Advertisement

A word from the ACLU about Trump’s high school visit

 
Published July 31, 2018

Not everyone is happy about the welcome the Hillsborough County School District is giving President Trump today as he prepares to hold a round-table discussion about career education at Tampa Bay Technical High School.

This statement came from Jennifer Morley, a former district employee who is now president of the Greater Tampa chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union:

"The ACLU is non-partisan and we don't support or not support political candidates or parties.

"However, I can say that the Trump administration has participated in some of the most egregious violations of civil rights and civil liberties in recent history, including criminalizing immigrants with unlawful detention and deportation, invoking institutionalized religious discrimination, criticizing NFL players who speak out against overzealous policing, demonizing the LGBTQ community, and actively lobbying against reproductive rights for women.

"The Tampa Bay area, and Hillsborough Public Schools, consists of a very diverse community. To advocate and promote a Trump visit to one of our schools is completely tone deaf in this political climate, considering who actually lives here. Hillsborough County Schools is a high minority, high poverty school district, with a large percentage of immigrants and English language learners. Temple Terrace has one of the highest concentrations of Muslims in the country, and there is a mosque right across the street from Tampa Bay Tech. I think this was a terrible decision on the part of school district leadership."