03/19/2026
As Women’s History Month continues, we’re celebrating Septima Poinsette Clark, an educator who saw teaching as an organizing tool and helped thousands of Black people prepare to vote.
Clark started her work as a South Carolina public school teacher and was a member of the NAACP, until a 1956 state law banned employees from being members of civil rights organizations. This bolstered Clark’s activism. After being fired from her involvement with the NAACP, Clark worked to establish “citizenship schools” to help adult learners with reading voter registration forms, filling out applications, and understanding legal rights.
By building their confidence at the ballot box, Clark empowered Black people to combat voter suppression in the Jim Crow South, revolutionizing the link between education and political organizing to advance democracy.
Today, it’s clear that our democracy is under attack. But, we know that we can advance policies around culturally responsive and relevant curriculum that push for the multiracial democracy we deserve.
The Teach Truth campaign recognizes that education that teaches the whole truth is key to an equitable and honest education. The campaign combats attacks on our student’s freedom to learn—a key sentiment of Septima Clark’s work. As the current attacks on our public school curriculums and funding threaten to erase our history, the campaign equips local communities with the tools to fight back on dishonest curriculums, censorship, book bans and anti-critical race theory policies.
NOTE: A previous version of this post was removed for featuring an inaccurate photo of Septima Clark. The graphic has been revised to feature a photo sourced from Getty Images.
