Teach Truth Day of Action
Join Us on June 8
Make Some Noise: Counter the Chilling Effect
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Lend your voice to counter the chilling effect of anti-history education laws and book bans.
More than half of students in the United States today are prevented from learning the truth about history by laws, corporate textbooks, and high-stakes testing. Here are just a few of countless topics that are frequently censored in classrooms.
- LGBTQ+ history and identity
- Systemic racism and sexism
- Resistance to enslavement
- Federal role in slavery
- Foundational role of enslavement and genocide of native people
- Reconstruction
- Voter suppression after 1965
- Black Freedom Movement
- Collective organizing for change (instead of just individual heroes)
- Contemporary Native Americans
- Environmental racism
- Climate change
- Policing and criminal justice
- U.S. foreign policy
- and many more.
Book bans are just the tip of the iceberg. Proponents of anti-history education bills argue they are protecting children from feeling guilty and from propaganda.
In truth, what concerns the right is young people learning to ask critical questions, to organize for social change, and about the power of interracial solidarity.
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There are more than 170 Teach Truth Day of Action events across the United States: Albuquerque, Annapolis, Atlanta, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, Boston, Brooklyn, Charlottesville, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, D.C., Fairbanks, Hartford, Helena-West Helena (Arkansas), Indianapolis, Iowa City, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee, Montclair, New Orleans, Newark, Peekskill, Richmond, San Juan, Seattle, Syracuse, Topeka, Youngstown, and dozens more cities. | |
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Educators and allies are hosting events on June 8 and all month at libraries, bookstores, farmers’ markets, Pride festivals, Juneteenth celebrations, schools, voting centers, and more. Below are a few examples. | |
We need EVERYONE to defend the freedom to learn on the day of action (June 8) and all year. See options below. | |
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Share graphics (like the one above) on social media about why YOU defend the freedom to learn.
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- Go to a historic site and take a photo with a Teach Truth sign that you make or download. Share on social media with #TeachTruth.
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Donate so that we can continue to organize events like these and defend the right of teachers to teach people’s history.
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Co-sponsors, children's authors, and event hosts spoke at our Day of Action Press Call on June 4 about why it is important to challenge the attacks on teaching history and book bans. | |
One of the speakers, children’s book author Megan Madison, said: | |
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Attempts to ban books are a part of a larger multi-issue policy agenda that’s being advanced by anti-democratic groups across the country.
They don’t just want to ban books. They want to hurt trans kids. They want to silence Black progressive leadership, and they are preying on the trauma of Jewish people, weaponizing our community’s fear and grief to beef up police budgets while cutting funding for public institutions, like libraries and parks and schools. It’s all connected.
Audre Lorde taught us that there are no single issue struggles because we do not live single issue lives. Our liberation is collective, always has been and always will be.
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Teach Truth Day of Action events are led by classroom teachers, teacher educators, librarians, NAACP chapters, unions, and more. | |
More than 65 organizations are co-sponsoring the Teach Truth Day of Action, including the Abolitionist Teaching Network, the African American Policy Forum, American Library Association, Black Lives Matter at School, Black Teacher Project, GLSEN, HEAL Together, Institute for Common Power, National Education Association, SNCC Legacy Project, The New Republic, WEE Nation Radio, and more. | |
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Our Teach Truth Media Guide is for everyone seeking to communicate with the media or others about the dangers of anti-history education legislation and book bans, the importance of teaching truthfully, and the rights of LGBTQ+ students.
The guide was designed for the Teach Truth Days of Action, but can be used all year.
We include responses to frequently asked questions on systemic racism, LGBTQ identity, parents’ rights, Critical Race Theory, and more. This year we’ve added FAQs on Palestine, antisemitism, and Project 2025.
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Teachers are under attack for teaching truthfully about U.S. history. Please donate so that we can continue to offer free people’s history lessons and resources, and defend teachers’ right to use them. | | | | |
