Latest news with #ReconstructionEra
Chicago Tribune
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
CTU President Stacy Davis Gates rebukes Trump administration, urges district to prioritize union contract
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates delivered a scathing rebuke of the Trump administration Monday while urging the district officials to prioritize the union's new $1.5 billion four-year contract and other investments in public education. Questions surrounding the future of the nation's fourth-largest school district should transcend any budgetary shortfalls, Davis Gates told a packed audience at the City Club of Chicago. Several attendees donned red CTU shirts. 'These are not math problems. These are choices between whether students get a math teacher or chemistry teacher or nothing at all,' Davis Gates said. 'Make no mistake, what's happening in (Chicago Public Schools) is connected to a larger national agenda to strip public education down to its bare bones.' CPS is facing a $529 million deficit for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1. Despite the looming deadline, school officials have yet to outline a plan on how to balance the budget. The district also relies on millions of federal grants and reimbursements, which are now in limbo under the Trump administration. 'Donald Trump is dismantling the idea of the common good and community,' Davis Gates said. Over the course of her hourlong speech, she drew parallels between the Reconstruction Era and the modern challenges of public education. The first reconstruction came after the Civil War, and the second amid the Civil Rights Movement. Now, Davis Gates said, Chicago is on the verge of a third reconstruction as it seeks equity in its schools and in funding. Davis Gates has helmed the union since July 2022, representing nearly 30,000 teachers, paraprofessionals and school personnel. In May, she was reelected with 64% of the vote, securing another three-year term on the heels of the union's recently-ratified contract. The contract was settled after nearly a year of bitter back-and-forth between CTU, a close ally of Mayor Brandon Johnson, and district officials. Former schools chief Pedro Martinez had refused the mayor's request to take out a $300 million loan to in part cover the proposed bargaining agreement. Martinez, who was fired in December, left the district this month. CPS maintains there is enough money to cover the first year of the contract, but still hasn't addressed how it plans to finance the contract over the next three. When Martinez floated the idea of delaying parts of the contract given the district's financial situation, Davis Gates threatened to sue the Chicago Board of Education for unfair labor practices. Davis Gates again pushed back against any spending reductions Monday. 'It's $529 million, it's $1.2 billion but it's never about what budgets are about,' Davis Gates said. 'The budget and its choices manifest into real impact that our young people get to experience.' CPS interim President Macquline King is set to lead her first Board of Education meeting Thursday. At the end of the summer, CPS board members could be forced to make millions of spending reductions to shore up the budget, according to an April presentation given to board members and obtained by the Tribune. The proposed reductions include cuts to the central administrative office and downsizing at individual schools. They could also eliminate more than 1,600 positions. Meanwhile, the federal government launched an investigation in April related to allegations of discrimination in CPS' Black Student Success Plan. Davis Gates condemned the president's attacks on education and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the nation. 'Trump has picked his side. … He is here to win the relitigation of the Civil War and finish the work of the Confederacy,' Davis Gates said. The path through the chaos, she said, lies in the solidarity coursing through CTU members and throughout Chicago. 'If you lead in the way that I lead, you have zero time for anything but organizing our neighbors, protecting our democracy and resisting chaos,' she said. 'We have to stay focused and clear-minded about our community.'
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Congress renames press gallery in U.S. Capitol after Frederick Douglass
WASHINGTON — The House will rename several rooms inside the House press gallery at the U.S. Capitol to honor abolitionist Frederick Douglass after a resolution was passed by voice vote on Monday. Lawmakers approved the measure, co-sponsored by Utah Rep. Burgess Owens, to formally rename the space the Frederick Douglass Press Gallery in recognition of Douglass' contributions to journalism and civil rights. It's a major move for the gallery, which acts as a hub for dozens of outlets serving local, national and international audiences. 'Frederick Douglass rose from slavery to become one of America's greatest champions for liberty and equality,' Owens, the only Black member of Congress from Utah, said in a statement earlier this year. 'Through faith, self-discipline, and relentless determination, he transformed not only his own life but also the conscience of an entire nation. Renaming the U.S. House of Representatives Press Gallery in his honor is a lasting tribute to a man who advanced the fight for freedom in these very halls.' Douglass made history as the first Black member of the congressional press galleries in 1871 as he reported for primarily Black audiences on the Reconstruction Era, during which Congress debated and established the legal status of Black Americans, such as citizenship and voting rights. Douglass himself escaped from slavery in 1838. Douglass worked in the press galleries currently in use by modern journalists as he reported on the passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, which abolished slavery, granted birthright citizenship to slaves and gave Black citizens the right to vote. The amendment was led by Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who said he wanted to 'honor a man whose character embodied the best of Americans.' 'He was born into slavery in 1818 and escaped bondage in 1830. He built a life dedicated to truth and justice,' Donalds said in a floor speech on Monday. 'He launched the North American Star using his own money, giving voice to the voiceless in the years before the Civil War.' Douglass ultimately founded and partially owned four newspapers, including The North Star, Frederick Douglass's Paper, Douglass's Monthly and New National Era. The amendment was also co-sponsored by Reps. Andre Carson, D-Ind., Steven Horsford, D-Nev., Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, and John James, R-Mich. — all Black members of Congress. The proposal garnered bipartisan support and passed with minimal debate. It's not yet clear when the official name change will occur, as the resolution must be signed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., before it can take full effect.
