In the News

SNCC veteran Courtland Cox asks: Who is going to control the narrative? The answer is that we can shift the narrative if we equip young people with people’s history and critical thinking skills to make them impervious to lies. This is why we must support the educators who boldly teach honest, inclusive history. These teachers equip students with the tools to think critically, question harmful rhetoric, and understand the systemic forces shaping the world. Supporting them isn’t just about protecting academic freedom — it’s about building a future where justice, not fear, guides public understanding.

As we have seen educators come under attack for teaching the truth about U.S. history, we have also seen them rise up and fight back. There is one story of educator resistance that has not been reported on: the Teaching for Black Lives (T4BL) study groups and the more than 3,795 educators from across the country — including in states that have prohibited anti-racist education — who have come together over the last several years to read, learn, reflect, and struggle for justice in classrooms and schools. Hundreds of T4BL study groups have formed since 2020

Teachers and union leaders are rallying to protect Black students and public schools from Trump’s Project 2025 policies. “We need an uprising,” Zinn Education Project organizer Jesse Hagopian tells Word In Black. “We need a mass multiracial uprising to challenge those in power. Nobody’s coming to save us.”

Across the country, history and social studies teachers are grappling with balancing the strictures of the public education system alongside their own visions for what their students need and deserve to know. For educators of color, particularly Black teachers who primarily educate students of color, the importance of ensuring that their lessons are reflective of all of the histories, backgrounds, and stories is magnified. Three teachers share how they use resources beyond traditional textbooks to build a more radical and reflective curriculum.

The Los Angeles museum hosted its annual commemoration of the 1871 Chinese Massacre, marking 153 years on the anniversary of the mass killing. A mob of approximately 500 individuals, consisting of White and Mexican Americans, descended on Los Angeles’ Chinatown, killing at least 17 Chinese residents, including a child. As detailed by the Zinn Education Project, the mob looted businesses and lynched many victims in public spaces. Although some perpetrators were initially convicted, their sentences were overturned a year later, underscoring the racial injustices of the era​.

Prism spoke to educators from Texas, Vermont, and New York who have found ways to address LGBTQIA+ justice in their classrooms in the face of censorship. As the national discourse around LGBTQIA+ rights continues to evolve, these educators remain committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for their students.

As debates over critical race theory rage on, educators find creative ways to engage students about the U.S.’s racial past. In a conversation with three teachers across the U.S. who teach middle and high school history or social studies, Prism sought to explore how these conversations shape classroom life.

A high school teacher in New Mexico discusses how literature — and classroom resources from the Zinn Education Project — can help young people make powerful connections to modern struggles for immigrant rights.