160 Black Leaders Slam NAACP’s Opposition to School Choice

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A group of more than 160 black leaders is demanding that the NAACP call off its planned push for national moratorium on charter schools by highlighting the benefits of school choice for black families.

The NAACP, a self-described “civil rights” group, in July announced plans to call for a national charter school moratorium to align with the nation’s largest teachers unions, which view charter schools that are typically not unionized as direct competition in public education.

Mother Jones reports:

In a September 21 letter, a coalition of educators, current and former politicians, public officials, and black leaders claimed that the charter school moratorium would deny parents the opportunity to choose “what’s best for their children” – and restrict access to high-quality alternatives to traditional public schools.

“The proposed (NAACP) resolution cites a variety of cherry-picked and debunked claims about charter schools,” the letter reads. “The notion of dedicated charter school founders and educators acting like predatory subprime mortgage lenders – a comparison the resolution explicitly makes – is a far cry from the truth.”

The NAACP’s position against charter schools, however, falls in line with the Democratic Party Platform, which is heavily influenced by the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association. The NEA sent the NAACP a $100,000 “national partnership grant” in 2014 that many believe is evidence that the black rights group sold out students for political gain, EAGnewsreports.

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