Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Nancy Conroy | Annapolis, MD
All children deserve to be taught the truth!
Hilary Rasch | Providence, RI
I believe that political education about U.S. imperialism and racism is foundational to building a more just world. We need to trust our young people with this knowledge.
Helene Duda | Waukegan, IL
The only way to get rid of the influence of systemic racism is to teach how it influences our society and our actions when we are unaware of it. Knowledge is power, and that power can change the world for a more equitable and equal world.
Aimee Hall | Seattle, WA
If we don't give our students truthful information about our nation's past and present, they won't be able to build a better future.
Danielle Collette | Colorado Springs, CO
Those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Amy Vosburg-Casey | San Jose, CA
Only when people know the truth from all perspectives can they make just decisions for themselves, their families and their communities. Young people deserve to know these truths as they lead us all into our future.
Tina Valtierra | Denver, CO
I am committed to preparing fierce culturally sustaining educators who foster liberatory spaces. Moreover, I am committed to the many P-12 educators I partner with who are dedicated to social justice.
Tina Peretz | Eureka, CA
I believe that when children understand where our country has come from and the true flaws and struggles we are trying to overcome, they are able to make choices that heal and bring our people closer together. Knowledge is power and that power can truly bridge our communities.
Alex Ryckman | Denver, CO
Beth Verani | Cotuit, MA
It is the mission of teachers to teach social justice; the common good; to exemplify caring for others; to usher in the next generations of socially conscious activists. Quoting Albert Camus, Howard Zinn states “In a world of conflict, it is the job of thinking people, not to be on the side of the executioners.” (A People’s History of the United States)
Deborah Cohen | Saint Louis, MO
Claire Weissenfluh | Milwaukee, WI
The truth should not be censored.
Katie Sipho | Columbia, MO
Shameem Rakha
I refuse to be afraid of the truth and believe children should not be lied to. There is no reason for people to fear the truth. I will now bow to nor participate in White Supremacist thinking.
Judy Ornstein | Plainview, NY
We can't become better unless we understand where we have not been good enough.
Sara Nix | Las Vegas, NV
Tip Matthews | Wentzville, MO
I will not back down from teaching history honestly and accurately.
Christine Roberts | Newbury Park, CA
Kaitlin Popielarz | San Antonio, TX
I pledge to teach the truth because I believe and practice in social studies education that supports students and educators to grow in historical, socio-cultural, political, and critical consciousness. As Paulo Freire reminds us: "There’s no such thing as neutral education. Education either functions as an instrument to bring about conformity or freedom."
Tanya Kinigstein Pascoe | New York, NY
I am signing my name because our students deserve to know the truth. The violent and painful truths as well as the truths that reveal the power and brilliance that is their legacy.
Michelle Katz | El Cerrito, CA
Even at the college level so much of our history and our present is not taught or shared with students.
Katie Vera | TUCSON, AZ
hiding or changing history allows its crimes to be perpetually committed.
Andrea Black
it is the right thing to do!
Gwenn Crupi | Baldwin, MD
Our children should not grow up with incorrect history. Those who do not know their history are destined to repeat it, whether nuanced or not.
Erik Honda | Lafayette, CA
Our district has used books based in Critical Race Theory like Ibram X. Kendi's How To Be Anti-Racist for student, staff, and parent book clubs, and implemented a race curriculum also based in CRT by Courageous Conversations. But hypocritically they also respond to parent complaints regarding race curriculum by threatening to discipline teachers and implement stricter oversight of curriculum, even when the curriculum is strictly in line with the district's courses of study. Educators need to be empowered, not disciplined or chilled, when they are on the front lines conducting these important conversations.
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.