Objectives:

1. Confront, through direct action, the assault on truth in Florida and throughout America

2 . Teach truthful history

3. Provide education on voter suppression and voter empowerment

ORGANIZERS: Dr. Yohuru Williams, Dr. Terry Anne Scott, Dr. David Domke, Charles Douglas, Jordyn Schulte

OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS FROM THE INSTITUTE FOR COMMON POWER DIRECTOR HERE

We are confronted today in America by an attack on truth in education. It is an attempt by politically motivated individuals, government offices, and politicians to halt the full teaching of American life by eradicating terrible and painful, but fully truthful, aspects of our past, present, and potential futures. At their core, such attacks seek to erase the triumphs of African Americans, women, LGBTQ+ Americans, and others who have been vital in the struggle for civil rights and voting justice. The Institute for Common Power cannot and will not idly watch. This 24-hour teach-in is a public statement that truth in education is not optional. It is essential, and it is the only way forward for American democracy.

This event is free, will be on zoom, and will be 24 hours of live teaching and education from experts and leaders who have learned, have lived, and are undaunted by the full truth of American life. We will include presentations from multiple locations around the United States, including the first three hours from a church in St. Petersburg FL. Florida is at the epicenter of attempting to silence truth in education, and we intentionally begin in the state.

Schedule of Speakers

May 17, 6:00 pm EST

Welcome Discussion. The Attack on Truth in Education: Florida and Beyond Dr. Terry Anne Scott (Historian and Director, Institute for Common Power) Dr. Yohuru Williams (Distinguished University Chair and Professor of History, St. Thomas University) Charles Douglas (Executive Director, Common Power) Pastor Clarence Williams (Pastor, Greater Mt. Zion AME Church) Dr. Wilmer Leon (Political Scientist, Host Inside the Issues) Dr. David Domke (Professor, Common Power) Jordyn Schulte (Institute for Common Power)

May 17, 7:00 pm EST

Dr. Yohuru Williams (Distinguished University Chair and Professor of History, St. Thomas University) “Be the Challenger”

May 17, 7:45 pm EST

Dr. Terry Anne Scott (Historian, Director of the Institute for Common Power) “Voter Disenfranchisement: An American Story”

May 17, 8:30 pm EST

Dr. Karsonya Whitehead (Professor of Communication, African and American Studies, Loyola, University Maryland. President of National Women's Studies Association) “Freedom, Controversy, & Respect: Our Lives/Our History"

May 17, 9:15 pm EST

Stanley Nelson (Emmy Award-Winning, Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker. McArthur Fellow. Firelight Films) Filmmaking and African American History: A Conversation

May 17, 9:45 pm EST

Dr. Samuel Joeckel (Professor of English, fired from Florida’s Palm Beach Atlantic University) "The Urgent Need for Difficult, Truthful Conversations"

May 17, 10:30 pm EST

Dr. Ivory Toldson (Professor, Counseling Psychology Program, Howard University) “If my ancestors were strong enough to live it, your children should be strong enough to learn it – centering diverse parents in the CRT debate.”

May 17, 11:00 pm EST

Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson (Michael and Denise Kellen '68 Associate Professor of Africana Studies, Wellesley College) "Why Black History Matters"

May 17, 11:45 pm EST

Documentary Short Screening: “Lynching Postcards: Token of a Great Day” (2022 NAACP Image Award, Short-listed for Academy Award) Discussion with featured historians, Dr. Yohuru Williams and Dr. Terry Anne Scott

May 18, 12:30 am EST

Jeffery White in conversation with Charles Douglas (Executive Director, Common Power) (New York City Science Teacher and Poet) "Dismantling Structural Racism in STEM Education" and Poetry Recitation”

May 18, 1:15 am EST

Jordan Lanfair (Director of Undergraduate Scholar Support Services, Golden Apple Foundation) "Who was Richard Wright?"

