Dear John,
This morning we witnessed the historic victories in Georgia of Senator-elect Raphael Warnock and Senator-elect Jon Ossoff. Much of the credit for these two victories goes to the heroic work of organizers in Georgia, including the amazing Stacey Abrams. Many thanks are also due to those who volunteered from across the country during the campaigns, including many CFT members. This is how democracy works, through organizing, hard work, and voters making their voices heard.
Then the day turned dark as we watched with great concern the events that transpired in Washington, D.C. A small but dangerous group, incited by Donald Trump, attempted an insurrection by violently entering the U.S. Capitol building to disrupt the Congress, which was engaged in their Constitutional duty to certify the Electoral College results.
As President-elected Joe Biden stated today, “Let me be very clear: the scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not represent who we are. What we are seeing is a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness. This is not dissent, it's disorder. It borders on sedition, and it must end. Now.”
We condemn the violent attacks in our nation’s capital today, and join the California Labor Federation in calling for all California Republican members in Congress, especially GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, to immediately and forcefully condemn those responsible for the events of today.
The violent actions of today are just the latest in a string of attempts by Donald Trump to subvert our democracy. But our democracy is holding firm.
And we continue to move forward. Two weeks from today, Joe Biden will be sworn in as the next President of the United States. And those two new senators from Georgia will ensure that Vice President Harris will be the deciding vote on who the next Senate Majority Leader will be.
Our democracy will stand firm as long as we and our fellow Americans continue to stand up for it. And we as a union will be right there to defend it.
In Unity,
Jeff Freitas
CFT President
Luukia Smith
CFT Secretary Treasurer
P.S. Looking for help in making sense of the events of today with your students tomorrow? Here are some helpful resources from AFT's Share My Lesson:
