The latest stop for the Powerful Parent Network? South Carolina. They just completed three days of what they call “The Freedom Ride for Education Equity”—and they busted things up.
We’ve been following (and hopefully you have too!) the Powerful Parent Network’s (PPN) journey to meet every presidential candidate since they hopped on a bus back in November to protest Elizabeth Warren’s education plan at a rally in Atlanta. Not only did they have a chance to protest at the rally but they confronted Warren head on about her plan.
Since then, these parents from around the country have not let up and are keeping the pressure on.
The Powerful Parent Network raised over $10,000 to help parents from across the country travel to South Carolina between the presidential debate and primary. In addition to meeting with presidential candidates, PPN stopped at schools and community centers to educate voters on why education equity is important to families like theirs.
When I saw their bus with the signage (pictured above), all I could think was, how can any candidate say no to a meeting with them? They’d have to be crazy to turn down a group of parents who traveled far and wide to talk about educating their children.
So I wasn’t surprised when they met with Bernie Sanders.
Or Pete Buttigieg.
Or when they met up with Elizabeth Warren again.
OK, but I was surprised when they met up with Joe Biden!
And they made countless stops along the road, galvanizing and empowering parents with the knowledge to create change in their cities.
At today’s completion of the first leg (there are more to come) of the Freedom Ride for Equity, PPN noted that though there were no promises made by any of the candidates, the Ride was a success nonetheless—and I agree. PPN managed to meet with “hundreds of South Carolina parents who are also sick of schools failing their children.”
In case you missed the whole Ride, and everything PPN has done to date, this is really all you need to know: “Our power needs to come from the same place other, wealthier American parents have found their power—in choice, in access to quality, in accountability. This is not too much to ask for. Our children deserve the same rights as other people, including many of these candidates, who have exercised [choice] for their own families.”
Every child deserves a better education. It really isn’t too much to ask for.
