Tampa, FL – On Thursday, March 9, students, and community members gathered for a press conference to demand justice for the four protesters who were brutalized and arrested at the University of South Florida (USF) on Monday, March 6. The press conference was hosted by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and consisted of statements of solidarity from numerous organizations at USF and across the Tampa Bay community.

On March 6, Tampa Bay SDS hosted a march to demand a meeting with USF President Rhea Law to demand that she protect Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) programs at USF. The protesters marched into the Patel Center, where Law’s office is located, where they were met with repression and violence from USF police.

SDS member Eithne Silva opened the press conference by stating, “We are here on the side of the road because we can’t even go onto our campus anymore because our university repressed us, brutalized us, threw our members on the ground, arrested us, and gave us felonies just because we’re standing up to attacks on diversity, and to DeSantis’s attacks on higher education.”

There were statements of solidarity from student groups at USF, a student government senator, local community organizations, and national organizations such as the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the American Indian Movement, and Anakbayan.

The protesters who were arrested are facing misdemeanor charges for resisting arrest without violence and disrupting a campus and academic function, and a felony charge for battery of a law enforcement officer. At the press conference the students demanded that the charges be dropped, the academic rights of suspended students be restored, and that USF Police Chief Chris Daniel resign.

One of the four arrested, Gia Davila, stated, “We are here to say that we did nothing wrong. We were brutalized by the police for exercising our right to protest and to say no to Ron DeSantis’ racist attacks on education.”

The brutality that the protesters faced on March 6 is an extension of the attacks on higher education that have been implemented by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Early this year he cut the diversity office at the New College of Florida, and through recent legislation such as HB 999 DeSantis has urged cuts to “critical race studies,” African American studies, and gender studies at public schools and state universities in Florida.

Lauren Pineiro, a member of SDS who was at the March 6 protest, stated, “This is a fight for DEI, this is a fight for diversity, this is a fight for Black students, for trans students.”

National Students for a Democratic Society has a campaign to defend diversity programs and affirmative action. SDS chapters in Florida have been at the forefront of the fight organizing against DeSantis’s attacks on higher education.

Pineiro ended their statement by saying, “They want to silence us, but we’re going to continue to fight for diversity, we’re going to fight against HB 999, and we’re not going to stop, we’re going to go further until we get these charges dropped.”

#TampaFL #Repression #students

USF SDS’s demands were that the university take a stand against House Bill 999, the latest in Governor DeSantis’ attacks against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, and that the USF administration take immediate action to increase Black enrollment and restore the Diversity department at their College of Arts and Sciences.

The Tampa 4 includes Gia Davila, Chrisley Carpio, Laura Rodriguez and Jeanie Kida. They face trumped-up charges of assault or battery of law enforcement officers, resisting an officer without violence to his or her person, and interrupting a school.

UCF students unaffiliated with Students for a Democratic Society saw the videos online and organized an event in solidarity with the student organizers. The solidarity protest consisted of protesters waving signs and talking to students about the Florida legislature's continued attacks on diversity programs, the campaign USF SDS is fighting for, and the repression of activism happening across the state, both against student and community organizations.

The arrests of the Tampa 4 are part of a string of repression aimed at activists that has swept the state of Florida in recent years. From the anti-protest law passed last year to recent moves to curtail public demonstrations at the state capitol building, Florida is seeking to quell the public discontent arising from its repressive policies. These policies include attacks on diversity programs, attacks on reproductive rights, attacks on trans rights, and attacks on union organizing. One protester said, “It’s important to show solidarity with our student comrades who were brutalized and arrested by the police,” because the police are simply trying to intimidate and silence student dissent against these policies.

Another organizer explained how important it is to “fight for our right to fight.” They continued that protesting “will become harder as DeSantis reaches further into our education system,” so now is the time to organize and unite to fight back against this repression.

Jacob Muldoon, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), summed up that, “Building a mass movement and striving for unity among scattered organizations is a vital step to stand up, fight back and deal blows to our common enemy: the monopoly capitalists.”

Muldoon continued, “An attack on one student is an attack on all students,” and said that solidarity events like this are important to building a nationwide student movement capable of fighting and winning.

#OrlandoFL #students #Florida

New Orleans, LA – Students United, a group of student organizers at the University of New Orleans, voted unanimously to affiliate with the New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in January 2023. With their affiliation, SDS has come to New Orleans’ largest public university. This group waged a successful campaign against a UNO fee hike in 2022, and will continue to build the student movement on campus.

For its next campaign, Students United will take on the issue of Black enrollment. Despite New Orleans being a 60% African American city, only 22% of UNO students in 2022 were Black. The activists are inspired by SDS-led victories for increased Black enrollment at public universities in Florida.

Mathieu Ricciardo of Students United said, “We are excited to share our work in New Orleans with the national student movement. We’re also looking forward to learning from other campaigns led by SDS.”

