The pledge was signed by no teachers on Dec. 18, the day before. It now has 52 pledges from Baltimore 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 Baltimore teachers included, "Just as the present can only be fully understood through the past, so history is necessarily understood through our lens in the present. We cannot view it objectively nor separate our contemporary lenses and ethics. As Walter Benjamin argued, “To articulate the past historically does not mean to recognize it ‘the way it really was.' It means to seize hold of a memory as it flashes up at a moment of danger." These moments of revelation allow us to recognize the past in context, while acknowledging our human failures. We must not look only to the victories and virtues in history but to the violences and silences of history. History is not merely a tool for jingoism, consolation, or celebration. Progress is not a given. It is not an accident. It demands study, critical analysis, understanding, and informed action — even then, we often fall short" and "They want us to teach a sanitized, villainless history where America did nothing wrong and even if it did it had good reason. History has villains, if your history has none then it is not history, it is propaganda".
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 Baltimore who’ve pledged to teach Critical Race Theory
| Teachers | Thoughts on Critical Race Theory |
|---|---|
| Abigail Breiseth | Our nation’s civic crisis is arguably a direct result of our failure to teach our history and our civics - at all, to say nothing of well. In my state, history was the first subject on the chopping block in times of low education funding. We MUST do better. I only hope we haven’t already missed our window to create the educated populace necessary for the preservation of democracy. |
| Alexandra Frank | Ignoring or whitewashing events of the past has only served to divide us, and teaching today's youth the truth about our country may help to unite us. Examining who we really are is the first step towards building an equitable society. |
| Alice Cook | This is important! My students and my own children nedd to be taught the truth. The pushback is blatantly racist and I don't accept it. |
| Alison Baran | Our children deserve the truth! |
| Andrew Faulstich | Only by providing for students a multifaceted view of American history can they critically examine and act to change our country for the better. It is un-American to restrict what can be taught; rather we need to trust our students that they will be able to use their knowledge of our complete (and not always pretty) history for positive aims. |
| Anna Weisberg | We can only achieve a joy-filled, harmonious society when we acknowledge our past and current failings. Diverse perspectives must be shared and considered through the lens of documented cause and effect. Through honest, fact-based education, we can grow as communities and a nation. To be better, we must do better. |
| Bethany McAndrew | I believe that students need to see themselves in the curricula of their classes. I believe in telling the truth and allowing my students to grapple with the messier sides of history that exist. I believe that students have the capacity to understand nuance and to ask deep questions. I believe in empowering young people so that they will push for peace, progress, and a more equitable and just world. |
| Brian Deller | I refuse to lie to my students and I promise teach the truth of our history because I will not be part of the system of oppression that has created white supremacy and inequality in our society. The only way to dismantle it is to know the real story and give young people the ability to make up their minds for themselves, decide how they feel about it and whether they are content accepting it in their lives. The first step to liberation is accepting the uncomfortableness of the truth and reconciling what role will we have played in it and what role we will choose in the future: that of an enabler and apologist of oppression, or that of an ally or freedom fighter? |
| Cecil Gray | It is right, good, and necessary to tell and teach the Truth. |
| Christopher Pagliarini | No comment |
| Chuck Goetz | I believe the study of history requires knowing the good and the bad of the past because both are still influencing the present and will continue to influence the future. I am privileged to teach in an independent school that believes in this vision as well but am signing this petition to support my fellow history educators who work in places that would like to sugarcoat the past by restricting what knowledge of the past can be taught to students. |
| Colleen Kyle | I have been teaching history for 20 years and it is my job to show students how to search for truth. My favorite history professor once advised me to “never believe your own bullshit.” Well, it’s true of nations, too. |
| Colleen Kyle | My job is to teach young Americans the truth and I will it stop. |
| Daniel Levine | No comment |
| Daniel Levine | I have a moral obligation not to lie to my students. |
| David Wizer | Teach history and truth to enhance equality and students’ understanding. |
| Donna Brown | Education is not to be used as a tool to reinforce/justify racism and oppression. Education is not to be used to perpetuate bias and reinforce attitudes based on mischaracterisations, stereotypes and prejudice. Education is to edify to develop applied understanding of knowledge to evolve a culture to its highest virtue based upon truth and practicality. There is no evolution of a society if it operates off of false narratives that justify its lowest values. |
| Emily F. | No comment |
| Erika C. | I believe in the empowerment of students through truth-telling and critical analysis of United States' history. To be patriotic means to know the full truth in order to enact change, and that is what we need. |
