Trump is not attending the teacher of the year ceremony, and it just so happens that this year’s winner is a black teacher from Virginia.
Trump won’t honor African-American teacher of the year
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported:
Bucking tradition, President Donald Trump will not attend a White House ceremony Monday honoring Richmond’s Rodney Robinson, who was named National Teacher of the Year last week.
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In winning the award, Robinson, a teacher in Richmond’s juvenile detention center, will travel the country spreading his message that students of color need more teachers of color and impoverished students need more resources.
“Of all Americans, it may be the president who most needs to hear Rodney’s message of equity, inclusion and justice,†Superintendent Jason Kamras said. “As Rodney has so powerfully demonstrated with his work, our greatness as a country comes from the millions of people of all backgrounds who strive every day to right the wrongs of the past so we can become a more perfect union.â€
There have only been nine other occasions in sixty-seven years when the president did not personally hand out the award.
The teacher of the year ceremony is closed to the press
The teacher of the year ceremony is a nice moment for presidents. They hand out the award, praise teachers, and stress the value of education. It gets a mention on television and has been streamed live. It is a nice event and a great honor of the teacher of the year. The Trump administration doesn’t want the teacher of the year speaking in front of the press, so they have closed the event to the media.
Instead of promoting education as a vehicle for advancement and uplift, especially for kids in the worst of circumstances, Trump doesn’t appear to want to be seen with an African-American teacher who teaches a juvenile detention center.
Decisions such as this one confirm the public opinion that Donald Trump is a racist.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
