Unbanning History: Georgia teen organizers fight back against school censorship
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, 鈥渆verything was free rein,鈥� the 15-year-old sophomore recalled recently.
But when the topic turned to slavery, she said, 鈥渟uddenly everything was off limits.鈥� The mood turned tense as the students pressed the teacher for answers.
鈥淗e refused to describe the condition of a slave ship or show a picture of a slave ship,鈥� Udoh said. 鈥淗e changed the subject immediately when students asked what they wanted to know. The Black and Brown students said out loud that slavery wasn鈥檛 that long ago and that some of our ancestors were slaves, so it affected us personally.鈥�
Udoh, whose parents are from Trinidad and Nigeria, had witnessed 鈥� and sometimes bore the brunt of 鈥� aggressive, racist comments and innuendo throughout her years in Atlanta鈥檚 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 they are entitled to receive.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure what I鈥檓 allowed to say. I don鈥檛 want to say something that will get me fired,鈥� the teacher muttered loudly enough for Udoh to hear.
鈥淗e was also a Black man,鈥� Udoh explained, 鈥渟o there was disappointment for him and empathy that he couldn鈥檛 speak the truth.鈥�
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 () that prohibits the teaching of nine 鈥渄ivisive鈥� topics involving race and racism. Another () gives parents the right to continuously review 鈥� and reject 鈥� teaching materials and to withdraw their children from classes. A third ), which takes effect in January, gives parents the right to file a formal complaint against teaching materials that are 鈥渉armful to minors.鈥�
鈥淓ven beyond the troubling comparisons of this kind of censorship to history, the overall goal of conservatives is to undermine public education,鈥� said Bacardi Jackson, interim deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Rights Practice Group. 鈥淭he politicians are pitting white people against people of color. Through racism, hate and homophobia, they are playing on people鈥檚 fears and pride 鈥� whatever makes people feel better about themselves. And they are using our children as political fodder.
鈥淸School] libraries are being purged,鈥� Jackson continued. 鈥淜ids can鈥檛 even find information in libraries. [Students] are getting harassed online.聽聽who have spoken out are called聽 They are creating an unsafe environment, emboldening people who possibly pose a physical and emotional threat to others.鈥�
鈥楻eclaiming power鈥�
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.
Today, Udoh is an anti-racist education organizer for the (GYJC), an Atlanta-based nonprofit created in 2021 and exclusively run by high school and college students. GYJC receives policy support from the 人兽性交.
On Aug. 15, just weeks after Udoh joined the organization, the school system in neighboring Forsyth County restored in January, due to local organizing efforts led by high school students.
Shivi Mehta, a 15-year-old sophomore, was one of the Forsyth County students who protested the book ban, facing off against groups like County Georgia, Mama Bears of Forsyth County, and .
鈥淪chool board meetings are political battlegrounds,鈥� said Mehta, the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition鈥檚 anti-racist project director. 鈥淚 have been harassed by so-called Concerned Parents, both face-to-face at school board meetings and on social media.鈥�
Between 2021 and the end of the legislative session in April, Mehta spoke at approximately ten school board meetings 鈥� against the abolition of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training, in support of COVID-19 health measures, and against book bans.
鈥淚 talked about the need for diverse literature so that students can see themselves in different forms of media, especially books,鈥� Mehta said. 鈥淭he books banned were books written by authors of color and by 人兽性交+ authors, and they featured similar characters.
鈥淚nitially, it seemed like the board didn鈥檛 care,鈥� Mehta said. 鈥淚 felt ignored. I felt like I was being a pain in the neck to [board members], but they did listen to us because they unbanned seven of the eight books. 鈥� There is never a reason for students to stay silent. There is always a reason for students to speak out against injustice.鈥�
In the next legislative session, the students plan to share stories about how the book bans affect them and their education, Udoh said.
