January 2021

On January 6, AERA President Felice J. Levine issued a statement following the violent attempt by supporters of outgoing president Donald Trump to prevent members of Congress from fulfilling their constitutional duty to certify Electoral College results that confirmed Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election. 

Levine’s statement read:

The American Educational Research Association is horrified by this attack on our democracy; the violence wrought to the heart and soul of all humanity; and the unconscionable acts that threaten the safety of our elected officials, their staffs, and law enforcement and Capitol building workers. We need to say and mean "never again," as we come to grips with the endless manipulation of truth, the undermining of civil society, and the direct assault on all those committed to a country of freedom and dignity for all. May our next generation learn from this event, may our educational institutions and programs be up to the task, and may we together eradicate the cause of such acts of terrorism and hate in our nation.

The historic assault prompted responses from many education and science organizations, including the National Academy of Education, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the American Council on Education, and the National Communication Association, among others.