Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Robert Marsh | Brooksville, FL
You cannot possibly understand the rise of the white supremacist movement in the U.S. today, without understanding its historical antecedents. This is why we teach U.S. history. Our past, while painful, has value only in that we cannot progress from it without this knowledge. The teaching of history should never be politicized whether it is popular or painful. The scourge of mistruth, lies, and outright "cancellation" needs to stop at the schoolhouse door.
Katrina Zenkert | Boise, ID
It is imperative that students/citizens understand the origins of racism/racist ideas/racist legislation, as well as, the stories of the many Black Americans who made great strides and built our country during Reconstruction. This knowledge will help inform their ideas and help them to be better citizens of our democratic republic. This knowledge can only help to build more empathy and understanding for our BIPOC community and our country as a whole.
Jillian Miesen | St. Louis, MO
Trevor Ladner | Cambridge, MA
Danny Hergenrader | Las Vegas, NV
Tiffany Mitchell Patterson | Morgantown, WV
Rachel Allen | Dakota, MN
Beyond the fact that Reconstruction is a piece of our history, and we shouldn't ignore pieces of our history, much of the institutionalized racism we see in this country is born from public policies and social stigmas from that era.
Bella Barclay | Healdsburg, CA
Rachael Barasch | Brooklyn, NY
Jennifer Keys Adair | Austin, TX
Melanie Bush | Brooklyn, NY
Drew Stephenson | Parker, CO
Gene Woods | Bayonne, NJ
Teaching our students about Reconstruction is vital in helping them understand race relations in our country. In addition, teaching the truth about Reconstruction proves that African Americans and their allies made made progress during a short period of time, but their efforts were cut short due to racists and racist policies.
Jennifer Macon | Reseda, CA
MICHAEL W Apple | Madison, WI
Heather Smith | Chicago, IL
Rachel Psaradellis | New Haven, CT
Sandy Banks | San Clemente, CA
Alex Zukas | San Diego, CA
Gregory Fox | Burnsville, MN
Jason Ferreira | Emeryville, CA
Steve Troyanovich | Florence, NJ
Adela López | Anaheim, CA
Veronica Palodichuk | South Saint Paul, MN
I'm a 46 yr old white female, I was raised in a predominantly white community, while in school I believe 4th or fifth grade we were learning about the civil war. The teacher was framing that the war was about states power and independence from government over reach and tyranny. She also painted Grant in a most despicable manner and praised Lee. I spoke up and informed her that she was incorrect I received detention for a week. Thankfully my father was a history buff he's the reason I knew about the civil war, reconstruction black codes etc.. he stood up for me. The only other thing I remember learning about slavery in school was watching roots. I believe educating people about the true history of this country is imperative. This country was built on genocide that continues today with the war on drugs and mass incarceration red lining unfortunately I could add a lot to that list.
Susan Johnson | Sarasota, FL
All kids crave the real people stories of their own ancestors. To teach only the conquering army view is absurd. I found history taught in school boring and was never what I wanted to learn about like the murder of those at wounded knee, the trail of tears, why black people and the Irish were so poor, the history of medical industrial complex that led to their monopolies on medical choices that are not healing or about health, just driven by investors profits, etc, etc etc. The history lessons left untaught compared to the deliberate lies only teach kids that it is ok to lie and fabricate their own tales about what they know nothing about. Truth is called for, true stories of the many heroes left out of books, no matter their race.
Twitter
Google plus
LinkedIn