AFT Issues Groundbreaking Report on Racial Equity
WASHINGTON—Leaders and members of the American Federation of Teachers have spent the past year having blunt, tough, uncomfortable, but courageous conversations about how to address the lingering effects of racism and inequity in our nation—especially related to black males. Today, as a result of those conversations, the AFT became the first public sector union in modern history to issue a substantive, action-oriented report on achieving racial equity in America.
The report, Reclaiming the Promise of Racial Equity: In Education, Economics and Our Criminal Justice System, provides a framework for the development of policy in national and state legislation, at the school board level and inside the AFT itself. As the AFT approaches its 100th year, this report serves as a capstone to a legacy of fighting for democracy and championing fairness and economic opportunity for all.
“I have been humbled and heartened by the overwhelming response from leaders and members around the country who participated in these courageous conversations,” says AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson, who chairs the AFT’s Racial Equity Task Force. “I am proud that the AFT is the first union in the labor movement to address the crisis facing black males in a significant way. And for this work to continue, it will take the effort of all our members, including our white brothers and sisters, and the entire labor movement coming together.”
“This report offers concrete steps to create schools where parents want to send their children, where students—particularly boys of color—are engaged, and where educators want to work,” says AFT President Randi Weingarten. “It focuses on ways to end the institutional racism that pervades our criminal justice system, and on ways to challenge the systems that give one-percenters obscene advantages. We must do everything in our power to make sure that black lives matter in every classroom, on every street and in every court in America. This report is a
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