Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Jamie Cardenas | New York, NY
Students no matter what race they are deserve to know the truth in our history. The good and the bad. Not just what some people think is important.
Louise Cummings | Los Angeles, CA
To deny history is denying the truth. As an educator I present factual evidence, even the ugly truth, to my students and encourage critical thinking. I do not belong in the classroom if I am supporting lies for fragile egos to survive.
Nancy Stringer | Los Angeles, CA
To understand the society we live in currently we have to spend time analyzing the past without censorship.
Samantha Spina | Los Angeles, CA
Karen Hurd | West Covina, CA
The truth matters! The truth will set us free! History repeats without the truth being revealed! What’s done in the dark must come to light! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Darkness cannot cast out darkness, only light can do that” God said, “ Let there be light” and there was light! The truth is light and history cannot be erased!
Ethan Krizman | Los Angeles, CA
Teaching the truth about history means we teach the whole story
Erin Haapala
Staying silent on these topics is equivalent to consent. I believe that politicians are too obviously biased to decide wether or not educational content regarding systemic power and white supremacy should be taught. If this content is taught the probable outcome would be that they would be voted out of power so they have every reason to object to the truth.
Laura Icedo | Whittier, CA
Students have the right to know and question historical narratives. They have the right to know all perspectives.
Kevin Jordan | Rosemead, CA
Crisanta Velazquez | Los Angeles, CA
I believe in teaching the truth about U.S History, even to 6 & 7 year olds.
Rachelle Gonzales | Los Angeles, CA
I believe students need to know the truth of our history to deeply understand the current problems our society faces, and to give them hope to make it a better place.
Jonathan Shapiro | Los Angeles, CA
The contributions that marginalized individuals have made to society can never be ignored. I would be remiss in my responsibilities as an educator if I promoted ignorance.
Rachael Steele | Los Angeles, CA
Truth matters. History matters. To understand their present and make informed choices about their future, American students must know about and understand the hard truths of our collective past.
Keith Davis | Los Angeles, CA
I am a black man living in a racist society. Black and Brown children must learn about their culture and the history of their people's struggles and triumphs to be fully prepared to tackle racism when they encounter it during their lifetimes.
Veronica Lajambe | Los Angeles, CA
I will commit to teaching the truth so we can be better as a society.
Aann Trethewey , PA
Our children deserve truth and should be allowed to make their own choices!!
Wendy Randle | Providence, RI
I believe in students being exposed to history.
Hannah Resseger | Providence, RI
I have always been about seeking out the truth and teaching it to others. This is crucial and evident in my work as an artist and musician as well as my teaching endeavors. Just as we were making some headway with teaching about social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter there was an outrageous backlash from those who want to suppress oppressed, marginalized voices and narratives. This is unacceptable and perpetuates hate, hate crimes and mass shootings.
Sheila Wilensky | minneapolis, MN
I'm sick of the lies.
Dina Díaz | Chula Vista, CA
All history is important
Patrick O'Hara | Towamensing Trails, PA
I refuse to teach a limited version of United States history that hinders critical thinking and downplays the impact that slavery, racism, and oppression played in shaping America. The narratives mandated by various state legislatures ignore reality and relegate history to a whitewashed narrative that seeks to promote a narrow version of patriotism that leaves many behind while propagating national myths. I will oppose any such legislation in Pennsylvania. If such legislation is passed, i will continue to teach history from a variety of perspectives in order to provide students with a deeper understanding of how their country came to be.
Rachel Dworkin | Florence, MA
I will teach the truth no matter what!
Doron Zinger | Irvine, CA
Teaching truth, addressing systemic inequity, and repairing historical harms is a critical part of education.
Kelly Lormand | Summit, NJ
Neil Oliveria | Lawrence, MA
I believe the only way to solve the problems we now have in our country is through the truthful education of our young people. Only education can fight the false claims that many so-called leaders are now trying to impose on the nation. Our children deserve this.
Selected Pledges
Click on pledge below to read many more.
As an educator who is serious about teaching the truth I will not be bullied into silence. I will do my part in the fight for equity and equality by making sure my students are most equipped to fight this ugliness in the real world.
Yes, the truth of American history needs to be taught, but also its impact on the rest of the world, such as its role in WWII. I just finished teaching a college-level course on the Holocaust, and could not believe how little the students knew about the rest of the world’s participation in the war! They seemed to believe that WWII was ended by the US alone!
“When you begin to do things that raise the achievement of the poorest and disenfranchised students, you may not always get applause. You need to be ready for that.” Dr. Asa Hilliard
“Resistance is a powerful motivator precisely because it enables us to fulfill our longing to achieve our goals while letting us boldly recognize and name the obstacles to those achievements.”
Dr. Derrick Bell
Our young people deserve the truth and it is our kuleana (responsibility) to give space and opportunity for the truth and the difficult conversations.
If we don’t teach it all, we teach nothing…
Social justice is a major theme of my Humanities 7 course, and my school uses Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s HILL framework (development of identity, skills, knowledge, Criticality) to frame our entire curriculum. Student agency through research work and essay writing, and action-oriented civic engagement work, define what we “cover” in my course.