May 18, 1:30 am EST

Jamey Verrilli (Director of the Hollyhock Humanities Fellowship for social studies teachers in New York) "The Power of Teachers and the Teachers March in the Selma Voting Rights Campaign"

May 18, 2:00 am EST

Larcy Douglas and Graduates of Action Academy (Director, Common Power) Action Academy, A Civic Engagement Internship for College Students

May 18, 3:00 am EST

Hank Stewart (Emmy Award-Winning Poet Laureate of Georgia) Accepting the Torch for Change

May 18, 3:45 am EST

Christian Mbanza (History Teacher, Canada) “Teaching Black History in Canada”

May 18, 4:00 am EST

Luke Michener (Social Studies Teacher, Bellevue, Washington. National Education Association finalist for the Social Justice Activists of the Year Award) "Broken Promises: The Reconstruction Amendments"

May 18, 4:30 am EST

Tyler Hanson (High School U.S. History and Sociology Teacher, Maryland) "William Grant Still, The Dean of African American Composers"

May 18, 4:45 am EST

Kimeu Boynton, JD (Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Co-Director, Law Studies Program, Delaware State University) "Parker v. University of Delaware (1950) – Desegregation in America’s Northern Most Southern State"

May 18, 5:00 am EST
Ron Hustvedt (Middle School Social Studies Teacher in Minneapolis. Teacher of the Year with the Magnet Schools of America and National Council for the Social Studies) "A Strategy for Empowering Students to Self-Discovery Through Historical Inquiry"

May 18, 5:30 am EST

Sari Rosenberg (Teacher and Host of the PBS NewsHour Classroom Educator Zoom Series) “Using Social Media to Take Action” A Conversation with Dr. Yohuru Williams

May 18, 6:15 am EST

Kate Ehrlich (Secondary Social Studies and History Teacher in Maryland) "Convict Leasing 1865-1928"

May 18, 6:45 am EST

Dr. Alison Parker (Chair & Richards Professor of American History, University of Delaware) “Condemned to Death for Self Defense: Historical Perspectives on Black Women’s Advocacy for Racial & Gender Justice in the Carceral System”

May 18, 7:15 am EST

Dr. Keri Leigh Merritt (Historian, Writer, and Filmmaker) “Censorship & Education in the Antebellum South”

May 18, 7:45 am EST

Shernita Wynder (Florida Public School Teacher)

May 18, 8:15 am EST

Jessica Ellison (Executive Director of the National Council for History Education) "A Love Letter to Teachers"

May 18, 9:00 am EST

Dr. Harry Edwards (Award-Winning Sociologist, Author, and Civil Rights Activist. Architect of the 1967 Olympic Project for Human Rights. Advisor for San Francisco 49ers) The Importance of Teaching History

May 18, 10:00 am EST

Dr. Ashley Farmer (Associate Professor in the Departments of History and African and African Diaspora Studies, University of Texas at Austin) "Sister Struggles: The Fight for Higher Education in Texas"

May 18, 11:00 am EST

Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries (Associate Professor of History, The Ohio State University) “Freedom Politics: Applying SNCC Principles and Practices Today”

May 18, 12:00 pm EST

Dr. Stephan Bradley (Charles Hamilton Houston 1915 Professor of Black Studies and History, Amherst College) "Black Studies' Bold Beginnings: The Decolonization of Knowledge"

May 18, 12:30 pm EST

Carmen Cruz (New York City Public School Teacher) "The Other Battle for San Juan Hill"

May 18, 1:00 pm EST

Dr. Paul Ortiz (Professor of History and Director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, University of Florida) "Holding the Line in Florida: Preserving Black Studies and Intellectual Freedom in Florida Through Union Power"

May 18, 1:30 pm EST

Office Hours: Scholars Answering Audience Questions about History with Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Dr. Yohuru Williams, and Dr. Terry Anne Scott

May 18, 2:15 pm EST

Dr. Michael Butler (Kenan Distinguished Professor of History, Chair of Humanities, Flagler College in Florida) "Black Popular Music in the Post-Civil Rights Era"

May 18, 3:00 pm EST

Dr. Yohuru Williams (Distinguished University Chair and Professor of History, St. Thomas University) "We the People: Teaching Black History Through the Preamble"

May 18, 4:00 pm EST

Bob Zellner (Activist and Former member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) In Conversation with Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries

May 18, 4:45 pm EST

Why Take Action Now?