Unbanning History: Georgia teen organizers fight back against school
censorship

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Rhonda Sonnenberg, SPLC Senior Staff Writer | Read the full piece here

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Friend,

A world history class at a Georgia high school last year created a
stinging yet motivating memory for Azaio Udoh.

When topics like European wars were discussed in class,
"everything was free rein," the 15-year-old sophomore
recalled recently.

But when the topic turned to slavery, she said, "suddenly
everything was off limits." The mood turned tense as the
students pressed the teacher for answers.

"He refused to describe the condition of a slave ship or show a
picture of a slave ship," Udoh said. "He changed the
subject immediately when students asked what they wanted to know. The
Black and Brown students said out loud that slavery wasn't that
long ago and that some of our ancestors were slaves, so it affected us
personally."

Udoh, whose parents are from Trinidad and Nigeria, had witnessed
- and sometimes bore the brunt of - aggressive, racist
comments and innuendo throughout her years in Atlanta's Fulton
County public schools. Now she felt hurt, angry and frustrated that
repressive education policies had not only spread an uncomfortable
atmosphere of self-censorship among teachers but kept students from
learning the history

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they are entitled to receive.

"I'm not sure what I'm allowed to say. I don't
want to say something that will get me fired," the teacher
muttered loudly enough for Udoh to hear.

"He was also a Black man," Udoh explained, "so there
was disappointment for him and empathy that he couldn't speak
the truth."

Since then, the censorship and intimidation of educators in Georgia
have only intensified.

The Georgia General Assembly this year passed repressive new laws,
including one (HB 1084)
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that prohibits the teaching of nine "divisive" topics
involving race and racism. Another (HB 1178)
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gives parents the right to continuously review - and reject
- teaching materials and to withdraw their children from
classes. A third (SB 226)
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, which takes effect in January, gives parents the right to file a
formal complaint against teaching materials that are "harmful to
minors."

"Even beyond the troubling comparisons of this kind of
censorship to history, the overall goal of conservatives is to
undermine public education," said Bacardi Jackson, interim
deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center's
Children's Rights Practice Group. "The politicians are
pitting white people against people of color. Through racism, hate and
homophobia, they are playing on people's fears and pride -
whatever makes people feel better about themselves. And they are using
our children as political fodder.

"[School] libraries are being purged," Jackson continued.
"Kids can't even find information in libraries. [Students]
are getting harassed online. Educators who have spoken out are called
'groomers.' They are creating an unsafe environment,
emboldening people who possibly pose a physical and emotional threat
to others."

'Reclaiming power'

Udoh and other students are organizing to fight back against the
assault on inclusive education, and no one should underestimate the
resilience of emboldened student organizers in Georgia. They are
media-savvy, politically astute and determined to win the battle with
adults who seek to undermine their ability and right to receive an
accurate, honest and high-quality education.

READ MORE

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In solidarity,

Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center

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strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of
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