Source: The African American Policy Forum / The African American Policy Forum
The African American Policy Forum will host their first Freedom Summer 2024 Homeroom which will discuss New Hampshire’s recent decision to strike an educational censorship law (HB-2).
The organization will host Deb Howes (AFT New Hampshire President), Dan McNeil (AFT General Counsel), Paul Ortiz (University of Florida professor), Tina Kim Philibotte (Chief Equity Officer, Manchester School District), Becky Pringle (National Education Association National President), Emerson Sykes (ACLU Senior Staff Attorney), Randi Weingarten (AFT National President), and other movement leaders in an in-depth conversation about the legal, policy, and practical impact of the important case. They will also have segments led by Kimberlé Crenshaw, Kaye Wise Whitehead, and Tim Wise.
Last month, a New Hampshire federal judge ruled the educational censorship law unconstitutional.
The law, House Bill 2, passed in 2021, “actively discouraged public school teachers from teaching and talking about race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and gender identity inside and outside the classroom,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union’s New Hampshire affiliate, which was among the organizations representing the teachers and advocacy groups challenging the statute. It is the first ruling in the nation striking down a classroom censorship law affecting K-12 public schools.
HB 2 amended the state’s education and nondiscrimination laws to stipulate that no one could teach that any group of people was superior due to their race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or certain other characteristics, or that any group was inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.
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U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. Barbadoro said after his verdict that, “The Amendments [contained in HB 2] are viewpoint-based restrictions on speech that do not provide either fair warning to educators of what they prohibit or sufficient standards for law enforcement to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.”
During the Homeroom, AAPF and its speakers will provide timely analysis and outline the broader implications for the fight back against education censorship. They will also be joined by Jesse Hagopian, (Zinn Education Project organizer) who will detail their plans for the upcoming Teach Truth National Day of Action on June 8th.
The event will take place June 6 at 7:30 pm.
Click here if you would like to register for FIRST Freedom Summer 2024 Homeroom.
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