Teachers, families and officials stood up for public education in Durham and throughout North Carolina on Friday.
The “I Love Public School Pep Rally” took place on the CCB Plaza downtown. The events on the plaza—filled with people wearing red and bearing signs—included speeches, spoken word poetry and other performances by local teachers, students and elected officials. The rally was part of the North Carolina Association of Educators’ ongoing response to the North Carolina General Assembly’s recent education legislation. Students from Duke’s chapter of Students for Education Reform attended the rally and showed their support.
“We’re here to say, ‘Hey, we’re committed to education and we have a voice,’” said Andrea Underwood, president of Durham Association of Educators, the organization that coordinated the rally.
Duke students attending the rally said that they felt inspired to raise awareness about the state of public education—specifically budget cuts, the elimination of teacher tenure and lowered teacher salaries.
“In order to advocate for reform, we need to know people within the system,” said junior Shannon Potter, president of SER.
Potter noted that because she grew up in Pinehurst, NC she had knowledge of North Carolina’s public school system before starting Duke’s chapter of the club last spring.
“The public school system really worked for me,” Potter said. “But I’ve noticed here in Durham that so many people did not have what I got out of my public school education, which I think is unfair.”
Potter said that she and the club at large were against the legislation passed this summer and that the rally was an important step in opposing it.
Senior Taariq Watson—another member of the club who grew up in North Carolina—hopes to teach in the North Carolina public school system after graduating.
“I was very against what was passed this summer and the changes in policy might affect my job,” Watson said. “I joined this group because I met people like me who think our education system is messed up.”
Underwood said that the DAE had been planning the rally since September and that it was one of many efforts by teachers in Durham and across the state to spread the word about their cause. She noted the ‘Wear Red for Ed’ campaign that has been ongoing since the beginning of the school year.
“We’ve been in a battle with the legislature because of budget cuts, but today we’re here to celebrate public schools in Durham and throughout the state,” Underwood said.
Bryan Proffitt, a history teacher at Hillside High School, emceed the rally.
“We have poverty, racism and violence coming into public schools,” he said. “But we believe that it is society that is failing people, not public schools.”
NCAE Vice President Mark Jewell also spoke at the rally.
Jewell said that the North Carolina General Assembly wanted to roll back 50 years of progress in the public education system. He noted that the average teacher’s salary in North Carolina is now ranked 50th in the United States.
“North Carolina’s greatest civil right is our public schools,” he said. “We have always been underfunded, but now we are being defunded, which is immoral.”
Students from the Durham public school system performed and spoke at the event. Various students and faculty from Hillside performed spoken word poetry. Student speakers included Hillside student Kayla Tate—who spoke about the value of her public school education—and Rosa Ramirez, a student at Durham School of the Arts.
Ramirez asked the crowd a series of questions about the recent legislation, which she said threatens the state of her school and other local public schools.
“I hope I won’t be asking these questions in four years when I graduate,” Ramirez said.
The crowd also heard from Holly Jordan, an English teacher at Hillside High who got arrested over the summer during a “Moral Monday” rally against the General Assembly.
Jordan said that public school teachers love their students and love what they do despite being “underpaid and overworked.”
“Every child deserves a free and equal education,” Jordan said. “I have met students who have circumstances in their lives that make it difficult for them, but I have never met a student who didn’t want to learn.”
Towards the end of the rally, North Carolina House Representative Paul Luebke—who represents Durham County in the General Assembly—addressed the crowd.
“I’ve fought for everything you’ve mentioned tonight,” Luebke said. “But I need your support, just like you need mine.”
The rally concluded with the people in the crowd—many of whom remained despite cold weather—singing and dancing along to “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge.
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