CTA has been on the forefront of civil and human rights struggles since its inception in 1863, when it helped to establish the first public schools in California. Since then, CTA denounced the practice of segregated schools; called for the passage of child labor laws; and was one of the few mainstream organizations to oppose the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. CTA helped defeat Proposition 187, a 1994 ballot initiative designed to deny undocumented immigrants social services, health care, and public education; and it opposed Proposition 209 in 1996, which abolished affirmative action in California. Even more recently in 2008, CTA fought discriminatory practices when it opposed Proposition 8, an initiative that took marriage rights away for California’s gay couples.

The positions we take are not always popular; in fact, most were unpopular at the time they were taken. But the right thing to do is not always the easiest. And since it is the also CTA’s mission to “ensure that the human dignity and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable, and democratic society” we will continue to do just that.

Read the full mission statement

Watch the video timeline of CTA's history