They’re one of the thousands of US teachers pledging to continue educating students about the controversial Critical Race Theory, which explains racism is embedded in US culture and politics.
Comments from New York teachers included, "Our young people deserve to know our history. It is owed to them, and the only way they can build a better future for themselves and our country" and "I teach a unit called the spectacle of race -- and much of that deals with race formations and popular culture; and I refuse to lie to young people about U.S. history, popular culture and current events".
Though the concept was first suggested in the late 70’s, it has recently exploded as a contentious issue between the American right and left in the last two years.
Many who signed the pledge are defying state bans on the teachings. Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas have passed legislation banning discussions about the US being inherently racist.
Other states, such as Montana and South Dakota, have denounced the teachings without passing specific legislation.
In an interview with The Washington Free Beacon, Ashley Varner of the Freedom Foundation accused the Zinn Education Project of providing “left-leaning propaganda to teachers.”
Teachers in New York who’ve pledged to teach Critical Race Theory
| Teachers | Thoughts on Critical Race Theory |
|---|---|
| Adrienne Sosin | History is a guide to understanding the present. |
| Alexandra Barbosa | No comment |
| Alison Dempsey | My students need the tools to recognize, challenge, and dismantle white supremacy. That starts with learning the truth about our country’s history. |
| Alison Ritz | No comment |
| Alissa Reicherter | We must be honest in teaching the next generation about our history. Knowing our past can help us reckon with our present and work toward our future. |
| Amber Cogswell | My students have a right to better understand the problems in our society, and we all have a responsibility to develop collective solutions to those problems. |
| Andre Montañez Berrios | People will be truly critical if they live in the plenitude of the praxis, that is, if their action encompasses a critical reflection which increasingly organizes their thinking and thus leads them to move from a purely naive knowledge of reality to a higher level, one which enables them to perceive the causes of reality." – Paulo Freire |
| Andrew Nsirim | No comment |
| Andrew Scopp | Kids deserve to know the whole truth about our nation's history, even if it's hard to hear. |
| Arthur Gary | not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced" - James Baldwin |
| Audrey White | I refuse to teach a curriculum that perpetuates oppression. |
| Ayesha Syed | Children deserve to learn the truth |
| Azikiwe Calhoun | Truth always! |
| Barbara Barnes | No comment |
| Bianca Bob | The harder the powers that be try to literally whitewash history, the more we teachers and creativeswill focus right back on the true histories, and incorporate it 150% into our projects, lesson plans and permanent game plans. |
| Caitlin Hickerson | I want to speak truth to power so my students know that they can and should do the same. I want to pass on what I was taught about what it means to be a engaged citizen. |
| Calia Marshall | As an educator, I vow to teach the truth about history and current societal ways of existing. Not to shame and blame, but to help my students use their art to create the world they want to live in. Without understanding how racism and other oppressions have and still do exist, our young people will not be able to help create a more just and equitable society. |
| Carmela Ortiz | My students deserve to know the kind of world they live in and will inherit in order to make it a better place for everyone. |
| Charles Post | No comment |
| Chuck Finkle | No comment |
| Claire Wolff | No comment |
| Clarissa Lynn | As a National Board Certified Teacher I am appalled at these state laws aimed at silencing multiple perspectives of history. We must confront and analyze the problems of our past in order to build a true and equal American dream. Politicians need a couple of my history classes apparently!!!! |
| Clark C. Kissinger | In order for there to be real and lasting change for the better: People have to fully confront the actual history of this country and its role in the world up to today, and the terrible consequences of this..." ~Bob Avakian, revolutionary leader |
| Claudia Titus | No comment |
| Colleen Birchett | I am committed to this cause. |
| Coral Nogueras | No comment |
| Corey L. Brothers | No comment |
| Crystal Isaac | If we do not teach students the true history of this country, how will they know how to avoid the same mistakes in the future. Teaching them about the past will enable them to have more empathy and respect for others who they may see as different from them. |
| Dan Strauss | No comment |
| Dana T. | We should teach real history to children |
| Danielle Lewis | Children and adults deserve to explore the hard parts of history and work through it together, for the sake of clear-eyed justice. |
| Danielle Lewis | Truth is not absolute, but the search for truth is the essence of research and the study of history. We all understand that we have biases, but they must be acknowledged and mitigated. The obstruction of information is antithetical to the mission of education, and violates the human rights of every individual. |
