We first wrote this action last year. Since then, oppressive legislation has exploded across the country, restricting our children’s freedom to learn – where hatred, racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia hide behind words like “discomfort.” First, commit to showing up at local school boards when censoring accurate history is on the agenda (it’s happening in CA too!), then let’s start with these four actions.
- Action #1 – Tell your legislators you support H.R.6261 – African American History Act.
- Action #2 – Now that we’re putting money into improving history resources, lets make sure schools use it. “YES” on both American History Act bills.
- Action #3 – Let’s make getting into college more equitable with the Fair College Admissions for Students Act.
- Action #4 – “First, they came for the minds of elementary school students and I did not speak out…” Write to university presidents to ask them to take a stand against states’ repressive anti-CRT laws before it’s too late.
Action #1 – Tell your legislators you support H.R.6261 – African American History Act.
(Rep. Bowman) “It is our moral imperative to tell the truth about our past to finally reconcile with this nation’s history of racism and white nationalism, and our legislation will serve as a vital component in our fight to do just that. The moment we are in requires of us a clear-eyed vision to ensure that not just our children but people of all ages, have access to resources and education that accurately recount African American history.” The bill would direct $10 million over 5 years to support African American history education programs that will be available for students, parents, and teachers.
- For an overview of the legislation, click here.
- For a one-pager on the legislation, click here.
- For a section by section on the legislation, click here.
Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep./Sen. [___] to support H.R.6261 – African American History Act.
Contact: (Current House cosponsors here: Brownley and Carbajal are not yet cosponsors)
- Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26): email, DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
- or Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24): email. DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348
- Who is my representative?: https://whoismyrepresentative.com
Note: In 2021, California became the first state in the nation to make ethnic studies a requirement for high school graduation in 2030 — and educators in each district can design their course with guidance from a state-approved framework. Critical race theory often becomes mixed up with ethnic studies – K-12 and college courses about the histories, struggles and contributions of Black, Latino, Asian and Indigenous Americans – and right-wing activists in Los Alamitos, Placentia-Yorba Linda, Tustin and Paso Robles have invaded school board meeting to protest these classes.
Action #2 – Now that we’re putting money into improving history resources, lets make sure schools use it. “YES” on H.R. 1394 – Black History is American History Act and H.R.2283 – Teaching Asian Pacific American History Act.
These bills require institutions of higher education, libraries, and museums to include Black and Asian Pacific history in their teaching of American History in order to be eligible for certain grants administered by the Department of Education (ED). These grants fund the Presidential Academies for Teachers of American History and Civics, which offer workshops to teachers to strengthen their knowledge and prepare them to teach in these subjects; and the Congressional Academies for Students of American History and Civics, which support high school students in developing an understanding of these subjects. Currently, Black history is not a required component for either academy.
It would also requires Black and Asian Pacific American History to be included in tests administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which measures student academic achievement in various subjects.
Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep. [___] to support both H.R.6261 – African American History Act and H.R. 2283 – Asian Pacific History Act.
- H.R. 1394 – Current House cosponsors here: Brownley and Carbajal are not yet cosponsors
- H.R. 2283 – Current House cosponsors here: Brownley and Carbajal are not yet cosponsors
Contact:
- Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26): email, DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
- or Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24): email. DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348
- Who is my representative?: https://whoismyrepresentative.com
Action #3 – Let’s make getting into college more equitable with the Fair College Admissions for Students Act.
This bill introduced by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) seeks to stop universities across the country from giving preferential treatment to children of alumni and donors. How big an issue is this? 10-25% of students fall in this category at top schools. Harvard University, which receives millions of dollars in federal grants, had an acceptance rate of 33% for legacies between 2014-19, of which 70% were White, while their overall acceptance rate was 6%. Their class of 2022 is made up of over 36% legacy students. Stated Rep. Bowman: “Legacy preference in college admissions dates to the 1920s, when the U.S. took in an influx of immigrants. [The practice]“has antisemitic and anti-immigrant roots” and that it “creates another systemic barrier to accessing higher education. This is a practice rooted in hate and exclusion, while affirmative action is rooted in righting historical wrongs.”
