USC Rossier and Pullias Center Associate Professor Royel Johnson, along with USC Race and Equity Founder and Executive Director Shaun Harper, have collaborated as co-editors on the new book, "The Big Lie About Race in American's Schools," to be published on September 17, and now available for pre-order.

"The Big Lie About Race in America’s Schools" delivers a collective response to the challenge of racially-charged misinformation, disinformation and censorship that increasingly permeates and weakens not only US education but also our democracy. Drs. Johnson and Harper bring together leading education scholars and educators to confront the weaponized distortions that are currently undermining both public education and racial justice. The experts gathered in this work offer strategies to counter these dangerous trends and uphold truth in education.

"'The Big Lie About Race in America's Schools' is a collective response to the far-right conservative movement's attempts to undermine decades-long efforts to strengthen the integrity of our nation's education system. We must act swiftly and strategically to counter these politicized attacks. This book provides critical insights on how to do so," stated Dr. Johnson, who also serves as the program chair of the PhD program at USC's Rossier School of Education.

In focused, practical chapters, the contributors examine efforts both broad and specific, from restrictive education legislation, to book bans, to twisting terminology like Critical Race Theory (CRT) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), that are obscuring truth in public education. They demonstrate how this narrowing of allowable ideas does a disservice to all students and especially to those who are underrepresented in curricula, including students of color and LGBTQ+ students.

Insights in this book, published by Harvard Education Press, can be used by educators, policymakers and advocates who want to counter recent trends and downward progressions in the educational system. It also emphasizes the need for shared leadership, organized collaboration and parental involvement in creating alliances toward making sure that public education is adequately defended.