Rockingham Times

Only one resident of Londonderry, New Hampshire, has agreed with the teaching of critical race theory in the classroom since the initial sign-up request from the “Pledge to Teach the Truth” by the Zinn Education Project. 

The Zinn Education Project focuses on teaching school-aged children about systemic injustices that are believed to be part of America’s foundation and government, both historically and in present day. 

“If learning about history doesn't make you uncomfortable, you are not learning real history. Our education system has remained static for decades as the global job market has evolved. We do a disservice to our students by not preparing them for the real-world -- and the real-world unfortunately includes systemic racism. This is a hard fact. Students want to learn so that they can go into the world and shape it as their generation sees fit. This is not indoctrination; this is giving kids the understanding of our society/market/environment, as well as the tools to think critically and compassionately in all their future endeavors,” Tiffany Gagnon, the Londonderry resident who signed the pledge, wrote in her comment on the Zinn Education Project's website.

According to Education Week, critical race theory is a collection of knowledge that focuses on the concept that race is a social construct and that racism goes beyond personal prejudices to systemically affect the legal system and its rulings. CRT has been highly controversial since its inception in the 1970s.

The number of residents in Londonderry who have pledged to support the teaching of CRT has remained largely unchanged since the introduction of the “Pledge to Teach the Truth” in August.