The Fair College Admissions for Students Act, would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit institutions of higher education participating in Federal student aid programs from giving admissions preference to students with legacy or donor status, while allowing the U.S. Sec. of Education he ability to waive the legacy preference prohibition for an award year for Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal College or Universities (TCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) if the institution can demonstrate that the practice is in the best interest of historically underrepresented students.
Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep./Sen [___] to support the Fair College Admissions for Students Act.
Contact:
- Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26): email, DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
- or Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24): email. DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348
- Senator Feinstein: email, DC (202) 224-3841, LA (310) 914-7300, SF (415) 393-0707, SD (619) 231-9712, Fresno (559) 485-7430
- and Senator Padilla: email, DC (202) 224-3553, LA (310) 231-4494, SAC (916) 448-2787, Fresno (559) 497-5109, SF (415) 981-9369, SD (619) 239-3884
- Who is my rep./ senator?: https://whoismyrepresentative.com
Note: CA passed AB-697 in Oct. 2019, which required a higher level of transparency in admissions, requiring schools accepting defined Cal Grants to report to the Legislature whether they gave preferential treatment in admission to applicants on the basis of their relationships to donors or alumni of the institution.
Action #4 – “First, they came for the minds of elementary school students and I did not speak out…”
Write to university presidents to ask them to take a stand against states’ repressive anti-CRT laws before it’s too late…
It’s gotten a lot worse since we first wrote this action last year…
(Original action here) We asked reader to email letters to the leaders of our nation’s more prestigious schools, urging them to speak out against anti-CRT actions happening on the state level, even to go as far as boycotting students from states that have aggressively neutered their history to keep White people from feeling “discomfort.” (Seriously, Florida?)
A third of America’s kids – 17.7 million public school students enrolled in almost 900 districts across the country, are restricted by local action and the recent slate of laws and policies from the freedom of learning about concepts related to race, racism, and gender, often deemed “critical race theory,” by the conservatives. This translates into classrooms where teachers are self-censoring – afraid to discuss any topic touching on race, racism, and gender and sexual identity topics, not knowing what will land them in disciplinary trouble. Teachers, administrators and other staff are also being threatened and facing death threats.
Not surprisingly, the progress made in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder is being dismantled, as districts quietly abandon some or all of their new diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the face of local pressure against lessons on race and racism. Books that touch on these subjects are being removed from school libraries.
So why do we care about college and university presidents?
- Because they have power. These highly desirable institutions are the holders of the golden tickets that parents will lie, cheat and steal to get ahold of, including bribing officials and pretending their kids are rowers.
- Because they are the last bastions of actual CRT studies. So far, rapidly multiplying state actions have been mostly limited to K-12 repression, but Oklahoma and Idaho have new laws that affect college and university students as well and South Dakota governor Kristi Noem just introduced legislation to prohibitions that would reacg higher-education training and orientation for students and staff.
Write them an email note. Start with the presidents of Harvard, MIT and Yale.
The right-leaning Wall Street Journal’s latest list of the hottest colleges put Harvard as the #1 desirable school in the country, followed by MIT, Yale, Brown, Princeton, Cornell, U of PA, Dartmouth, Columbia and Carnegie Mellon. (We’re updating our list to match.)
University/college presidents’ contact information is here. Our model letters, are here. Be polite! Below our the arguments we’re using. Feel free to use your own!
- Your institution is a highly desirable resource. A boycott would have power.
- Do you think you’re immune from legislative authoritarianism? (The GOP wants to pass a laws preventing any federal funds to institutions that study or teach CRT (H.R.3179/ S.2346/ S.2221/H.R.3163/H.R. 5328).
- How will you deal with undereducated and/or angry students and/or their angry parents?
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 