The mayor of Chicago compares the views of those who disagree with him on desegregation to slavery
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, on Monday, compared the views of his critics who opposed the use of the school to that of the Confederate movement when it came to freeing the slaves.
“When our people wanted to be freed and freed in this country, the argument was, ‘you can’t free the Black people because it will be too expensive,'” said Johnson. “They say it will be a mismanagement of this country to free black people.”
In a press conference at the South Side church on Monday, Johnson revealed that when he ran for mayor, he promised to change the public education system in this city.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson answers a question during a news conference where he introduced the six nominees to the Chicago Board of Education on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
“I am a man of integrity, and that means courageous leadership at a consistent time and looking at increasing profits,” he said. “Our people in this city are tired of political leaders who want the status quo to shut up, and if the children don’t get what they deserve, they blame the very communities they are drowning in.” .”
Johnson said the status quo and the mistakes of the past that left students behind will not continue.
“And the so-called experts, the so-called financial managers are making the same argument. When our people wanted to be freed and freed in this country, the argument was, ‘You can’t free Black people because it’s too expensive,'” said Johnson. “They said it would be a mismanagement of this country. to free black people.
“And now you have opponents making the same organizational argument when it comes to public education in this program,” he added. “These are the people who organized these criminals, they lied to our people, they stole our people’s money, they refused to pay the pension money, they left the tax payers with a debt, I will fix it.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson compared the views of those who disagreed with him on the use of the school to slavery. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Johnson vowed to build a world-class school district rather than leave students behind and fire teachers and staff.
“It’s been a while since city leaders have refused to invest in our children. I can no longer accept the current situation,” he said. “We currently have schools that do not have the dollars for buses to take their children to sporting events. We currently have a system that cannot take children to places they believe in, that’s why I was chosen to fight and fight.”
During the press conference, Johnson introduced six new school board appointees, and said he would name a seventh at a later date.
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A group of residents disrupts a news conference as Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson introduces six nominees to the Chicago Board of Education on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The mayor named six of his new appointees as school board members, though he said they are still being vetted for legitimacy. Once the vetting is complete, Johnson’s appointees could sit on the board when it triples in size in January and changes to a mixed model that includes 11 mayoral appointees and 10 elected members.
“I am confident that these candidates will work to lead CPS to a world-class school system that is right for our children,” Johnson said, referring to Chicago Public Schools. “I will continue to nominate Chicagoans who are dedicated to meeting the needs of our students.”
Johnson tried to unseat the county’s top executive, Pedro Martinez, who was appointed to his position in 2021 by Johnson’s predecessor, then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
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As an organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson clashed with Martinez over how best to fill gaps in the district’s roughly $10 billion budget. Martinez refused to resign, saying the district needed stability.
On Friday, all seven board members announced they would resign from their positions at the end of the month.
Johnson appointed all members to run out in 2023, just months after taking office.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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