In addition to fighting for student demands, Students United plans to continue its engagement in other social movements in New Orleans. In response to the SDS national call to protest the police killings of Tyre Nichols, Keenan Anderson and Manuel “Tortugita” Paez, UNO students marched with New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization to demand: “Jail killer cops!” and “Community control now!”

#NewOrleansLA #students

Austin, TX – The Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized a rally at the University of Texas at Austin on September 15 in defense of women's and reproductive rights, as a part of the National SDS Day of Action. About 35 students rallied at 6 p.m. at the corner of Speedway and 21st Street on UT campus. Speakers from six other organizations gave speeches condemning the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the Texas Heartbeat Act.

The Texas Heartbeat Act (SB8) was passed in September last year in preparation for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. It bans abortions when there are cells that will later form a heart detected in the embryo, or about three weeks into a pregnancy.

“What is really needed in this fight is sustained mass movement building and activity in the streets that shows that we demand reproductive rights,” Jake Holtzman of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said. “We can’t sit around and wait for politicians, we need to act right now, because we refuse to take another step back!”

Austin SDS has been active over the summer and the beginning of the fall semester in defending the right to safe abortions and fighting SB8, both on campus and in the streets of Austin.

One Austin SDS member, Jules Lattirmore, spoke out during the rally: “Let’s also recognize how UT administration has been complicit in allowing the Texas abortion ban to pass without even making a single statement against it.”

Enraged by the actions of the unelected Supreme Court and the wildly unpopular SB8, students broke out in chants of “Hey hey! Ho ho! The heartbeat bills have got to go!” and “Pro-life is a lie, they don't care if women die!” During the rally, passerby students joined the rally in solidarity, participating in chants and erupting in applause for the student speakers.

#AustinTX #students #Texas #AbortionRights

Tampa, FL – On Wednesday, September 14, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society organized a protest as a part of a National Day of Action around reproductive rights. The rally brought out about 30 students to march across campus to show their support for abortion rights. Members from many other student groups gave speeches to show solidarity on this issue.

Diego Falcon, a member of UndocUnited, said that he “saw this coming since the Trump administration” and that “the abuse of women in ICE detention centers facing forced hysterectomies” was a precursor to the loss of bodily autonomy.

Florida’s own abortion ban, House Bill 5, was passed at the beginning of this year. The bill bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy and allows no exceptions for rape or incest.

“Despite the passing of HB5 and the overturn of Roe v. Wade we are still out here to demand safe, legal abortion,” said Eithne Silva of Tampa Bay SDS. “We demand that the Florida government repeal HB5. The right to a safe, legal abortion should be available to anyone and the law should reflect that.”

Tampa Bay SDS has a long history protesting against HB5. They mobilized to Florida’s state capitol in response to the bill when it was first presented and again when it was voted on.

“We were out there to remind everyone that we are still fighting,” said Bashak Newman, a member of Tampa Bay SDS.

The marchers chanted, “My body, my choice” and “Repeal HB5”. The protest had support from students on campus, with many expressing solidarity by joining the march.

#TampaFL #students #Florida #AbortionRights #reproductiveJustice

On November 14, administrators at Robert E. Lee High School issued a new interpretation of the dress code that prohibits students from wearing memorial clothing on campus or at school-sponsored events. Citing prohibitions of “gang-related paraphernalia,” the school administrators banned any clothing with the acronym “RIP,” or “Rest in Peace,” even if the person commemorated has no proven gang affiliations.

The move comes on the heels of a major local controversy a week before involving several African American students from Lee High School at the Jacksonville Fair. Two Black teenagers were harassed and ejected by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) after purchasing tickets and entering the fairgrounds. Video footage taken by the teens shows JSO officers yelling at the students to “pull up their pants,” to which the students complied. The officers then instructed one of the students remove or conceal a memorial necklace bearing the image of his deceased mother, ejecting the two soon after.

JSO claimed they were enforcing the Jacksonville Fair’s dress code prohibiting “memorial clothing and jewelry.” Fair management doubled down on this fake policy by posting a sign the day after ejecting the students. An investigation by News4Jax found that no such policy existed prior to the incident.

These policies against “memorial clothing” are thinly veiled racist rules targeting African Americans. Black communities across the U.S., including in Jacksonville, have a history of wearing airbrushed t-shirts, photo-print jewelry and other clothing items as memorials to deceased friends and family, particularly those killed by police.

The incident sparked community outrage, and many took action to challenge it by flooding the fair with memorial attire ranging from deceased celebrities to pets. One women, a white teacher who knew the students personally, exposed the racist nature of this policy by wearing a t-shirt in remembrance of ‘fallen veterans’ a few days later. She took photos with JSO officers and fairgrounds staff, who complemented and praised her shirt. These same officers later expelled more Black teenagers from the fairgrounds right in front of her.

To date, the Jacksonville Fair management has refused to issue a refund to the expelled students. They issued an insincere apology that recognized “hurt feelings” while reiterating their racist, arbitrary policy.

After several news reports exposed the JSO’s blatant racial profiling and the coverup, fair management went into overdrive attacking the Lee High School students from their social media account. JSO reportedly spoke to Lee High School administrators, prompting this new, racist interpretation of the dress code.

