At an Educators for Harris-Walz event in Augusta, Gwen Walz and local leaders stressed the importance of public education.
Gwen Walz, the first lady of Minnesota, rallied teachers and community members at the Educators for Harris-Walz event in Augusta to speak on public education, reproductive rights and moving forward in American politics.
This marked Gwen Walz’s first trip to Augusta and her first visit to Georgia since her husband, Governor Tim Walz, was chosen as the Democratic Party’s vice presidential running mate.
She drew upon her and her husband’s extensive teaching backgrounds, recounting a story about one of her past students, emphasizing the role of educators in shaping futures.
She recounted, “Waylon was a student in my English class, and he was brilliant on the football field. But he was difficult in my class. Waylon struggled with reading, acting out to conceal his difficulties.”
Understanding that his participation in sports hinged on his academic performance, Gwen Walz teamed up with her husband who was a coach at the time to create a tutoring plan, which allowed Waylon to keep playing football while improving his reading skills.
In the end, their efforts paid off. Waylon was able to graduate from high school, obtaining a diploma.
“One student at a time, one person at a time, making a difference, seeing everyone,” she noted.
Mrs.Walz emphasized that these values deeply resonated with her husband, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Everyone matters. Everyone counts. And when we send Tim and Kamala to the White House, they will be a president and vice president for all Americans.”
In contrast, she criticized the opposing political agenda made by Former President Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, stating, “Trump and Vance have a different approach.”
“Their extreme Project 2025 agenda is going to devastate a generation of students,” she continued.
She proceeded to highlight their plans to slash public school funding, eliminate Head Start, and impose restrictions on what books children can read. In a simple response she said, “No thank you!”
Mrs.Walz further warned that this agenda would affect Women’s right to abortion and contraceptive care as well, saying, “Make no mistake, they’re coming for our reproductive freedoms, too.”
She then began to share the story of Amber Thurman, a young mother in Georgia who died after waiting 20 hours for medical care.
“A committee of doctors and experts determined her death was preventable,” Mrs. Walz said.
As she continued, Gwen Walz began to highlight her experience as a would-be mother who was struggling to have children.
“I struggled with infertility. We wanted to have a family more than anything else,” she said.
She said she was able to receive fertility treatment later on to conceive children, but claimed that due to Donald Trump’s proposed restrictions on contraception treatment she “wouldn’t have been able to have children.”
As the event concluded, she made her message clear: each and every voice matters in the pursuit of a better future.