E&E News
04-06-2025
- General
- E&E News
NPS expands network of sites that explore the post-Civil War era
The National Park Service has added seven locations around the U.S. to a nexus of museums and historical sites that help tell the story of the United States during and after the Civil War. The Reconstruction Era, dating between 1861 and 1900, 'is one of the most fascinating and misunderstood periods in American History and includes stories of freedom, education and self-determination,' the service said in a news release. 'We are very excited to work with these sites which are being added to the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network,' Park Superintendent Laura Waller said in a statement. 'They represent a wide variety of the types of institutions engaged in preserving the story of Reconstruction around the country.' Advertisement The places being added to the park service's Reconstruction Era National Historic Network include Tolson's Chapel, an African American church and cemetery in Maryland that was used as a school between 1866 and 1899.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Traveling exhibit at Langston Centre focuses on Black education
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A traveling exhibit exploring the history of Black education in Tennessee will be on display at Johnson City's Langston Centre for most of the summer. 'Building a Bright Future: Black Communities and Rosenwald Schools in Tennessee' will be on display at the Langston Centre through July 29. The exhibit is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Tri-Cities housing market still favors sellers, analyst says The Tennessee State Museum created the exhibit, which tells the story of Black education in the Volunteer State. The exhibit takes visitors from the Reconstruction Era to the present and also emphasizes the importance of the Rosenwald program in Tennessee. Rosenwald Schools were built across the South in the early 1900s, thanks to Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald, to provide Black children with an education. Leadership at the Langston Centre said the Rosenwald program left a profound impact on Tennessee, including Northeast Tennessee. 'The majority of those schools came from Middle and West Tennessee, but there were some Rosenwald Schools built in East Tennessee,' said Adam Dickson, the multi-cultural engagement manager at the Langston Centre. 'So we think about Newport, even a couple in Sullivan County. Funds from the Rosenwald Trust were used to build the auditorium here at Langston High School, so there is a connection to Rosenwald Schools even in this part of the state.' According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, it is estimated that by 1928, one-third of the South's rural Black children and teachers were served by a Rosenwald School. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Historic Downtown Palatka church demolished
The City of Palatka a few days ago announced the temporary closure of some sidewalks downtown because 'the church located at 913 Reid Street will be demolished,' a city social media post states. To some, like Mischa Johns, a Putnam County archivist, it's more than a church. 'So gently announced as 'a church,' but it's not just 'a church,'' she stated in a Facebook post. 'It's over a century of history in our African American community and it's being razed ... We have failed this beautiful old church, and my heart is broken for another lost piece of history.' >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< The following is from Mt. Tabor Baptist Church's website Following the Civil War within the Reconstruction Era, the institution known as Mount Tabor First Baptist Church was officially established. The church was organized during a 'Wednesday Prayer Meeting,' on the 15th day of September, 1869, in Palatka, Florida. The original meeting place was in the 'Hudson Building' and the second meeting place was a nicely constructed 'Brush Arbor' (a rough, open-sided shelter constructed of vertical poles driven into the ground with additional long poles laid across the top as support for a roof of brush, cut branches or hay) built with the choicest shrubs. Within the first two years (1869-1871), three ministers, Reverend R. P. Bishop, Reverend Jones, and Reverend Samuel Small formed the ministerial council that ordained the first Deacons: Jackson Wright, Ned Hutchinson and James Arnold. Reverend William Bell served as the first regular pastor (1871-1889) and also served two subsequent pastorates (1896-1898) & (1900-1902). In 1887, during Reverend Bell's pastorate it became a reality for this band of Christian believers to leave the 'brush arbor' and the congregation relocated to a newly built wooden church edifice at 913 Reid Street in downtown Palatka, which was dedicated on May 18, 1888. In 1912, the church facility was rebuilt under the leadership of Reverend F.W. Wells. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
