Activists protest Trump administration attacks on the U.S.
Department of Education outside the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C.
on March 21, 2025. (Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
'They Will Have to Come Through Us': The Sunrise Movement Protests Trump Attacks With Education Department Study-In
"Trump and Musk want to defund public schools so they can give their fellow billionaires a bigger tax break," warned one organizer. "We won't let them rob us of a good education."
Mar
21, 2025
Students and allies rallied outside the
Washington, D.C. headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education on Friday for
a "study-in" protest against President Donald Trump's plan to shut
down the federal agency—a longtime policy goal of right-wing groups including
the organization behind the infamous Project 2025—and other administration
attacks on their future.
Protesters set up school desks with signs
reading "Trump, Stop Stealing From Kids" and "Kids Deserve Good
Schools" on a sidewalk outside the agency's main office. Sunrise Movement, the youth-led climate
campaign that led the demonstration, vowed to "defend our schools, our
futures, and our democracy" from attacks by Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
"If Trump and Musk want to destroy the
futures of millions of students across the country, they will have to come
through us," Sunrise Movement said on Instagram ahead of the protest.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive
order directing billionaire businesswoman-turned-Education Secretary Linda
McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the
Department of Education and return education authority to the states."
Trump's order followed the Department of Education's announcement earlier
this month that it would fire half of its workforce.
The executive order delighted conservatives,
who have long targeted the agency tasked with protecting civil rights and equal
access in schools, administering federal student aid programs, funding billions
of dollars in scholastic loans and grants, and more. The Heritage Foundation,
which led Project 2025—often described as a blueprint for a far-right takeover
of the federal government—applauded the
directive.
However, according to Sunrise Movement:
Abolishing
the Department of Education would have severe impacts on students, teachers,
and parents. Schools will face larger class sizes, fewer teachers, and severe
underfunding, making it even harder for students to get the education they
deserve. Pell Grants would be eliminated, putting higher education out of reach
for millions. Programs that support students with disabilities, English
learners, and low-income families—as well as funding for school safety, mental
health services, and building repairs—will be slashed.
"Trump and Musk want to defund public
schools so they can give their fellow billionaires a bigger tax break,"
19-year-old Sunrise Movement schools organizing manager Adah Crandall of Washington,
D.C. said Friday.
"We won't let them rob us of a good education,"
Crandall vowed, adding that she won't let "Musk and his goons"
destroy her generation's future.
Wanya Allen, a student at Seminole State
College of Florida and Sunrise Movement's Philadelphia community lead, said:
"The Department of Education is a human right. We are responsible as the
youth to take the torch from our ancestors to continue the fight."
"The Pell Grant that allowed me to
attend college is only made possible by the Department of Education,"
Allen added. "Trump and his billionaire Cabinet are stealing from everyday
people like me and our opportunities to access education."
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Brett
Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.
Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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