The pledge was signed by no teachers on Oct. 28, the day before. It now has 69 pledges from San Francisco 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 San Francisco teachers included, "A strong polity requires well-informed, critical thinking members" and "I am a parent and teacher and kids need to know the truth".
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 San Francisco who’ve pledged to teach Critical Race Theory
| Teachers | Thoughts on Critical Race Theory |
|---|---|
| Abdul Jabbar | Any law that takes away teachers’ right to academic freedom and fact-based teaching will not be acceptable and challenged in court |
| Adela Arriaga | As a person of color, I have faced discrimination almost daily for my entire life. While my white high school classmates were being encouraged to attend college, my counselor advised me, a brown person, to consider going to beauty school so I could always make a living. She completely overlooked that I was a straight A student who had worked after school jobs for all of my high school career, was a member of the honor society at my school, and very active in my church youth group. I was brown. That was enough to disqualify me from school. She was white.I want that to end. I want us to face who we are as a nation, to confront our white supremacy thinking and change it. I don't want to spread the lie that America provides equal opportunity to all. It doesn't. It serves white people and it's always been that way. We have to change! My students, who are predominantly students of color, need to know the truth about our nation so they can work towards correcting the inequality. |
| Alanna Merchant | I want to support ALL of my students, including those who have been forgotten, underserved, and left behind historically. I want to help create a more equitable society, which means helping students understand our country's history and why things are the way they are, so that we can make changes to make it better for everyone. |
| Allie Curry | No comment |
| Amy Epstein | lying feeds delusion and undermines humanity and democracy. We jeopardize our future if we will not honestly face and learn from our past and present. |
| Amy Norman | I am committed to teaching truth to my students so we build a healthy society here in the United States. A society based on honesty, acknowledgment, accountability, and esteem. A country that is aware of others and respects all of the individuals who came before and all of those currently here. I sign this petition in the hopes we will strengthen our society by making amends for the educational atrocities we committed to our youths. |
| Arielle Nagle | We can’t keep lying. The truth will set us free. |
| Arisa Hiroi | Forcible omission of truth for the sake of propaganda goes against the values of democracy we supposedly preach as a country. Students need to know all sides. |
| Barbara Barnes | A strong polity requires well-informed, critical thinking members. |
| Bruce Hartford | As a webspinner of an online history archive rather than a teacher at a school, I don't know if I qualify for this statement. If I don't, no problem, just take my effort as a symbol of support. |
| Christina Velasco | It’s time to dismantle white supremacy. Teach the truth. HISTORY is bound to repeat itself unless we learn from it. |
| Christine Leishman | I do not want a generation to go by without living up to our ideals of ALL PEOPLE being created equal. |
| Colette Auerswald | Unless we understand the true roots of disparities, we cannot end them. |
| Colette Cann | No comment |
| Cynthia Trapanese | I believe that we can create a better future when we understand the truth of the past. |
| David Flint | censoring the ugly side of our past and present isn't teaching history, its spreading propaganda. |
| David Flint | The purpose of an education in history is to understand the many narratives and conflicts that have made us who we are as a nation, for better and for worse. To deny the realities of the conflicts and mistakes we have made not only turns the class into a useless fairy tale, it fails to prepare students to critically process injustices that may be committed in the future. The fact that some politicians want to rob students of this ability is very troubling and casts great suspicion on their legislative goals and agendas. |
| Eleanor Scott | I’m descendant of settler colonizers, I’m also a teacher. I am trying to interrupt intergenerational and present day racial and heteropatriarchal trauma that serves to keep white bodies comfortable and ignorant. Racism and racist policies are a failure of imagination. And by lying (both outright and by omission) to students, teachers are eroding Youth’s prodigious critical thinking skills and creativity. I will not be part of this ongoing oppression and hegemony. |
| Elena Allen | As a white teacher, I can’t teach students of color without acknowledging my white privilege. Power dynamics, and thus race, is part of every conversation we have as humans. |
| Eric Mar | No comment |
| Fina-Lee A. Pengosro | it is my responsibility to myself and to my students. |
| Gilda Bloom-Leiva | The truth counts! |
| Helen Serafino-Agar | students deserve the truth. |
| Helen Serafino-Agar | the students need to hear the truth. |
| Hillary Katz | No comment |
| Ileina Afuha'amango | I support my students in teaching them the truth about American history and how it has been colonized, how this is stolen land, and this is built on the backs of black and brown communities. |
| Izzy Hendry | Only through truth can an we find healing |
| Jenny Ryan | We can’t move forward until we tell the truth about the past. |
| Karen Franklin | The fear of history and the personalization of the past cannot be tolerated, promoted, or taught in America's schools. |
