WASHINGTON, DC — Today, a coalition of leading civil rights groups announced they have signed onto an affirmation in defense of Black history, texts and art, as the Trump administration continues to attack the critical civic infrastructure that allows the public to understand that Black history is American history and that empowers all in the fight to protect democracy.
In response to a slew of executive orders targeting the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Department of Education and diversity initiatives across the government, the coalition is sounding the alarm that the attempted mass erasure of Black history and culture is a key pre-condition for our ongoing anti-democratic slide. By affirming the core value of Black history and culture to American life, the group is outlining a path forward in defending valuable artifacts, books and sites of memory across the country and inviting allies to join the fight.
The African American Policy Forum, the National Urban League, National Council of Negro Women, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, the National Action Network, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Legal Defense Fund, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights all have united to affirm: “Racial inequality remains real; if we are not able to understand it, tell its history, and honor those who have risked everything to solve it, then we lose our capacity to carry the legacy, brilliance and resilience of these freedom fighters in our lives and to future generations. Democracy is a constant struggle, and the erasure of our history prevents us from fighting to preserve it.”
The full affirmation can be found below.
The affirmation kicks off the #HandsOffOurHistory / Freedom To Learn National Week of Action, which will culminate Saturday, May 3 in Washington, D.C. with a demonstration in defense of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a crown jewel of the Smithsonian system and a testament to the power of accurate, accessible Black history being recognized as integral to American History. The coalition is also asking people across the country to join in the demonstration from their communities by visiting their local museums and libraries, seeking out exhibitions and collections that uplift Black Americans and sharing photos online with the hashtag #HandsOffOurHistory.
“Black history is American history, and the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is proud to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to ensuring our past is neither forgotten nor erased. We cannot acknowledge America’s greatness without recognizing the accomplishments that were made possible by the civil rights movement and subsequent efforts to ensure equal access to opportunity for all,” LDF’s President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson emphasized. “As the nation’s premier legal institution fighting for racial justice, LDF will always work to thwart any attempt to rewrite our past or misinterpret our laws in ways that diminish access to hard-won rights and freedoms. We are proud to join these outstanding organizations to proclaim #HandsOffOurHistory, and to protect and defend the people, institutions, books, artifacts, and resources that uphold the truth of our history.”
More details on the activations — online, in-person and nationwide — can be found at www.freedomtolearn.net.
The full affirmation is as follows: “We affirm that Black history is American history, without which we cannot understand our country’s fight for freedom or secure a more democratic future. We must protect our history not just in books, schools, libraries, and universities, but also in museums, memorials, and remembrances that are sites of our national memory. The effort to erase Black voices, ideas, art and history is the effort to erase Black lives. Without Black history, we abandon our capacity to accurately assess the state of the republic or imagine a stronger one. Without Black history, we lose the important stories of resistance undertaken to defend our democracy and the tools we need to resist today. Without Black history, we forget how the civil rights movement created opportunities for other marginalized communities to secure equality and we limit our capacity to organize for justice now. Racial inequality remains real; if we are not able to understand it, tell its history, and honor those who have risked everything to solve it, then we lose our capacity to carry the legacy, brilliance and resilience of these freedom fighters in our lives and to future generations. Democracy is a constant struggle, and the erasure of our history prevents us from fighting to preserve it.”
—
