In the face of relentless attacks on antiracist education, a much-needed reckoning with the roots of this latest wave of censorship and an urgent call to action to defend education.
In just the last few years, scores of states have introduced or passed legislation that would require teachers to lie to students about structural racism and other forms of oppression. Books have been cut from curricula and pulled from school library shelves. Teachers have been fired and threatened with discipline.
As long-time organizer, writer, and high school teacher Jesse Hagopian argues in Teach Truth, at stake is our democracy, not to mention the annihilation of entire systems of knowledge that challenge the status quo. As Hagopian shows by exploring the origins, philosophy, and manifestations of these attacks, the Right’s effort to regulate knowledge is an attempt to maintain its power over the American capitalist system, now and into the future.
Yet the struggle for a liberatory education has a long history in the United States, from the days when it was illegal for Black people to be literate, to the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, to Black Lives Matter at School today. Teachers, students, and their allies are already building a movement – in the classroom, on campus, and in the streets – to defend antiracist education.
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"The attack on antiracist education is at our front door, and there’s no clearer or more determined voice in this struggle than Jesse Hagopian's. Jesse is insightful, compassionate, and committed to building a better world. Each page in Teach Truth offers sharp and timely analysis that captures the urgency of our current moment, while also grounding us in the history that brought us here. This is a book that propels us forward."
—Bettina Love, author of Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children
"Writing from the trenches, Jesse Hagopian has given us a brilliant, incisive account of how we arrived here and a fearless field guide for how we fight back and reclaim education, truth, and democracy. They will ban this book; we must resist. There is more at stake than curriculum. We have a world to win."
—Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination
"Jesse Hagopian's Teach Truth is the book we need right now. It's the book we have always needed. It should not be controversial to tell teachers and legislators to teach truth. Yet in many states it is not only controversial; it is illegal. Hagopian clears away the cobweb of lies that have obscured our national history for generations of students."
—Diane Ravitch, author of Slaying Goliath
“Teach Truth is a powerful call to action by an amazing teacher, historian, organizer, and movement intellectual. In it Jesse Hagopian exposes the dangers of the current racist movement to silence and distort our collective history, labeling it 'uncritical race theory.' He insists we cannot only complain and protest, but we must create, build, and change ourselves as we strive to change the world and seed a better future. A must read for anyone concerned with education, justice, and our shared future.—Barbara Ransby, historian, professor, activist, and author of Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision
"A powerful and courageous call to action... audacious and essential. Ultimately, Teach Truth is more than just a book; it is a manifesto for those who dare to envision a just society. In a time when the integrity of our educational system is under siege, Teach Truth stands as an inspiring testament to the necessity of teaching and learning with honesty and courage."
—Jonathan Kozol, author of Savage Inequalities
“Teach Truth is a mighty stream flowing against the tide of a world fractured by falsehoods. It’s a call to prioritize humanity, to embrace radical honesty, and to forge pathways toward a democratic future. This work channels the voices of those on the front lines of education, amplifying the shared humanity at the heart of learning. In a world where truth is often broken, this book invites us to reimagine the educational landscape as a space for healing, transformation, and the pursuit of justice.”
—Michael Bennett, Super Bowl winner and author of Things That Make White People Uncomfortable
"Teach Truth is an essential text and critical contribution to understanding the historical context that undergirds an anti-truth sociopolitical climate. The book is intellectually sharp, story-rich, and carefully researched. Hagopian gives us language to describe the pushback to antiracist education and what it means to be a truth teacher during difficult times.
—Cierra Kaler-Jones, Executive Director, Rethinking Schools
Other books by Jesse Hagopian
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Black Lives Matter at School
by Jesse Hagopian and Denisha Jones -
More Than a Score
Edited by Jesse Hagopian