The pledge was signed by no teachers on April 20, the day before. It now has 54 pledges from Columbia 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 Columbia teachers included, "acknowledging the truth is first step in helping students and their families heal from the generational trauma that prejudicial practices and racist policies have inflicted on people of color. We can't bring about change if no one is willing to see what is wrong" and "I grew up being told to lie about my family's history and I won't continue to allow this system to continue".
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 Columbia who’ve pledged to teach Critical Race Theory
| Teachers | Thoughts on Critical Race Theory |
|---|---|
| Aishia Greene | No comment |
| Al Terrill | Stop being afraid of the truth, parents. Our children must be taught the truth, verses being lied to for the past 500 years. |
| Alexa Chestnut | No comment |
| Alexis Miller | No comment |
| Amber Gonzalez | I grew up being told to lie about my family's history and I won't continue to allow this system to continue. |
| Andrew McIntyre | We need to teach the truth about this country. |
| Ashley McCrady | Censoring the past hinders compassion and critical thinking. |
| Bill Cupp | No comment |
| Burnett Gallman | Racism is alive and well and thrives in America, the bastion of white supremacy. |
| Casey Schoenborn | No comment |
| Christina Zastrow | Because teaching real, authentic, and meaningful history is important. |
| Christine Pearman | If we want students to think critically, we need to share our history honestly. When the truth of our past is painful or harmful, it is still our history. As we process current events and problems in society, we must draw understanding from past mistakes. |
| Claire Majerus | Racism is systemic. The only chance we have at eradicating it is to teach children the truth. |
| Crystal Shelley | No comment |
| Dominique Edwards | No comment |
| Elizabeth Diaz | One of my most important responsibilities as an educator is to strengthen my students' abilities to think critically about the world around them. In order to fulfill this promise to my students, I must allow them access to all aspects of our country's past and present. |
| Erika Chavarría | No comment |
| Hannah Nandor | No comment |
| Jacqueline Arnold | Teachers are getting doxxed online for trying to support our students' rights to their own history. I am tired of the truth being buried. |
| Janice Morris | There is ONE truth about the history of the USA whether or not the white Republican establishment wants to acknowledge it! |
| Jen Wilson | if we do not understand our past, we will continue to make the same mistakes. Learning history helps us to understand people better. |
| Jessica Cummings | The truth is important. |
| Jessica Saltat | I made a vow to teach ALL students. I cannot adequately do my job for the ALL without teaching the truth of the struggles that so many of our citizens have withstood. It is our job as educators to teach the whole truth. Even when it may be uncomfortable. Our students deserve the right to knowledge as a whole to form their own opinions. |
| Jill Walters | Our children should be learning the entirety of our country’s history, so that future generations can learn from our past. |
| Johanna Hebert | Knowing our history is the only way we keep our democracy. Just look at where ignorance has gotten us. We cannot lose to a group whose only goal is power and control. |
| Kathleen Burns | I care about my students. |
| Kathleen MacLaughlin | acknowledging the truth is first step in helping students and their families heal from the generational trauma that prejudicial practices and racist policies have inflicted on people of color. We can't bring about change if no one is willing to see what is wrong. |
| Katie Dunne | Our students deserve a full, unbiased account of our nation’s history in order to become critical thinkers and well-educated members of society. |
| Katie Sipho | No comment |
| Katie Sipho | Students deserve to be taught accurate history, including the ugliness of racism, sexism, etc., so that we can do better in the future. |
| Kerri Stith | We must teach everyone the true history |
| Kristina Detmer | Our democracy and freedom, as envisioned by our country's founders, depend on an educated population making informed decisions. Censorship benefits only those who want to destroy democracy. |
| Lauren Hermann | I will ensure my students are prepared to be highly effective educators, meaning they are well versed in accurate understandings of history and will utilize quality pedagogical practices to ensure all identities are welcomed and accepted and taught within their classrooms. |
| Leia Brooks | the truth matters; no matter what legislators or ill-informed people think. As an educator, it is my job to provide the truth and encourage students to think critically. |
| Linda Vandepopuliere | It is critical that accurate and truthful history be taught. Students need to understand the past in order to understand our present situation and to make a better future. |
| Lindsey Mueller | As a parent and an educator, I want my children to be taught and learn the good, bad, and ugly truths of our history to continues e to help our country grown and evolve into a stronger more united country. We cannot learn for the past if we ignore it. |
| MacKenzie Everett-Kennedy | Teaching history based in truth matters. |
| Mike Lewis | Teachers have the right to create curriculum appropriate for their students. Teachers are professionals and have been trained to do this. For the State to dictate to teachers how to teach and what to teach sounds like a Stalinist approach to education. If the teacher's can't be creative to teach the students what they need, how will the students be creative to provide the solutions to the problems they will encounter in their lives |
| Paula Feldman | Legislators should not require teachers to lie to their students or suppress the truth. |
| Samuel Cohen | No comment |
| Sandra Ramsey | our students deserve to know that truth about out nation's history - the good and the bad. |
| Sarah Henley | No comment |
| Shakealia Finley | No comment |
| Shanna Barkume | No comment |
| Shira Levy | No comment |
| Sidney Dace | No comment |
| Stephanie Tam | Our students deserve and need to know the whole truth and not just the bits and pieces we were told when we were in school. Students ad all people have the right to make their own mind up and as an educator it is my duty to educate the whole TRUTH. |
| Susan Hunter | History should be taught so we can learn from it. |
| Susanne Sawyer | No comment |
| Tricia Price | If we don't take an honest look at our history, the good and the bad, we will only repeat the mistakes our ancestors made. Students need to hear multiple perspectives and learn to think critically about information in order to make better decisions as adults. |
| Wendy Cohen-Holbrook | Education is about providing students personal and civil power through knowledge. How can we raise thoughtful and responsible citizens without providing them facts to make good decisions? |
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