MCPSA Responds to the Killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and the Ongoing Violence Against Black Americans

Massachusetts Charter Public School Association Responds to the Killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and the Ongoing Violence Against Black Americans

BOSTON, MA – June 1, 2020 – Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (MCPSA) Executive Director Tim Nicolette issued the following statement today in response to the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and the ongoing violence against Black Americans:

Over the weekend, MCPSA posted on our social media accounts that “the time for platitudes is over.” As a membership organization representing the teachers, students, and families at Massachusetts’ 74+ charter public schools, we must take meaningful actions to acknowledge white privilege and fight against and dismantle racist systems and structures.

So many of us do this work because we believe that ensuring that historically underserved students have access to high-quality public schools is part of the work of transforming our inequitable public education system – but the truth is that while vitally important, this is not enough. Every day is a reminder that no matter what our Black students achieve in their lives, until we as a society are successful in fundamentally transforming our institutions, policies, and laws, our Black students’ minds, self-worth, and bodies will continually be subjected to harm.

Black lives matter. Our Black charter public school students and families matter. Our Black charter public school teachers, leaders, and staff matter. As Representative Liz Miranda reminded us over the weekend, it is not just the job of primarily Black communities to fight against systemic racism, it is on all our communities to do so. Charter public schools in our Commonwealth are diverse, both in terms of programming and demographics, and it is on all of us to come together to demand justice and long overdue systemic change.

In the spirit of starting to take action, today we join the the California Charter Schools Association and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in each making a $10,000 contribution to the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization that fights for criminal justice reform, racial justice, and provides public education on the history of racism and inequality in our country. This is just the first step in what will be a series of actions on behalf of charter public schools.

We mourn with the loved ones of Mr. Floyd, Ms. Taylor and Mr. Arbery, and with the countless Black families who have endured centuries of violence and discrimination, and we stand in solidarity with the Black community across the Commonwealth and our country in demanding justice.