Thousands of charter school parents gathered at the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building on Thursday morning to protest the NAACP’s involvement in a lawsuit by the teacher’s union.
Parents at the rally, who were mostly Black, want the NAACP to withdraw from a lawsuit that’s threatening to close several existing public charter schools and to prevent others from enrolling new children.
Those at the rally said the NAACP is seeking to deny Black students the opportunity to go “better schools” and that the 100-year-old civil rights organization’s involvement conflicts with its mission.
The NYPD is reporting that between 2,500 to 3,000 people showed up tot he rally. A letter signed by more than 2,000 parents was sent to the NAACP New York State director Hazel Dukes on Thursday.
“We, as parents, community leaders and educators fighting for equal opportunities for all children, were so perplexed to see the NAACP of New York listed as a plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to block our children’s access to better schools,” the letter said. “We understand why other plaintiffs, such as the United Federation of Teachers, would want to block our options – after all, their interests in keeping failing schools open are very different from our own.”