Parents Union: Cuomo ‘Violated the Memory’ of MLK With Education Remarks [Updated]
NYC Parents Union, a public-education advocacy organization strongly, condemned Governor Andrew Cuomo’s education remarks that invoked Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s memory.
“Yesterday, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo violated the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by exploiting and manipulating Dr. King’s legacy of empowerment to promote a cynical political agenda that victimizes public school students, their parents and the teachers who are the foundation of public education,” the Parents Union’s statement began, calling on the Governor immediately change course on the issue.
Governor Cuomo announced at an event commemorating Dr. King’s legacy that he’d force the creation of a teacher evaluation systems in order to secure $700 million in federal aid from the Race to the Top program. He also said before the largely African-American audience that current public education policies have become “the great discriminator.”
The statement employed charged language against Governor Cuomo on charter schools in particular, saying that “Dr. King would never support bamboozling parents,” and that “Dr. King would never support pitting African-American and Latino parents against teachers and other unionized workers in the public education system.” Read More
