As fascist lawmakers in Kansas and Missouri escalate their war on truth — banning books, censoring history, and silencing teachers — educators and freedom-fighters are gathering in Kansas City for a mass Teach Truth Day of Action.
Tuesday’s municipal election concluded with voters overwhelmingly passing a $474 million general bond to improve building maintenance for Kansas City’s public schools, while electing two new faces to the KCPS board of directors.
Missouri's general municipal election will include a school board race for the Kansas City Public Schools District. 7 candidates are vying for three sub-districts and an At-Large bid. The Kansas City Defender was able to connect with four of those candidates for a Q&A.
The Defender's inaugural Freedom School cohort brings together multiple generations of Black radicals, equipping them with organizing skills, Black radical history, and the tools to resist oppression.
Lee’s Summit School Board Vice President Heather Eslick unleashed a race-fueled, conspiracy-laden attack against Black parents and The Kansas City Defender's Editor. But this isn’t new—it’s part of a long history of white supremacist fear-mongering and coded dog-whistles. Here’s why we won’t be silent.
James Gillcrist, anti-racist advocate who was arrested during the 2020 uprisings, a high school theology and philosophy teacher, was fired from Rockhurst High School for speaking out against Trump’s racist & fascist agenda. His open letter is a fearless, incendiary, prophetic call to action.
Park Hill High School is experiencing a Mass Student Uprising after Black student leader, Colby Barker, was suspended last week for standing up against a white kid who threatened to rape multiple girl students & called Barker a “dirty n*gger.” Thus far, only Barker has been suspended.
Park Hill High School has become a battleground where standing up against racist and sexual violence is met with punishment instead of justice. When a Black student was suspended for confronting a white peer who hurled hate speech and threatened to sexually assault his friend, the administration’s response was not to hold the predator accountable, but to silence the defender.
In her op-ed essay, Dr. Marlee Bunch--author of The Magnitude of Us--discusses her teaching framework, which centers on vital principles such as uniting for collective change, centering marginalized histories, using stories in the classroom & much more.
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