Action Plan Overview | Action Plan Details
Coordinators and Co-Sponsors | Workshops and More Events
It’s time to take action. . . . again.
For the past two summers, teachers rallied across the country at historic sites to speak out against anti-history education bills and to make public their pledge to teach the truth. These actions, and the AAPF #Unbanned Book Tour, have been the only national protests of this dangerous legislation.
The teacher-led rallies received national media attention, providing a valuable counter narrative to the oversized coverage of the well-funded anti-CRT movement.
Once again, we invite educators, students, parents, and community members to rally across the country and pledge to #TeachTruth and defend LGBTQ+ rights on June 10, 2023.
The situation is urgent.
Lawmakers in at least 44 states have introduced legislation or pursued other measures that attempt to require educators to lie to students about the role of racism, sexism, heterosexism, transphobia, and other forms of oppression throughout U.S. history. These laws and restrictions have been imposed in at least 18 states. The Right has declared war on teaching the truth about structural racism and sexism and on LGBTQ+ youth.
Books by Black, Indigenous, authors of color, and LGBTQ+ writers are increasingly being banned.
As Jesse Hagopian points out,
Just as the Red Scare and the Lavender Scare were used to purge teachers from the late-1940s through the early-1960s, the current attacks on what history deniers have labeled “critical race theory” and “gender ideology” are directly connected.
In Florida, Gov. DeSantis’s so-called “Parental Rights in Education” bill — better known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — prohibits classroom instruction related to gay, lesbian, or transgender issues, and sexuality or gender identity more broadly. Florida is one of six states that censor discussions of LGBTQ+ people or issues in school, and one of eighteen that bans transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.
While claiming to “protect” young people, the right-wing legislators block any efforts to address gun violence (the leading cause of death for young people) and the existential threat of climate change.
This is a national call.
Although bills and budget resolutions are being proposed (and in some cases passed) in specific states, the threat to teaching — and the need for solidarity — is everywhere.
We invite people to participate from all over the United States. You can plan a virtual event or gathering at a historic site. From our freedom to vote to our children’s freedom to learn, to everyone’s freedom from gun violence, certain politicians want to overturn the will of the people and block the policies we need for our students, families, and communities to thrive. By coming together, we can rewrite the rules to ensure safe, affirming, and welcoming schools and the freedom to learn for our children — across race, place, and gender identities — no exceptions.
How to Plan An Action in Your City
To make our voices loud and clear, we hope to see actions (of all sizes — from one person to 100+) all over the United States.
It is important to sign up so that we can send you more resources and support. While the step-by-step guide further below (after the co-sponsor list) is detailed, the process is simple:
- 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!
- Invite teachers to share their commitment to teaching truthfully, parents to share why they want their children to have an uncensored education, and students to share why learning the truth about history and respecting all identities is important to them. You can plan other activities. See ideas in the slides and detailed description further below.
- Post photos and videos to social media with the hashtag #TeachTruth
Below are examples of day of action activities, from prior events around the country.
Leadership
These events are coordinated by the Zinn Education Project (coordinated by Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change), Black Lives Matter at School, and the African American Policy Forum.
Coordinators
Co-sponsors
Advancement Project, AFT Share My Lesson, American Youth Policy Forum, Amplifier, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, BARWE, Center for Black Educator Development, Civil Rights Movement Archive, Communities for Just Schools Fund, Empowering Pacific Islander Communities, The Equity Lab, Faith & Prejudice, Foundation 451, HEAL Together / Race Forward, Historians for Peace and Democracy, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Learning for Justice, Monument Lab, National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, National Education Association, National Equity Project, Our Turn, Project 2043, Pulitzer Center’s 1619 Education Program, Red Wine & Blue, Roots to Revolution, SNCC Legacy Project, Stonewall National Museum and Archives, Teach Rock, United States Hispanic Leadership Institute, Voice of Witness, Women’s Equity Center and Action Network, and more groups.
Interested in adding your organization as a co-sponsor? Sign up here.
