The pledge was signed by no teachers on Feb. 25, the day before. It now has seven pledges from Manton 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 Manton teachers included, "I refuse to lie to my students, who are majority Black, about their own history and generational trauma. I refuse to lie" and "I did not learn about Vincent Chin’s murder until I was in my 30s, even though he was killed a half hour from my home when I was 6. I did not learn about white Detroiters attempting to lynch Dr. Ossian Sweet until I was in my 40s, although I was assigned To Kill a Mockingbird multiple times. I did not learn the racial history of my own state, including sundown towns and redlining and restrictive covenants, or why my hometown had no Black residents, until middle-age. My students deserve better than I received — they deserve to know about their state and their community in age-appropriate ways, without huge important chunks of history being removed or sanitized to avoid hard conversations about race, privilege, power, and hatred. Kids see these things in their own lives and it is dishonest for adults to prevent them from having opportunities to learn and think and practice working through them. True and meaningful pride comes out of hard work".
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 |
|---|---|
| Brian Mears | I believe the truth will set us free. |
| Esther Oey | The truth matters. I see and experience the sexism, racism, classism and other forms of this oppressive system every day and see it in our schools whenever kids are bullied and harassed. To turn that around, the rest of society has to acknowledge that they are based on systems of oppression and change it. The first step is seeing it for what it is and educating ourselves about it. |
| Jennifer Ward | No comment |
| Jolie Valentine | I did not learn about Vincent Chin’s murder until I was in my 30s, even though he was killed a half hour from my home when I was 6. I did not learn about white Detroiters attempting to lynch Dr. Ossian Sweet until I was in my 40s, although I was assigned To Kill a Mockingbird multiple times. I did not learn the racial history of my own state, including sundown towns and redlining and restrictive covenants, or why my hometown had no Black residents, until middle-age. My students deserve better than I received — they deserve to know about their state and their community in age-appropriate ways, without huge important chunks of history being removed or sanitized to avoid hard conversations about race, privilege, power, and hatred. Kids see these things in their own lives and it is dishonest for adults to prevent them from having opportunities to learn and think and practice working through them. True and meaningful pride comes out of hard work. |
| Lisa Gissendaner | I want all students across this country to know nothing but the TRUTH about ALL of U.S. History. It is our responsibility as educators to teach the nothing but the truth ! |
| Margaret Wessel Walker | I refuse to lie to my students, who are majority Black, about their own history and generational trauma. I refuse to lie. |
| Peggy Wagner | I believe in truth! |
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