Viola Davis seems to receive criticism for a lot of the movies she’s a part of. In her latest movie, “Won’t Back Down,” Davis plays a parent concerned about the education her child is receiving so she takes a passionate stance on reforming public schools. Sounds like an inspirational, feel-good time if you ask me. But ask certain educators and you get the opposite reaction.
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As reported on Atlanta Black Star, the Sunday night premiere in Hollywood brought out several protesters along the red carpet with loud chants and signs the read,“Won’t Back Down get out of town.” The protesters are against the portrayal of teacher’s unions in the film. They want corporations to invest in public schools instead of charter schools. According to these protesters, charter schools are just not the answer to flailing educational systems across the United States.
On an appearance on the TODAY show, Davis responded to the protesters, saying:
“I welcome protests. I welcome discourse; I think discourse is a good thing. I think it spearheads change … And you know what, in this movie the teacher at the end of the day is the hero. They save the day. And it’s a system that’s broken, that needs to be fixed.”
Such a regal response. I love that Davis even took it upon herself to speak up. People will protest anything nowadays. “Won’t Back Down” is shining a light on an on-going problem in our country and that’s public school educations that fail the children. I don’t understand why they would be wasting their time protesting a movie instead of fighting to better public education themselves.
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