A stack of papers lay on a folding table inside the Palos Heights Public Library, each marked with a clear message: “Truth Matters”.
The gathering at the library, 12501 S. 71st Ave., was one of more than 180 events held across the country Saturday, June 7, as part of the fifth annual Teach Truth Day of Action — a nationwide effort led by the Zinn Education Project to push back against book bans and restrictions on teaching honest, inclusive history in schools.
In Palos Heights, the event was organized by Sassy Lassies Defending Truth & Democracy, a grassroots advocacy group founded earlier this year by local women committed to combating extremism and disinformation through civic engagement and education.
“This is about teaching truth and being able to teach all of American history,” said Maryellen Spore Krammer, a Palos Heights resident, Carl Sandburg and Northwestern University alum, and substitute teacher. “If you’re not all represented, you don’t know.”
Sassy Lassies Defending Truth & Democracy began shortly after the presidential inauguration in January, with support from Red Wine & Blue — a national network of more than 500,000 suburban women working to defeat extremism, one friend at a time. What started with a handful of members has grown to a group of 20 and counting, Krammer said.
“We believe, like the Zinn Education Project, that knowledge can help create a more just society,” Krammer said. “Acquiring that knowledge means full access to books.”
On Saturday, Sassy Lassies Defending Truth & Democracy hosted a banned book interactive pop-up display created by the Zinn Education Project.
The display highlighted books recently challenged or removed from public school curricula in other parts of the country with titles that reflect diverse voices, identities, and historical truths.
“By partnering with national programs like the Zinn Education Project and hosting events such as the banned book interactive pop-up display today, we’re hoping to bring awareness to our local communities in the southwest suburbs,” Krammer said. “We’re hoping to help people feel empowered to have the hard conversations needed in times such as these. We help with that by making sure everyone has access to factual information.”
The Zinn Education Project, launched in 2008, is a national initiative that supports educators in teaching people’s history and is a more inclusive and complex approach to understanding the past, rooted in social movements and systemic analysis. It is coordinated by Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change.
Sassy Lassies Defending Truth & Democracy mission, Krammer said, centers on strengthening democracy through truth-telling and respectful dialogue.
“We believe that the most effective way to make change is by talking to people,” she said. “We know our country is divided and the best way to bring everyone together is one conversation at a time.”
She added that learning the full truth of U.S. history — even the parts some would rather avoid — is essential to progress.
“One of the tenets of Sassy Lassies Defending Truth & Democracy mission statement is to ‘combat disinformation and defend truth and democracy,’” Krammer said. “Like the Zinn Education Project, we believe when young people study the roots of injustice, they can address those root causes and shape a better future for everyone. When we know the truth about our past we understand our present and see opportunities to build a different future.”
“Those invested in upholding structures of systemic racism and other forms of oppression fear the growing movement to teach truth, and are doing all they can to stop it,” she said. “They know that if young people learn the truth about our past and our present they will be informed and even inspired to work to change systems of oppression moving forward.”
Sassy Lassies Defending Truth & Democracy, she said, is a grassroots movement of local women of all ages who are “finding strength in our differences and hope for the future with each event we host, rally we attend, and conversation we have.”
“We wholeheartedly endorse the #TeachTruth national campaign to promote accuracy in education,” Krammer said.
