Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Justine Brunett | Memphis, TN
My students have the power to create a more just society, but they must understand the truth about injustice first.
Danielle Cruz | Felton, CA
Kelly Feinstein-Johnson | Erie, CO
I'm am here to stand up for truth, fact, and the importance of teaching nuanced history.
Kurt Handrich | Beloit, WI
It is unethical to hide the truth of our history in the United States, especially when that history shows we have not lived up to our ideals that all people are created equal. Pretending racism has not been a central issue in our history, past an present, will not help us bring healing, restitution, or equity. Only honestly teaching the truth will help,us bring the change that we need.
Robert Mostow | Silver Spring, MD
Facts are facts!
Jennifer Fullilove | Portland, OR
All of our students deserve to know the truth of our history, based on facts that represent all of us.
Sarah Mogab | Leander, TX
Christopher Winne | Austin, TX
Simon Paddock | Gloucester, MA
L Lewis | Mechanicville, NY
Truth and facts matter. Life doesn't get better for all by pretending our ancestors didn't treat others inhumanely. We must be able to look truth square in the face and accept our role in making the world a better place for every single person.
Anna Cordeiro | Attleboro, MA
“A hard truth is better than an easy lie.” - Leigh Bardugo
Stacy Newsom Kerr | Santa Cruz, CA
History is not just propaganda that makes kids feel good about being American. It is real stories about real people that allows us to understand how we got where we are. That we would want otherwise means we only want mythology.
Jeffrey Isen | Dorchester, MA
Truth matters and education matters.
Saskia Mizushima | Redmond, WA
Students should not be lied to. Teaching the truth about our history is necessary for us to truly heal as a society.
Katelyne Thomas | Mason, MI
Heather Hyvari | Hampton, NH
the truth matters, and it’s important that people are educated, compassionate, and understanding. If we aren’t here to make the lives of others better and to care for our environment and one another, then we are of no good use to anyone or anything. Integrity, empathy, and kindness are of the utmost importance for the betterment and survival of our people and planet.
Belen Magers | San Leandro, CA
I care about teaching the truth of our history to our youth. Social justice and equity should be part of our youth’s education always. We can’t be bullied; we can’t be silenced.
Tenille Wright | Harvey, IL
I know the difference teaching the truth can make and inspire the youth.
Angela Novak CA
Sue Lozinski | Yorktown Town of, NY
All parts of our history are important.
Samantha Aguirre | San Francisco, CA
Teaching is intrinsically a political act, there is no such thing as being “neutral” and it’s incredibly important to counter-act the oppression of teaching American exceptionalism in schools
Yvonne Burton-Smith | Pittsburg, CA
Children must be taught the truth. The only way for our society to move towards equity for all is by studying the true history of our country.
Tasa Marie | Olympia, WA
We cannot move forward with integrity if we cannot look back with honesty.
David Carrier | Salt Lake City, UT
Adopting laws that actively promote denial and ignorance is a strategy that will not move society forward. My best guess is that very few teachers will actually conform to these new mandates. Many of us will respond by increasing class time spent on critical race theory, structural sexism, and LGBT oppression.
Rebecca Horwitz | Rosendale, NY
I will never lie to my young students. They deserve to learn the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 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.