We became the latest victim of the cancel culture when education elites refused to run our ad with a pro-Christmas message. To read the ad that the elites couldn’t stomach, click here.
The appeal letter that members got in October was a request for funds to pay for a pro-Christmas ad that would be sent to educators. We did our best to secure space in six publications, but in the end we hit a brick wall. Funds raised were deposited in our operating account.
In late September, we sent the ad that Bill Donohue wrote to the marketing and advertising departments of Education Week, the National Association of Education, Scholastic magazine and the American School Board Journal. None of the four got back to us. Education Next offered us a spot in its quarterly publication, but that was not practical given our desire to affect decision making in time for Christmas celebrations. One publication, Education Leadership, simply rejected the ad.
On Sept. 29, we received what appeared to be promising news from the American Association of School Superintendents and Administrators (AASA).
“The content of your E-blast is subject to AASA review and approval. We often have minor feedback once the team reviews, so I would anticipate a round or two of edits before the message deploys. We will ensure ample time to do so and we have never had an instance when E-blast was prevented from deploying on schedule.”
Our director of communications, Mike McDonald, then contacted the agent at AASA to find out how we should pay for the ad. He also asked for further assurance that the ad has been approved. We were told that we could pay by credit card and that “your ad has been approved and will not be rejected.”
The ad was scheduled to be digitally distributed on November 13. But on November 6, we received the following email. “I am very sorry to share this news, but, per our Media Kit, AASA has rejected your ad for the DEDICATED EBLAST on November 13, 2020. I regret to share we are officially cancelling this contract for that reason.”
Here is what Bill Donohue told the press: “Having spent 20 years in education, teaching every grade from the second through graduate school, I am not shocked by the outcome. As I have said on many occasions, there is more free speech allowed in local pubs than there is on local college campuses.”
It is obvious that the schools want nothing to do with celebrations of Christians, and this certainly includes Christmas.
