This month, millions of school-aged children across the country are transitioning from summer break to public school classrooms. Meanwhile, their communities are fighting new waves of conservative policies intended to restrict what teachers can and cannot teach in those classrooms. 

If you are connected to a child or not, the debate around the accurate teaching of U.S. history and contemporary issues of race, gender, and sex is one that impacts us all. No one can afford to ignore these issues and still expect to live in a free society – history has taught us that we will rise or fall together.

This is why Race Forward launched H.E.A.L. (Honest Education Action & Leadership) Together a year ago, alongside a host of national partners. This initiative is working to ensure strong schools and a multi-racial democracy by countering the growing anti-CRT movement and building local solidarity. It is meant to aid local and national organizers, parents and partners in the fight to create united inclusive communities. 

In just one year we’ve already:

• Built an operating team of passionate organizers and established strategic partnerships with committed and effective organizations like the NYU Metro Center and Schott Foundation for Public Education. 
• Launched statewide campaigns in a growing number of states including North Carolina, Georgia, and New Hampshire. 
• Provided technical assistance and coaching to local organizing groups in more than two dozen states. 
• Crafted a campaign planning and narrative toolkit to support communities organizing in communities around the country.
• Designed and led a public virtual training series for over 1,700 students, educators, and parents.
• Formed an Advisory Board with over 30 members, including racial justice experts and movement leaders with decades of collective experience in the field.

H.E.A.L. Together is committed to supporting students, parents, families and educators in building durable education justice coalitions where our communities can stay actively engaged. We have only just begun, and this formative moment needs your participation. 

We have an opportunity to not only educate our children but support them in understanding and accepting who they are, who they can be, and each other. Despite our differences, our fates are interconnected. If we work collaboratively, we all benefit.

In Solidarity,

James Haslam

Senior Fellow, Race Forward

Campaign Director, H.E.A.L (Honest Education Action & Leadership) Together