As I enter my last few months as president of the Chicago Teachers Union, it is important to reflect on our educators’ roles in shaping the narrative around public education in our city.
In more than 20 years of service to Chicago Public Schools students, families, educators and school communities, I have seen a system imperiled by privatization, corruption and institutional racism. We have an immense problem of wealth and white privilege when Ken Griffin, the richest man in Illinois, can bankroll a sitting mayor and suggest the closure of 125 schools, almost exclusively in Black neighborhoods. Thanks to our advocacy alongside the Grassroots Education Movement, however, the era of mayoral control has been dealt some significant setbacks.
