LtoR: Cindy Ibarra, Jeanne Kracher, Karen Lewis, and Veronica Morris-Moore. Photo credit: Sarah-Ji
Karen Lewis came up through the rank and file, from her experience as an educator in the classroom to her leadership as President of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). Karen taught us to be bold, courageous, and unapologetic about fighting for the issues that affect Chicagoans every day – poverty, race, inequality, discrimination, violence. She reminded us to center youth, parents, families, and the communities where we all live.
Crossroads Fund honored Karen and the CTU in 2013 with the Ron Sable Award for Activism at our annual benefit, Seeds of Change. While her loss saddens us, we remember her mandate to fight for that which is just, as she implored us to in her acceptance speech;
“Activism means something, it means that you don’t sit down when you see injustice, it means that you don’t turn an eye to issues that are problematic, and it means that you do take a stand.”
Karen Lewis, Seeds of Change 2013
Go well, Karen, rest easy, and may the ancestors welcome you.
