Parents, educators, students and community organizations in Durham will hold a press conference Thursday in support of “telling the truth” in North Carolina public schools.

The press conference will take place at 4:30 p.m., at the WG Pearson Center, 600 East Umstead St. in Durham.

The event is a response to what organizers say are ‘attacks’ by conservative leaders to ‘limit education’ and to redress the ‘racial baiting, bullying, disrespect and dehumanization’ aimed at Ronda Taylor Bullock and her organization, working to expand anti-racist education (we are).

“Attacks on our North Carolina education system and those dedicated to the education of our children have increased markedly over the past year and are becoming a disturbing trend,” said Chatham Organizing Director Stephanie Terry. Organizing for Racial Equity (CORE) in a press release. “One of the biggest lies in this coordinated disinformation campaign attacking education is that critical race theory is about labeling individuals as racist and divisive.”

The state’s Republican leadership has criticized Bullock’s nonprofit in recent weeks, complaining that a contract between the nonprofit and the Wake County public school system to provide six teachers from Millbrook High School for money to attend a UNC-Charlotte conference about disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline is inappropriate.

“This is completely unacceptable,” House Speaker Tim Moore tweeted last month. “No school in North Carolina should teach anti-American critical race theory in our classrooms, let alone compete for a grant from an organization focused on promoting CRT.”

Most educators say CRT, an academic discipline that examines how racism has shaped American law and public policy, is not taught in K-12 grades.

Bullock argues that a critical running framework is necessary because it helps students better understand the world around them.

“Teaching our children the truth helps them understand how the lingering legacy of inequality affects the country today and fosters empathy to build a bridge to unite us,” Bullock said.

Last summer, Senate Leader Phil Berger challenged the nonprofit’s partnership with Durham Public Schools to run anti-racism summer camps and teacher workshops focused on facilitation K-5 courses with an anti-racism lens.