A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.
[link removed]
***********************

People For Supporter,

Just when you thought far-right attacks on public education couldn’t get
any more absurd, we hear about something new.

For the first time in almost 15 years, Sarasota schools this fall are
turning down hundreds of free dictionaries from the local Rotary Club.
Why? Because the district is afraid of violating a radical new law that’s
part of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s crackdown on inclusive curricula. The
district can’t buy or accept any new books until it hires someone to make
sure they comply with the state’s draconian censorship regulations. So,
the dictionaries sit on the shelf.

The idea that dictionaries might be hazardous to kids would be laughable
if it weren’t so dangerous. This new school year is starting as more
states are passing laws to make it easier to ban books. States are also
passing laws to stop teachers from talking about topics like racism;
according to Education Week, 42 states have now enacted limits on what
teachers can say about racism or sexism in the classroom.

These same political forces want to make schools teach a whitewashed
version of our history and our current reality in the name of “patriotic”
education. They’re trying to take over school boards to impose their
political ideology on teachers and students. That’s bad for our kids. And
it’s bad for our country. The freedom to learn is at risk.

This fall, it’s more important than ever to stand for the rights of
teachers to teach, and students to learn, about the full spectrum of the
American experience. That means lessons that include and celebrate diverse
communities. It means history that doesn’t erase the experiences of Black
people, brown people, LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, people with
disabilities, and other communities that have been historically
marginalized. The director of the nonprofit EveryLibrary warns that the
current wave of book bans amounts to “the silencing of stories and the
suppressing of information” that will make “the next generation less able
to function in society.”

Children learn better when they can see themselves in others and see their
communities as part of the great American story. At the same time, science
tells us that learning how to understand and empathize with people across
differences is essential to children’s healthy development. Looking
honestly at our past helps students develop critical thinking skills that
are desperately needed when every smart phone is a gateway to
disinformation.

Democracy, too, depends on informed citizens to function. It’s no
coincidence that the crowd that stormed the Capitol in 2021 was acting on
lies and misinformation. Authoritarianism feasts on ignorance. Election
deniers and censors of history are in the same camp, and should get
nowhere near our schools.

We cannot begin to heal our divisions until we acknowledge and teach our
whole history – good and bad. And we know that standing up for the freedom
to learn will be a challenging task. This school year follows one in which
reports of book bans and censorship reached record levels according to the
American Library Association. Far-right groups and politicians are
offering rewards and setting up tip lines to “report” teachers who cover
“divisive” topics. School board members are receiving death threats.

But we don’t shy away from these challenges when we act from a place of
love. Loving our children means being advocates for them when political
extremists want to limit what they can learn. It means showing up to
school board meetings and organizing to make ourselves heard. It means
running for the school board.

It means rejecting one of the censors’ most harmful assumptions: that
students are too fragile to hear the history our people have lived.

Millions of families are getting ready to send their kids back to school.
Let's also get ready to defend the freedom to learn. Before the dictionary
ends up on your district’s banned-books list.

Thanks for reading,

Ben Jealous, President



P.S. To help us fight these attacks on the freedom to learn ... and
expose, disrupt, and defeat the Far Right in the midterm elections coming
up less than three months from now, [ [link removed] ]please chip in a renewal donation
today. >>



--------------------------------------------------------------------------



[ [link removed] ]donate:



 

 

 

 


***********************

Do not reply directly to this e-mail. Please use [email protected].

Trouble viewing the email?
VIEW AS WEB PAGE:
[link removed]

This email was sent to [email protected]. Reaching you over email
is the best way we have to let you know about the ways you can take
action to fight the Right Wing and defend our constitutional rights
and values. If you have any thoughts, comments, or criticisms, or if
there's a better email address at which to reach you, please
let us know. If you'd like to unsubscribe from our list, you
can do that here:

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]
. But know that if you leave, it will be harder for you to stay involved with People For the American Way and continue our
crucial work. PFAW is able to win policy battles and elections, and
counter the Right's extremism and hate, because of dedicated
activists like you, and we're always eager to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for your support.

[link removed]

CONTACT:
[link removed]

PRIVACY POLICY:
[link removed]

FACEBOOK:
[link removed]

TWITTER:
[link removed]

YOUTUBE:
[link removed]

1101 15th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC xxxxxx-5002,
202-467-4999

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]