Number of teachers pledging to teach Critical Race Theory in New Orleans stagnates at 16 in week ending Jan. 22

By Nola Reporter

Jan 27, 2022

There were no new teachers in New Orleans who signed the pledge in week ending Jan. 22, according to an online pledge from the Zinn Education Project.

The pledge was signed by 11 teachers the week before. It now has 16 pledges from New Orleans teachers by the end of the week ending Jan. 22.

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.

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 New Orleans who’ve pledged to teach Critical Race Theory

Teachers	Thoughts on Critical Race Theory
Allisyn Swift	I want children to know the full history of the United States. This is the only way that we may have a chance at some sort of healing and be able to move forward without making the same historical mistakes
Leigh Dekle	students deserve excellent instruction.
Edith Ambrose	We need to teach the facts, nothing but the facts, and ALL of them--with their implications.
Shannon Blady	The lions deserve their pages, too.
Christopher Oliver	Keeping educators from teaching about the actual lived experiences of all peoples, including those who have experienced inequities, oppression, and outright violence due to their race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, etc. is not only wrong it is fundamentally an effort to suppress the truth to protect those in / with power and reinforce an ideology of inequality, patriarchy, and white supremacy inherent to US society.
Elishia McAllister	The only way to dismantle oppressive systems is to expose their history and foundation accurately.
Jennifer Latimer	“no comment”
Sophie Teitelbaum	teaching anything other than truth is perpetuating white supremacy.
Heather Harris	History matters. I will never participate in the silencing of truth.
Elise Butler-Pinkham	“no comment”
Eric Schroeder	“no comment”
Janell Regaldo	Children deserve to know the truth and to understand what is going on in their world.
Kathryn Gawor	“no comment”
Caitlin Vanderwolf	My students already know about the racial and gendered issues of injustice which continue to destroy people, families, and communities in this country. It's my role to facilitate the safe discussion and dismantling of toxic racist and sexist culture through exposure to these ideas and where they come from. If we are to hope for a better tomorrow, we have to talk about the past and how it's contributed to where we stand as a broken nation today.
Franklin V.P.	The younger generation should be taught what the historical evidence has revealed about the impact of white racism and white nationalism on African Americans and other people of color throughout U.S. history.
Kimberly Hebert	I teach history, not propaganda.