This blog post is from the Zinn Education Project, a Unite Against Book Bans partner.
Studying the Constitution is essential — especially now, as constitutional rights are increasingly under attack, including the freedom to read. In fact, it was on Constitution Day in 2020 that the White House under President Trump launched the “1776 Commission.” The language of that Executive Order set the tone for many of the anti-CRT laws and book bans that began to spread in the spring of 2021.
It’s Past Time to Move Beyond Celebration and Engage in Critical Inquiry
Each September, schools across the country celebrate Constitution Day. Students create posters praising the document, watch patriotic videos, or recite the Preamble — rather than engage in critical inquiry. These rituals present the Constitution as a sacred text, not a document created and amended through struggle.
The Evolving Definition of “We the People”
To the extent that the Preamble’s lofty “we the people” includes anyone beyond white, propertied men, it is due to more than two centuries of struggle across race, gender, and class lines to expand the meaning of that phrase. Any expansion in rights and freedoms since 1787 — from the abolition of slavery, to the Reconstruction Amendments, to women’s suffrage — has been hard-fought and won from the bottom up, not benevolently granted from the top down.
And yet, each year Constitution Day is projected as a unifying civic ritual — one steeped in praise of “what the Framers intended.”
To Protect Our Rights, We Must Understand Them
Today, those in power wield the Constitution — and undermine it — in ways that intensify profound harms across the country. It is essential that students know their rights: not just to pass a test, but to protect themselves.
Throughout U.S. history, people have fought to claim the rights the Constitution promises, and to demand the rights it omits. Constitution Day should not be a celebration of myth, but an invitation to think critically and to give students the tools we all need to meet this moment. High school teacher Alysha Butler, said:
In your upcoming units on the Constitution, don’t forget to remind your students that decades after its ratification in many states it was illegal to teach people that look like me how to read it.
Pledge to Teach Truth on Constitution Day, September 17
As part of our Teach Truth campaign, we encourage educators to Teach Truth on Constitution Day. We offer free resources to do one or all of the following:
- Teach honestly about the Constitution. Why it is worded the way it is, how it has been amended, and what it allows/denies to the public.
- Make sure students know their rights under the Constitution. These include the right to remain silent, the right to read and the choice of what to read, freedom of speech, and equal protection of the law — which applies to everyone, documented or not.
- Emphasize that rights are not fixed or guaranteed. Rights must be championed and protected by each new generation, in and beyond the Constitution.
Be An Advocate in Your Community
Community members can play a critical role in defending the freedom to learn from outside the classroom. For example, they can host a gallery walk on Ten Ways to Rethink the Constitution in a public space or use tools from the National Education Association to propose that their school district adopt a Freedom to Learn resolution.
The Zinn Education Project will post a map to indicate where people are participating – demonstrating the commitment of teachers, librarians, and community members across the country to teach truthfully about the Constitution and to defend the freedom to learn. To register your event or find out what’s planned in your area, visit https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/teach-truth-on-constitution-day/.