| Daphna Gutman | No comment |
| David Ward | I am an Urban school teacher, teaching primarily black and brown students who need to be exposed to the truth about the entire history of this country. They need to learn about the contributions of non white citizens beyond slavery and sports and entertainment. People of color are the labor force upon which economic power of this country was built. |
| Dawn Bauer | I cannot teach students a curated version of their own history. Selecting which parts of our nation's story is taught and which parts of are left out, does not honor our students' right to know their own history. It does not honor their intelligence and does not equip them with the tools they need to build the future of their country. |
| Deborah Cardona | No comment |
| Deborah Shishido | No comment |
| Dustin Good | “I'm worried that students will take their obedient place in society and look to become successful cogs in the wheel - let the wheel spin them around as it wants without taking a look at what they're doing. I'm concerned that students not become passive acceptors of the official doctrine that's handed down to them from the White House, the media, textbooks, teachers, and preachers.” ―Howard Zinn |
| Eleanor Grewal | No comment |
| Elissa Levy | Equity is everything. |
| Elizabeth Hovey | Only being grounded in the roots of present problems will equip our students to address those problems, while denying them is a brainwashing in the name of patriotism that will leave them ultimately powerless and/or cynical about being lied to by people they trusted. |
| Ellen Ryder | No comment |
| Ellie Shrier | we need to teach the ongoing connections between yesterday and today. |
| Elyse Mauriello | No comment |
| Eric Collins | Teaching about the role racism, sexism, homophobia and other oppressive systems have played in American society is not only truthful, but will help students to be better equipped to dismantle those systems so that our country can be better and actually live up to its founding ideals. The current right wing hysteria against “critical race theory” is just another incident in the long history of pushing back against progress, and I refuse to be complicit with this latest attack. |
| Evalyn Bladstrom | I believe young people need to be educated in civics to participate in a democratic government and democracy requires participation of it's citizens to work. |
| Evelyn Israel | It is important that students are exposed to the oppression and challenges that certain groups have faced throughout history in our country, and continue to face today. I thought it was bad enough that my teachers did not include much history of systemic oppression in my curriculum throughout primary and secondary school, but to imagine that it would be outlawed for teachers to do that is horrible. |
| Fred Arcoleo | The truth belongs to the working class, and it is something we have to continually fight to discover. The future depends on us! |
| Genevieve Chavez | No comment |
| Geri Guidetti | We need to tell the truth and nobody has the right to take that away from us |
| Idalia Bamert | No comment |
| Ingrid Running | All students deserve to see themselves reflected in curriculum. They deserve to learn history & social studies in context and in ways that are relevant to their lives. They deserve to learn about people who are similar to and people who are different from themselves. All humans deserve dignity and all students deserve to have educators who respect and affirm their identities, who promote critical thinking skills and compassion, who support their personal agency and their ability to engage in collective action for change. |
| Irene Hess | When I was an elementary school student, I was taught the names of the ships that Christopher Columbus sailed, but not the names of the people who lived on the land that Columbus supposedly "discovered". Teaching certain aspects of history while ignoring many other aspects because they're too complex or difficult to face serves to prop up a system that is clearly not working. We can teach children about Columbus but we also need to teach them about indigenous people, slavery, segregation, genocide, racism, hate, love, political movements, etc., etc., etc. |
| Irene Liefshitz | To willfully deny history is to live a lie. Our past is our present is our future. |
| James McDonald | I want my students to know the truth. I am not educating them to hate the United States, but to better understand and appreciate our nation and its ideals. |
| Jason McDonald | The denial over the horrific history of the United States shows that even our legislators are poorly educated. We need comprehensive, fact-based education on slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow and the resistance to hatred and bigotry. |
| Jennifer Finn | No comment |
| Jennifer Robinson | No comment |
| Jennine Vizcaino | We need to teach truthful full history so it won't repeat itself. |
| Jenny Prince | No comment |
| Jerise Fogel | No comment |
| Jessica Taylor | Our society has been built on racist structures that have lest enduring impacts on the United States. Not addressing that is ignoring the truth about American history and is damaging to our future. |
| Jill Godmilow | ... it's my duty, and my will, to educate students to the fullest to inspire critical thinking about the history of this country, so they can do their future work with creativity and a full political consciousness. |
