The Road to May 3: How a Growing Coalition of Feminists and Activists Are Fighting the Right's Anti
(the link below outlines some of the actions for May 3)
The Road to May 3: How a Growing Coalition of Feminists and Activists Are Fighting the Right’s Anti-Woke Agenda
4/27/2023 by Karsonya Wise Whitehead
Educators—from pre-kindergarten to college—are planning a teach-in on May 3, to stand in unity against coordinated right-wing attacks on academic freedom. Join us.
Demonstrators protest Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ plan to eliminate Advanced Placement courses on African American studies in high schools as they march to the Capitol on Feb. 15, 2023 in Tallahassee. (Joshua Lott / The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Like many of you, I am alarmed and enraged by Republican party efforts to limit our academic freedom; censor the teaching of African American, gender and queer studies; and place us in an untenable situation where we must defend ourselves and our livelihood. The attack is personal: It is rooted in anti-Black racism, patriarchy, transphobia, whiteness and xenophobia, and it is a propagandistic argument designed to whitewash our collective history. We are clearly under attack. In response, we’ve organized the Freedom to Learn National Day of Action on May 3, 2023—an initiative of the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA), in partnership with the African American Policy Forum, the “Big Eight” civil rights organizations, the Divine Nine, Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Ms. Classroom, the Afro newspaper, the Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice, and local academic and activist associations. (Wednesday, May 3 is also World Press Freedom Day, and the theme for this year is “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a Driver for All Other Human Rights.”)
The National Day of Action began with the release of an Open Letter on Fighting “Anti-Woke” Censorship of Intersectionality and Black Feminism, co-written by former NWSA president Beverly Guy-Sheftall and signed by thousands of academics, artists, advocates, policymakers and concerned persons. The letter outlined how state and local governments and agencies nationwide have targeted and systematically disrupted the teaching of intersectionality, critical race theory, Black feminism, queer theory, and any frameworks that address structural inequality, mass incarceration and white supremacy. They have threatened to fire or arrest teachers and professors who teach or discuss these issues, banned books that cover these issues, defunded public libraries, and worked to create and maintain a climate of fear.
These are not new tactics; indeed, this is how they fight. They want us to be afraid. They want us to feel overwhelmed. And they want us to think that we are alone. We are not. We must remember that we may come as one, but we stand as 10,000. When they want us to move, we shall plant our feet and whisper, “We shall not be moved.” When they try to destroy what our ancestors died to build, we will hold up the columns and do it with one hand holding the beam and the other holding fast to each other. When they try to erase us from the curriculum, we will find ways to teach and share our stories. When they believe they have won the battle, we will regroup and stay focused on winning the war. When they come for us—and they will keep coming—we will always be ready for them. This is an exciting moment for NWSA because this is what we are built for, who we are, and what we do. We fight. We stand. We plan, and we move.
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We have learned the hard way that political power never concedes without a struggle. It never has, and it never will. NWSA will always choose the path of direct and intentional resistance—and we invite you to stand with us. We are more than just a small group of committed individuals—we are the largest network of feminist scholars, educators and activists.
We will not be silenced.
We will not be erased.
We will not be moved.
https://msmagazine.com/2023/04/27/critical-race-theory-woke-protest-teacher-lesson-plan/