“We’re going to continue to push and fight for the people like us, because we have to fight for ourselves. . . . when everything happened, I was like, ‘But we’re New Yorkers! This isn’t supposed to happen to us. We’re supposed to fight. And I feel like that old New York feeling disappeared, but now it’s starting to feel like, ‘All right, I think it’s coming back.’”- Athena Clarke
In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I talk with Athena Clarke, who was terminated from her position as a special education teacher with the New York City Department of Education in October 2021, because she declined to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Clarke had worked as a teacher for seven years. Her request for a religious exemption to the DOE vaccine mandate was denied.
Clarke filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education for violating her due process rights. That case was not successful and went to an appeal, before being combined with seven similar lawsuits by tenured teachers that were heard by New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.
After the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts’ decisions against Clarke and the other teachers, Clarke decided to run for New York City Council in the 2025 election. She talked with me about the momentous changes in her life, her experiences as a litigant and candidate, and how the travails of recent years are fueling a new political movement.
More from Athena Clarke:
Athena Clarke’s website
You can also follow Athena Clarke on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
Here are some links related to things we talked about during the episode:
Announcement of NYC Department of Education Employee Vaccine Mandate
This is the August 23, 2021, announcement of the vaccine mandate for New York City Department of Education employees by then Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter, and Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi.
About the New York Mandate Podcast
The New York Mandate Podcast is an ongoing series of conversations exploring the costs and consequences of vaccine mandates in New York City. I talk with workers, students, and parents who have been directly affected by the mandates, as well as legal and policy experts.
In late 2021, the City introduced a series of requirements for workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. These requirements were put in place through executive orders issued by the administration of former mayor Bill de Blasio. They covered nearly all workers in New York City, in both the public and private sectors. They also barred unvaccinated adults, including parents, from schools.
Current mayor Eric Adams kept the mandates in place until November 1, 2022 for the private sector and February 10, 2023 for City workers, and has encouraged private employers to put their own vaccine requirements in place.
The views expressed in the New York Mandate podcast are the personal opinions of the people speaking, and are not intended to provide medical or legal advice.
Join the Conversation
Have you lost your job, been put on leave, or lost opportunities to work as an independent contractor as a result of your decision not to comply with a vaccine mandate in New York? Did you take a vaccine against your wishes in order to keep your job? Please get in touch with me at NYMpodcast@protonmail.com.
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