To our fierce, courageous, and brave members, please know that Student FEA is here to support you through all your endeavors! Over the past few months, it seemed as if 2020 was a crazy wild dream, that we can’t wake up from. However, these moments are our reality.
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is yet another of the latest tragedies in our nation but not nearly the first of its kind. We as people are outraged, we as college students are outraged, we as a union are outraged, we as a nation are outraged! Still in 2020, your skin color still influences your social mobility and vitality even more so than where you were educated, live, or work. In America, it is still far too easy for those with privilege and prejudice to undo the hard-earned successes of others, particularly in communities of color. Individual and institutional racism is still our tragic reality. We must do better.
As Aspiring Educators, we have taken the charge to be the voice of our students and our profession. There is no doubt that when we enter the classroom, we are going to have black and brown children that we are going to teach, guide, nurture, and matriculate through their academic careers. Let’s commit to repairing broken systems that serve to create mistrust in government and law enforcement. Let’s resolve to make equitable and fair the distribution of justice. Let’s pledge to reconcile our struggles between who we are and who we strive to become as individuals and as educators.
Going forward, the Student Florida Education Association, under the leadership of the Florida Education Association, National Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers, will NOT be complicit, silent, nor inactive when it comes to making sure the civil rights and liberties of ALL of our members are protected. None of us is immune. We must stand to change the systems we have created. We must continue to empower and support each other – family, colleagues, students, and neighbors – to change the world by voting, and by making equity and inclusion accessible everywhere. We must think about our shared humanity in more enlightened ways, because quite frankly, black lives must matter if we are to ever realize the full potential of our shared community!
“Racism is not getting worse, it’s getting filmed,” said Will Smith. We must recognize and respect the dignity and humanity in each of us. We must fix what has been broken in our communities across this nation for decades. I hope you will stand with me in solidarity that this is the last time we must remind our nation that Black Lives Matter! Join us this Thursday, at 2pm on Facebook @StudentFEA for 8 minutes and 46 seconds of remembrance. #BlackLivesMatter.
