Now is the time to stand up for acceptance and peace and push back against hostility and bigotry. Some politicians want to whitewash history and are pushing for laws that ban books or teaching of certain events or issues.

A school district in Tennessee has banned the book "Maus" which is a Pulitzer Prize graphic novel that has educated people for over 32 years about the holocaust.

In Florida, GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis and radical republicans have passed a bill that prohibits public schools and private businesses from making white people feel “discomfort” when they teach students or train employees about discrimination.

This is a dangerous, anti-democratic effort that suppresses and denies the experiences and history of people in our community.

We must heed these words of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel:

"To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time."

We should be teaching tolerance and peace, not hostility and bigotry. Can you take 1 (one) minute and send a message to your state legislators to block efforts to ban history and instead champion efforts towards teaching acceptance and peace?

Works cited:

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/27/1076180329/tennessee-school-district-ban-holocaust-graphic-novel-maus

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-bill-whites-discomfort-critical-race-theory-desantis/

https://www.newsweek.com/holocaust-remembrance-day-quotes-tributes-nazi-victims-879579