This special episode of CTU Speaks! was recorded live to commemorate Black History Month. Brandon Johnson, Cook County Commissioner and CTU member, chaired a panel of four intriguing speakers. Nina Hike in a 20-year veteran science teacher who works at Curie High School; Latanya McSwine has worked at CPS for 16 years and currently teachers computer science at Morgan Park High School; Monique Redeaux-Smith is a CPS teacher and Dyett hunger striker who currently works for the Illinois Federation of Teachers as the Director of Union Professional Issues; and Charles Preston is a journalist and activist who is the former communications co-chair of Black Youth Project 100.
Over the last two decades, CPS, the nation’s third-largest school district, has lost half of its Black teachers. The percentage has fallen from 41 percent to 21 percent—a loss of more than 5,000 Black educator. This panel seeks to grapple with all the implications of this shift for Black teachers, students, and communities.
Share your thoughts and questions with the CTU Speaks! team by emailing ctuspeaks@ctulocal1.org or calling 312-467-8888.
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