karen lewis had been battling brain cancer since 2014. stepped down from her position at ctu due to her health four years later. this is karen lewis in a 2010 interview with democracy now! >> i think anybody will argue with that, that the system is broken. it has not basically changed since the 1900s -- 1800s, for that matter. as a result, it has never been able to absorb real innovation. the problem is it is just a lot easier to test, test, test children. curriculum has narrowed in chicago. if you look at the average day for an elementary school kid, it is reading, reading, reading, math, math, math. kids are bored to tears. they are hating school at an early age. there is no joy or passion. the results show that. amy: karen lewis' death comes as some 25,000 members of the chicago teachers union vote today on whether to approve a plan to return to in-person learning during the pandemic. union members have been on the cusp of striking over coronavirus safety concerns. see our interviews with karen lewis, go to democracynow.org. and those

i will remind you, two great figures from the wisconsin uprising, anne feeney and karen lewis, ahead icago teachers union, both passed away in the last few days. we remember them because wisconsin uprising soft so much trillion solidarity and i believe both and and karen were embodiments of that. amy: people can go to our website at democracynow.org to see our interviews with karen lewis come the late, great head of the chicago teachers union. john nichols, thank you for being with us, "the nation's" national-affairs correspondent and host of the podcast "next left." next, authorities have raided the offices of the progressive news site newsclick. stay with us. ♪♪ [music brk] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. we turn now to india, where farmworkers are continuing to take to the streets to demand prime minister narendra modi repeal three highly contested agricultural laws. farmworkers say the laws, which seek to deregulate markets and allow large corporations to set prices, threaten their livelihoods. on saturday,

amy: that is karen lewis in 2010.ur thoughts on her passing in her significance as former head of the chicago teachers union? >> obviously, with her passing -- i notnly miss a great leader, i miss a friend, someone who cared for me, generously gave me an opportunity to work in this movement and to be powerful in this movement. number two, i think her significance is that she had shifted the trajectory of the expectations of everyone in the city of chicago. nationally, she is triggered from the west coast of the east coast of the northern part of the southern part of our country. as a black woman, she walked in her power. she defended like children. she lifted up black parents. she gave us an example of how you feed a coalition, distribute power, and provide a bellwether, if you will, for leaders who are committed to social justice. amy: i want to thank you so much, stacy davis gates, executive vice president of the chicago teachers union, and randi weingarten, president of the american federation of teachers. next up,