Georgia has a broad progressive highway with many different groups occupying “lanes” for activism and the electoral process – all headed in the same direction towards a goal of a more safe and prosperous Georgia for future generations.
WIN List appreciates the opportunity to amplify other voices when they have moved forward with important communications efforts and plans for grassroots activism which helps us promote progressive policies and fight against those who block our path to progress.
Over the weekend, two graduates of our WIN Leadership Academy program penned an editorial for Savannah news media.
If we are to be fully honest about the deepest threats that our education system faces at this moment, it is the deep lack of equitable funding for our schools, with the most disproportionate effects and consequences landing on Black and brown communities, communities facing impoverishment, and rural communities that are far too often left behind. Inequitably funded schools historically have higher incidents of exclusionary discipline and higher dropout rates than more adequately funded schools.
The topic of the resolution passed earlier this month is set to be further discussed by the Georgia Board of Education. Our friends at The Deep Center have prepared a sample letter to be sent to Georgia Board of Education members and has gathered the contact information to make this effort easier for you.
Here is a link to the sample letter and BOE contact information: Deep Center Advocacy toolkit
Similar correspondence can be sent on this subject to local boards of education.
A group of civil rights and educational advocacy organizations have formed a new coalition which plans to fight for a just public education system with full and fair funding – Fund Georgia’s Future.
The group issued a statement following the June Georgia Board of Education meeting and passage of a non-binding five-page resolution which would “whitewash” how slavery and racism issues are taught in Georgia schools.
The statement read in part: “Governor Kemp stands directly on a record and legacy of Georgia schools being systematically underfunded, impeding progress toward Georgia’s equitable educational future. Over $10 billion has been cut from K-12 education simply during the past two decades along. Georgia currently stands $383 million behind in meeting minimal educational funding…”
Walt Kelly’s animal comic strip Pogo once cautioned in an anti-pollution Earth Day poster, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” In political battles, if is always insightful to know what the “other side” is doing when you challenge their positions. Here is a link to the GOP Gameplan.
