John, you’ve probably heard that Donald Trump wants to eliminate the Department of Education. (DOE)

Who knows if he’ll end up following through with it, but we need to be prepared for the worst.

That’s because the DOE is a fundamental part of our civil rights movement. Since our ancestors were forcefully brought to these shores, Black people have used education as a tool for liberation.

Black folks were beaten, and even killed, for knowing how to read. White supremacists were so terrified at the thought of powerful, educated Black folks that they enacted laws to prohibit us from learning. That’s how powerful educational access is.

When Jim Crow created “separate but equal” schools, our community organized and fought back through the courts.

The DOE exists today because of our struggle — a direct result of Black resistance and the landmark Brown v. Board decision.

By going after the DOE, Trump is threatening programs that ensure Black students have access to quality education, including:

Title I funding for low-income, predominantly Black schools.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) which investigates racial discrimination in schools.
Support for HBCUs and Pell Grants expanding Black access to higher education.

We won’t sit back and let them reverse decades of progress. John, sign our petition to the Trump Administration demanding they keep their hands off the Department of Education.

ADD YOUR NAME

Defunding the DOE will undo many of our hard-fought wins, roll back civil rights protections, and hurt millions of Black students, teachers, and communities.

We must make our voices heard in this crucial moment and let Trump know that any attempts to dismantle the DOE will be met with our resistance. Thanks for taking action with us, John.

In solidarity,

Black Lives Matter

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