Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Mary Mitsdarffer , PA
Kerry Goldman | Philadelphia, PA
Julia Barrett | Philadelphia , PA
Leslie Blaha | Silver Spring, MD
Margaret Myers | Philadelphia, PA
Samantha Chomsky | Philadelphia, PA
Elizabeth Wesley | Abington, PA
Andrea Ways Newman | Kansas City, MO
Without the truth, things will never change for the better
Duncan Gromko | Philadelphia, PA
Cornelia Kietzman | Philadelphia, PA
We all deserve to know the complete truth
Donna Sawyer | Silver Spring, MD
It is long past time for our children (and adults) to know the true history of our country!
Elizabeth Burks
We cannot encourage our children to create a better future without fully explaining the history they are inheriting.
Amanda Madsen | Saint Paul, MN
"The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity." - James BaldwinI stand in solidarity with my fellow educators who are being silenced in teaching children to think critically for themselves.
Nora Cohee | Pylesville, MD
The truth will set us free. The truth may yet redeem us.
Diane Mora | Roeland Park, KS
The Missouri House Bill 952 MUST BE STOPPED!! HB 952 is NOT education POLICY, it is education POLICING.
Frida Sanchez | Independence, MO
Now more than ever are we in a revolutionary era of teaching and learning. Knowledge is power, the students deserve the truth
Lee Paula Perkins | Hollis Center, ME
Students deserve the truth and the chance to create real change in our world.
Mirna Gasca | Chicago, IL
Our history is complex and teaching it should never be simple or safe. Our kids deserve to learn that which is true and in accordance with facts. As educators, now more than ever, we need to invest time to share the knowledge of the complicated and sometimes very ugly history of our country which will then contribute to the making of the kinds of citizens who will respect and understand each others' experiences, struggles, and extraordinary achievements, especially of our black and brown communities.
Shalisse Johnstun | Fort Madison, IA
Students need to know the good and the bad, where we have succeeded and where we have failed in our collective pursuit of justice and liberty for all.
Mollie Wray | Chicago, IL
I refuse to be silent in the face of injustice.
Mary Anne Gulley | Chicago, IL
Every child has the right to question, acknowledge, and understand historical truth.
Ashlynn Manning | Broomfield, CO
Children need to learn how to discuss these issues thoughtfully and draw their own conclusions. Teachers need the freedom to teach history that is unbiased, and to use words that describe social phenomena like racism and discrimination, without censorship or fear of being dismissed from their jobs.
Lindsey Williston | Chicago, IL
Judy Chase-Marshall | Brooklyn, NY
It is important that we teach our children the truth and get an accurate account of history from reliable, viable courses.
Jenine Wehbeh | Chicago, IL
my students deserve to have their stories uplifted.
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.