The pledge was signed by no teachers on April 20, the day before. It now has 17 pledges from Annapolis 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 Annapolis teachers included, "the purpose of education is teach the truth, as we are given to know it, and to help our students learn the skills they need to find the truth in their studies, their work, and their lives. Part of the truth of American history is our noble principles and achievements. But part of it is our tragedies and how we have fallen short of those principles. We need to teach children about racism in our history, and racism now, in our country. This is particularly true as to racism against Black people in this country. The attacks on fields such as Critical Race Theory and work such as the New York Times "1619 Project" are wrong, and laws and political censorship of these and similar studies violates the First Amendment. Of course all these studies are subject to free and fair debate, but it is wrong to ban or demonize them. Nothing is more American than honest exploration and reflection with the goal of making things better and righting wrongs" and "I believe the truth should be taught no matter what so that we can heal, recreate and co-create a future".
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 |
|---|---|
| Alice Drayton | No comment |
| Amy Cline | I believe the truth should be taught no matter what so that we can heal, recreate and co-create a future. |
| Catherine Hudson | I believe equity and justice cannot be achieved without knowing and acknowledging the hard truths about ourselves and our history. |
| Charlie Martel | the purpose of education is teach the truth, as we are given to know it, and to help our students learn the skills they need to find the truth in their studies, their work, and their lives. Part of the truth of American history is our noble principles and achievements. But part of it is our tragedies and how we have fallen short of those principles. We need to teach children about racism in our history, and racism now, in our country. This is particularly true as to racism against Black people in this country. The attacks on fields such as Critical Race Theory and work such as the New York Times "1619 Project" are wrong, and laws and political censorship of these and similar studies violates the First Amendment. Of course all these studies are subject to free and fair debate, but it is wrong to ban or demonize them. Nothing is more American than honest exploration and reflection with the goal of making things better and righting wrongs. |
| Crystal Wyatt | No comment |
| Ellie Young | No comment |
| Heather Montague | No comment |
| Jane Zanger | I didn’t learn the truth of our history until I was an adult. The only way to reconciliation of racial inj |
| Jane Zanger | We cannot heal as a nation until we tell the truth of our history and acknowledge the trauma and resistance therein. |
| Jeanette Beigel | I pledge to teach the entire truth of our nation's history to my students. |
| Julia Maycock | This is a critical juncture. Students must be taught the truth about the history of this nation so that they can fully participate in the democratic process. |
| Kathy Hanson | It is my job to educate responsible citizens to uphold our democracy and that includes teaching history as it happened not as it was written by old white men and current events in true context. It includes teaching against racism, sexism, and any kind of oppression against others. It not me, then who will. |
| Laurel Lennon | No comment |
| Lee Zanger | We an only address issues of inequality and injustice if we understand the history of how they developed. |
| Mary Barbera | Children need pure truth in order to understand the past, live in the present and dream for the future. |
| Nancy Conroy | All children deserve to be taught the truth! |
| Suzanne Marcinkiewicz | No comment |
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