鈥淭heir stories will give voice to students who don鈥檛 know they have one. We are young people enacting change. We are reclaiming power from the older people with power because their decisions affect us.鈥�
The legislative battle
The student organizers who are fighting for inclusive education are not without allies, including the 人兽性交, the , the ACLU of Georgia and the Intercultural Development Research Association () 鈥� a national education research and policy organization that promotes equity in education.
The groups lobbied against passage of the bills that sought to undermine inclusive education, particularly HB 1084, the 鈥渄ivisive concepts鈥� law.
IDRA is collecting testimony from students and educators affected by HB 1084.
鈥淭he challenge now is to show the impact of this law,鈥� Terrence Wilson, IDRA鈥檚 Atlanta-based regional policy and community engagement director, said.
鈥淯ltimately, if we think about the purpose of education, it鈥檚 really to serve our students, to prepare them for their next phase of life. They have to continue to show that the current policy isn鈥檛 going to give them the education they need. We adult advocates have to work intergenerationally to give them the education they deserve.鈥�
Wilson says that despite the censorship bills鈥� passage, he views the increased engagement of young activists at committee hearings and in private discussions with legislators as a big win.
Chilling effect
Brock Boone, 人兽性交 senior staff attorney for children鈥檚 rights, says HB 1084 is so vague that 鈥渋t鈥檚 impossible for teachers to know if they are violating the law or not.鈥� As a result, he said, 鈥渢eachers will self-censor their lessons and teaching materials, thereby depriving children of an accurate and truthful education.鈥�
Teachers are, in fact, already experiencing that chilling effect, said Sarah-SoonLing Heng Blackburn, associate director of the 人兽性交鈥檚 Learning for 人兽性交 program.
鈥淲hat is the teacher supposed to do if they are teaching ?鈥� asks Blackburn.
鈥淏lack people had the right to vote, hold office, own property and vote, and then you had a backlash with the 鈥榮eparate but equal鈥� decision where the Supreme Court did take away rights. is another example of the Supreme Court taking away rights. If the student makes the point or asks a question about it 鈥� it鈥檚 complicated. 鈥� What if a student brings up ?
鈥淕ood teaching would be asking the student what they think [about a complex topic], but teachers are afraid if the student responds. A kid has an opinion. Then another kid goes home and tells his parents what that student said 鈥� 鈥榯hat abortion should be legal.鈥� The parents [of the second student] are mad that the teacher let it come up in class.鈥�
Intent is clear
Passage of the new laws capped several years of increasingly repressive local school board resolutions that banned so-called 鈥渃ritical race theory鈥� (CRT) in Georgia counties, including and .
These local moves were set against a nationwide war on public education that gained steam after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 and issued an on 鈥渃ombating race and sex stereotyping鈥� in 2020. (President Joe Biden overturned the order in March 2021). Conservative lawmakers and parents , especially concerning race, gender identity and sexuality and an approach to education called (SEL).
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the censorship laws on April 28.
Kemp chose to sign the bills in north-central Georgia鈥檚 Forsyth County, where 75% of residents are white. About 30 miles north of Atlanta, with a population of over 260,000, Forsyth is one of the fastest-growing counties in the U.S. Student organizer Shivi Mehta and her classmates are part of a growing body of Asian and Latinx families in Forsyth.
Forsyth County is also where, in 1912, white vigilantes drove the county鈥檚 entire Black population of about 1,100 out of the county in one of the Jim Crow era鈥檚 most heinous incidents of 鈥溾�� by white people. Blatant racism remains despite Metro Atlanta鈥檚 sprawl over the past 25 years into suburban, largely white counties.
鈥淭he intent underlying the law seems clear when Kemp goes out to Forsyth with its history of white supremacy and racial terror,鈥� said Michael Tafelski, 人兽性交 senior supervising attorney for children鈥檚 rights. 鈥淚t was very symbolic.鈥�
Aware that protesters would show up at the event, and that it would receive heavy media coverage, the 人兽性交 held a that included, among others, the ACLU of Georgia, GYJC and IDRA.
