AAAN Stands in Solidarity with SF Activists Calling for Eid School Holiday

March 5, 2023
Contact: Info@ArmenianActionNetwork.org

SAN FRANCISCO— Armenian-American Action sent the following letter to the SF Board of Education urging the committee to approve and incorporate Eid holidays into the school year calendar.

Dear San Francisco Board of Education and Superintendent Matt Wayne,

We, Armenian-American Action Network, write today to condemn the reversal of the decision to include Eid holidays in the 2023-2024 school calendar, after caving to racist backlash. This is an attack on immigrants and cultural/religious communities. All communities in the United States deserve to celebrate their holidays freely, especially children, who want to be with their families on holidays to observe their faith, celebrate, and participate in their culture.

The community organized for three years, went through the process SFBOE had in place to implement holidays, demonstrated research, and provided wide community support from grassroots organizations to the Human Rights Commission, and the United Educators of San Francisco, and the equity driven purpose and alignment with SFUSD values. This led to the Eid holiday resolution, led by SFUSD students of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) being passed with overwhelming community support and a majority SFUSD Board vote on August 9, 2022 deciding to implement cultural holidays of Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha in SFUSD’s official calendars. We are disturbed to learn that SFUSD commissioners have now refused to remove the stay on the resolution, in fear of bigoted litigation.

The SFBOE must continue on its initial course and affirm this historic victory. This was the right move by policymakers and should have happened decades ago. Erasure of such work and such rights are unacceptable. Action must be taken immediately to put Eid Holidays back on the calendar.

Hate has no place in our schools or communities. We firmly stand with Muslim-Americans and their children in San Francisco schools and the larger community in their fight to have Eid as an official holiday recognized by SFBOE.

Signed,

Armenian-American Action Network (AAAN)

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