Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice got talking with David Axelrod — who served as former President Barack Obama's chief strategist — on "The Axe Files" program when the topic turned to school choice and school vouchers as it relates to the minority community.
And Rice threw down.
"Poverty and race are really toxic," she told Axelrod. "Being uneducated and black is really toxic. And that's one reason, by the way, that when I hear people talk about school choice or vouchers ... the kids that are suffering in our bad public schools are mostly minority kids. I want them to get a way out."
When Axelrod suggested public school improvements as a solution, Rice — who served under former President George W. Bush — said she's "all for improving the public schools" but that deeper issues are at play:
I want to be very clear here because this is something I feel very strongly about. ...We have an opt-out system in the public school system right now. So if you are of means, you will move to a district where the schools are good. You’ll move to Palo Alto [California] where the schools are good. You’ll move to Hoover, Alabama, where the schools are good. You’ll move to Fairfax County [Virginia] where the schools are good. If you’re really wealthy, you’ll send your kids to private school. So who’s stuck in failing neighborhood schools? Poor kids, poor kids. And so don’t say that "poor parents shouldn’t have a voucher or parental choice or a charter school because it will ruin the public school systems" unless you’re willing to send your kids to Anacostia [a Washington, D.C., neighborhood].
Check out Rice's relevant comments just before the 55-minute mark:
(H/T: IJR)
