Teachers’ union boss claims conservatives are against black literacy; data disagrees

The Chicago teachers’ union boss has stumbled into a firestorm for claiming conservatives don’t want black children to learn how to read.

Stacey Davis Gates made her extravagant claim about the “right wing” taking an “oath” against black education in a radio interview.

“Conservatives don’t even want black children to be able to read,” she said. “Remember, these same conservatives are the conservatives who probably would have been championing black codes, you know, during Reconstruction or thereafter.

“So, forgive me if conservatives pushing back on educating immigrant children, black children, children who live in poverty, doesn’t make my anxiety go up. That’s what they’re supposed to say. That is literally a part of the oath that they take to be right wing.”  

Yet ironically, the data actually shows black students fare much better in red states than they do in deep-blue Chicago.  

In Chicago’s public schools, just 16.5% of black students read at grade level. The same is true statewide (16.1%). However, black public-school students in Republican-run states attain much higher rates of proficiency. According to Florida’s 2022-23 data, 36.5% of black students are proficient in English Language Arts (ELA).  

Alabama reported nearly 32% proficiency, while Georgia averaged between 25-30% for its 3rd-8th graders.  

And it’s not just the southern red states. Utah and Oklahoma both achieved 25% grade-level reading among its black students – nearly 10 points higher than Chicago.  

These conservative states are also unique for promoting expansive school choice programs, which are popular among families of all colors. Recent polling revealed 80% of black parents support school vouchers and education savings accounts.  

Such programs, which are thriving in Republican-led states, attract and serve mostly minority students. Even in states with miniscule minority populations, school choice programs are still more racially diverse.  

For example, one private school scholarship program in Philadelphia serves 46% black/African American students. It reports twice as much proficiency in reading and math as local public schools. 

If anything, the data shows it is the entrenched public-school bureaucracy and its unions holding children back — as Davis Gates must have already realized, since she sends her child to a private school.