During the campaign, Trump's style was to bully, intimidate and use
racist, bigoted and sexist language. He made proposals and used
language that helped create a divisive and polarizing environment,
which found an audience with those who would use differences to divide
Americans. Trump’s victory has further emboldened people, leading to
daily reports of individuals and groups committing hate incidents.
Speaking at a news conference Friday were American Federation of
Teachers President Randi Weingarten; the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II;
Maureen Costello of the Southern Poverty Law Center; Nancy Zirkin of
the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Austin McCoy, a
postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan; and Scott Kasten, a
Minneapolis teacher.
More than 100 groups, representing more than 10 million people, have
signed on to a letter to the
president-elect from
the
AFT’s
Weingarten and the SPLC’s Costello calling on him to denounce
the hate acts and the ideology that is driving them. The letter was
delivered to the president-elect this morning.
“While you spoke against bullying, intimidation and hate crimes in your
‘60 Minutes’ interview, the appointment of ‘alt-right’ hero Steve
Bannon as your chief strategist, which has been cheered by the Ku Klux
Klan, the American Renaissance and other white supremacist groups,
sends the exact opposite message,” the letter said. “We ask you to use
you position, your considerable platform and even your tweets to send a
clear message that hate has no place in our public discourse, in our
public policy or in our society.”
AFT President Weingarten said, “This is
not a political matter; this is a matter of moral responsibility.
Acceptance, inclusion and the right to live without fear of bullying,
intimidation or assault should be a common bond for all of us. America
in 2016 can’t allow the normalization of hate. That is why we stand
with so many others, calling on the president-elect to act and to
demonstrate leadership and moral responsibility by vigorously and
unequivocally denouncing these acts of hate to help end the dangerous
and divisive environment that was created during the campaign and in
its aftermath.”
Weingarten said the AFT plans to set up a support and resource hotline
for people to report incidents and be directed to experts for guidance
and counseling. She also said educators and others can find lessons and
other materials on topics including bullying, grief, and the election
and its meaning, for free on the AFT’s Share My Lesson website, www.ShareMyLesson.com.
The Rev. Barber, president of Repairers of the Breach and architect of
the Moral Mondays movement, said Trump must repent and take
responsibility.
“Mr. Trump’s campaign has been one of unbounded vulgarity against
people of color, immigrants, women and people of different faiths. He
must repent, take responsibility and challenge those who have been
emboldened by his words, and he must also change the direction of his
policies that undermine the cause of justice and civil rights. Anything
less than this will continue the deep distrust and apprehension we have
regarding his presidency,” Barber said.
Maureen Costello, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s
Teaching Tolerance program, said, “There’s no denying it—the election
has had a profound and lasting impact on our nation’s schoolchildren
for the worse. Now is the time for educators and anyone who cares about
kids to repair the damage and ensure that all children feel welcome in
their schools and communities.”
Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association,
said, “Educators are witnessing firsthand the hate speech and hostile
acts inspired by Donald Trump’s rhetoric directed at our students. All
students have a right to feel welcome and valued in our schools and
deserve safe learning environments. Trump must call for an end to the
toxic rhetoric and violent incidents now and commit to the values that
unite us: respect, kindness and dignity.”
