San Francisco Sun

Critical Race Theory will be taught by 30 more teachers in San Francisco, according to an online pledge from the Zinn Education Project.

No new teachers sign the pledge the week before. It now has 69 pledges from San Francisco teachers by the end of the week ending March 12.

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 San Francisco teachers included “I do not want a generation to go by without living up to our ideals of ALL PEOPLE being created equal.” and “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.”.

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. Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee have passed legislation banning discussions about the US being inherently racist.

Other states, such as Montana and Georgia, have denounced the teachings and are discussing a ban on critical race theory teachings.

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
Karla Ambriz	I am latina, and want to empower youth, be resilient and unite for people of color
Manny Martinez	Teaching the truth is just what may save this country from itself, ultimately.
Gilda Bloom-Leiva	The truth counts!
Allie Curry	“no comment”
Lauren Long	students deserve to learn the truth
Helen Serafino-Agar	students deserve the truth.
Laura Farley	“no comment”
Barbara Barnes	A strong polity requires well-informed, critical thinking members.
Michael Rolph	“no comment”
Marissa Steinberger	I vow to support the truth, and help to dismantle white supremecy
Colette Auerswald	Unless we understand the true roots of disparities, we cannot end them.
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.
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.
Terrance T.R. Amsler	“no comment”
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.
Eric Mar	“no comment”
Rebecca Rogers	“no comment”
Marisa Lawrence	“no comment”
Karen Franklin	The fear of history and the personalization of the past cannot be tolerated, promoted, or taught in America's schools.
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.
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.
Kevin Murphy	“no comment”
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sandra Camp	Teaching accurate history is the only way to ensure that we don’t repeat the same mistakes.
Nicole Hsu	We must stand up and fight to expose the truth—always!
Sandy Amos	Teaching the truth about our nation is essential to understanding who America is and how it can live up to its promise.
Tara Sessa	I am a parent and teacher and kids need to know the truth.
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.
Izzy Hendry	Only through truth can an we find healing
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.
Maureen Sullivan	Our students deserve to learn about their history and this country's history.
Arielle Nagle	We can’t keep lying. The truth will set us free.
Jenny Ryan	We can’t move forward until we tell the truth about the past.
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
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.
Michael Sova	Further progress cannot be made when thoughtful, nuanced and critical though and discussions are prohibited.
Lisa Bohórquez	We have an obligation to our students and families to teach the truth
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.
Hillary Katz	“no comment”
Fina-Lee A. Pengosro	it is my responsibility to myself and to my students.
Sarah Affolter	“no comment”
Cynthia Trapanese	I believe that we can create a better future when we understand the truth of the past.
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!
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.
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.
Helen Serafino-Agar	the students need to hear the truth.
Susan Speyer-Boilard	It is time to be honest!!!
Colette Cann	“no comment”
Christina Velasco	It’s time to dismantle white supremacy. Teach the truth. HISTORY is bound to repeat itself unless we learn from it.
Myra Quadros	I believe we must teach our students a different history, the truth.
Christine Leishman	I do not want a generation to go by without living up to our ideals of ALL PEOPLE being created equal.
Kimberly Ellis	When people know better, they do better.
Abdul Jabbar	Any law that takes away teachers’ right to academic freedom and fact-based teaching will not be acceptable and challenged in court
Kaylee Spiegelman	“no comment”
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.
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.
David Flint	censoring the ugly side of our past and present isn't teaching history, its spreading propaganda.
Lavandon Nelson	As a teacher, we have to do our part in dismantling injustice and oppression.
Maureen Sullivan	“no comment”
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.
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.
Sarah Cahuas	“no comment”
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.
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.
Rick Ayers	“no comment”
Mary Fobbs-Guillory	truth sets us free.