| Karla Ambriz | I am latina, and want to empower youth, be resilient and unite for people of color |
| Kaylee Spiegelman | No comment |
| Kevin Murphy | No comment |
| Kimberly Ellis | When people know better, they do better. |
| Laura Farley | No comment |
| Lauren Long | students deserve to learn the truth |
| Lavandon Nelson | As a teacher, we have to do our part in dismantling injustice and oppression. |
| Lina Lenberg | I want my students to be empowered to create positive social change in their world, and it starts with learning about the troubling history and institutionalized practices of their own country (the U.S.). How can they create change if they don't even know what the problems are? Education with the inclusion of historically marginalized and underrepresented histories is the foundation for future action. |
| Lindsay Yellen | It’s about time we face our history and arm students with the facts of our complicated past. Having the opportunity to examine the often ignored perspectives and narratives of the past will enable students to become stand up citizens and strong allies for equity. The outcome will be greater freedom for all. |
| Lisa Bishop | I believe students need to be educated to know the truth, know their sources of their opinions, understand points of view and who is writing history and from whose point of view so they can be well informed people in this diverse nation. |
| Lisa Bohórquez | We have an obligation to our students and families to teach the truth |
| Lyly Pham | We as a society have a duty to share and teach about this country's true and real history. We must teach our students have the hardships BIPOC and marginalized groups continue to face each day. We cannot make change without first knowing our past. |
| Manny Martinez | Teaching the truth is just what may save this country from itself, ultimately. |
| Manny Martinez | The fact that so many of us living in this country do not know its true history is exactly why we are where we are as a nation. It's time to evolve, and the truth, with facts, compassion and understanding is what we need in order to secure a better tomorrow. |
| Marisa Lawrence | No comment |
| Marissa Steinberger | I vow to support the truth, and help to dismantle white supremecy |
| Mary Fobbs-Guillory | truth sets us free. |
| Maureen Sullivan | No comment |
| Maureen Sullivan | Our students deserve to learn about their history and this country's history. |
| Meghan Byrne | We all deserve to know the history of our country. Only by understanding our history and how we got to where we are, can we make our country better. We the People, All of Us This Time! |
| Michael Rolph | No comment |
| Michael Sova | Further progress cannot be made when thoughtful, nuanced and critical though and discussions are prohibited. |
| Myra Quadros | I believe we must teach our students a different history, the truth. |
| Nicole Hsu | We must stand up and fight to expose the truth—always! |
| Niku Bolourchi | Being honest about where we’ve come allows us to soberly see and address where we are right now and how we want to shape the future. Restorative justice for a reimagined future. |
| Patricia Sullivan | The minority in power wish they could silence the majority and continue the lies and whitewashing of American history but it simply can't be done. There are too many windows of access and too few who are willing to pretend the past just didn't happen. |
| Rebecca Rogers | No comment |
| Rebecca Rogers | When I grew up, and learned the real history of our country, I was infuriated that as a child, I was led to believe that the USA was so exceptional - when in fact we had committed atrocities against other humans to get to where we are now. I feel strongly that we can not address what is wrong in our society without addressing the root causes - greed, power, the caste system & racism... We must make reparations and make liberty and justice for all a reality. That means knowing our true history. A whitewashed history does not change the wrongs of the past, but rather perpetuates the wrongs. |
| Rick Ayers | No comment |
| Robin Pugh | You can’t truly teach real estate in the US without teaching the history of redlining and other discriminatory practices that cheat Black and Brown Americans out of the opportunity to build wealth. Students can’t understand the world they live in without knowledge of how it got that way. This is why we require the study of history to graduate. I stand with my fellow educators who commit to teaching the full history of the US and developing critical thinking so students can better understand and improve how we all live and work together on this planet. |
| Samantha Aguirre | Teaching is intrinsically a political act, there is no such thing as being “neutral” and it’s incredibly important to counter-act the oppression of teaching American exceptionalism in schools |
| Sandra Camp | Teaching accurate history is the only way to ensure that we don’t repeat the same mistakes. |
| Sandy Amos | Teaching the truth about our nation is essential to understanding who America is and how it can live up to its promise. |
| Sarah Affolter | No comment |
| Sarah Cahuas | No comment |
| Susan Speyer-Boilard | It is time to be honest!!! |
| Tara Lockhart | truth is essential to education. We can not understand our present unless we understand our past, and how none of us are free until we are all free. |
| Tara Sessa | I am a parent and teacher and kids need to know the truth. |
| Terrance T.R. Amsler | No comment |
| Torin Coffino | To follow in the tradition of Paulo Freire. As found in the introduction to his seminal work, Richard Shaull writes if Freire’s work, “There is no such thing as neutral education. Education either functions as an instrument to bring about conformity or freedom.” I choose freedom and truth. |
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