[H-PAD] Fight the Right: Historians-On-Call!

[Van Gosse]

Dear H-PAD Supporter,


As you know, social studies teachers, librarians, and local school boards
are on the frontlines of the right-wing’s vicious attack on educational
freedom. Teachers are being threatened, attacked, and fired. Members of
school boards have been either voted out of office or forced to resign.
Librarians are under intense pressure to get rid of books a particular
parent doesn’t like. University professors are not immune from such
attacks, but many of us do operate in a safer, more protected environment.
For that reason, H-PAD has joined with the Zinn Education Project to form
Historians-On-Call in your state.

The Zinn Education Project promotes the teaching of history by providing
professional development and resources (lessons and articles) to provide
teachers and students with a more complex, accurate and engaging
understanding of history than found in traditional textbooks and
curriculum. Lately, due to the attacks on teachers, promoting a more
complex and empowering study of history has also meant defending educators’
right to teach history. Zinn is in constant contact with teachers and
receives a number of reports about attacks on specific teachers, problems
arising with school boards, attempts to ban books, and the like. You can
read more about Zinn on their “about <https://www.zinnedproject.org/about/>”
page. Our goal is to stand in solidarity with educators who are under
attack. This is a direct contribution we can make to oppose the
right-wing’s lies and distortions about what is and what is not being
taught in schools and to stand up for educational freedom.

H-PAD will organize history professors who are committed to responding to
calls for help from teachers, school board members, or librarians in their
state who need our support. We will work with the Zinn Project to
coordinate professors and school teachers working together. How we respond
depends on what is asked, each historian’s abilities, and the specific
situation. But to give you a sense of the possibilities, here is a list of
potential responses:



*· testify before or lobby school boards*

*· meet or talk with local high school teachers*

*· pay attention to local school board elections, vote, and encourage
colleagues to vote*

*· meet with principals and other school leaders, such as social studies
district coordinators*

*· write op-eds and letters to the editor or meet with newspaper editorial
boards*

*· appear on local television, cable, radio, and/or podcasts*

*· weigh in on proposed new or amended social studies standards*



You might do just one of these, or something else—it will depend on what
the local educators need and what you are willing to do!



Are you interested in helping join Historians-On-Call? Sign up here
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgKl1_XAG2bj45th33rp4HkvGU2DEMd803JIjv4Miy4Pj-jw/viewform>
 (or copy/paste this link into your browser:
https://forms.gle/V2SDmwfz8QW7GqmVA), and we will put you and other
historians in contact with local educators under fire in your state.



In solidarity,

Margaret Power, Van Gosse and Sarah Sklaw on behalf of H-PAD
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