Chula Vista Teach Truth Day of Action

Students from Bonita Vista High School rallied on the Memorial Day holiday to oppose attacks on teaching history and book bans. To facilitate student participation before the end of the school year, this Teach Truth Day of Action event was held in advance of the June 10 national mobilization.

Event Photos

Teachers and students spoke at the event and took photos with books they had studied this year. High school teacher Don Dumas, who organized the event, noted,

Book bans are inappropriate in a free society. Anti-CRT legislation is inappropriate in a free society. Anti-LGBTQIA+ policies are inappropriate in a free society. I’m so proud of my students, their parents, and other community members for coming out and challenging these efforts.

In a 2020 California Teacher Association profile of Dumas, he said,

I encourage history teachers to be courageous. We are always telling our students to do what’s right and be truthful. We must do the same when teaching about America’s past, so students can better understand the present.

Here are some photos from our Teach Truth Day of Action in Chula Vista, CA! There we around 50 people who wanted to make their voices heard: stop attacking education. Teachers want to teach the truth, and students want to learn the truth. pic.twitter.com/2uiZSPq4S7

— Don Dumas (@don_dumas) May 29, 2023

Here are some of the books we use in my APUSH and Ethnic Studies classes. I tried to stage them like this and give a speech on truthful history education while standing in the middle. I thought I was creative. Lol. It was a good turnout, though. #teachtruth pic.twitter.com/pgAAklrQDR

— Don Dumas (@don_dumas) May 30, 2023

Outreach

Mr. Dumas’ letter of invitation, shared on Google Classroom, is a useful template for all teachers to adapt and invite their students to participate!

In Lak’Ech,

Join me on Monday at 10am at Memorial Park in Chula Vista (373 Park Way, 91910)! This is why . . .

As we have discussed in class, there are book bans and attacks on inclusive curriculum going on around the country. I’ve tried to teach you the truth about the development of the United States — the good and the bad. In some places, some of the books we have read in our class are banned. In an effort to show how much teachers want to teach the truth, and how much students want to learn the truth, there is a national movement going on called #teachtruth.

The organizers of the day of action have asked me to stage an event where teachers and students gather together and take photos holding a book that teaches truth, similar to the image below. You can bring a book of your choosing (even a book you read in English class that you really liked, for example) but I will also have several different books for you to pose with.

I will give a little rah-rah speech and then we will take the photos and that’s it. Maybe 30 minutes to an hour tops. There are a few restaurants nearby so if you all want to bring a friend and have lunch together you can do that, too.

So bring your friends (even if they aren’t in my class), your parents, siblings, whoever.

I will also hold a special place in my heart for anyone who creates a frame similar to the one in the attached photo. We probably will need about five of those.

Comment on this thread if you are in, and if you can make a frame. See you Monday! — Mr. Dumas

Dumas also shared an invite on Facebook.

To my San Diego Peoples!

Join me tomorrow for our Teach Truth Day of Action in Chula Vista! Meet me at Memorial Park (373 Park Way) at 10am to take a photo like this one. Make it known that the effort to ban books, attack Ethnic Studies, eliminate Black Studies, and erase LGBTQIA+ stories will not go unchallenged!

I have invited my students and their parents as well. I would also love to see some former students there, too. We want to take photos like the one below with various books that teach truth. They can be history books or novels, or any book that has been banned somewhere in the country. You can bring your own book, but I’ll also have books you can pose with.

All of my current and former students, along with their parents and any other member of the community that stands with truthful education are welcome to join us. We are expecting a great turnout!

The national movement day is June 10. So we will be the first city in the country to launch this year.

Let’s show them how we do it in South San Diego! #teachtruth