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Why does a classroom in New Jersey always have 1 empty chair?

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Leila Fadel. Dan Gill's classroom at Glenfield Middle School in New Jersey always has one empty chair. Gill tells The Washington Post it goes back to a childhood memory, when a Black classmate was turned away from another kid's birthday party because, as someone said at the time, there weren't enough chairs. The empty chair in his social studies class now, he says, symbolizes acceptance, a lesson he's shared often over a teaching career that started 52 years ago. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.