Tell Lawmakers to End the Whitewashing of History in Schools
As more Americans wake up to the realities of Indian boarding schools, the Tulsa Massacre, and Juneteenth, it has become clear that our classrooms did not teach us accurate or full histories. America’s ongoing obfuscation of its own, true past has led this country to be more divided than ever. Let’s do better by the next seven generations, and tell lawmakers to support the teachings of Critical Race Theory in public schools.
Petition Text:
Dear Lawmakers,
Please use the power of your position to advocate for the incorporation of curriculum that recognizes the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in public schools. We cannot continue to teach our children the history we wish America had. We must teach our children what really happened, from the beginning. Without embracing America's national origins with honesty and integrity, we can never heal the current divide.
BIPOC Communities have said for years, “There are two Americas,” meaning that disparity, poverty, and violence disproportionately affect POC communities. In 2020, America was forced to confront the direct effects of racism and colonization. As we progressed, trying to untangle systems of oppression, America's divisions were further revealed.
Despite our discomfort in unlearning, anyone with a conscience should undergo that process. While that task is huge, it should not be overwhelming. Incorporating CRT's honest accounting of our national sins — considering deeply and teaching how we got here as a country — will allow us to begin confronting and untangling racism as a means of progression toward a more perfect union.
American history classrooms have not equipped us with accurate or equal knowledge. We are waking up to the gaping holes in our education and the resulting deficiencies in the understanding of our adult citizenry. To confront and prevent the fictionalization of history in American classrooms is not only the bravest thing we can do right now, but it is the only pathway to a united future.
We must reach for a better tomorrow for our children. Including CRT's perspective in public school education can help dismantle these systems and their effects before they can take root and blossom. We must be willing to learn and teach the lessons of the past in order to create a more just, more inclusive future. We do not want our children and grandchildren to still be battling the effects of racism and colonization in the decades to come. We do not want to witness what the teaching of unchecked, whitewashed history will do to the deepening divide in America.