MikeDunnAuthor<p>Today in Labor History May 25, 1925: The state of Tennessee indicted high school science teacher John Scopes for teaching his students the truth (i.e., evolution). He eventually lost his trial, was fined $100, and then won an appeal. However, the law he broke, the Butler Act, was ruled constitutional by the state supreme court and remained in effect until 1967. Scopes was defended by Clarence Darrow, the same lawyer who defended countless labor organizers and leftists. Darrow defended IWW cofounder Eugene Debs on trial for his role in the 1894 Pullman strike. He got IWW cofounder Big Bill Haywood acquitted in his trumped-up trial for the murder of former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg in 1906. He defended the McNamara brothers (IWW members and labor activists) in their trial for bombing of the Los Angeles Times building in 1910. The prosecuting attorney was William Jennings Bryan, who previously had run for president three times, served in the House, and served as Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson. Bryan was considered a nominally left-of-center Democrat. He was anti-imperialist and a supporter of women’s suffrage and equal pay. He was also pro-labor, earning the endorsement of the American Federation of Labor in his presidential bids. He supported an eight-hour work day, as well as a guaranteed living wage. But he was also a big supporter of prohibition and opponent of Darwinism. <br> <br>For years now, 20 U.S. states have followed the Next Generation Science Standards for their first-year biology courses, and nearly every state offers the College Board’s AP Biology curriculum, in which Evolution and History of Earth are considered central and unifying principals of biology. At the same time, however, teachers are being threatened with termination and legal action in some states for simply uttering the word “gay” or “homosexuality,” or for neglecting to report students they suspect of being nonbinary. Trans and nonbinary students are being denied access to the restroom of their choice. For decades, teachers have been mandated reporters of suspected child abuse and sexual abuse. Now, many of us are in the contradictory position of being required to report LGBTQ kids, with the consequence that these children will be subjected to abuse by the state and possibly by family members, too. Teachers also are being punished for teaching the truth about Palestine, the American Civil War, U.S. imperialism. Books are being banned from school libraries. Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students are being harassed and intimidated on campuses; their free speech suppressed by administrators who’ve been beaten into submission by well-organized Zionist parents.</p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/workingclass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>workingclass</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LaborHistory</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/lgbtq" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>lgbtq</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/evolution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>evolution</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>education</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/schools" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>schools</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/teachers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>teachers</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/children" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>children</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/homophobia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>homophobia</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectTransKids" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ProtectTransKids</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TransRightsAreHumanRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TransRightsAreHumanRights</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/palestine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>palestine</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/freepalestine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>freepalestine</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/zionism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>zionism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/racism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>racism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>censorship</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/freespeech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>freespeech</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/bookbans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>bookbans</span></a></p>