Celebrating the Past and the Future on July 4
July 4, 2009
Members of the All NEA Choir participate in the 4th of July Celebration during the 88th Representative Assembly.
Photo by Rick Runion for RA Today
You could feel the energy rise at the July 4th celebration as the NEA Choir sang “Hope for Tomorrow” and the under-30 delegates were invited to come on stage.
“My state was so happy for me when they called us up,” said Betsy Cragg, an under-30 delegate from Greenwich, Connecticut. “They all pointed at me and said ‘Go, get up there!’”
This is Betsy’s first NEA RA, but attending two CEA RAs has helped her get ready. She especially likes meeting every morning with her state to discuss the NBIs, amendments, and resolutions before going to the RA hall. “You feel safer to ask questions with just your state colleagues than you do on the floor,” she explained.
So, what did she think about the July 4th celebration commemorating the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth?
“I liked it because it was a chance to have fun on the floor. We work hard at the RA and teachers have another side of us—beyond the business.” (Go to the blog to see Betsy tell her own story.)
At the celebration, the NEA choir performed a medley of American songs and NEA leaders read from speeches by notable figures in American history who were influenced by Lincoln, including:
Barbara Jordan, Democratic National Convention keynote speaker in 1976: “We are attempting to fulfill our national purpose, to create and sustain a society in which all of us are equal.”
Cesar Chavez in 1984: “You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”
And Barack Obama in 2008: “We perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes... we all want to move in the same direction—toward a better future for our children and our grandchildren.”
