This morning I held a press conference releasing a letter signed by AFT, the Southern Poverty Law Center and over 120 individuals and groups calling on President-elect Donald Trump to demonstrate leadership and denounce the many acts of hatred being carried out across the country – invoking his name and slogans.
I was joined by Reverend William Barber, president of North Carolina NAACP; Maureen Costello, program director at Southern Poverty Law Center; Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Austin McCoy, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan; and Scott Kasten, a Minneapolis teacher. You can watch the event here: https://www.facebook.com/AFTunion/videos/10154342068899160/
In the last 48 hours, this letter has been co-signed by groups who represent nearly ten million people. This is only the beginning of our fight to address the economic anxiety, feeling of abandonment and fear of bigotry and hate and disenfranchisement many also feel. We are extending the invitation to sign-on with hopes that thousands will join us and send a resounding message to our President-elect that his leadership begins here and now, with the responsibility of ending the divisiveness his presidential campaign created.
Organizations can sign on here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-trump-to-stopthehate
Individuals can sign on here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-trump-to-represent-all-americans-stopthehate/
There are free lesson plans and materials to support students currently available on Share My Lesson. We are also working to develop a hotline where incidents can be reported and resources on guidance and/or counseling will be provided. An e-activist will be released shortly with more information on action you can take.
Finally, I have used my New York Times/Huff Post column this month to talk about what we do as a union in the wake of all of this – our fight back and fight for the American Dream.
Thank you,
Randi
