{"id":19027,"date":"2025-10-27T21:35:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T21:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/19027\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T21:35:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T21:35:07","slug":"nj-teachers-union-backing-sherrill-to-host-drag-queen-event-after-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/19027\/","title":{"rendered":"NJ teacher’s union backing Sherrill to host drag queen event after election"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Jersey\u2019s influential teachers union \u2014 which has thrown its support behind Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill <\/a>in the upcoming governor\u2019s race \u2014 will host a woke event just two days after next month\u2019s election celebrating \u201cthe vibrant world of drag.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event, dubbed \u201cDrag is not a Crime: The Past, Present, and Future of Drag,\u201d will be part of the 200,000-member New Jersey Education Association union\u2019s annual convention in Atlantic City, the graphic for which notably lists<\/a> \u201cequity\u201d and \u201cjustice\u201d ahead of \u201clearning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The massive NJ teachers union is hosting a pro-drag event and a number of other \u201cwoke\u201d programming options at its upcoming convention in Atlantic City. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The NJEA Consortium, a project bankrolled by the union that describes itself as \u201con a mission to put diversity and representation at the forefront of curriculum development,\u201d lists the drag event on its calendar for the weekend conference \u2014 which draws thousands of educators from the Garden State and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis presentation explores drag\u2019s history, cultural significance, and future, showing how it serves as art, resistance, and activism \u2014 challenging norms, advancing LGBTQ+ rights, and promoting social justice and community,\u201d the event\u2019s description reads.<\/p>\n

Other wokeness-tinged programs scheduled by the consortium during the conference include \u201cBeyond Awareness: Cultivating Equity Centered Schools through Action\u201d and \u201cTeaching Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Ciattarelli strategist told The Post, \u201cDrag might not be a crime, but looking the other way while 80% of third graders in some of New Jersey\u2019s schools can\u2019t read at grade level should be.\u201d Kyle Mazza\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

In September, all 125 members of the NJEA\u2019s PAC Operating Committee endorsed Sherrill as the race with Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli <\/a>has gone from a runaway in favor of the Democrat to virtually neck-and-neck.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrag might not be a crime, but looking the other way while 80% of third graders in some of New Jersey\u2019s schools can\u2019t read at grade level should be,\u201d Ciattarelli strategist Chris Russell said in a statement to The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NJEA and far-left politicians like Mikie Sherrill could care less about education or teachers. The NJEA\u2019s core mission is preserving political power, pushing an extreme \u2018woke\u2019 agenda on young children, and propping up out-of-touch politicians like Mikie Sherrill who vote against parental rights,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\n

The latest Garden State polling has Democrat Mikie Sherrill up around 5 points over rival Republican Jack Ciattarelli. Aristide Economopoulos<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Jack Ciattarelli is Governor, parents are back in charge and the NJEA is in timeout.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sherrill campaign did not respond to a message from The Post seeking comment.<\/p>\n

The NJEA \u2014 headed up by failed NJ gubernatorial candidate Sean Spiller \u2014 has previously promoted drag-focused events<\/a> at the annual gathering for public school teachers, including a \u201chistoric convention first\u201d drag queen story hour in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrag queens Astala Vista and Vinchelle hosted \u2018LGBTQIA+ Banned Books \u2013 Drag Queen Story Hour\u2019 to answer questions from the audience, take photos in all their dazzling iridescence with NJEA members, and to read \u2018And Tango Makes Three,\u2019 \u2018Prince and Knight,\u2019 and \u2018I am Jazz,’\u201d NJEA said while touting the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am Jazz,\u201d published in 2014, tells the story of a transgender child\u2019s struggle from the age of two with having \u201ca girl brain but a boy body.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Jersey\u2019s influential teachers union \u2014 which has thrown its support behind Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[10584,3677,6587,57,6588,1066,9,24,63,122,124,123,13038,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-19027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-drag-queens","9":"tag-governors","10":"tag-jack-ciattarelli","11":"tag-metro","12":"tag-mikie-sherrill","13":"tag-new-jersey","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-queens","18":"tag-queens-headlines","19":"tag-queens-news","20":"tag-teachers-union","21":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}