The pledge was signed by no teachers on Dec. 28, the day before. It now has 84 pledges from Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles teachers included, "“Silence ensures that history repeats itself.” —Erin Gruwell" and "It is imperative that as a responsible collective, we not veil the truth of our history in one perspective. Our students and future students must be allowed to know and understand the roots of our democracy and its impact on the history of its peoples".
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 Los Angeles who’ve pledged to teach Critical Race Theory
| Teachers | Thoughts on Critical Race Theory |
|---|---|
| Adrian Bacong | Acknowledging our stories and the implications of past injustices is important for all of us, at every educational level. |
| Allison Curry | The truth will set you free! |
| Allison Levine | Our students need to know the truth about the good, the bad, and the ugly of our country. If they don't know about it, how will they learn to make this country a better place? |
| Amy Owen | No comment |
| Andrea Gambino | No comment |
| Anna-Michelle McSorley | My son needs the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. |
| Arlene Inouye | All educators must teach truth and be the bearers of teaching historical truth to the next generation. |
| Bill Barrett | No comment |
| Brenda Hunter | It is imperative that as a responsible collective, we not veil the truth of our history in one perspective. Our students and future students must be allowed to know and understand the roots of our democracy and its impact on the history of its peoples. |
| Carla Anne Thomas | Everyones history matters |
| Carlos Contreras | Critical race theory is a result of out historical past. |
| Carlyn Oropez | I believe we need to empower kids and give them the tools to research topics for themselves, use critical thinking skills, see themselves and their heritage's role in our history no matter what their background is, and learn about history- the good, bad and ugly in order to make the best decisions for the future. |
| Courtney Thakur | No comment |
| Dan Le | I refuse to lie to students. ever. |
| Daniel Barnhart | No comment |
| Danielle Howard | Truth matters! |
| David Chrzanowski | No comment |
| Deb Christenson | No comment |
| Delisa Alejandre | No comment |
| Dr. Shadi Seyedyousef | our children deserve to know their histories |
| Eva Schlomann | No comment |
| Falica McClain | Because the truth MUST be revealed! How will children K-12 learn about systemic and institutionalized racism if they cannot recognize it's passive and subtle forms? |
| Fatima Montiel | I am committed to educating our children in all aspects to empowered them to make informed choices and generate their own ideas of what freedom really means in this country. |
| Garrett Shorr | No comment |
| Gillian Russom | In order to build a better future, we need to know the truth about where we have been as a nation. We cannot cover up the injustices that so many in our country have experienced. |
| Gina Morgan | No comment |
| Ginnia Hargins | the truth about institutionalized racism must be revealed through students' education in order to better ourselves and our futures. |
| Grace Lacques | No comment |
| Guadalupe Cardona | the truth is the foundation to building a strong movement for change based in love and transformation. |
| Heather Knight | “Silence ensures that history repeats itself.” —Erin Gruwell |
| Heidi West | Truth matters. If we want the next generations to survive and thrive, we have a responsibility to empower them with knowledge about how we got to where we are today through an accurate inclusive accounting of history and the current state of the world. |
| Irene Brito | No comment |
| Jamie Franklin | Only with accurate history can we reach justice for victims whose voices were never heard. |
| Jamie Franklin | Teachers are by profession providers of information. It is unethical to teach falsehoods. It's destructive and fundamentally unethical. |
| Janyce Collins | it is the right thing to do! We must end racism and that begins with the truth. |
| Jenisha K. Hasselberger | The truth still matters even after four years of lies and fake news.The truth has always set people free.The truth exposes, redeems, emboldens, and teaches. |
| Jessica Quindel | No comment |
| Jessica Rodarte | The truth is the only way. |
| Joanne Yi | No comment |
| Joshua Younger | I am a black educator who believes that the truth should always trump lies. Our children deserve to receive a real education, not a cherry picked, white washed education. |
| Juandiego Montemayor | Truth matters |
| Kate Meisel | lying to children to protect the feelings of adults is abhorrent |
| Kathryne Edwards | No comment |
| Katie Lenis | No comment |
| Kelsey Jimerson | No comment |
