Jim Pillen Commits To Restoring Honest, Patriotic Education with ‘1776 Pledge’

As Critical Race Theory-inspired curriculum continues to proliferate in K-12 classrooms and higher education, Jim Pillen, Republican candidate for governor in Nebraska, committed to opposing this forced indoctrination of students by signing “The 1776 Pledge to Save Our Schools” from 1776 Action, an organization inspired by President Trump’s 1776 Commission to restore honest, patriotic education.

Pillen is among more than 200 candidates and officials across the country who have signed, including a growing number of gubernatorial candidates from the Great Plains including Charles Herbster, SD Governor Kristi Noem and both Republican candidates for governor in Kansas, former Governor Jeff Colyer and Attorney General Derek Schmidt. Signers commit to taking concrete steps to:

• Restore honest, patriotic education that cultivates in our children a profound love for our country.
• Promote a curriculum that teaches that all children are created equal, have equal moral value under God, our Constitution, and the law, and are members of a national community united by our founding principles.
• Prohibit any curriculum that pits students against one another on the basis of race or sex.
• Prevent schools from politicizing education by prohibiting any curriculum that requires students to protest and lobby during or after school.

Jim Pillen: 

“Critical Race Theory has absolutely no place in Nebraska’s K-12 classrooms, where young minds should be taught facts and commonsense Nebraska values, not divisive, anti-American ideologies. CRT should never be forced on anyone with taxpayer dollars. That’s why I proposed a resolution to the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska that would prevent CRT from being forced on anyone on NU campuses. Academic freedom must be practiced on both sides of the desk. Taxpayer dollars should be used to prepare our students to compete in the global workforce and affirm Nebraska and America’s status as a land of opportunity for all our citizens, regardless of race or gender.”

Adam Waldeck (President, 1776 Action):

“We are excited that Jim is among other Republican candidates for the governorships of Nebraska and neighboring Kansas as a signer of the ‘The 1776 Pledge.’ Jim is a staunch advocate for traditional, patriotic education, and has been a leader in opposing anti-American indoctrination in school classrooms. In particular, 1776 Action applauds Jim for his proposal of a resolution to prohibit the University of Nebraska system from forcing Critical Race Theory on its students and staff, and we encourage others to follow his example.”

1776 Action launched in March 2021 to combat anti-American indoctrination in K-12 schools with support from Dr. Ben Carson (a former member of the 1776 Commission) and Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Most recently, the group launched a new campaign in northern Virginia after wrapping up a successful statewide campaign in New Hampshire in support of that state’s newly-signed anti-CRT law.