Educators at the Democratic National Convention: Is hope making a comeback

After years of listening to Gov. Greg Abbott and former President Donald Trump paint Texas and America as a wasteland devoid of hope -a state and country that had already achieved the best we could ever accomplish - the Democratic National Convention this week offered a distinct vibe shift.

Hundreds of educators from around the country - at least 120 of them AFT members - are delegates to the meeting in Chicago where Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former high school teacher and coach, officially accepted their party's nominations to be the next president and vice president of the United States.

In accepting her nomination for president on Thursday night, Harris made the case not only against a second Trump Administration, but for a different future, one in which we work together to solve big problems and one in which brighter days are ahead.

""In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us," Harris said. "We are all in this together."

Former First Lady Michelle Obama encapsulated this rare moment, announcing hope, a hallmark of her husband's first presidential campaign, is making a comeback:

"You know, we're feeling it here in this arena, but it's spreading all across this country we love. A familiar feeling that's been buried too deep for far too long. You know what I'm talking about. It's the contagious power of hope, the anticipation, the energy, the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day. The chance to vanquish the demons of fear, division, and hate that have consumed us and continue pursuing the unfinished promise of this great nation. The dream that our parents and grandparents fought and died and sacrificed for. America, hope is making a comeback."

Is a brighter day in front of us here in Texas? Yes, if we vote for it. We have a chance to reshape the state House, make gains in the U.S. Congress, and elect a new senator, one who will listen to his constituents' support for commonsense gun violence measures and one who will remain in the state for the next natural disaster.

More than that, we have the opportunity to rebuild the bones of Texas democracy. That's what our Thrive campaign is all about: revitalizing our democracy here at home. We need educators to vote, register their friends and families to vote, and preach a return to civics and participatory democracy.

We know the most effective organizing is relational organizing. People are more likely to listen to their friends, family, and people they trust than anyone else. This year, we ask our members and all public school supporters to use relational organizing to increase Texas' abysmal voter turnout. One easy way: You can advertise the importance of voting by picking out some special election items from our Texas AFT merchandise store.

You can also find several Educators for Harris merch items in our store, and every purchase is a contribution to our union's political action committee. In that way, you are funding our collective fight for a better Texas, one focused on making sure all of us can thrive.

In her DNC speech, Michelle Obama exhorted us all to do something, to keep pushing for change, because in our hearts we know what our work is about. Whether we're doing that work on campus, on a bus, in a cafeteria, or in a union hall: it's about the kids.

"You see, my mom in her steady quiet way, lived out that striving sense of hope every single day of her life. She believed that all children, all people have value. That anyone can succeed if given the opportunity. She and my father didn't aspire to be wealthy-in fact, they were suspicious of folks who took more than they needed.

They understood that it wasn't enough for their kids to thrive if everyone else around us was drowning. So my mother volunteered at the local school. She always looked out for the other kids on the block. She was glad to do the thankless, unglamorous work that, for generations, has strengthened the fabric of this nation. The belief that if you do unto others, if you love thy neighbor, if you work and scrape and sacrifice, it will pay off- if not for you, then maybe for your children or your grandchildren."

Our union's statewide Thrive campaign is about winning the respect Texas educators need and deserve, but it's also about ensuring our schools have what they need to help our kids thrive. We are fighting for communities where parents, educators, and kids have control over their education - not Abbott and not Trump and not their cronies at the Heritage Foundation who are pushing Project 2025.

We can learn a lot from Michelle Obama's words and the example her mother et when faced with an obstacle in the community. The solution started in the local school. Public schools are the centers of our communities, and we want it that way. That's our school choice.

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