Randi Weingarten: Very few teachers go into the profession wanting to be 'social justice warriors' but politicians cause them to be one
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said during a back to school town hall with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona that people don't become teachers to be social justice warriors.
Conservatives bombarded teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten for her tweet about slavery in America on Wednesday, accusing her of butchering history.
Weingarten’s tweet insisted that America’s founding fathers didn’t question the morality of slavery when forming the nation, saying, "If America’s founders questioned slavery there would not have been the heinous ‘3/5 compromise’ in the US Constitution."
Weingarten wrote her tweet to debunk a recent claim from Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. Last week, he bashed Critical Race Theory indoctrination in public schools, namely "The 1619 Project," the collection of essays asserting that the nation was founded to protect the institution of slavery.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, was slammed by conservatives on Wednesday who claimed her recent tweet about slavery was inaccurate. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for MomsRising Together)
In a video, the governor claimed, "They want to teach our kids that the [American] Revolution was fought to protect slavery and that’s false." He also stated, "It was the American Revolution that caused people to question slavery. No one had questioned it before we decided as Americans that we are endowed by our creator with unalienable rights."
Weingarten provided her own supposed fact-check of DeSantis’ claims, tweeting, "The American Revolution was about leaving Britain. If America’s founders questioned slavery there would not have been the heinous ‘3/5 compromise ‘ in the US Constitution, which was drafted and enacted AFTER the American Revolution. This is basic history…"
Twitter users swarmed Weingarten’s post, blasting it for inaccuracy.
Conservative radio host Joe Cunningham tweeted, "Okay, students. Who would like to read to the class what Thomas Jefferson wrote about slavery in 1774 in his ‘A Summary View of the Rights of British America’?"
Conservative author Jim Hanson blasted Weingarten’s logic, tweeting, "If America's leaders didn't question the idea of slavery, wouldn’t it have just been a 5/5 agreement? This moron runs the teacher's union."
Actor Nick Searcy said, "’Educator’ @rweingarten has no more of a clue what the ‘3/5 compromise’ actually meant than my dog Kobe, who is too stupid to fetch a ball."
National Review reporter Isaac Schorr asked, "@rweingarten, do you think it was the pro or anti-slavery advocates at the constitutional convention who wanted slaves to count as a full citizen for representation purposes? This is basic history."
RANDI WEINGARTEN BLASTS 'RIGHT-WING EXTREMISTS' FOR FIGHTING 'CULTURE WARS' IN CONFERENCE SPEECH
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten claimed that the founding fathers did not question the institution of slavery when founding the nation. (REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein/File Photo)
Nate Madden, the communications director for Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, tweeted, "... if nobody was questioning it, why was it a ‘compromise’? Read Thomas Jefferson's first draft of the declaration and get back to me. ‘Basic history.’ The teachers unions are not sending us their best and brightest..."
Conservative journalist Kyle Becker wrote, "It’s downright scary how historically illiterate these teacher’s union hacks are — and they teach children!"
Actor Mark Pellegrino rebutted, "no it was about principles of governance. Principles that were redefined and evolved over a decade of debate from the simple rights of Englishmen the inviolable rights of men in general. The Declaration was followed by mass private manumissions. You teach?"
Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi pointed out, "The head of the teachers’ union having zero understanding of history explains a lot about the state of our public schools."
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (R) listens to American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten speak to the media after speaking to members of the AFT in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. May 6, 2019. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook (REUTERS/Rebecca Cook)
The Claremont Institute’s David Reaboi tweeted, "Teacher’s Union president shows why the teacher’s unions should be made illegal in every red state."