| Erin Stevens | Not teaching history accurately or teaching current events will significantly skew perspectives of students. I teach in a school that is over 50% Black and there are increasing calls to teach about more accurate history and not whitewashed history. This will do the opposite of this. |
| Gab Sussman | No comment |
| Garrison Schmitt | No comment |
| Grace Wiessner | No comment |
| Hallie Herz | Our students deserve to learn the full story of our country's history. |
| James Baker | They want us to teach a sanitized, villainless history where America did nothing wrong and even if it did it had good reason. History has villains, if your history has none then it is not history, it is propaganda. |
| Kathy Marmor | It is very important to teach truth. It is when uncomfortable truths and facts about race and identity are disavowed, buried and deleted that prevents us all from learning from those who stories are vital to our understanding of history and given what I teach, creativity and and its rich reflection of our social complexities . |
| Ken Roberts | This isn’t ok … also the black or African American hate bill needs to be passed rather then this foolishness. |
| Kristen Tubman | We must look honestly at history in order to seek empowerment for all our young people |
| Kristina Collins | No comment |
| Kristine Sieloff | We owe our students the opportunity to think critically about the origins of racism in this country so that they can tear down and rebuild oppressive systems. |
| Lena Amick | Knowing our history is life or death; we must choose life! |
| Lynnett Redhead | We tell our children to tell the truth, be honest etc. Well, it is time for people in authority and legislation to tell the truth as well. We do not need anymore white washing the truth. We can and our children CAN handle the truth. It is simply just time. This country will not adequately progress without the truth. |
| Majella Van Der Werf | No comment |
| Matthew Hentz | Just as the present can only be fully understood through the past, so history is necessarily understood through our lens in the present. We cannot view it objectively nor separate our contemporary lenses and ethics. As Walter Benjamin argued, “To articulate the past historically does not mean to recognize it ‘the way it really was.' It means to seize hold of a memory as it flashes up at a moment of danger." These moments of revelation allow us to recognize the past in context, while acknowledging our human failures. We must not look only to the victories and virtues in history but to the violences and silences of history. History is not merely a tool for jingoism, consolation, or celebration. Progress is not a given. It is not an accident. It demands study, critical analysis, understanding, and informed action — even then, we often fall short. |
| Matthew Vaughn-Smith | children deserve to know the truth so that oppressive systems are not perpetuated. Let’s begin to dismantle white supremacy by shedding light on it's atrocities. |
| Melissa Demock | No comment |
| Michael Weber | No comment |
| Michelle Prieditis | I believe that history’s truth must be revealed and taught. Period. No more withholding of how we got to where we are nowadays. Let’s go! |
| Molly Wolf | It is our duty as educators to teach the FACTS and TRUTH of our nation's history! |
| Nancy Lewis | Not teaching the true history of the United States has led us to where we are! In age appropriate ways, the public constituency needs to learn the facts of United States racist capitalism and indigenous people's genocide.That specific language is useful for older students. My second graders learned how Eastern Woodland tribes were "pushed off their land" and how enslaved people not only survived but thrived to inform and develop the Black culture we have today. |
| Pailin E. Gaither | Our school's goal is to build active, engaged citizens who are empowered to go out in the world and be change-makers. To effectively create change and build a future that works for ALL, you must know the past, and it is my job to help our students unpack their history -- both its darkness and promise -- so they can do just that. |
| Paul Worley | No comment |
| Rachel Popp | No comment |
| Rachel Wheelin | No comment |
| Rob Bennett | If we cannot encourage our students to understand the world around them and look at it from all angles and many perceptions, we lose as a society. |
| Sara Zisow-Mcclean | No comment |
| Seth Billingsley | No comment |
| Shae Savoy | No comment |
| Tara Wyman | History belongs to everyone and everyone should have the right to have their individual and collective experiences heard, honored, and respected. Only then can we forge a stronger future. |
| Timothy Sasscer-Burgos | I'm a teacher; it's like asking doctors to sign on against the tobacco companies. What was once accepted is now understood to be wrong, and in order to fight the ongoing legacy of structural racism and prejudice we must educate the public about its past. I sign also because the very idea of an educated public is at stake; using the convenient incidences of BLM, sexual rights and Equity education, conservative politicians are continuing their long quest to shackle the very idea that an education is useful or important. I'm not having it, and I want other educators to know I'm with...us! |
| Tracy Thompson Thompson | while I am fortunate to work in a school where the truth is spoken, I’d like to show my support for the students and teachers out there who are prevented from learning our real history. |
| Victoria Lebrón | Students deserve to know the truth about this country so that they can identify systems and structures. It will also enable them to dismantle those structures that oppress and imagine new ones. |
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