Teacher Steven Singer writes here about the protest at an Elizabeth Warren debate in Atlanta.
He notes that a reporter for The Intercept, Ryan Grim, attended the rally and wrote that the protestors were funded by the Waltons, who have never shown any support for civil rights issues and are actively hostile to unions, which lift low-income workers out of poverty.
He also quotes Intercept journalist Rachel Cohen, who wondered why charter parents would object to higher transparency standards.
Singer points out that the billionaire Waltons have used their money to advance for their policy goals.
Carol Burris and Kevin Welner wrote in another article that Warren’s plan would mean additional funding for both public schools and charter schools without closing any charter schools. The Waltons object to her wealth tax proposal, as well as her promise to eliminate the federal Charter Schools Program, meant for startups but used now by Betsy DeVos to fund big corporate charter chains like KIPP, IDEA, and Success Academy..
Diane Ravitch's blog 
On a related note: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/11/why-jeff-bezos-deserves-nothing-but-scorn
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Thanks so much for sharing my concerns, Diane. It is absurd to suggest that Betsy DeVos, Bill Gates and the Walton family are thinking about the civil rights of people of color when they open their wallets to school privatization lobbying efforts.
As I wrote in the article:
“Charter schools are not required to provide the same basic services that authentic public schools must.
To suggest that providing fewer services to black and brown children is somehow in their best interest should insult Americans of every race.
Black children – just like white children – deserve schools run by elected school boards.
Black children – just like white children – deserve schools that accept all comers, not institutions that cherry pick which kids to enroll and which to counsel out to other institutions.
Black children – just like white children – deserve schools that will provide them with robust services and don’t try to cut programs and pocket the savings as profit…
…The billionaires funding this industry are using their vast wealth to try and buy the debate.
It is up to every thinking American to look at the facts and understand the extent to which we are being bamboozled by white elites at the expense of our black and brown brothers and sisters.”
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I just love how ed reformers launched a sophisticated, coordinated, anti-Warren campaign the week after they all denied they were targeting Elizabeth Warren.
It actually makes me wonder about the other candidates. Why aren’t the Waltons afraid of them?
If I were to back Warren (and I haven’t decided yet) I wouldn’t back her for her charter position. I would back her for her student debt forgiveness position. I think it’s appalling how older generations dumped all that debt on the backs of young people, when they all enjoyed affordable college educations. It’s brutally unfair and it never should have happened.
Lift that debt and we’ll get a much better bang for our buck in economic lift than we’ll ever get through more tax breaks for wealthy people. It’s a great idea. The whole country will win.
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Up for a good laugh?
Charity Watch ranks the CEO pay packages of “charitable organizations” by dollar amount. Excerpts from 2017’s report follow.
3rd highest- City of Hope, 5th highest- American Cancer Society and, between the two at 4th, the think tank for the rich, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research where Frederick Hess gets his pay.
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AEI is a “charity” not an organization of Republican political hacks.
As non-partisans, I look forward to AEI promoting one of the Justice Democrats’s policy ideas.
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Linda,
I just received an announcement from Bellwether Partners that they have received $25 million in grants from the US Department of Education.
So much for their progressive credentials!
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When Bernie moves into the office of the U.S. President, he should withdraw the contract.
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ALEC, the rightwing bill mill, is officially a “charity”
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There’s a terrible article in the New York Times this morning that barely mentions and glosses over the fact that conservative, white billionaires are funding the group of protesters. The article makes Senators Sanders and Warren our to be racist. It is recklessly irresponsible reporting that should be immediately called out and apologized for.
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