I was shocked to see Wes Oswald, who apparently is a public-school teacher in Tucson, post a video of himself cutting up a School Choice Week scarf that many minority children across the country wear to show their support of school choice. The image of a white man shredding up something that so many children of color cling to for hope was appalling. Additionally, I was not surprised to see that this same person was wearing a Save Our Schools t-shirt in the video because Save Our Schools has repeatedly lobbied against low-income and minority children receiving the same school choice scholarships that many white children are able to receive today.
As we celebrate School Choice Week In Arizona and around the country, now more than it’s obvious that we need full educational freedom for our kids. I know this to be true because I am a product of school choice and I can honestly tell you I would not be here today without it and more children need to have the opportunity I did.
Growing up, I had to attend the same K-8 government assigned schools that the rest of the black kids in my neighborhood had to go to and it was challenging to say the least. Many kids did not see graduation day and my 5 closest friends were either in prison or dead by the time we were 18 years old.
Fortunately for me though, I was able to escape those schools and by the grace of God was able to attend an outstanding private Catholic school which led to me graduating high school, going to college on a scholarship, and ultimately living my dream and playing in the NFL.
Today I am a Pastor and not only do I fight to win souls for Jesus, but I also fight for children, especially minority kids, to have the same opportunity I did growing up and attend the right school to help them achieve their goals in life like I did.
In the famous words of civil rights icon Rev. HK Matthews, “shame on you” Wes Oswald and Save Our Schools for your repeated attacks against black and brown kids having the same education opportunities as every other kid.
School choice is the path out of poverty for so many children and I pray that people like Wes Oswald and groups like Save Our Schools stop working to prevent children from learning at whatever school works best for them and start joining the 75% of Arizonans who were recently polled that support school choice!
Drew Anderson currently serves as Lead Pastor of Legacy Christian Center in Phoenix and the Chaplain of the NFL Alumni Association in Arizona, and played linebacker in the NFL for the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals
✂️ Happy #NationalSchoolChoiceWeek!
✂️ Here’s a fun craft project to remind you that 95% of AZ families choose public schools.
✂️ (And I bet even more would choose them if our budgets weren’t slashed year after year.)
@arizona_sos pic.twitter.com/LAesOcf7nH
— Wes Oswald (@WesOswald) January 25, 2022