Day of Action Step-By-Step Guide
1. SELECT A SITE, DATE, AND TIME
Belton, Texas. Photo by Richard Beaule.
Plan where to hold your event. Select a site in your town or city that symbolizes or reflects history that teachers would be required to lie about or omit if these bills become law, which is already the case in some states. It could be identified by a 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.
The event can also be a virtual teach-in or town hall.
If in person, we encourage you to check on and be aware of any local guidance or ordinances on public gatherings in your area. And although outdoor gatherings are safer, have paper masks available.
Select any day or time on June 10. If that weekend does not work, pick another day.
2. PLAN AN ACTIVITY
Organize an event 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. Every action counts.
Determine type of action. There are a lot of options for organizing your event. Below are some ideas from the events in 2021 (June and August) and 2022 (June). For any events with speakers, it helps to have access to a microphone and amplifier so that everyone can hear.
Teachers read pledges and/or students testify at a historic site. There is power in having a group of teachers read their pledges aloud and students testify to why they want to learn outside the textbook. Arrange to have one person as an MC who can create a list of the teachers who agree to read their pledges, introducing them one by one and keeping the program moving at a good pace.
In preparation, ask teachers in advance to read their pledges and students to share why learning the truth about history is important to them. For example, in Washington, D.C., the group met at the African American Civil War Memorial. A teacher was the MC, the memorial director (who is also a SNCC veteran) spoke, and then teachers read their pledges. See photos and stories about the D.C. events in 2021 and 2022.
March. Walk on a route with signs to raise awareness about the threats to education. Or march to a local civic building. Music and chants are a plus.
HS teacher Kristi Graves holds a sign during the 2022 Truth Walk in Decatur. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Walking tours. In addition to selecting a historic site for your convening, you can invite participants to walk or march to additional sites. Teachers in Memphis and Seattle organized walking tours, with different people responsible for sharing the history at each location. Here is the announcement for Memphis and photos of the event. In Waterloo, Iowa, speakers addressed the history of various sites that were in close proximity. A Seattle tour focused on sites relevant to 1919.
Rally with speakers. In addition to having teachers read pledges, you can invite noted guests to speak. Speakers could include historians, elected officials, poets, voting or climate justice activists, labor leaders, and more. We recommend encouraging speakers to keep their talks to five minutes or less. If you are looking for speakers, here are sources:
Books to symbolize banned history. As you plan your event, consider visuals to convey the goals of your gathering to the public and the media. One suggestion is to have everyone bring a book that symbolizes the history they want to protect the right to teach about. In Concord, New Hampshire, there was a book swap.
Educators rallied to pledge to teach the truth in Concord, New Hampshire. Photo by Troy Cromwell.
The Concord invitation said: “Participants are encouraged to bring a book that changed their perspective on systemic racism/inequity that might be considered “divisive” under the new law and treat the event as a giant book swap. Attendees will be welcomed to place their book on the capitol steps and at the end of the event, anyone who brings a book can pick a new one!”
In Pasadena, Maryland, organizers invited people to a banned books “photo booth” at a local library. They set up a table and had visitors take a photo with a banned book and cardboard frame.
Students as Historians. Students can be invited to share the local history of the respective site you select.
Sojourn to the Past students shared the Jim Crow history of swimming pools in Youngstown.
In Youngstown, students in a youth group shared the history of the local pool. (See photo above.) They also made the link to mass incarceration. A prisoner (speaking via cell phone and amplifier) addressed the group.
Gather at History Sites Countywide. In Westchester County, an organizer got folks to pledge to #TeachTruth at sites throughout the county on July 22. Photos and description of how the event was organized.
Virtual teach-in or town hall. The day of action event can be offered online as a teach-in with various presenters or a large group town hall. For example, in 2021 the Foster Woods Folk School offered a virtual teach-in with a series of five- to seven-minute “illegal lessons” from or about a historical site or event near them. Sessions descriptions and video. Black Lives Matter at School — Iowa hosted a town hall forum for educators, parents, and students to discuss the impact of the legislation and honor the stories and experiences of Black Iowans.
