Across the country, teachers are being told they cannot teach the truth about the destructive role of racism, sexism and oppression throughout U.S. history. In response, educators across the United States are signing a pledge to teach truth.
Join the effort to #TeachTruth!
Brightbeam is joining with the Zinn Education Project (coordinated by Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change), Black Lives Matter at School, the African American Policy Forum, and the Center for Black Educator Development are encouraging educators and activists to make that pledge public in gatherings nationwide August 27–29, 2021. See if there is an action already planned in your city, or plan your own action with the instructions below.
How to Plan an Action in Your City
From the Zinn Education Project
- Select a site in your town or city that symbolizes or reflects the complex history of racism, sexism and oppression that many teachers are being told not to teach. The site could be identified by an historic marker, statue, archive, burial ground, or museum. There are also countless historic sites that are unmarked — such as a freeway that destroyed a neighborhood or a university building funded by enslaved labor. The power of selecting a historic site is that it becomes the focus of your media interviews, providing a concrete example of the history young people have a right to learn.
- Organize a gathering at the site (or online) with fellow educators, family members, students, and community members. The group can be any size. If you don’t have time to organize a group, pick a site and go on your own or with a friend. Every voice and action counts!
- You could invite teachers to read their pledges and students to share why learning the truth about history is important to them. (We will send you a guide with more suggested activities and you can get ideas from the June 12 Day of Action.)
- Post photos and videos to social media with hashtags: #TeachTruth
- Once you sign up (below), we will send you a step-by-step guide for planning your action along with sample graphics for social media. By mid-August, we will send the complete toolkit with press advisories, how to respond to frequently asked questions, and more.