June 29, 2021
Across the country state legislators are working to adopt bills that inhibit educators from teaching about racism and related issues in American history in schools, colleges, and universities.
The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) believes that as educational leaders we must strongly reject efforts to limit the discussion of these important topics, and support academic freedom and the pursuit of knowledge. For this reason, ACCJC recently signed on to a joint statement, led by PEN America, the American Historical Association, the American Association of University Professors, and the Association of American Colleges & Universities, condemning these legislative efforts.
In the statement, supporters wrote:
“We, the undersigned associations and organizations, state our firm opposition to a spate of legislative proposals being introduced across the country that target academic lessons, presentations, and discussions of racism and related issues in American history in schools, colleges and universities…Knowledge of the past exists to serve the needs of the living. In the current context, this includes an honest reckoning with all aspects of that past. Americans of all ages deserve nothing less than a free and open exchange about history and the forces that shape our world today, an exchange that should take place inside the classroom as well as in the public realm generally”.
