DEFEND BLACK LIVES MATTER AT SCHOOL Call for Justice in Education

From National Black Lives Matter at School

Statement in Solidarity with District 65 and Antiracist Educators Everywhere

We, the undersigned educators, parents, students, organizations, and community members, affirm our unwavering solidarity with Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and the Black Lives Matter at School movement in the face of a politically motivated investigation launched by the Trump administration’s Department of Education.

This investigation is not about protecting civil rights. It is about suppressing them.

The complaint—filed by the far-right Southeastern Legal Foundation on behalf of a white teacher—seeks to criminalize educational efforts to confront racism, teach honest history, and affirm the dignity and identity of Black students. 

Let us be clear:

Black Lives Matter at School is a movement for educational justice.

Efforts to teach Black history and antiracism are not unconstitutional—they are essential.

This attack is part of a broader authoritarian agenda to outlaw truth-telling and intimidate educators, undermining equity in schools.

District 65’s BLM at School Week of Action empowered students, helped them to understand the history of racial injustice, and supported them to work toward a more equitable future. That’s what public education should do. The Trump DOE’s effort to revive discredited complaints and weaponize federal civil rights law to dismantle equity initiatives is a dangerous escalation of authoritarian repression.

We call on all educators, unions, civil rights organizations, school districts, and elected officials to:

• Publicly defend District 65-and all other districts and educators under attack for participating in the BLM at School Week of Action, and choosing to teach the truth.

• Demand that the Department of Education drop this investigation immediately.

• Endorse the Black Lives Matter at School movement and implement its four core demands:

  1. End zero-tolerance discipline and implement restorative justice

  2. Hire more Black teachers

  3. Mandate Black history and ethnic studies

  4. Fund counselors, not cops

• Refuse to be bullied into silence or compliance with this political repression.

Now is the time to teach truth— push back, rise up, and organize. Our teachers deserve better. Our students need support now.
 

Join us in signing this statement and standing on the side of justice, education, and Black lives.

-National Black Lives Matter at School Steering Committee

Sign the Statement

Resources

• Resource Url:

  https://www.blacklivesmatteratschool.com/defendblmatschool.html