Legalize Black History Store

Everyone should celebrate Black history—and with the new “Legalize Black History”™ shirt and merch, you can send that powerful message!

The proceeds will go to supporting the youth winners of the Black Education Matters Student Activist Award, as well as supporting the writing of a forthcoming book about the movement to stop the banning of Black history.

Florida recently banned the teaching of AP African American Studies. In Oklahoma, a proposed bill calls for “prohibiting teaching certain concepts pertaining to America and slavery” including, “That one race is the unique oppressor in the institution of slavery” and that “another race is the unique victim in the institution of slavery.” A Texas State Board of Education subcommittee proposed replacing references to the slave trade with the phrase, “involuntary relocation.” Many states have new “discomfort” laws that prohibit teaching any history that would make a student uncomfortable–laws that are designed to stop educators from teaching about the disquieting injustices of slavery, Jim Crow segregation, mass incarceration, and more.

To date, some 42 states have introduced legislation or enacted polices that seeks to require teachers to lie to students about structural racism and Black history. School Librarians have come under attack with new laws around the country that threaten them with jail time or fines for providing students with books that a parent finds objectionable. As of June 2022, The Washington Post identified at least 160 educators lost their job or resigned because they taught about race or LGBTQ+ issues

Given these attacks, it’s time we #LegalizeBlackHistory in the U.S.—and the new t-shirt with that message can help support the movement.

Once you have the t-shirt, there are several other ways to support the teaching of honest Black history. You can participate in Black Lives Matter at School’s national Week of Action during the first week of Black History Month. You can attend a Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online class and educate yourself on the Black history you were never taught.You can advocate to stop these anti-history laws from passing in your state or school district. You can sign the pledge that you won’t teach historical lies to kids and teach lessons about Black history. You can support the Teaching for Black Lives campaign that is helping educators defy Black history bans around the country.

Let’s create a world where everyone’s history is not only legal but celebrated!