rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/stop-whitewashing-history?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-stop-whitewashing-history' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> National Campaign for Justice https://actionnetwork.org/groups/just-strategy https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg Montgomery County, Texas has crossed a dangerous line by ordering public libraries to reclassify a factual children's book on Native American history as "fiction" -- effectively labeling the brutal mistreatment of Indigenous peoples as make-believe. This shocking decision came after the county removed librarians from the book review process and replaced them with a secretive "Citizens Review Committee" with no appeals process. The book Colonization and the Wampanoag Story, authored by Linda Coombs, a respected Wampanoag historian tells the true story of how European settlers brutalized Native Americans, including kidnapping Wampanoag men to be sold into slavery. The reclassification flies in the face of expert opinion. This is not fiction. Penguin Random House, the Houston Public Library, the Austin Public Library, the Fort Worth Public Library and the Library of Congress all designate it as non-fiction. This is documented American history that our children deserve to learn. This attack on truth is part of a larger trend of right-wing groups trying to sanitize American history in our schools and libraries. We cannot allow extremists to rewrite history and erase Native American voices. Montgomery county’s commissioners are meeting on October 22nd to review the Citizens Review Committee policies. This is our chance to make our voices heard. Click 'START WRITING' to sign and send a message to Montgomery county’s five commissioners urging them to immediately restore Colonization and the Wampanoag Story to the non-fiction section and reform the CRC policies so that this doesn’t happen again. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-whitewashing-history