Bring Us All to Your Table: An Open Letter to Team Trump
Dear Team Trump:
As your cabinet table fills up, much is being made about the resumes and pathways of each selection, including the recent pick of Betsy DeVos for Education Secretary. When asked what I think about her appointment, despite my knowledge of social policy and passion for educational equity, I’ve had a hard time answering. This moment is much bigger than any one person or one issue.
A lifelong, unabashed Democrat, I joined an unlikely team nearly six years ago because I believe leadership often requires working across party, race, gender, and ideological lines to realize change. I was inspired by the partnership between New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a white Republican, and Sen. Cory Booker, a black Democrat, and their fierce commitment to doing whatever it took to transform Newark's schools. Our coalition resisted forces who wanted to preserve an unacceptable status quo to improve equity and increase graduation rates, student outcomes and teacher quality.
Much has been said about how liberals need to do a better job listening -- and I agree that’s important. But, now that you have unprecedented power despite the fact that a majority of the country – and in some demographics, the overwhelming majority -- didn’t vote for you, you also truly need to hear us. Please bring the emotions and hopes of millions who feel they have no place in Trump’s America to the tables where predominantly white men of privilege will make decisions for all of us.
As Americans, we see leadership as inherently male. Fewer than 15 percent of women occupy the executive suite in all professions despite the fact that we are about 55 percent of the population. Even in female dominated professions, like education, where women constitute over 72 percent of the education workforce, I was part of the mere 13 percent of female superintendents.
These numbers haven’t budged in my lifetime in part because of a deeply entrenched culture where women are still valued more for their cup size than their leadership skills. You can understand, then, how devastating it is to see a man who dismisses bragging about sexual assault as “locker room talk" ascend to the highest office in the world; a man who mocked a fellow Republican’s face instead of challenging her ideas; a man who thinks it is hilarious to consider women over a certain age useless. Trump’s own words and actions over many years suggest a deep-seeded belief that women are to be controlled, objectified, and exist to serve the pleasures of men.
In schools and workplaces across the country, many women and girls are despondent, not just because Hillary lost, but because we fear going backwards. We can’t and we won't. Our absence from power tables has many consequences, not the least of which is unchallenged mindsets that bold women are “nasty.” I feel for the teachers and administrators who have to make sense of this for young girls who believed things could change. To be clear: many women, including myself, reject Trump as our moral and symbolic leader for reasons that are far deeper than policy differences or minor missteps. Don’t forget about us when you sit down to planning tables -- the next generation deserves progress, and women can lead the way.
I live near the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, a predominantly black New York neighborhood, where I wandered for hours on election night while the returns rolled in like a slow drumbeat at a funeral. I have never seen Malcolm X Boulevard so quiet. People were -- and are -- scared. My friends and family of color genuinely wonder if they will be safe in Trump’s America. My biracial son asked me if the new president approves of our family. These are the feelings of thoughtful citizens who heard Trump stereotype African Americans and immigrants repeatedly in this campaign.
More shockingly, we've watched you -- individually and collectively -- express tepid if any concern about celebrations by the KKK and other known white supremacists who very clearly see Trump’s election as their victory. Children and teachers who are trying to make sense of our country’s morals are asking: Does this bother you? Does your vision of greatness include scapegoating and deporting immigrants? People of color and their white allies will not allow America to take steps backward, especially when our recent progress was already inadequate.
I’m blessed to have grown up in a large multiracial family. My 11 siblings and 15 nieces and nephews live all over this diverse country, from Arkansas to California. One of my siblings is a successful doctor who has a chronic and incurable pre-existing condition. Another is part of the hardworking poor and, with three kids and substantial debt, is one bad week away from losing everything. Another is an educator and professor who lost her home because of the mortgage crisis. Another dropped out of high school, lived in a trailer, and went back to school at 55 only to end up with crippling loans and no degree because of the shady dealings of her for-profit university. They are all white. And they are just as dejected and nervous as my Asian and African American siblings who were borne overseas and, despite being adopted here, were not considered United States citizens.
While your candidate convinced many he was a champion for those who struggle in part by giving them someone to blame, my family rejects this divisiveness because we all sit at the same table. Bring us to your planning meetings because our diversity and ability to see each other’s struggles as our own is what makes America great.
I remember when Ronald Reagan was elected. I don’t believe in trickle-down economics and feel corporations should pay their fair share. I believe the federal government plays a critical role in upholding civil rights and cutting the size of government is sometimes a euphemism for policies that mostly benefit the powerful. I am pro-choice, believe that women are capable of making moral and responsible choices, and doubt we would debate reproductive rights if men got pregnant. Our country’s racist past and current reality holds us back from individual and collective greatness. For these reasons, I didn’t agree with Reagan and I certainly didn’t want him to be my president. But, I did not fear him.
I am lucky to know many rational, can-do, open-minded leaders and educators who understand compromise and work with families across the ideological spectrum. It is of grave concern to me that many of them, including me, are truly scared and angry, in some cases for the first time. Please hear our deep concerns as extending far beyond party lines and policy platforms. Also know that I, and others, are resolute to bear witness to this moment and to do whatever it takes to stay true to our core values and common humanity. We are counting on people, across the ideological spectrum, who share our commitment to respect, equity and prosperity for all to stand for progress in an inclusive America. See our faces at your tables.
Cami
Cami Anderson was appointed by N.J. Gov. Chris Christie as the Superintendent of Newark Public Schools in 2011 and served until 2015. She is currently Managing Partner of ThirdWay Solutions.
