The pledge was signed by no teachers on Jan. 9, the day before. It now has 20 pledges from Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee teachers included, "Real history needs to be taught" and "The history of our country has been written by white, mostly males and consequentially is incomplete. Women and BIPOC individuals have been left out of our history. All people, including children need to read and learn about our past and see themselves reflected in those people. The full picture, the truth, will help everyone be included in the work of a society and community and be the best we can all be".
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 | Thoughts on Critical Race Theory |
|---|---|
| Amina Ishaq | Young people deserve to understand the context of their lives in a full and accurate way, rather than being subjected to empty propaganda. Teachers should not be muzzled and prevented from supporting our students' need for context and criticality. |
| Claire Weissenfluh | The truth should not be censored. |
| Dan Kartz | Real history needs to be taught. |
| Dani Graf | No comment |
| Doug Singsen | No comment |
| Ebony Davis | I believe in teaching the truth. |
| Elizabeth Zizzo | You can not deny our history. |
| Francesca Ferraro | No comment |
| Heather Hathaway | I am signing my name because telling the truths of history is not an ideological, but rather an ethical, enterprise. |
| Heather Plucinski | No comment |
| Jendayi Mbalia | No comment |
| Jennifer Poethig | I believe our students need to know truths from what was "TAUGHT" in schools in prior years. |
| Jolene Chartier | No comment |
| Joyce Cable | The history of our country has been written by white, mostly males and consequentially is incomplete. Women and BIPOC individuals have been left out of our history. All people, including children need to read and learn about our past and see themselves reflected in those people. The full picture, the truth, will help everyone be included in the work of a society and community and be the best we can all be. |
| Kimberly Evans-Green | I believe that all students need to learn about their history past & present. It is important that we respectfully teach our students about what our ancestors went through and what we as a community is going through today. |
| Laura Geibel | My students can only change the system if they understand how it came to exist; my students deserve better; we need to honor our cultural differences and to accept them and each other— just because a white student is made uncomfortable by a discussion doesn’t mean the discussion/debate should not happen in a classroom— we don’t selectively get to choose the white man’s version of history and reality! |
| Lori Lewis | the TRUTH shall set us FREE!! |
| Marsha Kroeger | As a Black educator, mother and grandmother, I'm angered that this country has not been honest about how it has treated people of color. I want all students to know the truth. |
| May Paw | No comment |
| Sharon Hegwood | I feel that the time has come when black children and all children need to know their true history and that the world is made up of people of all backgrounds and no one should be excluded. |
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