The education community responded to Trump supporters violently storming the U.S. Capitol today in a last-ditch effort to stop Congress from certifying that President-elect Joe Biden won the election.
Statement from CEA President Jeff Leake:
“Words alone are not enough to express the heartbreak, alarm, and outrage brought on by today’s attack on democracy–an attack incited by violent rhetoric and baseless claims of fraud from the highest office in the United States.”
“This is not the America we want for our students. It is not the history lesson we wish to teach them. It is not what they deserve, and in spite of the near-constant tumult of the last year, it is not what they should come to expect. Our students deserve leaders committed to abiding by the Constitution and protecting all of our democratic processes and institutions.”
“We urge the President and all members of Congress to accept the results of this nation’s free and fair election, to concede, and to finally and decisively move forward with a peaceful transfer of power.”
Statement from NEA President Becky Pringle:
“Make no mistake about it: What we are witnessing today is an attack on our country and on our democratic institutions. To be clear, these seditious attacks on our Capitol are bred from years of vitriol, hate and bigotry and were fueled by a president and the many elected Republican accomplices who blatantly lied about the election while attempting to overturn the will of the people in a desperate attempt to hold onto power. In America, voters pick our leaders; our leaders do not pick and choose which voices to heed and which to silence.”
“We must come together — just as we did in record numbers in the election — to show our students that we will stand together against politicians who incite violence and those who act on it. We will stand up to those who empower the anarchists that have violently stormed the Capitol, trying to overturn the will of the people. We will protect our democracy. The world is watching. Our students are watching.”
