Teach the Truth (T3) Thursdays was founded in resistance to Governor Brian Kemp’s endorsement of the Georgia Department of Education’s resolution against teaching about topics such as systemic racism, white supremacy, and movements for racial justice. Many educational scholars have pointed out how Georgia’s resolution, and the suite of similar resolutions passed in other conservative states, purposefully misuse the label “Critical Race Theory” to describe instruction on these topics as a way to block truthful teaching of our nation’s history. As such, this resolution has been widely criticized as a brazen attempt by state Republican lawmakers to suppress teachers’ ability to teach the truth about the role of racism, white supremacy, and movements for racial justice throughout American history. T3 Thursday was designed as a community response to politicians who wish to squash teachers’ right to teach our students the truth so that we may move towards a more racially just future.
In the fall of 2021, university professors and local educators hosted 7 weekly sessions at the AADM Justice center designed to build a community of educators dedicated to anti-racist education in the face of these nefarious attempts by the political Right. T3 Thursdays has gained widespread community support for its grassroots organizing of local educational stakeholders around these timely issues, with many local teachers returning for multiple sessions. It has since grown to include lessons specifically for high school & middle school students interested in learning about racial issues in our society and their historical roots.
One recent participant, a teacher at a local Athens high school, highlighted the impact of the T3 community when she shared “this is the best professional development I have ever received.”
Next Up
Watch the videos from our Spring series below and stay tuned for more T3 sessions!
You can watch every video from the T3 series on the playlist below: