WASHINGTON (HUNS) — In a convention hall illuminated by soft stage lights, educators and advocates gathered with purpose and resolve to close out the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 54th Annual Legislative Conference (ALC). Together, they outlined a vision that extended beyond classrooms — a vision grounded in truth, fairness and shared responsibility. In a united front, they called to reclaim schools and public education as beacons of hope and the bedrock of American democracy.
Princess Moss, vice president of the National Education Association (NEA), which sponsored the session, opened the conversation with a pointed warning.
“Every day, our educators are being asked to do more with less,” Moss said. “Disinformation, gun violence and ICE raids are frightening students away from schools. School is supposed to be the safest place in America.”
“At a time like this, we need all hands on deck,” she added later, alluding to the session’s title: “The State of Education: It’s All Hands on Deck for Our Democracy – For Our Educators. For Our Students. For Our Future.”
What began as a one-hour session stretched an hour beyond its original schedule. Tears, cheers and standing ovations followed each speaker, and the room stayed energized and united. Panelists included NEA President Becky Pringle; the Rev. Shavon Arline-Bradley, president and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW); and U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, a former teacher and the first Black woman to represent Connecticut in Congress. The speakers urged immediate investment in teachers, stronger protections for vulnerable students and policy rooted in equity and truth. From rising disinformation to immigration raids that drive children away from schools, they also described a growing climate of fear and pressure, and they emphasized the need to empower educators as leaders inside and outside the classroom.
Earlier this year, President Trump called for a 15 percent cut to overall funding within the proposed 2026 Department of Education budget. The proposal would eliminate all funding for safe schools and citizenship programs, as well as programs supporting English language learners. It also slashes more than half of the funding for innovation and improvement efforts, including “arts education, community engagement centers and teacher and student incentive programs.”
Moss stressed that funding education isn’t just about the numbers.
“When educators are supported, students thrive,” she said. “And flourishing communities keep our democracy strong.”
Nicole Austin-Hillery, president and CEO of the CBCF, issued a challenge to session participants.
“This ALC is not about having good conversation,” she said. “It’s about planning, strategy and walking out of this building with a clear agenda.”
The challenge was in line with the theme that Austin-Hillery coined this year’s ALC: “Made for This Moment,” in response to the growing urgency surrounding federal policy. She spoke directly to the importance of educators in shaping America’s future.
“Were it not for them, we would not have the democracy we depend upon,” Austin-Hillery said. “They are the ones who teach our future leaders the truth and the courage to lead.”
Hayes echoed that urgency.
“We have to do more,” the congresswoman said. “Now is the moment to do it. I am so frustrated with my colleagues acting like we have all day.”
“We are all out of time. The kids are counting on us to get it right the first time.”
The audience rose in cheers, with standing ovations and tears on the faces of attendees in the front rows.
The conversation also addressed Executive Order 14190, Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling, one of the first orders from the Trump administration’s return. The order eliminates federal funding for what it deems “discriminatory equity ideology,” including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and teaching about structural racism. It also reestablishes the 1776 Commission, which promotes only what it defines as “patriotic American history.”
Pringle and Arline-Bradley emphasized the need to teach all American history, including “Black, Native American and Latin history” in its full truth.
“Public education was never designed to teach minorities,” Pringle said. “We have to transform it into something racially and socially just that prepares every student. And we will get it done.”
Arline-Bradley invoked the legacy of NCNW founder Mary McLeod Bethune and former president Dorothy Height as guiding lights for today’s educators.
“If Bethune and Height were in this room, I suspect they would say activate your Harriet Tubman selves,” she said. “If you are an educator, then you are the freedom liberators of the world. You are not here just to activate curriculum; you are here to build character for the future of a liberated people.”
Arline-Bradley closed the session with a firm declaration.
“Education must be designed for our advancement and our freedom,” she said. “We must be free to teach and learn from all restraints.”
Belaynesh Shiferaw is a reporter for HUNewsService.com.
