American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten claimed during a Wednesday event in New York that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies were all that stood in the way of fascism.
President Donald Trump issued multiple executive orders targeting DEI policies and programs in the federal government, saying they create “an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.” Weingarten accused opponents of DEI programs of seeking to wipe out the “civil rights movement” during an episode of “State of New York” on 92NY.
“In the last two or three years, the behavior of some is very, very, very dangerous,” Weingarten claimed while discussing her new book, “Why Fascists Fear Teachers.” “The erasure of the civil rights movement and of equal opportunity… making [the] words diversity and inclusion toxic when there was just a civil rights survey that said, 88% of people in America believe in diversity, the attempt to Balkanize, to undermine pluralism and the attempt to stop teachers from in schools all across America, not just pre-K through 12, but in higher education from teaching, critical thinking and problem solving. To me, all of that is gets you on the road to fascism.”
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Weingarten also accused opponents of engaging in “dehumanization,” recounting a clash with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia during a hearing, noting that Greene apologized for past statements she made.
Weingarten previously claimed during a November 2023 interview with Julia Manchester, the national political correspondent for The Hill, that criticism of her was motivated by homophobia and antisemitism.
According to the Nation’s Report Card’s 2024 data, student test scores still remain below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels nationwide, while math and reading scores saw their biggest drop in 50 years, according to data released in 2023 by the National Center for Education Statistics.
As student scores plunged, national teachers unions frequently promoted and defended left-wing causes such as critical race theory, gun control and gender ideology in school curricula despite protests from parents. Weingarten also reportedly opposed President Donald Trump’s proposal to reopen schools during the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2020.
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