We offer a robust collection of phrases for social media, articles, signs, and chants for the Teach Truth Day of Action and all year long. Feel free to use or adapt these and write your own. Share them as text, graphics, or a short video. Find more ideas on our media guide.
Sign Ideas
This list was prepared by a group of educators in Portland, Oregon — with additions from the Zinn Education Project team.
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White supremacy is divisive I will not indoctrinate my students with White supremacy Systemic Racism IS the Truth Racism = Hate; Teaching about Racism = Love Love Requires Truth Educators for Truth I refuse to Lie I refuse to lie to my students Ignorance = Hate Teach Truth Pledge to teach the truth! The truth will set us free School: a place to think We, the teachers, say no to censorship & intimidation Educators Rejecting Censorship Teachers keep on teaching The truth: essential tenet of a democracy Truth: Essential to Democracy Silence = Violence Normalize Truth Telling We, the teachers, refuse to be intimidated/silenced McCarthy Era all over again? Hell no! The truth over white feelings/tears Refuse Revisionism Which side are you on? Whose side are you on? Can’t be neutral on a moving train Good teachers teach multiple perspectives. Take it or leave it Criticality is the most important skill teachers teach We teach criticality, not ideology We teach critical thinking, not conformity Criticality over conformity #TeachTruth Teachers won’t be bullied. We will not be silenced. We owe it to the children The truth hurts. So what? No pain, no gain. This white teacher is not threatened by the truth Collectively we construct a new tomorrow Ask me about the Revolution Truth? I like it! Say no to legislating lies! Codify lies? Why? Who’s afraid of the truth? Teach the truth because perpetuating past wrongs is just . . . wrong Truth = clarity The kids deserve nothing but the truth Lies are outdated, truth is in! We love our truthtelling teachers! We stand with the truthtellers! It’s about time for the truth!/It’s about time to tell the truth! Lies are for liars & deniers Better hard truth than a lie/ life built on lies The kids can spot a lie from a mile away Freedom > Fascism We want to teach about fascism – not live through it The many will beat the money No bullies, no billionaires We the people — not the billionaires |
Recognizing Mistakes is Necessary for Learning Refusing to Acknowledge Failure Lying to children is for cowards Cowards Lie to Children Comfort or Truth — Make Your Choice Yesterday’s truth means better tomorrow Why lie? Face the truth and move on/forward! Honesty not travesty Truth → Transformation Truth over propaganda So what do we want? A revolution! Hell yes we want a revolution! Strong enough to face the truth! Truth about history fuels change! Truth fuels change! United for democratic schools! United for academic freedom! The kids can handle the truth. It’s the adults!/The adults? Students can handle Truth. Can you? Injury to one (teacher) is injury to all Can you stand the truth? Why hide the truth when we can learn/grow from it? Ideological censorship will not be tolerated! I’m white and I can handle the truth! No true learning or understanding without the truth The truth is the mirror America/the U.S. needs Honor learning as exploration/True learning is exploration, not regurgitating prescribed facts Hide from the truth and it will bite you in the ass The children want to know Legislating against teaching about structural racism is structural racism. Why is ending racism such a debate? Resist! We Will Not Be Silenced You won’t legislate equal funding for schools, but will legislate that you can’t teach about racism. Can’t burn all the books in the world even if you try Don’t give into the anti-teacher propaganda Don’t give into the propaganda Blaming the teachers? We don’t buy it! Young people have minds of their own. What a concept! Hide the truth and the kids will demand it! Hiding the truth from kids is like hiding presents they know are coming Stop the witch hunts against anti-racist teachers! Be brave with us/me! Scared of the truth? I’m here to help Honesty is the best policy Teachers rising up Censorship? No thanks. I learned about it in history class! Not a fan of censorship Fascism? No thanks. I learned about it in history class! Public schools are the cornerstone of our democracy. Resist the slander!/smears! Resist the anti-teacher propaganda! |
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June 2022 Bainbridge Teach Truth Day of Action | Credit: Chasity Malatesta
Chants
Listen to a sample audio mp3 for the chants
Teach Truth —- No More Lies
Teachers (people/parents/students) United — will (or we’ll) never be defeated
Censorship? No thanks! I learned about it in history class!
Fascism? No thanks! I learned about it in history class!
What do we want? Truth. Where do we want it? In our schools.
You can’t run, you can’t hide. History is on our side.
The truth, The truth! The truth will set us free.
We’re here, we’re strong. We’ll tell the truth the whole year long.
So what do we want? A revolution! When do we want it? Now!
(To the tune “If you’re Happy and you Know it)
If you refuse to be bullied, CLAP your hands (Clap twice, 1, 2)
If you refuse to be bullied, CLAP your hands
If you refuse to be bullied, and you believe in truth fully
If you refuse to be bullied, CLAP your hands
If you pledge to teach the truth, STOMP your feet (Stomp twice 1, 2)
If you pledge to teach the truth, STOMP your feet
If you pledge to teach the truth and you won’t let down our youth
If you pledge to teach the truth STOMP your feet
Songs
Teach Truth Playlist Recommendations
Graphics
We offer graphics that you can use as is or customize.
Click the image to find dozens more. Or make your own!
