We visited El Paso last month, meeting with local teachers and school staff. We listened to their stories about how they and their students are dealing with the trauma in the aftermath of the Walmart mass shooting. We were there after the national media left because we wanted to talk to teachers and staff, to see what they still need.
Teachers had students who were in the store. Some witnessed their parents being shot. As the community tries to put their lives back together, educators are trying to give their students a sense of safety that should never have been ripped away from them. Their kids are jittery and scared, and many are too afraid to talk about their feelings.
During one of our meetings, a teacher cried as she told us about how she brings food to one of her students because the child’s parents are still in the hospital. Without educators like her, these kids might not eat. We sat with a local organizer whose husband was in the store during the massacre and ran back in to carry kids out. And several teachers talked about the emotional labor it takes to help these kids, without time to process their own grief and trauma.
We heard several times that families with people in the hospital are still struggling financially.
When we visited the Walmart memorial to lay down flowers, we were struck by how the entire city is still mourning. The residents and the educators in El Paso are asking for help, and we’re committed to helping them—with educational resources, with conversation, with academic support and with action to make our communities safer. That’s why, as an immediate step, we sent a letter to Walmart’s CEO calling on the company to stop selling guns until we have sensible gun laws in place. And as you know, after all of our pressure, Walmart agreed.
When you combine hate, as expressed in white supremacy, with the availability of guns, including assault weapons, it can result in terrible tragedies. There have been more than 250 mass shootings this year in America. That’s terrifying and why we have spoken out. In fact, studies now show that most kids are afraid that they’ll be victims of a school shooting. Right now, it’s up to the teachers and staff in El Paso and Socorro schools to help their traumatized students.
This isn’t the only crisis we are facing right now. What’s happening in the Bahamas is heartbreaking, and we’re looking at ways to provide relief. We’ll follow up soon with opportunities to help people in the path of this season’s hurricanes.
In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President
Zeph Capo
Houston Federation of Teachers President