| Jonathan Pellerin | No comment |
| Joseph Feinsilver | American history matters, context matters, and students deserve the whole truth even if parts are disparaging or even shameful. |
| Julia Guggenheimer | It is time to start speaking truth to power. To deny that race matters affect all of our lives is destructive. |
| Justine Freitas | Our young people deserve to know our history. It is owed to them, and the only way they can build a better future for themselves and our country. |
| Kate Culligan | No comment |
| Katherine Castillo | Students have the right to know the true history. |
| Kayla Swift | No comment |
| Kevin Kinney | It's been time for a long time that His story stopped being told and the real truth (History) actually be told. Only then will a clear picture of existence in America be properly viewed and every human being be seen in the light of truth and the harsh reality of our existence. Then and only then will individuals be recognized for their positive or negative behaviors and contributions. LET THE TRUTH BE REVEALED AND DEALT WITH! |
| Kevin Kinney | Student needs to know the truth about history and what really happened so they're more prepared to face the harsh realities of their own existences. |
| Kyle Liao | We need to understand history to avoid repeating it. |
| Lana Forrester | I am the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust Survivors whose Grandmother, Aunt, and Uncle were murdered by the Nazis. I am committed to equality and social justice for all, and to transmitting those values to my students of all ages, and ethnic backgrounds. |
| Laura Schwartzberg | As an educator I worked to teach my students a more inclusive, truthful view of history, rather than the lies and half truths that were passed on to me as a young child. I want to see a more honest and comprehensive approach continue. |
| Lia Lynch | No comment |
| Lily Lipman | No comment |
| Lindy Gillette | Staying silent and not teaching the truth makes you complicit in misrepresentation and distortion of History. This country has seen enough of this during the Communist witch hunts of the 1950's as well as 'The Lost Cause' myths that lasted until the late 1970's. By all means, teach both sides of each story, and let students make up their own minds. But follow the facts, not the one-sided approach that sings the praises of the American way of life only. |
| Lisa Bowstead | It is our duty to our students to teach ALL history and to train them in critical thinking. A society must examine and study its failures if it is to grow and evolve. |
| Liz McGlone | No comment |
| Lorraine Estrada | Education must address the inequities of power, wealth and class oppression, and the constant attacks on groups seeking social justice! |
| Louise Connolly | I believe that if we do not ensure our young students are exposed to all people's stories, then all people will never be acknowledged and affirmed in our society. Our children are the ones who will possibly be the first ones ever to have been taught by teachers who want to face the omissions and erasures that are perpetuated in schools. They might be the first generation of US students who are taught to be anti-racist. I want to be a part of that. |
| Lynsey Spaeth | No comment |
| Marisa Shuman | No comment |
| Mark Levy | The history of slavery, racism, discrimination, exploitation and injustice in our country are not only true parts of America's past but also they are things we need to know about to build a better, fairer, equitable and truly democratic future for us all. A critical awareness of our past is key to our future. Also, students' own experiences and sharp questions often contradict traditionalists' myths and lies -- and teachers must be able to support not silence such analysis and thinking. |
| Michelle Jones | We have the first amendment in this country for a reason. As a teacher, I work hard to educate myself on the history that I’m teaching, and figure out a way to teach it in an age appropriate manner that covers the standards and helps my students develop critical thinking skills. I am honestly not proud of the history education I got in the public school system growing up. It skipped over a lot of the “not-so-nice” parts, and I didn’t really understand any context. Frankly, it was boring. These laws seem to be trying to move us back to that way of teaching. While our country’s history may not be perfect, the solution is not to cover it up like in the past. And I certainly refuse to be a part of that for the next generation. When you know better, do better. |
| Moira Spillane | The truth matters. Justice matters. |
| Moira Spillane | Truth matters. |
| Monique Velazquez | No comment |
| Naomi Baumgarten | Knowing the truth starts the healing process. |
| Naomi Smith | “History can only teach its lesson if it is remembered,” but what if the history was never taught or talked about? We must teach it to save our souls and save our Nation. |
| Nicole Genua | I am an educator and my students deserve the truth. |
| Nina Lasky | if we cannot teach the truth, we can only go backwards, and I am not going back. |
| Pablo Muriel | No comment |
