Prior to launching her campaign for New York State Governor in 2018, Cynthia Nixon served as spokesperson for AQE for 17 years.
Cynthia is a proud public school graduate and an even prouder public school parent. She became an advocate for public schools when her oldest child entered kindergarten. The school Cynthia dropped Sam off at that first day looked nothing like the school she had visited the summer before, as the school’s art teacher, music teacher, assistant principal, and two-thirds of the para-professionals had been fired, due to city-wide budget cuts.
The School Battle That Launched Cynthia Nixon’s Political Career
(Village Voice, May 24, 2018)
That year, Cynthia joined thousands of parents in successfully organizing to stop almost $400 million in cuts to New York City schools. The following year, Cynthia joined with parents across the State to win a long-term solution for the enormous under-funding of low-income school districts, the large majority of which serve communities of color.
Cynthia Nixon talks about the impact of Gov. Cuomo’s school cuts in 2011
Since then, Cynthia has joined parents and students coming to Albany to demand the money our schools need — especially schools in Black, Brown and poor communities. “I believe our public schools are perhaps the most important public institution in our democracy,” she says (When will Andrew Cuomo finally fulfill the state’s school funding obligations? Cynthia Nixon, LoHud.com, June 27, 2018).
“I have seen up close Cynthia’s determination and commitment to public education. We’ve walked the long halls of Albany when there was no press around and stood side by side at press conferences urgin the state fully fund our public schools. For years, Cynthia has shown she is willing to fight for educational equity and has been working to elevate the voices and demands of Black and Brown students and parents like myself that are too often overlooked by officials and in the media. We’re proud that Cynthia’s activist roots are fighting for equitable funding for New York’s public schools alongside AQE,” says Zakiyah Ansari, advocacy director of AQE.