Trouble in Censorville — Video Testimonies

This collection of oral histories offers a platform for K-12 public teachers from across the U.S. to describe, in their own words, being fired, harassed, threatened, disciplined, and placed on leave for refusing to suppress Black history and intentionally misgender students; teaching historical truth, racial justice, and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people; resisting book bans; and offering library books about marginalized groups, among other “offenses.”

Teachers present their own stories or use a professional actor or another teacher as a proxy. Some participants use pseudonyms.

To see Martha Hickson’s full testimony and testimonies by Ellen Barnes, Monica Coles, Gavin Downing, Carolyn Foote, Matthew D. Hawn, Jill James, Mark Johnson, Amanda Jones, Elissa Malespina, Sally Middleton, Julie Miller, and Melissa Grandi Statz, visit Censorville.com 

Thank you to PEN America, the Stamps School of Art and Design.