Messages
These sample messages can be used as social media posts before, during, and after your action. They are sorted by broad themes.
For more guidance on messaging, check out our full media guide or additional resources from GLSEN, We Make the Future, and Race Forward.
We begin with the response from an educator about why he is hosting a day of action event:
I am hosting this event:
For students, who deserve to learn accurately about our past and present. They deserve all the tools we can provide them to help them think critically about the world, so that they might be engaged citizens in it.
For educators and parents, who want the best for young people. They need our support in the face of laws that aim to stifle critical thinking and empathy.
Systemic Racism and Education
Find graphics on this page.
Learning about the history of race and how it informs our present helps us all become wiser and stronger
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 solve problems by having honest and courageous conversations about them — and then taking action
We value an honest education about race and racism in this country
Having honest and courageous conversations about systemic racism helps us achieve the promise of racial equity
Advancing racial equity will benefit us all, strengthening our neighborhoods, our cities, and our states
Inclusive education
Adapted from GLSEN
When we give our students access to supportive, inclusive, and truthful education, they thrive
All students — no matter their race, gender identity, or immigration status — deserve to be safe, comfortable, and supported in their schools so they can focus on education
Our youth are watching how we respond when politicians bully students because of their gender, race, or background
Inclusive school curriculum can act as a window for young people into the diverse world around them, as well as a mirror to reflect their own experiences and identities. All students benefit from seeing accurate representation of the diversity that makes our multicultural democracy so important.
Every student in our country — no matter their race, gender identity, or immigration status — is deserving of quality inclusive education in safe and empowering school environments, regardless of radical politicians’ ill-fated attempts to play politics with our children’s futures
We must rise up for Black and Brown, immigrant, disabled, and LGBTQ+ youth and keep advocating for inclusive education that promotes a safe and healthy environment for all of us
Respect every child’s freedom to be themselves and pursue their dreams.
Education as the cornerstone of democracy
Adapted from GLSEN
Education that is inclusive and accurately represents the diverse world around us helps all students — no matter their race, gender identity, or immigration status — learn how to engage in our multicultural democracy
Erasing Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ issues from classrooms jeopardizes the foundation of our democracy
Without supportive and representative education, our country can never achieve the democratic ideals we aspire to
Education should equip young people with the knowledge they need to drive change in policy and in culture, and foster the confidence and compassion needed to pursue transformation in their communities
Education should inspire political activism and civic engagement in all of us. Especially at this moment, when our country is facing such vocal extremism, we must invest in our future by investing in our students’ education
Book bans and curriculum censorship
Adapted from GLSEN
Today, some politicians want to ban the conversations about race we are having in classrooms, workplaces, and in government – but by standing together we can provide every child an accurate and quality education
All students benefit from seeing accurate representation of the diversity that makes our multicultural democracy so important. Learning to understand and respect different people of different backgrounds helps prepare students to participate in our society and be stronger leaders for equity and progress for all
Book bans are a part of a larger attack on the LGBTQ+ community and communities of color from right-wing extremists
Inclusive school curriculum — including access to books about LGBTQ+ people and people of color — can act as a window for young people into the diverse world around them, as well as a mirror to reflect their own experiences and identities
We must speak out against bills that include book bans and vote for down-ballot candidates like school board members and state legislators who support inclusive education
Solutions
We know better than to give into lies that prevent us from learning our country’s true racial history and how it shapes our lives today
History shows that when we work together across our differences, we accomplish great things for ourselves, our loved ones, our neighbors, and our children
History also shows that every time we made progress on race as a country, there has been a backlash. These attacks are in response to a growing movement of people who want to play their part in addressing systemic racism
We must not be “colorblind” to the reality of systemic racism. Instead, we must be “race-conscious” in our efforts to understand and fix our country’s problems. That means directly addressing the harm that systemic racism has caused to people of color
There is benefit for everyone in addressing systemic racism. By having honest and courageous conversations about systemic racism, people of all backgrounds have come to a deeper understanding of themselves, developed stronger connections with their neighbors, and have found purpose in doing their part to build a more fair and inclusive world
As these attacks against discussing race continue and escalate, now is a vital time to express our support of learning about systemic racism — in our neighborhoods, classrooms, and workplaces
We refuse to return to the hysteria and paranoia of the McCarthy era, and we won’t let them use race, gender, and sexuality to divide and conquer us
Story Prompts
Click the images to find a variety of story prompts along with an instructional video produced by EJ-ROC at NYU Metro Center.
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One of the most politically empowering and transformative assignments I devised at UMassBoston was a history research project that required my racially diverse, working class students to interview Afghan (or Iraqi) war veterans over the course of the semester.
Together, we discussed assigned readings that focused on both wars. We devised interview questions, and later brainstormed together about the issues and questions that arose during the interviews. Their interview findings were bound together in a packet, which became the basis for their research papers. A strength of this project for these predominantly working class and racially diverse students was that I (the professor) was not telling them what they should be finding; they were instead attempting to tell the untold story of the vets they interviewed. Many of them discovered that “their” vets had never before spoken to anyone about the war. The research project was enlightening and empowering both for the student interviewers and the interviewees –and for me. I have since published several books about transformative pedagogy