September 23, 2026
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Hannah Gann, an activist and 10th grade social studies teacher at the Workshop School in West Philadelphia, shown above, confessed that she has lied for years about being Palestinian and Black. Gann, a white woman of Jewish descent, issued an apology after activist groups confronted her and exposed the deception.
A white Philadelphia teacher is under fire for falsely claiming for years that she was a Black woman of Palestinian descent. She now admits she duped organizers in the city and undermined the racial justice causes that she had long fought for as a member of activist groups.
Hannah Gann, an educator at the Workshop School, a public magnet high school in West Philly, acknowledged her deception in a series of social media posts in recent days.
"I lied about my identity and have been lying for years," Gann wrote on Instagram. "I have no Palestinian or Tunisian heritage. I am a white woman of significant privilege and wealth. Anyone who supported me was manipulated and should not be judged as a result of their support for me."
Gann's deception has drawn comparisons to the story of Rachel Dolezal, a white civil rights activist and college instructor who posed as a Black woman for years and became the president of the NAACP chapter in Spokane, Washington, before she was exposed in 2015.
The local Racial Justice Organizing Committee and Philly Educators for Palestine addressed the fallout of Gann's fabrication in a joint statement over the weekend. The groups confronted Gann last week following an investigation into her background. They said Gann claimed at various times to be Palestinian, Tunisian and Black.
After a discussion with Gann on Thursday, the groups said she admitted she is a white woman of Jewish heritage who comes from an Israeli settler family.
"We are stunned, saddened and angered by this betrayal," the groups said in a statement. "We will no longer work with Hannah, and she will no longer be welcome in any of our organizing protests."
Gann's pro-Palestinian activism over the years has drawn the ire of right-wing foes, including one group that parked a mobile billboard outside her school in February 2024 that showed a picture of her wearing a keffiyeh and displayed the words, "Hannah Gann: 10th Grade Teacher & Philadelphia’s Leading Antisemite.”
School district spokesperson Monique Braxton said the district is aware of the social media posts "concerning a district employee and her involvement with an outside advocacy organization." Braxton said the district is making support available to students and staff at the Workshop School, but said the district would not comment on personnel matters or any possible discipline.
"These posts reference the employee's involvement in an external group," Braxton said.
In a lengthy video posted to Instagram, Gann apologized and lamented that her conduct has become "a sick, deluded distraction" from the causes she supported under false pretenses.
"One of the most sickening aspects of facing what I've done is seeing the way that the blowback is falling on people, groups, communities and causes I genuinely care about," Gann said. "I recognize it's far too late for me to mitigate all the damage I've done, but I'm determined to try to do what I can."
Gann claimed she never compromised the safety of any of the organizations and people she stood with and was not working on behalf of groups opposed to their causes.
"One of the ways I justified my unjustifiable deceptions was by telling myself that it was OK because I only lied about myself," Gann said. "If I ever spoke on something publicly, taught it at a political education event or shared learning resources, they were always as true and as genuine as I could ensure."
Gann also said she lied to everyone in her life about her background, including her own family.
"Maybe one day I'll make a video explaining what was going through my mind, how I allowed half-truths and obfuscations to grow into outright lies, how genuinely I wanted to commit to the work I was doing in spite of those lies," she said.
Gann specifically addressed her longtime friendship with fellow Philadelphia teacher Keziah Ridgeway, who was disciplined by the School District of Philadelphia for her pro-Palestinian activism and has since sued the school district. Gann has worked alongside Ridgeway over the years, including organizing a teach-in to protest Israel's destruction of schools in Gaza, and Gann has publicly defended Ridgeway amid her legal battle. Gann said Ridgeway had no knowledge that she had lied about her heritage.
Ridgeway, who has faced scrutiny over Gann's deception, posted a video this week detailing the history of their friendship. Ridgeway said she met Gann in 2018 and only discovered she had been lying about her ancestry when approached by other activists. For years, Ridgeway said she saw no reason to doubt Gann's credibility.
"What we saw from her was she was doing the work," Ridgeway said. "She was speaking up for the Black community. She was speaking up for the Palestinian community, and that is what we took as the important thing."
A member of the Philly Palestine Coalition informed Ridgeway earlier this month that organizers were suspicious about Gann's background and had done research to prove she was not telling the truth. Ridgeway said Gann denied the allegations when she was confronted and only admitted what she had done after relentless questioning.
"I acted when I had concrete evidence, and it is because I acted that she posted that public statement," Ridgeway said.
The Racial Justice Organizing Committee and Philly Educators for Palestine said Gann's admission "is not accountability" and that they are reviewing her access to organizational information and resources she received through the misrepresentation of her identity.
"We recognize the profound harm this has caused; Palestinians whose identity and struggle were appropriated; the Black community, young people, organizers, and organizations whose trust and resources were exploited, as well as those who supported Hannah based on false information," the statement said. "We hope that support will not be used to discredit the people who acted in good faith."
Gann asked those who viewed her video not to take their anger and disappointment out on others.
"No one should be blamed or judged for their association with me," Gann said.