| Ken Lee | I believe in teaching the truth in all its beauty, ugliness, comfort, or discomfort. We teach the truth because it's the truth. History should be accurate and multi-faceted. |
| King Chan | We need to stand strong for education reasons and our family values of everyone getting a knowledgeable worldly education. |
| Kira Caluza | I am signing my name because I believe when we teach history we must include the stories and voices of all people. |
| Koreen Cea | The truth told developmentally appropriate sets us all free |
| Kourtne Ballentine | Honesty is the only way out of our problems. |
| Lara Goldstone | Students need to know the full history so that they can make our world a better place. |
| Laura Marie Bernard | No comment |
| Laura Ruiz | Humanity must know the truth in order to maintain its humanity. |
| Liliana Cortez | No comment |
| Manuel Gochez | It is important for students to not get a whitewashed view of history. Teaching the truth is essential for us to create a better tomorrow. |
| Marcy Newman | No comment |
| Marina Reis | No comment |
| Mark Roeder | I want to support students and not suppress their authentic voices. |
| Michael Anderson | Truth is hard to swallow. But we take pills for our health everyday. |
| Michele Levin | No comment |
| Michele Levin | Students deserve to know the history of this country. Hiding the truth is the game plan of fascists. My students have the right to make informed decisions about their futures and they can't do that without curriculum that includes primary sources, first person narratives, documents, the truth. |
| Michele Reyes | The truth matters for all of us. |
| Michelle Luke | Our future deserves to know about our past. |
| Michelle Romero | It is DANGEROUS and shameful to attempt to hide and neglect our parts of our horrendous history. |
| Minjung Pai | No comment |
| Monique Marshall | We cannot let the fear and ignorance of some folx censor the creation of authentic curriculum that has the power and the capacity to create a more equitable future for all. |
| Morris White | No comment |
| My Linh Le | My students deserve and want to learn true history. We can't fight systems of oppression until we learn the origins of these systems and how they continue to enforce White Supremacy, especially when they are being enforced through laws. We need to learn about those who showed resistance, resilience, and empowerment during times when they were being oppressed. We need to see that protests, marches, rebellions, happened long before we were born so we can learn from those who fought before us, and we can continue the fight for social justice for all. Learning our true history can be hard, but forgetting it or lying about it would be wrong, as well as devastating to change and progress. |
| Nikea Carwell | No comment |
| Norma Bowles | We have to make sure our youth learn the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. |
| Paula Henson | I believe in teaching the truth! |
| Rachel Kulik | No comment |
| Raquel Williams | We’re not even asking for Truth and Reconciliation Committees to be mandated, which would be powerful, we just want to ability to teach factual and documented history to our students. Stifling the truth is dangerous for our future. |
| Renee Tajima-Peña | No comment |
| Rigoberto Lemus | My identity markers: queer; Latinx; non-native English speaker; first generation American; educator all inform my teaching. I draw on these identity markers and lived experience to humanize myself to my students and show them how these things influence what I think and how I think about our American history. Above all, our students deserve to know the truth! The truth will help us heal! |
| Ron Schneck | Because I agree completely with what the Zinn Education Project is about and its also an absolute historical truth that the United States was founded on the enslavement of African peoples and the genocide of indigenous nations and the theft of their land. |
| Sara Newman | No comment |
| Sarah Morrison | No comment |
| Sarah Rager | I believe in it and want my students to know why we do what we do. |
| Scott Lundgren | Because as a white male, I refuse to be complicit |
| Sheba Lo | No comment |
| Stacey Joy | In order for students to form their own opinions and stand in their own truth, they need to learn ALL of history, not just the history that makes one group of people comfortable. |
| Tracy King | Children need to learn complete stories in order to grow up to become responsible. proactive citizens. |
| William Heuisler | We have lied about our past for too long and it is a detriment to ALL Americans. America is a great nation but it will never be what it proclaims to be until we reckon with our full past. |
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