The fascist project has no room for young people who think critically, question authority, or imagine a world beyond border walls, binaries, and bunkers... The antidote is not denial; it’s defiant hope and collective action. As the editors of Rethinking Schools remind us, “To step into a classroom is to express confidence in young people’s capacity to learn, to grow, to change, to make a difference — to do good in the world.”
Nominations are now open! Since 2016, we have honored over 25 youth with the Black Education Matters Student Activist Award (BEMSAA). The award gives $1,000 and public recognition to students showing outstanding antiracist and intersectional leadership in their schools and communities. What began as an act of police violence became a commitment to youth justice. Nominate a student leader today!
I had the honor of joining Democracy Now! to talk about Trump’s executive orders to abolish the Department of Education and defund schools that teach honestly about race and gender—and why this moment demands urgent resistance.
The 2025 Back Lives Matter at School Week of Action is almost here, and we have a powerful week of events lined up to celebrate and center Blackness in education! From discussions on intergenerational resistance to creative healing spaces and a closing celebration of Black joy, this year’s events uplift the voices of students, educators, parents, caregivers, and communities fighting for justice in schools.
In celebration of Black History Month, we have opened a new on-line “Legalize Black History” store--with more products than the previous one--and are offering a 20% discount on all appeal and school supplies! The new online Legalize Black History store features t-shirts and merch, some with the classic design, some messages specifically for Florida educators, and others for educators all over the country. Our demand to legalize Black history is particularly urgent since Florida banned the new AP African American Studies course and has passed a law stipulating that teachers caught with banned books—related to Black history or the queer experience—face “up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine…a third-degree felony.”
I AM AN EDUCATOR 
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