5 more Fresno teachers sign Critical Race Theory pledge in week ending Feb. 12

By Fresno Leader

Feb 17, 2022

Critical Race Theory will be taught by five more teachers in Fresno, according to an online pledge from the Zinn Education Project.

No new teachers sign the pledge the week before. It now has six pledges from Fresno teachers by the end of the week ending Feb. 12.

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 new Fresno teachers included “without teaching brutally and unapologetic honest history, and the legacy that it has produced, we can not complete our national reconstruction, that was aborted in 1877 with the corrupt presidential election bargain.” and “White nationalist and white settler colonial mythology cannot stand unchecked. All human beings have a responsibility to change things, and teachers have even more of a responsibility.”.

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 Fresno who’ve pledged to teach Critical Race Theory

Teachers	Thoughts on Critical Race Theory
Karina Vasquez	“no comment”
Anoush Ekparian-Hadden	“no comment”
Miroku Nemeth	White nationalist and white settler colonial mythology cannot stand unchecked. All human beings have a responsibility to change things, and teachers have even more of a responsibility.
Meghan Schimmel	History taught from all perspectives matters.
Sharon Merritt	“no comment”
Alexandros Acedo	without teaching brutally and unapologetic honest history, and the legacy that it has produced, we can not complete our national reconstruction, that was aborted in 1877 with the corrupt presidential election bargain.