Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Nataliya Braginsky | New Haven, CT
Afreen Bhaidani | Conroe, TX
It is important for our students to learn history and accurate depictions of our world, not just "His Story"
Erika Riddington | Somerville, MA
I will not be censored when it comes to documented facts about our history including the recollections and expressions of people’s lived experiences, particularly with regard to the pervasive and pernicious influence of racism in shaping systems that have and continue unfairly to deprive people from equal opportunity with liberty and justice for all.
Chandra Smith | Fort Mill, SC
All history should be taught
Katy Rank | Saint Charles, IL
I refuse to ignore history and truth because it’s uncomfortable. Our students need educators willing to work alongside them as we all navigate our past, present and future.
Donna Sayman | Shawnee, OK
I will never, ever keep true and factual information from my students simply because I am afraid they might get their feelings hurt
Susan Shapiro | Columbus, OH
Kathryne Edwards | Los Angeles, CA
Cory Blake | Magnolia, TX
I will never, ever, willingly impose false information or skip crucial facts to make adults comfortable. I tell my kids from the beginning that I will not lie or sugarcoat the truth. I am not going to start now.
Saneya Bair | Long Beach, CA
Telling the truth about history and current events is pivotal to moving towards a more just society.
Kia Saunders | Garner, NC
Silencing the truth about America’s history in racism and oppression of people of Color is a gross disservice to students! Furthermore, the undeniable truth is that the residual affects of slavery are impacting students TODAY!
Kayla Jolly | Long Beach, CA
Mary Hillebrand | Sun Prairie, WI
Some people in the community where I teach do not understand why we need to teach the truth, or they are afraid of the truth. Our school district is taking action to right the wrongs, and I support them in the face of this resistance.
Kate Hooper | State College, PA
Truth!
Aubrey Noonan | Iowa City, IA
we should learn from the past so that we do not replicate it! Rather than placating adults who are scared of systems and change, we should be teaching our students how to dismantle the systems and look at the world from a different lens.
Don Cooney | Kalamazoo, MI
Marilyn Davis | San Jose, CA
Tiffany Henderson | Milwaukee, WI
I believe in the work being done .
Jessie Sabree | Long Beach, CA
Youth deserve to know real history! Stop underestimating youth’s capacity to process information about race & gender. If they’re old enough to recognize it, they’re old enough to talk about it!
Daniel Husman | Minneapolis, MN
Lisa Bowstead | New York, NY
It is our duty to our students to teach ALL history and to train them in critical thinking. A society must examine and study its failures if it is to grow and evolve.
Lissa McLaughlin | Madison, WI
We destroy our children’s opportunities to think, dream and hope by denying them the truth, and by lying about our responsibilities to the past.
Elizabeth Swaggerty
In order to recognize and disrupt racism, we need to know and teach the whole truth.
Oneida Fox Roye | Dedham, MA
I believe ALL of our students need to learn the truth.
Ambria Reed | Denver, CO
My students deserve to examine the complicated history of our country, warts and all.
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.