Teachers Union Claims Black School Choice Group Supports KKK
Lachlan Markay /
A major state-level teachers union accused a group promoting school choice for African-American families of supporting the notorious white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan in a series of statements on Thursday.
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers accused the Louisiana Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) of advancing a “pro-KKK agenda,” in the words of one tweet sent from the union’s official Twitter account. Another claimed that the group “endorses teaching that the KKK is good.”
The BAEO works to “increase access to high-quality educational options for Black children by actively supporting parental choice policies and programs that empower low-income and working-class Black families,” according to its website.
The teachers union asked BAEO over Twitter whether it supports teaching positive messages about the KKK. Unsatisfied with the group’s response, it unleashed a barrage of tweets claiming that BAEO endorses such teachings. Needless to say, those claims are false.
Kevin Chavous, a prominent African-American school choice activist and former chairman of BAEO’s board, put out this statement on the union’s claims:
This is an absolutely appalling move by an organization that has taken desperation to new and unseen heights. BAEO and its allies fight every single day to give children from low-income families access to the best educational options possible. We fight to overcome the institutional bigotry that has sentenced thousands of black children across the country to a substandard education. It’s a sad day when an organization like the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, which says it cares about kids, is among the organizations using degrading, race-baiting tactics to demean the very people who are doing their best to give kids hope.
Neither the LAFT nor the BAEO returned requests for comment.