We are demanding that the Biden-Sanders Education Unity Task Force be expanded to include the voices of parents and community members who have been actively advocating for Black and Brown students in low-income communities. 

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders say they want to create “unity” by appointing a group of political insiders and ivory tower academics to steer the policies that may one day end up in the White House. These may be smart, competent people, but not one of them truly represents the struggles of Black and Brown communities to access to high-quality schools, disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, ensure our kids are college-ready, and overall, make Black and Brown lives matter. 

This coalition formed between Sanders and Biden cannot adequately address the needs of people of color without real representation from our communities. We are still struggling because this country does not want to give us our freedom, and still does not give us a seat at the table when decisions are being made!

We cannot and will not have our advocacy efforts undermined or usurped by the same group of Beltway insiders pursuing their political agendas and endorsements, or policy elites who think they know what’s best for our communities without actually including us in their decisions. We will no longer stand for being barred from conversations involving our babies and shaping our future.

Joe Biden—now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president—titled his plan to support the African American community “Lift Every Voice.” This task force is a crucial and ideal opportunity for him to show that he really does care about lifting the voices of communities of color.  

Right now, our communities are frontline victims of the COVID-19 pandemic because we're the longstanding victims of an even more pervasive pandemic of racism and injustice. This is your chance, Joe, to show us our voices matter and that the futures of our children will not be ignored.