Online pledge to teach controversial Critical Race Theory signed by 1 Bronx teachers by week ending Sep. 18, a rise of 1

By NYC Gazette

Sep 25, 2021

Critical Race Theory will be taught by one more teacher in Bronx, according to an online pledge from the Zinn Education Project.

No new teachers sign the pledge the week before. It now has 28 pledges from Bronx teachers by the end of the week ending Sep. 18.

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.

The new Bronx teacher wrote “I live in a state that still allows me to to teach mostly the way I choose, but I cannot take that for granted.” when pledging to teach Critical Race Theory.

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 Bronx who’ve pledged to teach Critical Race Theory

Teachers	Thoughts on Critical Race Theory
Kimberly Cummins	I teach in the poorest congressional district in the nation and they deserve the truth!
Elizabeth Diaz	We will not be silenced!
Gail Jaitin	Truth matters. Facts matter.
Emily McLaughlin	I will always teach the truth
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.
Myrie D.	Teaching History Is about teaching the truth
Lori-Anne Wallen	It's time that we empower our students with the truth.
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.
Fayette Colon	“no comment”
Kim McLeveighn	“no comment”
Leigh Yakubowski	“no comment”
Laura Rivera	“no comment”
Emma March	My students matter and deserve to know the truth.
Jacqueline Lang	Truth, justice, and inclusive community
Cassandra Santos	I believe in being honest and transparent with children. You cannot be educated if you are taught lies
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.
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.
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.
Agnes Lopez	“no comment”
Johanna Foster	We cannot move forward and heal in this country if we do not know our past.
Avis Terrell	Students need to know who they are to build a healthy self-identity.
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.
Dijon Lindsey	Truth matters
Joshua Jacobs	“no comment”
Diane Yacenda	“no comment”
Moskoula Harisiadis	Our students need to know the truth.
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.