“A piece of freedom is no longer enough for human beings...unlike bread, a slice of liberty does not finish hunger.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
ERASED
LESSONS ON MARTIN’S LIBERTY
Decades after Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech during the March on Washington, his words on freedom, justice and liberty still ring as true today as they did then.
Despite that, in 2022, Texas Governor Greg Abbott eliminated the requirements for Texas schools to teach Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech – a speech that teaches students values, like Liberty.
But Dr. King isn’t the only story about Liberty that’s in danger of going missing from classrooms.
John Lewis dedicated his life to fighting for human rights through his commitment to the Civil Rights Movement. A novel named after his common motto, Good Trouble, written by Christopher Noxon, was banned in Virginia Schools in 2021.
Harriet Tubman made over two dozen missions to help slaves escape and find freedom through the Underground Railroad – the same method she used for her own escape. However, these stories of the Underground Railroad have been banned across Florida and Pennsylvania.
Founding members of Stop AAPI Hate, Cynthia Choi, Manjusha Kulkarni and Russell Jeung, worked to develop a coalition aiming to end racism and discrimination against the AAPI community by working with other communities of color.
Various books centered around the Asian experience, including The Mindy Kim series written by Lyla Lee, have been banned in schools across the country.
Martha P. Johnson was a forthright advocate for gay rights and founding member of the Gay Liberation Front and a key figure in the Stonewall Uprising.
Gayle E. Pitman’s book, The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets, about the Stonewall Riots, LGBTQ+ history, and the aftermath was challenged and removed from school districts in Texas and Florida.