The pledge was signed by no teachers on Jan. 2, the day before. It now has 29 pledges from Bronx teachers.
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 Bronx teachers included, "It's time that we empower our students with the truth" and "truth is important in history, and history is important for truth. Although U.S. history might be uncomfortable to some, that does not mean it shouldn't be taught. We all need to continue learning".
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 | Thoughts on Critical Race Theory |
|---|---|
| Agnes Lopez | No comment |
| Avis Terrell | Students need to know who they are to build a healthy self-identity. |
| Cassandra Santos | I believe in being honest and transparent with children. You cannot be educated if you are taught lies |
| Diane Yacenda | No comment |
| Dijon Lindsey | Truth matters |
| Elizabeth Diaz | We will not be silenced! |
| Emily McLaughlin | I will always teach the truth |
| Emma March | My students matter and deserve to know the truth. |
| Fayette Colon | No comment |
| Gail Jaitin | Truth matters. Facts matter. |
| Jacqueline Lang | Truth, justice, and inclusive community |
| Jatera Simmons | Promoting an already majority white centered history that also seeks to ban and ignore the contributions of blacks, POC, women and others merely because knowledge of such challenges the status quo and makes people uncomfortable…is fascistic and anti democratic. |
| Jessica Hernandez-Speer | I live in a state that still allows me to to teach mostly the way I choose, but I cannot take that for granted. |
| Johanna Foster | We cannot move forward and heal in this country if we do not know our past. |
| Jordan Laks | truth is important in history, and history is important for truth. Although U.S. history might be uncomfortable to some, that does not mean it shouldn't be taught. We all need to continue learning. |
| Joshua Jacobs | No comment |
| Kim McLeveighn | No comment |
| Kimberly Cummins | I teach in the poorest congressional district in the nation and they deserve the truth! |
| Laura Rivera | No comment |
| Lauren Peelen | it’s the right thing to do for my students, my community, my country and my world. To develop a nation of the critical thinkers we need, we must allow them to critically think about and analyze the different “truths” of our history. |
| Leigh Yakubowski | No comment |
| Lori-Anne Wallen | It's time that we empower our students with the truth. |
| Melissa Cohen | The truth of this country's history must be told - the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's the only way forward. |
| Molly Cavanaugh | The black and brown students in my classroom deserve to learn true history, and so do their white peers who are not in my classroom due to the continued, systemic school segregation and inequality in cities like New York. |
| Moskoula Harisiadis | Our students need to know the truth. |
| Myrie D. | Teaching History Is about teaching the truth |
| Rachel Piven | The only way to be a responsible, conscious human is to know the difference between reality and a lie and to know the truth of how humans have behaved across time and space. Only then can people make their own informed choices; only then are we more than meat widgets trained to do others’ bidding. |
| Stuart Chen-Hayes | As a professor of School Counseling at CUNY Lehman College, I center anti-racism and anti-oppression work in all courses for future school counselors as mandated by state regulations and professional codes of ethics. All educators need to do so. The Constitution and tenure protect faculty free speech. |
| Stuart Chen-Hayes | Students deserve the truth of racism, oppressions. Educators deserve freedom of speech and freedom to choose curriculum as we see fit. You can't have democracy with out it. |
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