FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2016, Washington D.C. – The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination (ADC) firmly shares the outrage by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) on how the “Don’t Be a Puppet” website creates fertile ground for bullying, profiling and marginalization of our children. This week AFT led a diverse group of education policy and community organizations in a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) critiquing the “Don’t Be a Puppet” website.
AFT with the support of over a dozen organizations including the School Superintendents Association, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, National Association for Bilingual Education, and the Schott Foundation for Public Education acknowledged the impact of this program on academic freedom and the school environment. The letter states, “Increased ideological policing and surveillance efforts like the Don’t Be a Puppet campaign will have a chilling effect on our schools and on immigrant communities, jeopardizing children’s sense of safety and well-being and threatening the security and sense of trust of entire communities.”
ADC National President Samer Khalaf expressed gratitude to the leadership of AFT. “Our education leaders have serious concerns with the Don’t Be a Puppet website impact on our children, and as groups with the direct expertise in our education system, the FBI cannot ignore them.” You can read more about the “Don’t Be a Puppet” website here.
For media inquiries, please contact ADC Legal & Policy Department at 202-244-2990 or via email at legal@adc.org
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), is the largest Arab-American civil rights organization in the United States.
Founded in 1980, by former Senator James Abourezk to protect the civil rights of people of Arab descent in the United States and to promote the cultural heritage of the Arabs. ADC has chapters nationwide with chapters in every major city in the country, and members in all 50 states.