For more ideas, see the actions from June and August, 2021 and June of 2022.
Before you keep reading, please sign up using the button below. It is important that we are in touch with all the site coordinators so we can offer support and resources.
3. SPREAD THE WORD
Create a Facebook event or webpage announcement. For Facebook, check out this example from D.C.
Send that link to the Zinn Education Project so that we can announce your event. We will add it to a page listing all the events nationally — and if you like — we can send an email to all the teachers on our list in your state or region. (We will send the email to you to check first to make sure all the information is correct.)
Create a graphic for your event. (See Berkeley example to right.) We will send you templates and customizable graphics as soon as you sign up.
On the announcement, include the hashtag #TeachTruth, a link to the national call to action, directions to the site, and remind participants to bring signs, a mask, and a water bottle. (We discourage the use of plastic water bottles, so encourage participants to bring reusable bottles.) Ask for volunteers to take photos and help with social media.
Create a social media profile picture to show solidarity with the June 10 Day of Action. There are two options in a folder called profile-pic.
If you prefer not to have your event listed, skip this step.
4. SECURE SPONSORS
Invite local organizations to endorse or join your action, such as the:
-
- state council for social studies
- teacher education programs at local universities
- teacher unions
- middle and high school student groups
- local poets, musicians, and artists
- voting rights organizations
- climate justice groups
- education advocacy groups
- community based civic organizations
- local elected officials
- parent associations
- religious leaders
- racial justice organizations
As an example, the D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice has secured the following co-sponsors for this year, in addition to the co-host, the African American Civil War Museum and Memorial.
5. PREPARE MATERIALS FOR THE DAY OF ACTION
Make signs or download them, from this graphics toolkit. You can make your own signs — here are dozens of ideas for language. Listen to sample chants. 
Print handouts from the toolkit.
Gather supplies you might need, such as tape, a trash bag, sign-up sheets, pens, and markers. Bring a few water bottles as backup in case people don’t bring their own.
6. GET IN THE NEWS
Make sure teachers’ voices are heard. We had a lot of success the past two years with local and national media coverage. The media toolkit includes templates and guidance for media releases. We will offer a media training in early June. Check out selected local coverage from June 2021 in Portland, Waterloo, Youngstown, and Rhode Island. And in 2022 for Georgia, Ohio, and Washington.
The media announcements are sent two days in advance of the event and on the morning of the event.
7. OPTIONAL
Have tables set up for postcard writing to legislators. Have a list of legislators available to send postcards to.
Have tables set up for social media posts with signs for people to hold. Once you sign up, we will send you lots of downloadable graphics to use as is or to customize.
Order yard signs for participants to take home. Learn how.
8. DURING THE EVENT
Post photos and videos to social media with the hashtag: #TeachTruth
9. AFTER THE EVENT
Send pictures and descriptions from your event to the Zinn Education Project for posting online. Email to info@zinnedproject.org.
Take the time to congratulate yourself and your colleagues!
ASK FOR HELP
Please stay in touch, share updates, and ask for assistance. We have team members who can schedule a call with you to help with your organizing and/or media strategy. We want every site to be as successful as possible.
Fill out the form below. We will send you a media guide and graphics.
Not ready to organize an action? Here are other ways to participate. All you need is a sign, a historic site, and yourself!
Workshops and More Events
April 19, 2:00pm ET: The Power of Truth: Examining the Link Between Past & Current Assaults on Public Education – and the Successful Strategies of Today’s Freedom to Learn Movement webinar hosted by the National Education Association
April 20, 7:30pm ET: Troublemaker Training: How to Speak at School Board Meetings (Like a Pro!) Workshop hosted by Red, Wine, & Blue.
May 3, all day: Freedom to Learn National Day of Action. Hosted by AAPF and other organizations.
May 17, 6:00 pm ET: Heal Together Freedom to Learn Toolkit Release
June 10, all day: Teach Truth Day of Action
