video recordings, personal stories are the most engaging. For example,
When and where did you first learn the truth about U.S. history?
If you are an author, why do you write? What have you heard from children?
State why you think it is important for young people to be able to learn from history to address the times we are in.
What concerns you most about young people not learning this history?
Shout outs for teachers who refuse to be bullied and have pledged to #TeachTruth
A response to one of these prompts:
When I was in school, I wish I was taught ______.
I learned ____ in school. These anti-education laws mean that children will not learn this and so much more.
I want children to learn __________.
Be sure you introduce yourself in the opening and note that you support the campaign to Teach Truth and the freedom to learn. Do not mention the date so that the recordings don’t become dated! Send the recording to zep@zinnedproject.org in a Google folder or drop box.
Want some inspiration? Check out these clips by authors, athletes, and historians.
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