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TITLE VIII: Epistemic Justice & Public Education

SEC. 801. Finding - We Are NOT an Island

Congress Finds That:

(a) INNOVATION IS COLLECTIVE: No individual, company, or nation innovates alone. All knowledge builds on prior generations, global exchange, and collaborative effort.

(b) MYTH OF SINGULAR GENIUS: The "lone inventor" narrative (Edison, Jobs, and Musk) erases:

  • Teams of researchers, engineers, and technicians
  • Women, BIPOC, and queer contributors
  • Global South originators
  • Traditional knowledge holders

(c) AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM HARMS: The belief that "America is uniquely innovative" perpetuates:

  • Intellectual imperialism (justifies theft)
  • Racism (erases BIPOC inventors)
  • Nationalism (prevents international collaboration)
  • Inequality (concentrates credit/wealth among elites)

(d) EPISTEMIC HUMILITY NEEDED: The United States must recognize:

  • We learn from the world (China, India, Mexico, Netherlands, etc.)
  • We owe debts to countless originators
  • We benefit from millennia of collective human knowledge
  • Innovation is a commons, not property

SEC. 802. National Education Campaign

(a) THE "WE DIDN'T INVENT THIS" INITIATIVE:

Innovation Justice Council shall launch:

5-year Public Education Campaign ($100M/year budget) including:

1. Public Service Announcements (TV, Radio, and Digital):

  • "The straw checkerboard method saving our deserts? Developed by Chinese scientists over 70 years."
  • "The Solar Mamas training women in our communities? Created by Bunker Roy in India, 1972."
  • "The concrete donut helping our trees survive? Invented by Land Life in the Netherlands."
  • Tagline: "Innovation is global. Credit the creators."

2. Social Media Campaign:

  • Highlight one innovation/day with originator profile
  • Partner with influencers, educators, and scientists

3. Museum Exhibits:

  • Smithsonian Institution: "Whose Innovation? Crediting the Creators" (permanent exhibit)
  • Traveling Exhibit: Visits 100 cities over 5 years
  • Interactive Displays: Scan a QR code and learn about erased inventors

4. Documentary Series:

  • PBS: "The Innovators We Forgot" (10-part series)
  • Profiles of Rosalind Franklin, Hedy Lamarr, Lewis Latimer, Indigenous innovators, and Global South creators
  • Primetime broadcast + free streaming

5. School Assemblies:

  • Council funds speakers to visit schools
  • BIPOC inventors, Indigenous knowledge holders, and Global South scientists share stories
  • 10,000 schools/year

SEC. 803. Curriculum Mandates

(a) K-12 STANDARDS:

Schools Receiving Federal Funding MUST Teach:

Elementary (K-5):

  • "Innovation comes from everywhere" (global examples)
  • Highlight diverse inventors (gender, race, and nationality)
  • Age-appropriate biopiracy stories ("Why it's wrong to steal ideas")

Middle School (6-8):

  • History of intellectual imperialism (biopiracy and erasure)
  • Case Studies: Neem, turmeric, basmati, Rosalind Franklin, and Lewis Latimer
  • Epistemic justice (why credit matters)

High School (9-12):

  • In-depth study of the patent system, TRIPS agreement, and the WTO
  • Traditional knowledge protections
  • Student Projects: Research erased innovators from their own communities

(b) TEXTBOOK REVIEW:

Department of Education Shall:

  • Audit all textbooks for accuracy (proper crediting)
  • Reject textbooks that perpetuate erasure
  • Fund development of epistemic justice-centered curricula

(c) TEACHER TRAINING:

$50M/year for Professional Development:

  • Train teachers on accurate innovation history
  • Decolonize science/history education
  • Provide resources (lesson plans, primary sources, and documentaries)

SEC. 804. Higher Education Requirements

(a) UNIVERSITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FUNDING:

MUST Offer Courses on:

  1. Epistemic Justice & Innovation Commons
  2. History of Intellectual Imperialism
  3. Traditional Knowledge & Biopiracy
  4. Decolonizing Research Methods

At Least TWO Are Required for STEM Majors

(b) RESEARCH ETHICS:

IRBs (Institutional Review Boards) MUST Include:

  • Indigenous representatives (if research involves tribal communities)
  • Global South representatives (if research involves those communities)
  • Community members (not just academics)

Must Evaluate:

  • Prior informed consent
  • Benefit-sharing plans
  • Cultural appropriateness
  • Power dynamics (researcher vs. community)

(c) TENURE REVIEW:

Promotion Criteria MUST Include:

  • Epistemic justice in research
  • Community engagement
  • Credit-sharing (co-authorship with community members)
  • Open-source contributions

Cannot achieve tenure solely through patent accumulation (shifts incentives from hoarding to sharing)

SEC. 805. Media Accountability

(a) FCC GUIDELINES:

Broadcasters MUST:

  • Accurately credit innovators (no erasure)
  • Correct historical inaccuracies when identified
  • Provide platform for marginalized inventors to tell their own stories

(b) FACT-CHECKING:

Council Partners with Fact-Checkers to flag:

  • False attribution (crediting wrong person)
  • Erasure (omitting BIPOC, women, and Global South inventors)
  • Perpetuation of "lone genius" myths

Media Outlets MUST Issue Corrections within 48 hours or face FCC fines

(c) POSITIVE INCENTIVES:

Annual "Epistemic Justice in Media" Awards ($1M prize) for:

  • Best documentary highlighting erased innovators
  • Best journalism exposing biopiracy
  • Best educational content on innovation commons

SEC. 806. Federal Recognition of Epistemic Justice

(a) NATIONAL INNOVATION JUSTICE DAY:

Established: Third Monday of May (annually)

Purpose: Honor erased innovators, celebrate global knowledge exchange, and recommit to epistemic justice

Federal Holiday: Government offices are closed and schools hold educational events

(b) PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION:

Each President shall issue annual proclamation:

  • Acknowledging US history of intellectual imperialism
  • Highlighting progress on reparations and attribution
  • Profiling erased innovators
  • Recommitting to technology commons

(c) CONGRESSIONAL APOLOGY:

Within 1 year of This Act's Passage, Congress shall issue formal apology for:

  • Biopiracy against the Global South
  • Erasure of BIPOC, women, and queer, working-class inventors
  • Patent system's role in perpetuating inequality
  • Failure to credit Indigenous innovations

The Apology SHALL Be:

  • Read on the House and Senate floors
  • Published in the Federal Register
  • Translated into 100+ languages
  • Distributed to affected communities worldwide