This week Donald Trump met with leaders from
the historically black colleges and universities.
While he was meeting with those African-American
leaders, Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education
sent out a press release praising the HBCU
saying that they're such a great example of
school choice and how successful it can be
in the United States.
What DeVos may not realize is that these historically
black colleges and universities were essentially
formed, founded and gained prosperity during
the era in the United States under Jim Crow
segregation laws because that was the only
choice that African-Americans who wanted to
go to college had.
They couldn't go to regular state universities
because those were for whites only.
That's not choice, Betsy.
That's oppression.
In fact, when a black woman did attempt to
go to the University of Mississippi under
segregation, which she made that choice, 20,000
members of the National Guard had to be deployed
to the State of Mississippi.
That's not choice.
Again, that's oppression.
Perhaps if Donald Trump had picked somebody
to run our education policy in the United
States that has higher than a fourth grade
achievement level, maybe she would have understood
that.
This is pathetic, and it is frightening coming
from the woman who is literally in charge
of education in the United States.
To somehow frame these black colleges and
universities as beacons of choice, she had
to have known that they gave prosperity because
they were the only choice that black people
in the United States had to go to college
or university before 1960 without getting
hosed down or having dogs sicced on them or
having National Guard members come in to block
the frigging doors.
Did she forget about that part in history?
Did she forget about the part that is was
wealthy white people not unlike herself that
helped to push these policies because they
didn't want their well-to-do white children
going to school with black children?
Does she not understand that, or does she
just choose to believe that that didn't actually
happen in the United States?
Segregation is an ugly part of American history,
one of the ugliest.
That doesn't mean that we get to forget that
it happened, or gloss over it or say, "Look
how far we've come," because we're really
not that far away from it at this point.
Look at what's happening with the bathroom
laws throughout this country.
Betsy DeVos, the woman in charge of education
needs an education herself because if you're
going to continue to get out there and issue
press releases about issues that you do not
understand, you're only proving everyone right
when they said that you aren't good enough
to do this job.
Donald Trump should be embarrassed at this
point even though nothing embarrasses this
man.
The entire nation is laughing at Betsy DeVos.
In between laughs they're crying for the state
of American education and what this woman
could do to the future of education for our
children and our grandchildren.
