Civil Rights Coalition Condemns Attacks on National Education Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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WASHINGTON — Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the attacks against the National Education Association’s federal charter:

“Democracy in this country is about the power of the people to petition government. The American people raise collective voices through organizations designed to do just that. That includes workers in unions and parents and students who work through the broad and diverse set of nonprofit organizations that make up The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. That is what our member, the National Education Association, does.

“The NEA, as the nation’s largest labor union committed to public education and seeing children succeed in classrooms, is one of the most powerful voices for public education. Some in Congress want to destroy them because they don’t like what the NEA says and does.

“The Leadership Conference is united in purpose and in principle to protect the First Amendment and freedom of association rights of the NEA and support it in its mission to give voice to educators, parents, and communities who will not be silent as public education is threatened.

“This administration is trying to end the Department of Education and silence opposition, and it is attacking labor unions, law firms, news outlets, colleges and universities, philanthropy, and many of our members. We will not be silent. Congress must reject this attack on the NEA and defend the constitutional principles that guarantee all Americans the right to organize, advocate, and petition government.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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