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Before I share reflections on this week’s episode of Assembly Required, I want to open this week’s journal by addressing the alarming rise of political violence in our country, which is becoming terribly common. The murders of conservative activist Charlie Kirk this week and of former Minnesota Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband earlier this summer joins a horrific litany, one that includes, the attempts on President Donald Trump, the attacks on Speaker Pelosi’s husband, the arson at the home of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and the attempted kidnapping of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Across our country, at every level of government, political violence has become a dangerous throughline in our national life.
To those who have studied world history, these tragedies portend a terrifying trend: the normalization of threats and violence as political tools in our faltering democracy. If we fail to condemn this pattern clearly and consistently, we risk letting intimidation replace debate. But if we refuse to understand its source and incentives, fear will quicken the end of democracy.
Because the impact of violence as a tool doesn’t stay confined to politics as usual — it undermines the very institutions families rely on every day. In our places of worship, our stores and our refuges, peril becomes part of the equation. And we need look no further than our public schools to understand what we risk, because they — more than almost anywhere else — reflect where we and our democracy stand.
The Classroom at a Crossroads
Ask any teacher what today’s classroom looks like, and you’ll hear about the realities behind the roster of 20 students:
Four don’t speak English as their first language.
Two are recent immigrants, one of whom is a refugee carrying deep trauma and frequent absences.
Four have significant special education needs, each with legally mandated Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
Seventeen live in poverty, including at least one who is unhoused.
Many of the same children are also behind academically: eleven in reading, nine in math.
These numbers overlap. The refugee child may also have special education needs. The unhoused student is also one of the seventeen in poverty. The children behind in reading and math are often the very same ones already carrying those other burdens.
This is the classroom. This is the reality our teachers show up to every day. Their job is not just to teach, but to catch students up, keep them safe, and hold their futures in their hands.
But the job is being made impossible by design.
The Strain on Our Classrooms
Authoritarian movements always begin by hollowing out public institutions that knit a society together. In America, that’s our public schools.
Instead of funding teachers to meet students’ needs, politicians slash budgets. Instead of ensuring emotional safety, lawmakers pile on fear: deputizing teachers against ICE raids, criminalizing curricula, and banning books.
Authoritarians understand something: if you weaken schools, you weaken democracy. A child who is hungry, displaced, or silenced is less likely to thrive as an engaged citizen. A teacher forced to act as both bodyguard and social worker is more likely to burn out. And when schools crumble, trust in government follows.
Why It Matters
The attacks on teachers are not accidental. They are part of a playbook:
Defund public goods so they fail.
Overwhelm workers so they leave.
Stoke fear so communities retreat inward.
Replace trust with control.
In this way, the classroom becomes a fault line between democracy and authoritarianism.
Thanks for reading Assembly Notes by Stacey Abrams. If this piece resonates with you, the best way to support it is to share it widely.
Where We Go From Here
We owe our teachers resources, safety, and respect. We owe our children classrooms where they can learn without fear.
Because if we allow Trump’s authoritarian takeover of our public education to succeed, we will lose the very foundation of democracy.
That’s exactly what we dig into on this week’s episode of Assembly Required [ [link removed] ]. We talk with Christina Rojas, a veteran public school speech-language pathologist, Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, and Sheria Smith, President of AFGE 252 & attorney for the Office of Civil Rights, about what’s happening in classrooms, how it connects to the authoritarian playbook, and what it will take to defend both teachers and democracy itself. I hope you'll take a listen and tell us what you think.

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