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A CALL TO ACTION

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Classrooms are a primary battlefield for the current attacks on CRT and the teaching of truth. In recent months, lawmakers in over two dozen states have attempted to regulate how teachers can discuss racism, sexism, and issues of equality and justice.

 

 

What can you do? 

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Whether you are an educator, a student, a parent, or an organization— your support is critical. We invite you to learn more about the attacks on Critical Race Theory by reviewing our past events especially dedicated to educators. Watch our Under the Blacklight episode “Educators Ungagged: Teaching Truth in the Era of Racial Backlash,” or find it on the Intersectionality Matters! podcast feed.

Across the country, a coordinated disinformation campaign is being waged against race and gender justice education. State and local bills aimed at censoring Critical Race Theory and the teaching of race and racism serve as authoritarian tools intended to silence those working to hold honest conversations about the full history and continuing legacies of injustice in America. As intended, a climate of fear is proliferating in state after state across schools, government agencies, businesses, and civil society.

 

  • Have you, or has anyone in your network, been affected by attacks on racial and gender justice discourse?

  • Are you an anti-racist educator who has been forced or encouraged to change your practice?

  • Have you experienced racism in an educational setting or heard of any related effects?

Proudly partnering with Howard University School of Law’s Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center, AAPF is launching the nation’s first Hotline for educators who have questions about how these classroom censorship bills are affecting their lives and what they can and cannot teach. Our nation’s educators have already faced harassment, threats, termination, and more. If you have experienced any consequences for teaching truth, we want to help answer your questions. For example, do you:

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  • Have questions about what is and isn’t allowed in your curriculum?

  • Need help finding legal assistance?

  • Have questions about critical race theory and/or culturally responsive teaching?

  • Want assistance drafting a faculty senate resolution?

 

For any educator, student, parent, or DEI professional. For any concern about teaching truth. Please call us at 202-250-5403. 

 

Together, we can make sure the #TruthBeTold.

We invite Higher Ed educators to read and sign our Higher Ed Faculty Open Letter on academic freedom to teach about race and gender justice and Critical Race Theory. To sign the Open Letter, please follow this link. We also encourage you to review the examples of faculty senate resolutions and the list of institutions that have passed resolutions, to engage in using the senate resolution template, and to consider adopting such a resolution at your own university.

UNIVERSITY SENATE MEETINGS

RESOLUTION STATUS

PASSED A RESOLUTION

TEMPLATE EXAMPLES

RESOLUTION STATUS

​​There’s no time to waste. If you act, we’ll be able to not only push back against the attacks on CRT and the teaching of truth, but also to lift up the campaigns we are already organizing around and winning. 

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Messaging and the Media

Do you need some general tips to prepare for speaking with the media or do you want to better understand the context and issues surrounding CRT? In collaboration with Black Lives Matter at Schools and Zinn Education Project, AAPF has prepared a series of guides and media trainings to unify our message and consolidate our defense of CRT. 

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The Messaging Guide was developed by the legal scholar who originally coined the terms “critical race theory” and “intersectionality” and provides a coherent messaging platform for three key stakeholders: public education, racial justice advocates and voting rights activists. 

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Media Trainings are a best practice guide for interviewing with media. 

The Media Training 101 focuses on soundbites and short form messaging. The Media Training 201 provides guidance for long form interviews (20-30min). Media Training 101 and 201 are joint projects of AAPF, Black Lives Matter at School and Zinn Education Project. We are grateful to Janine Jackson (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) and Chris Nelson (Pyramid Communications) for sharing their expertise.

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Toolkits

Winning Racial Justice in Our Schools was created by the Education Justice Research and Organizing Collaborative (EJ-ROC) at the NYU Metro Center, together with the African American Policy Forum. This toolkit brings together resources from organizations across the country to help you with media, messaging, advocacy, legislation and more.


 

Know Your Rights was developed by the National Education Association (NEA). This document provides guidance for educators, informing what they should know about state measures restricting certain instruction on racism and sexism.

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