Thomas Jefferson stated that only educated citizens could make the American experiment in self-government succeed. He proposed a system of broad, free, public education that was radical in his day.

Today, the United States Department of Education has been targeted. The Supreme Court voted to uphold the authority of the Executive Branch to fire 1000+ staff - it's a step in the plan to "return education back to the individual states."

American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten's first book, The New York Times Best Seller, "Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy" powerfully identifies the primary target - through dismantling public education, it's democracy itself.

You're invited to The Beacon's first "Authors in Conversation" program. Two of our nation's extraordinary leaders will inform, inspire, and motivate you to act with wisdom, resilience and hope.

This event is free of charge. Your contribution of any amount will support The Beacon, connecting, educating, and mobilizing people everywhere to stand for compassionate democracy and stand against cruelty, fear and despair. Donors of $180 or more will receive a copy of the book. BeaconForDemocracy.org

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Since 2008, Randi Weingarten has served as the elected president of the AFT, a union of 1.8 million educators, health care professionals, and public-service workers. For ten years prior, she headed the United Federation of Teachers, the union representing educators in New York City's public schools, and before that taught social studies at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn, New York. She has degrees from the Cardozo School of Law and the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum is Senior Rabbi Emerita at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, NYC, and founder and Director of The Beacon. She has exercised her lifelong passions for Jewish study, history, prayer and tradition, and her love for music and literature, her commitment to LGBTQ rights and her determination to erase the bifurcation of spirituality and social justice. rabbikleinbaum.com/

View NPR interview - "Why Fascists Fear Teachers" on NPR HERE

BeaconForDemocracy.org

"Why Fascists Fear Teachers"

Authors-in-Conversation