It’s been a while since Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was getting a lot of attention. When she was initially handed the appointment by the Trump administration educators were furious. It’s not that they’re not still furious but the media attention has simmered down. But for at least one afternoon DeVos was the center of the education community again, and this time it wasn’t her fault at all. DeVos gave the keynote address at Bethune-Cookman University’s commencement Wednesday afternoon. As you may or may not know the school is primarily comprised of African American students.
DeVos barely had time to get a word in because of the amount of boos she was receiving. Half of those students at the historically black college in Florida turned their back on the Trump-appointed Education Secretary as she tried to stress the importance of education. The boos did not stop for the entire 20-minute speech. The University President even had to stop at one point to threaten the students if they didn’t stop.
Most of the vitriol was rooted in DeVos’ recent tone-deaf comments about historically black colleges and universities as the “real pioneers when it comes to school choice. They are living proof that when more options are provided to students, they are afforded greater access and greater quality. Their success has shown that more options help students flourish.” Her critics brought to her attention that HBCU’s were their only choice. via concourse
Check out the boos below:
Many in Bethune Cookman University graduating class turning their #BackstoBetsy Davos during commencement speech @NBCBLK pic.twitter.com/tUQTvW7ZxH
— Mariana_Atencio (@marianaatencio) May 10, 2017
.@BetsyDeVos says she will visit Mary McLeod Bethune's gravesite@bethunecookman grad class: *boos* pic.twitter.com/u6WS8WV7yy
— Nolan D. McCaskill (@NolanDMcCaskill) May 10, 2017
A taste of the room right now pic.twitter.com/jGn3gHuwLM
— Molly Hensley-Clancy (@mollyhc) May 10, 2017
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