Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Richard Schur | Springfield, MO
American literary history is messy, complicated, and all-too-often shaped by questions of race. To truly be a patriot and love this country, we need to understand the stories that have been told and the ones that are missing or hidden. America is only strong when everyone is thriving. To be a true patriot, we need to grapple with the good and bad of history, so we can help realize the principles of freedom and equality that founded the country, even if we have not always met those lofty ideals.
douglas safford | Glover, VT
truth needs to be told about the past and why we are where we are today as a country.
Erin Seely | Fort Wayne, IN
My well loved and respected history teacher, Mr. Ronald Holmes, taught this to hundreds/thousands of students without issue or controversy. He made us more critical thinkers. Plus it is the right thing to do!
Mollie Kemp | Dexter, MI
Janine de Novais | Philadelphia, PA
the attack on teaching the truth about the history and reality of racism is unethical and is an attack on the future health of this democracy
John Porter | Ypsilanti, MI
History should be independent of current political revisions.
Christiana Slightam | Prentice, WI
I live in a very rural and conservative community. And while I was raised with a similar set of values, I was not 'woke' until I attended college. Many of the students I have in my classroom will not attend college and will attend a vocational/technical college, join the family business, or enter directly into the workforce. The college experience, seeing the 'real world,' and experiencing the diversity of life in general won't happen, unless I do it here and now.
Corinne Martin | Louisville, KY
The truth matters. Black lives matter.
Elizabeth Monterrosa | Eugene, OR
Our history is complex and layered. Students want and deserve the whole truth.
Ellie Young | Annapolis, MD
Kim Pettit | New Albany, OH
my students need to feel and know that they matter. Teachers are not teaching that one race is superior like the media says. We want to teach the truth, facts, real events.- not a white washed version of history that only focuses on black lives in Februrary.
Jenna Pratt | Bothell, WA
I refuse to be silent. I desire to uphold Holocaust survivor Ellie Wiesel's comment "We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere."
Katie Sheldon | Kittery, Town of, ME
students deserve to learn to analyze complicated historical topics.
Monica Simeon | American Canyon, CA
traditional history books are written in the eyes of the “winners.” Their subjectivity ignores the perspective of those oppressed and marginalized. In order for our schools to promote inclusion, it is important for students and staff to acknowledge and learn from the vast and various experiences of ALL people.
Megan Moriarty | Columbus, OH
There is no need to fear the teaching of facts. Your spin on what it means to teach factual history from multiple points of view is nothing but a scare tactic to get the uneducated masses into a Fox News frenzy. I pledge to teach the truth from all points of view.
Elizabeth Farley-Ripple | Newark, DE
I believe that we must confront the truths, good and bad, about our collective histories in order to grow as a country and communities.
Michelle Kope | Minneapolis, MN
I refuse to perpetuate white supremacy.
Liann Osborne | Fremont, CA
All students should see and hear their communities' lived realities, experiences, and histories.
Jaime Dudash | Dexter, MI
When teaching AND learning any history, it is important to consider the Origin of this history, (who is writing it), the Purpose of the History, Value of the history and finally the Limitation of the particular viewpoint. To understand any key turning point in any history--we have to gather all the facts, not just the "comfortable" ones to tell a narrative that we may like. Teaching and Learning "Hard History" allows us as humans to look ourselves in the mirror, allow for self-reflection, and then commit to a more equitable future for all stakeholders in a community and then the broader world. Our actions, not our words will reflect the world we really want to occupy.
Robyn Pape | Olympia, WA
Deborah STARR | Lake Stevens, WA
Bethany Vosburg-Bluem | Westerville, OH
As a social studies education instructor my role is to support my students in becoming the best educators they can be and that includes being honest about history and addressing the critical issues that continue to face our nation and so many of our citizens who continue to be left out of who we are as a nation.
Rachel Keller | Chelsea, MA
Christina Zastrow | Columbia, MD
Because teaching real, authentic, and meaningful history is important.
Josán Perales | Estes Park, CO
We must 'go for broke' as fierce and conscious educators fighting for liberation for ALL. THIS is the work.
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.