The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) managed to outdo itself this weekend. On Friday, the union posted a tribute to Assata Shakur (born Joanne Chesimard). Shakur is a convicted murderer who escaped prison, fled to Cuba, and remained on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list until her death.
"Rest in Power, Rest in Peace, Assata Shakur," the post read, praising her as a "revolutionary fighter" and "leader of freedom."
(Be sure to notice the community note at the bottom of the post.)
This glowing description leaves out a crucial fact, of course. In 1977, Shakur was convicted for the murder of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster. He was shot and killed execution-style on the side of the turnpike, leaving behind a wife and young son. Shakur was sentenced to life in prison, but she escaped, lived underground, and surfaced in Cuba where she was granted asylum. The FBI had a $1 million reward for her capture.
That's who the Chicago Teachers Union decided to honor.
This is the kind of thing that makes many of us who are public school teachers shake our heads in embarrassment. No, I am obviously not a member of the CTU, but I know how the public hears this. When people think of "teachers," groups like this are what comes to mind. And when the most visible and political teachers' union in the country glorifies a convicted cop killer, it casts a shadow over the entire profession.
It's bad enough that the CTU has made a habit of dabbling in activism far removed from the classroom. Just this summer, its president mocked critics by affirming her organization's intent to claim ownership of young people over their parents: "CTU thinks your children are its children.' Yes, we do. We do. We do," CTU president Stacy Davis Gates said.
More recently, the group called for a boycott of Target because the retailer backed away from its aggressive DEI policies and leftwing activism. As usual, none of their activity seemingly has anything to do with improving schools or student outcomes. It's just leftwing politics.
That's annoying enough, but this latest action goes much further.
Honoring Assata Shakur is something else altogether. This isn't an edgy policy position. It's a moral failure. To praise a fugitive who murdered a police officer is indefensible. It makes the CTU look radical and unhinged, and worse, it makes teachers everywhere look complicit.
Most of us became educators because we believe in shaping the minds and character of young people. We take that responsibility seriously. And most of us want nothing to do with a union that confuses violent revolutionaries with role models.
The CTU obviously thinks it is sending a message of resistance. What it is really sending is a message of contempt - for law enforcement, for the families of victims, and for the taxpayers who expect better from those who teach their children.
As a teacher, I find their statement humiliating. Every time a union like CTU drags our profession into the mud, parents are left wondering whether the adults in the classroom can be trusted to distinguish right from wrong.
That's the real cost. Not just the bad headlines. Not just the political posturing. But the erosion of trust between families and schools.
Trust that teachers work hard to earn, and unions like CTU seem determined to squander.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.
