Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Kyle Liao | New York, NY
We need to understand history to avoid repeating it.
Yvette Felarca | Oakland, CA
teachers have a right and an obligation to teach young people the truth about systematic and institutional racism in our nation's history and today. I stand in solidarity with educators across the country who are committed to defy racist local, state, or even national laws if necessary. More than anything, this is about young people's right to learn the truth about history so they can change the course of history and make this nation live up to its most egalitarian ideals and promises.
Viki Yamashita | Long Beach, CA
I will not be censored by racists and trans/homophobes who thump the bible in the name of White Fragility and white supremacy.
Joanna Auclair | Queen Creek, AZ
Truth matters
Whitney Blankenship | AUSTIN, TX
I was taught a feel good version of American history in school and I remember the shock of learning about things like Japanese American Internment when I got to collage;I was taught a Eurocentric version of World History that did not address cultures outside of Europe, especially Africa;As a historian my job is to look at the documents and interpret those documents based on corroboration of evidence across sources from multiple perspectives to arrive at an interpretation. Real history is messy and makes us uncomfortable at times. But it is through those experiences that we learn and grow in our understanding of the world as a complicated place;After teaching about race, class and gender in U.S. history I watched my students grow angry that they were in the last years of the public education and no one had ever mentioned these topics;Students should learn the critical thinking skills that will allow them to be functioning members of society;Black Lives Matter; LGBTQIA+ Lives matter. Research has shown that students who do not see their history in school do not do as well as their peers.It is the right thing to do.
Carole Ancona | Scottsdale, AZ
Dr. Judith Dunkerly | Stites, ID
the entire history of this country must be taught. We cannot literally whitewash out the parts that involved the oppression of, and violence towards BIPOC individuals.
Ashley Wade | Reno, NV
Kirsten Hansen | San Leandro, CA
I remember when I finally learned the real history and felt utter betrayal from my educators. I don’t want students to feel that anger about their own learning.
Laurie Newman | Sparks, NV
I believe in teaching a balanced approach to history that represents all groups.
Beth Levin | Portland , OR
students want to know the truths about U.S. history, not a literally "whitewashed" version that erases the effects of slavery or other atrocities.
Stephen Lafer | Reno, NV
We need to develop a robust defense fund for teachers who resist the strictures being imposed. Massive resistance is what is needed and by it, a campaign to inform the public as to why it is in its best interests for teachers to so resist.
James Crider | Arvada, CO
nancy schwartz | Laveen, AZ
Jarmila Darby | Portland, OR
Robert Kaneko | Portland, OR
Drew Robinson-Woods | Portland, OR
The brutal history of our country must be taught that so oppression can end. This is the foundation for change, we must admit what happened.
Farid Matuk | Tucson, AZ
Kristen Stamey | Watkinsville, GA
Students deserve the time and space to have tough conversations about America’s history; An accurate portrayal of history does not mean we have to love America any less; it actually affirms we are learning from it.
Aaron Guest | Columbus, GA
JOHANNA COENEN | Madison, WI
Heidi Smith | Centerville, UT
Rachel Fisher | Reno, NV
The cycle of violence cannot end by denying our true history and the ramifications the cycle of oppression continues to have on our society. Educators cannot empower their students with the tools and knowledge to break these cycles of abuse if they are not empowered themselves to speak the truth.
Nellie Ruby | Decatur, GA
theory is what education is about. We learn history, we learn to thnk, we learn to respond. Education is power. Suppressing information is vioent oppression.
Ashleigh Howard | Kinston, NC
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.