MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (CBS 58) – Teachers across the country are holding a “National Day of Action to Teach the Truth.”
A year after a historic social justice movement, several states, including Wisconsin, are trying to define what concepts of race schools can teach. However, local teachers consider this to be a mistake.
“Today we say ‘no’ to bullying, ‘no’ to censorship. We say ‘yes’ to academic freedom and we say ‘yes’ to teaching the truth, ”said Bob Peterson, president of the Milwaukee Public School Board.
On Saturday, June 12, teachers, students and school board members held a press conference in the Milwaukee area to crack down on laws they say would harm students and schools. They held the press conference on East Buffalo St. between Water Street and Broadway Street, where George Marshall Clark, a black man from Milwaukee, was lynched on September 8, 1861.
“We are here today to teach the right of teachers and students to defend the right to learn the true history of our nation,” said Peterson.
“History is what defines each of us. It’s part of our identity. This is where we come from. So learning about this story will shape who we become, ”said Rebeca Acosta, a junior high school from Milwaukee Public Schools.
Last week, state Republican lawmakers tabled new bills banning schools from teaching ideas related to Critical Race Theory, the decade-old idea that racism is inherently built into society.
“We need to teach students the fundamentals to be proficient and not teach divisive concepts,” said Rep. Rick Gundrum, R-Slinger, during a June 3 press conference.
The bills do not directly mention the concept of Critical Theory of Race, but they prohibit teaching that one race or gender is superior to another.
Another bill would prevent states and cities from training their employees on Critical Race Theory ideas.
“Our students want to talk about the racial tension they are experiencing, the racial discrimination they are experiencing, and they want to be critical thinkers,” said Francisca Meráz, an ESL teacher at South Division High School.
Meráz said that in a district as diverse as Milwaukee Public Schools, talking about race and sex is vital.
“If I said, ‘No, I can’t talk about that,’ then (my students) don’t trust me anymore,” she said. “You will feel that your questions don’t matter. They will feel that their experiences – their actual lived experiences – do not matter and I am losing them. “
Under GOP laws, schools and colleges that continue to teach these ideas could risk losing government funds. Parents could also sue their school board.
“These bills give parents a chance to hold their school authorities accountable,” said Chuck Wichgers, R-Muskego Rep.
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