In the News

The Teach Truth Day of Action, coordinated by Rethinking Schools’ and Teaching for Change’s  Zinn Education Project, helped to reaffirm teachers’ commitment to continue to uphold an honest and accurate history of Black, brown, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ people, as well as their contributions to the U.S — not only on June 8, but throughout the school year, too.

With over 169 events in 40 states and territories, organizations like the Zinn Education Project, the National Education Association, GLSEN, and many more are equipping students, communities, and leaders to fight efforts to ban the teaching of historical and scientific facts in schools — and let their voices be heard on issues they care about.

The New Republic has announced its presentation of the Right To Read event in Miami at the Pérez Art Museum Miami on Biscayne Boulevard on Saturday, June 8 — the fourth annual “Teach Truth Day of Action” organized by the Zinn Education Project. A part of the program is to be a presentation of the first Toni Morrison Awards for Courage — not unlike the International Publishers Association‘s (IPA) Prix Voltaire, an honor meant to recognize valor in publishing under repressive circumstances, in this case working to counter book bannings.

The miseducation of Black students and the disinvestment in Black education in America is an ongoing historical battle. Community organizers and over 50 organizations formed the Freedom to Learn network, which is organizing Freedom Summer 2024 to help combat continuous oppression and suppression within the education system. Educational toolkits and lesson plans offered by the Zinn Education Project, SNCC Digital Gateway, and Civil Rights Teaching are available online. Supporters can use the hashtags #TeachTruth, #FreedomToLearn, and #FreedomSummer2024 on social media to start meaningful conversations and spread the message.

Book bans and curriculum censorship legislation are the curricular counterpart to voter suppression laws. That’s why during this election year, we’re working to alert everyone that they threaten an informed and engaged democracy and hosting the 4th annual Teach Truth Day of Action. Whether in your classroom or in the community, please join us to defend the right to teach history and the freedom to learn.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have taken over parts of college campuses across the U.S., the latest in a decades-long string of protests ignited by political activism — some of which have spiraled into violence amid police crackdowns. In the past, free speech sit-ins quickly escalated into massive rallies, Vietnam War college demonstrations turned deadly and U.S. civil rights protests ended in mass arrests, as seen at the Zinn Education Project website. Today’s demonstrators also have specific changes in mind, often involving divestment from Israel, citing the deaths of more than 34,000 Palestinian people who died in Gaza amid Israel’s bombardment and ground assault.

The Zinn Education Project’s annual Teach Truth Day of Action, organized throughout the country by ZEP members, brings an increasing number of people together — educators, parents, and community members — to learn about threats to public education and why it matters if curricula are restricted, books are banned, and progressive dissent is silenced. The goal, of course, is to build grassroots opposition to right-wing attacks and support educators.

The backlash against Palestine in education isn't just happening in universities. There have also been dozens of educators disciplined at primary and secondary schools across the United States for teaching about the Israeli attack on Gaza. “We’re seeing McCarthy-era levels of repression, not just at universities, but at the K–12 level,” Zinn Education Project co-director Deborah Menkart told Mondoweiss. “Historically we’ve seen that people in power understand the potential impact of young people thinking critically and looking through the lens of history.”