VIDEO: The Schools Seattle Deserves Press Conference–Vote for Jon Greenberg, Marquita Prinzing, and the full slate of social justice educators!
“Even in the best of times the Seattle Public Schools has needed the union to…hold it accountable. And during a global pandemic, when more and more people are starting to understand the pivotal role that schools play in our society well beyond academics, the common American narratives like, “The rich will save us,” and “health care shouldn’t be a right,” all those narratives are getting turned on their heads. Nurses and grocery story workers are literately saving our lives and we have a chance to reconfigure and transform what normal looks like so that it embodies justice—especially racial justice—and I’m hoping to be part of that transformation as SEA president.”—JON GREENBERG, SCHOOLS SEATTLE DESERVES PRESS CONFERENCE, APRIL 21, 2020
The press conference was held on the first day of the election and signaled a new era in the union; already on that first day, SSD secured victories in at least seven executive board positions—including Vallerie Fisher wining the officer position of treasurer—with Jon Greenberg‘s run for union president and Marquita Prinzing‘s run for Director of the Center for Racial Equity still contested. But even more important than the number of seats secured was the powerful coalition of candidates that was forged and the powerful message of uprooting oppression that they advanced. Speakers addressed many issues including the history of social justice unionism; joining with other social justice unions around the country; opposition high stakes standardized testing; building partnerships with parents and community; fighting against racism, sexism, and homophobia; the struggle for Ethnic Studies; and so much more.
Notably, the press conference featured leading parent, student, and community allies that will be key partners in transforming education in Seattle, such as parent activist and Washington State NAACP Education Chair, Rita Green, Student leader Cece Chan, and community organizer, attorney, poet, and former Seattle mayoral candidate Nikkita Oliver.
As Nikkita Oliver commented on the importance of unions in the struggle for justice and about her confidence in the leadership of Jon Greenberg saying,
“Thank you for inviting me to be a part of this moment as a CONTINUE READING: VIDEO: The Schools Seattle Deserves Press Conference–Vote for Jon Greenberg, Marquita Prinzing, and the full slate of social justice educators! – I AM AN EDUCATOR