| Peter Goeckner | it is necessary to encounter the uncomfortable truths of our past in order to move forward. As a wise tweet once said, "Studying history will sometimes make you uncomfortable. Studying history will sometimes make you feel deeply upset. Studying history will sometimes make you feel extremely angry. If studying history always makes you feel proud and happy, you probably aren’t studying history. |
| Rainie Au Yeung | History classes should encourage students to become critical thinkers and engaged citizens. |
| Ray Craig | No comment |
| Ray Dejesús | No comment |
| Rebecca Kleinbart | Students deserve the truth! I teach for a more just society, not a more comfortable society for white people. |
| Rebecca Meyer | No comment |
| Renata Nikolayev | We cannot support and free this generation until we understand the context in which we are fighting. |
| Rey Horowitz | our students deserve our honesty in naming the impact of our racist history on the present. |
| Rick Bonacorsi | It’s time to be honest for once. |
| Robert Dice | No comment |
| Robert Nuxoll | No comment |
| Robert Tapp | No comment |
| Ryan Scheb | decency, dignity, and democracy are never political and cannot be banned from our classrooms. |
| Ryan-o'Neil Edwards | This country will never get better if we hide our heads in the sand like cowards. |
| Salvatore J. Fallica | I teach a unit called the spectacle of race -- and much of that deals with race formations and popular culture; and I refuse to lie to young people about U.S. history, popular culture and current events. |
| Sandra Levin | I teach the truth and want others to have the right to do the same. |
| Sandra Levin | our nation cannot move forward if it denies its white male privileged history. Our children need to know the truth so they can become responsible, empathic citizens. Justice for All! |
| Sarah Woodbury | No comment |
| Saundra Pinn | We should start calling vetted history what it is: TRUE AMERICAN HISTORY; rather than Critical Race Theory.All students must be taught the truth and must construct their understanding based on reality. |
| Semmel Jessica | I teach my students to be actively anti racist everyday and the true history of this country. Children can reckon with the country’s past bc they want it to be better |
| Seth Rader | Hiding the truth about past injustices maintains current injustices. Learning from past struggles for justice gives hope for a more just future. |
| Shannon Corwin | No comment |
| Sharon Kramer | I teach math and numbers don't lie. The playing field is not level and the systems have not treated all people equally. Pretending it is so will not make it so. |
| Shobana Ram | Our students and young people deserve to know and understand the true history of our country and learn how to be agents of equality, justice and progress in their respective communities. As trained, experienced educators, we must stand in solidarity to ensure that teaching truth in our classrooms is the norm, not the exception. |
| Shobana Ram | teaching the truth about American history is the only way to right past and present wrongs and injustices and empower students to make their world better. |
| Sylvia Elie-Rivera | I cannot imagine teaching anything but the truth! |
| Taiyo Ebato | come on, let's get free! |
| Tamara MacHac | Students are harmed when they are not taught the proper origins of our country. |
| Tammy Dunn | The tide of education and how we educate has to turn. Let it turn toward teaching and speaking truth. |
| Tanya Kinigstein Pascoe | 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. |
| Tegan Morton | No comment |
| Terra Collier | No comment |
| Terrence Ross | No comment |
| Terry Weber | History has many sides and we should look at them |
| Tessa Benau | No comment |
| Theresa Luongo | It is our responsibility as educators to make sure the truth is told and students have the opportunity to learn from history. |
| Valerie Wald | my students deserve to know that although all humans are created equal, societies develop systems that do not treat all humans equally, and that one of their roles in history is to work to improve those systems. |
| Vaughn Benjamin | It is important to know and understand who we are and where we come from in order to know where we are going. There are multiple perspectives to accept and consider. Our society will improve when young people can critically think, analyze and make decisions based on truth. Truth is not binary. |
| Virginia Bernard | No comment |
| Viviane Puhalovic | You can't understand the history or present day circumstances of this country without understanding its actual history -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- it all needs to be taught accurately so that we can move forward and progress as a nation. |
| William Reynolds | I am a history teacher and citizen who believes that true patriotism to one's country means acknowledging both the successes and failures of my country. I am only doing my students a disservice by hiding these truth from them, and it is my responsibility to prepare them to be active, engaged, and informed citizens. |
| Xiomara Nino | We need to learn about our past so we do not repeat the same mistakes. |
| Yael Sacks | We can't heal from oppression without telling the true stories of what happened, and dreaming something new for our world. |
| Yayoi Kobayashi | Our country has so much work to do and this is one of the steps we must take! |
| Yhane Smith | No comment |
| Yvonne Benn | No comment |
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