Hi, ACLU Supporter.

My name is Anthony Crawford. I'm a teacher in Oklahoma, and I'm also part of a group of educators and students represented by the ACLU in a lawsuit against the state's law, HB 1775 – which severely restricts learning and talking about race and gender in the classroom.

I'm hoping you'll read more about why I'm in this fight against classroom censorship, because I don't think it could be a more important time for us to defend the fundamental right to learn.

You see, Oklahoma, where I live and teach, is one of nine states that passed classroom censorship bills last year that try to silence conversations about race and gender – bills that chill students' and educators' First Amendment right to talk about issues that impact our everyday lives.

State lawmakers and school boards across the country have also made moves to remove books by Black, LGBTQ, and other authors discussing race, gender, and sexuality from curriculums amidst the ongoing debate about teaching "critical race theory" in schools.

But this isn't the first time America has tried to eradicate certain truths out of history books. Read my story in full here and you'll get a bigger picture of what I'm talking about.

When I was a junior in high school, for instance, I was kicked out of AP History class just for asking when we were going to learn about Black history. It was Black History Month, ACLU Supporter.

Later, when I became a teacher, I made it my goal to equip my students with a curriculum that incorporates readings on race and gender – that gives them an accurate picture of history, that helps them understand what kind of society they live in, and how this reality came into being.

Some aspects of Black history can be hard to talk about, but learning about it builds students' confidence and empowers them to take life into their own hands.

That's also one of the reasons why I've chosen to defy HB 1775 by not altering my teaching – and why, again, I hope you'll dive into my story on this urgent fight against censorship alongside the ACLU right now.

After all, the more of us there are who are informed and speaking out – the stronger we can be for our students and our right to learn.

Thanks for reading through,

Anthony Crawford
Pronouns: He, him, his
Millwood High School Teacher and ACLU Client

P.S. As a teacher, I had to share along a few extra learning resources for you on this subject. Beyond my story, you can also check out ACLU's in-depth podcast episode on the larger movement to erase Black history across the country – or read more personal experiences from my fellow educators and students on the Oklahoma censorship lawsuit.