American Federation for Children Statement on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
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The American Federation for Children, the nation’s voice for educational choice, released the following statement:
Statement from Ann Duplessis, Board Member of the American Federation of Children:
“In May of 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his ‘People to People’ column that appeared in the New York Amsterdam News, put forth an educational imperative for America. ‘We owe it to our children to give them the best possible chance to cope with the realities of this world. If we are not careful another generation will slip by, paralyzed and ill-equipped for a lifetime.’
“If Dr. King lived today, he would still have this same fear, that another generation was about to slip by. Providing access to a quality education is one of today’s most important civil rights issues. Dr. King’s column was written in the context of the segregated education system of the 1960s.
“While much progress has been made in improving the education system and giving parents and students more choices, we must remain unwavering in our goal of providing all children—regardless of race, religion, or economic status—access to a quality education that allows them to build the strong foundation needed to succeed and reach their full potential.”