鈥淭he intent of the press conference was to demonstrate the broad opposition to these censorship laws. And to encourage students, educators and the community to share their experiences on how the law is taking effect and impacting their classrooms,鈥� Tafelksi said. 鈥淭his will enable us to learn more about the implementation of these laws and the causal chilling effect.鈥�
The 人兽性交 is offering support to educators, students and parents in Georgia with guidance on their constitutional rights in the classroom. The 人兽性交 has also established an email address 鈥� teachtruth@splcenter.org 鈥� to collect feedback on how the law interferes with their rights.
Truth, youth and power
Friends since fourth grade, Koan Roy-Meighoo, 18, and Julian Fortuna, 19, are opening a new front in the effort to promote inclusive, equitable education in their hometown of Decatur and beyond.
In 2021 they were high school seniors in Decatur, in DeKalb County just outside of Atlanta, when the school district was in the early stages of developing an equity program called JEDI (justice, equity, diversity and inclusion). Earlier that year, Roy-Meighoo co-founded a district-wide student effort for equity and social justice at school.
Motivated by his and Fortuna鈥檚 ideas of what a true JEDI curriculum would look like, Roy-Meighoo immediately wrote a prospectus outlining their full vision.
鈥淲e knew there was a problem with Georgia鈥檚 standard curriculum, which left many histories out,鈥� Roy-Meighoo said. 鈥淗owever, the flaws weren鈥檛 just in curricula. Students of color face racism every day. Around the time we began our efforts, there had been multiple incidents and videos threatening communities of color with violence. We were in the midst of the pandemic and the [wake of] George Floyd鈥檚 murder. 鈥� a racial reckoning had begun, and we saw an opportunity for the more privileged members of our community to understand what their marginalized peers had faced for years. Our Decatur school district had finally realized that institutional racism was real and change was needed.
The two students called their project JADE, a purposeful spin on JEDI with the 鈥淎鈥� standing for 鈥渁ction.鈥� From inception the two have worked closely with City Schools of Decatur district equity offices to refine the program. They expect the pilot to launch in Decatur in 2023.
The program will start with a core curriculum for sixth, seventh and eighth graders that can be implemented nationwide but is adaptable to each local school district鈥檚 needs. The program will not be implemented during classroom hours but during a daily advisement class when students typically have free time. JADE will feature vigorous teacher training with strong support from communities and school districts.
鈥淔or me, it is about the underlying component of empathy and humanity,鈥� said Roy-Meighoo, now an Emory University philosophy major whose family is from Trinidad and India.
鈥淲hen students know the truth, they will be able to empathize and live better with each other. I experienced firsthand the divisions promoted by the current curriculum in Georgia. I鈥檝e seen white students turn to look at students of color anytime there is a discussion about race, slavery or civil rights. White kids learn about their historic figures, but it took me until 11th grade to learn anything about an Indian or Trinidadian,鈥� when he learned about Nobel Prize-winning poet .
This October, Roy-Meighoo and Fortuna will hold an educator organizing summit that will offer resources for antiracist teaching. It will include a teach-in led by local educator-organizers and students like Roy-Meighoo and Udoh and feature both LFJ materials and JADE curriculum concepts.
鈥淭his kind of summit has very little precedent,鈥� Roy-Meighoo said. 鈥淲e are reacting in real time to everything that is happening in the era of classroom censorship. Teachers want to know how to navigate teaching the truth and keeping their jobs. On top of this, the situation is changing constantly. We don鈥檛 know what classrooms will be able to teach in a year. [The summit] won鈥檛 be an evaluation in the aftermath of censorship and institutional racism.
鈥淲e are taking affirmative steps forward in the middle of this struggle 鈥� together, students and teachers can advance truth, empathy and racial justice in the classroom even in the face of political censorship.鈥�
Picture at top: Julian Fortuna, left, and Koan Roy-Meighoo of Decatur, Georgia, are the co-founders of the Decatur Justice Coalition, a student equity group promoting inclusive, equitable education. (Credit: Ben Rollins)
