Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Dana Huekell | Framingham, MA
the only way to dismantle systemic racism and to create a true country for all is to speak the truth!
Judy Donovan | Napa, CA
It is time to tell the truth about racism and sexism in our history. Our children will be well served to hear the facts. They should be able to have open discussions about this topic with well informed teachers guiding the conversation. Truth is patriotic.
Anne-Marie Reidy | Washington, DC
Children deserve the truth.
Carly Neun | El Cajon, CA
Legislators do not teach and do not have any business mandating we not allow difficult discussions in the classroom on the off chance it makes a parent uncomfortable. There is racism and sexism, and a whole host of other issues in our history; That does not make America totally evil or mean we teach hatred of country. On the contrary, it means we teach love of the American ideals through addressing the obstacles in our way and how they came to be.
Leslie Neilsen | Charlotte, NC
There is ugly truth we need to learn about. It’s hard to hear the truth, but we are a nation of humans…and humans are subject to make mistakes. It’s how we grow.
Brianna Carter | Charlotte, NC
To tell the truth about history is to celebrate the resilience of my family history within the thread of American and world history. Furthermore, in teaching civics, students are able to recognize the pain and promise of our country.
Laurie Carroll | Jackson, GA
It is imperative that our children know the truth about the foundation of this country and the truths behind the racism that existed throughout our country's history.
Jamiere Abney | Fayetteville, NY
It is key for Young people to recognize the context of history that continues to impact the world today. Further, BIPOC, low income, LGBTQ+, and other historically marginalized populations, deserve for their narrative to be integrated in daily learning to create proper empathy and understanding.
Haley Barbier | Youngsville, LA
Students deserve to know the truth, and should be encouraged to seek it.
Kristi Martinez | Bonney Lake, WA
truth and representation for all students matters.
Kimberly DAuria | Danbury, CT
The truth of factual events is the truth. All the ism’s need to be covered to have our students be well rounded and go through life as critical thinkers.We learned from our past and we look forward to our future. Do not take the teachers voices away. We heard everyday what our student want.
Randye Harrison-Dixon | Newark, DE
Teaching the truth to my students about who they are and who I am as a Black Woman has become one of the most important things to me as an educator. I am the mother of Black Children, the Wife of a Black Man, the Daughter of a Black Retired Distinguished Principal and Black USAF Brigadier General, Descendent of Slaves, Educator of children, anti-racist, social activist, and abolitionist of all things false
Patricia Patricia | Hinsdale, NH
I want to be honest with my students, and want them to understand and learn from our past so that we can become One Nation and not repeat the past.
Nick Belsky | Alstead, NH
Citizens should know all History, not whitewashed History.
Cassie Brickell | Everett, WA
Our students deserve the right to learning a true account of history.
Mara Johnson | Saint Paul, MN
it's the right thing to do and because children deserve to learn the truth about our history.
Nils Headley | San Mateo, CA
my children and my students, when presented with the primary sources, can draw the conclusions that will allow them to be informed and critical voters.
Warren Buck | Jacksonville, FL
All of our students deserve to know the whole truth and teachers need to be trusted to best know the needs of their classes.
Naomi Ramsay | Chicago, IL
we cannot lie to our children. We must give them the whole truth so they are able to understand and navigate the society they live in. We need to give them the truth so they are able to change our society for the better. If they actually learn and understand how racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism function in our society they will be better prepared to disrupt these systems in the future. Moreover, they will feel empowered to do so! I will not lie to my students!
Rachel Poulton , MA
Our country cannot go backwards and further into racism in the future
Sarah Downing | Keene, NH
We need to understand our history in order to make informed decisions as active citizens. This includes all the mistakes we have made as a nation. Rewriting the past is a symptom of tyranny and we need to stand up for democracy and preserve our rights to speak truth to power.
Paula Feldman | Columbia, SC
Legislators should not require teachers to lie to their students or suppress the truth.
Laura White | Spofford, NH
I believe the health of our nation depends on citizens to be able to look critically at our past and present to understand current inequities in order to make lasting change. Difficult issues are often uncomfortable to discuss. And schools are great places to help teach how to talk about these things respectfully. Those who love our country are willing to look both its achievments and its failures in the face and work to make it great. I will continue the rich discussion we have in fifth grade about race and other issues in order to raise a compassionate and literate generation that can speak knowledgeably and comfortably about these issues. Legislation that attempts to gag such discourse is wrong and unpatriotic.
Hannah Golladay | Forest Grove, OR
It is important for students to know the true history of the US and to understand race and racism.
Cyndi Stone | Fort Walton Beach, FL
My students deserve to know the truth. All my students are known and valued and need to know the truth
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.