Abe George on How California Civil Rights Advocates Inspire State

The announcement that the California State Board of Education has approved several new education textbooks featuring LGBTQ+-inclusive history perfectly illustrates how California’s civil rights movement continues to lay the foundation for further progress in the state while also inspiring broader change at the national level. Thanks to the recent vote by the California State Board of Education, the state is now the first in the nation to provide students with LGBTQ+-inclusive textbooks.

The vote to approve the new K-8 textbooks was made possible by California’s passage of the FAIR Education Act in 2011, which, among other things, created curricula requirements concerning the inclusion of the achievements of people with disabilities as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community. And while the new textbooks represent another clear victory for the civil rights movement, the period of time that has elapsed since the passage of the FAIR Education Act will surely remind many civil rights advocates of an axiom popularized by Martin Luther King, Jr.:

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Like many other religious leaders of varying faiths, Dr. King was fond of the metaphorical concept and included the quote in sermons, speeches, and articles (such as the one published in 1958 in a periodical called “The Gospel Messenger”). Recognizing that the success of any civil rights movement hinges on sustained advocacy over a period of several decades, King relied on the quote to reinforce the necessity of the movement’s continued patience and resolve while also reminding his fellow advocates that when people stand up for what is right, justice will ultimately prevail.

Just as Dr. King continues to inspire advocates to take up the cause of civil rights almost 50 years after his death, the state of California also remains a critical source of inspiration for the rest of the country.

According to Abe George, a lawyer dedicated to the advancement and preservation of a civilized justice system, the progress made by civil rights advocates in California provides a potent framework for like-minded advocates to follow in other parts of the country. As a lawyer based in Brooklyn, George has helped support countless New Yorkers in civil rights cases and was a vocal opponent of the NYPD’s “Stop-and-Frisk” practice, a policy that has since been curtailed after several lawsuits demonstrated the unconstitutionality of the practice.

Several parallels exist between the California State Board of Education’s vote of approval for LGBTQ+-inclusive textbooks and the curtailment of the “Stop-and-Frisk” practice, including, as George pointed out, that the NYPD’s agreement to end the policy comes four years after a federal judge formally declared part of the practice unconstitutional.

Dr. King frequently espoused the importance of combining patience with a strong resolve in the pursuit of justice, and, even after the passing of so many decades, Dr. King’s words about the moral universe’s tilt toward justice clearly still resonates with civil rights advocates from coast to coast.