Hypocrisy and hope at Lee High School

Many students and community members have pointed out the double standard of a school named after a slave-owning Confederate general – Robert E. Lee – banning ‘memorial clothing.’ Jacksonville, like many cities across the U.S. South, had a string of schools, public parks and monuments named after racist Confederate Civil War figures in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Pushed by white supremacist groups like the United Daughters of the Confederacy, these ‘memorials’ were created in response to desegregation and the successes of the Black freedom movement.

Students at Lee High School have a recent history of activism and organizing in the community. The EVAC Movement consists of 15 African American students who meet regularly to learn about the law, social change, and activism with their mentor and teacher, Amy Donofrio. These students, rejecting the label ‘at-risk’ in favor of a more proactive ‘at-hope’ approach, have earned national recognition for their activism, even visiting the White House and meeting President Barack Obama several years ago.

“I’ve met several of these students from Lee High School’s EVAC program,” said Michael Sampson, a lead organizer with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee. “These young people have a real spark for making positive change in their classrooms and communities. The way the school, the police, and the fairgrounds management have targeted them is flat-out disgusting. We’re demanding nothing less than accountability across the board.”

Racism and national oppression in Jacksonville

Jacksonville is home to nearly 270,000 African Americans, making it one of the largest concentrations of Black people in the United States. But while African Americans make up 30.3% of the city’s population, they comprise 47.9% of those living in poverty.

The Black community in Jacksonville, heavily concentrated on the city’s Northside, has suffered from over-policing and economic strangulation by the city’s ruling class of Dixie capitalists. From 2009 to 2016, Black males made up 76% of those shot and 68% of those killed by JSO officers, according to research by News4Jax’s investigative team. The same investigation found that from the earliest available data in 1996 to present day, not a single shooting by a JSO officer has ever been ruled ‘unjustified’ or resulted in indictments.

The JSO’s long history of racial profiling goes beyond police shootings. In 2017, a study by Ben Conarck of the Florida Times Union and Topher Sanders of ProPublica found that JSO deliberately targets Black communities for “jay-walking.” Black people received 55% of all jay-walking tickets issued by the JSO, making them “nearly three times as likely as whites to be ticketed for a pedestrian violation.” According to the study, “Residents of the city’s three poorest zip codes were about six times as likely to receive a pedestrian citation as those living in the city’s other, more affluent 34 zip codes.”

Jacksonville sits at the outskirts of the Black Belt, a region that stretches across the U.S. South originally named for its rich soil. Home to the transatlantic slave trade, this region was ground-zero for chattel slavery and Jim Crow in the U.S. From the 1700s to present day, the Black Belt has the highest concentration of Black people in the U.S., making it a historic home of both national oppression and Black resistance.

Fighting for police accountability

In the last decade, Jacksonville has seen a rising Black freedom movement pushing back against racist police crimes and other discriminatory policies. Activists forced the Duval County School Board to change the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High School in 2013, which had been named after the founder of the Ku Klux Klan. In 2016, the Black community and its allies removed State Attorney Angela Corey from office. Corey had worked closely with the JSO to incarcerate a record number of Black youth.

Since that time, Black-led groups like the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) have launched a campaign for community control of the police. Organizers want the creation of an elected Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC), which would have the power to hire and fire officers, rewrite conduct policies, subpoena evidence, and investigate police crimes. If created, the CPAC could investigate police misconduct, like the incident at the Jacksonville Fair, and hold the officers involved accountable.

National oppression of the Black community in Florida runs deep, making the fight for police accountability in Jacksonville difficult. Florida statute 112.532 establishes a “Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights,” known as LEOBOR, which grants extra protections to police and prevents the community from holding them accountable. The JCAC, along with other community organizations, have called on lawmakers in the Florida state legislature to repeal LEOBOR and create a Civilian Police Accountability Council.

#JacksonvilleFL #StudentMovement #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #AntiRacism #students #Florida

Minneapolis, MN – El 10 de noviembre del 2017, casi 500 estudiantes de 17 escuelas locales salieron de sus escuelas en la mañana enfrentando un frío brutal y tomaron las calles para exigir que el Congreso tome acción inmediata para proteger a cientos de miles de jóvenes inmigrantes que perderán el estado legal que tanto lucharon para conseguir. Se juntaron en el parque de Martin Luther King, Jr. y marcharon más de dos millas a la estatua de Emiliano Zapata, simbolizando la unidad de las luchas de los estudiantes afroamericanos y latinos.

Durante la marcha, danzantes locales mantuvieron el espíritu con ritmo y energía, mientras los protestantes gritaron, “¡Trump, escucha! ¡Estamos en la lucha!” y “¡Creemos que ganaremos!”

Estos jóvenes determinados, conocidos generalmente como los “Soñadores,” marcharon sin miedo por la última década hasta forzarle la mano a Presidente Obama a implementar el programa conocido como DACA – Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia.

El anuncio del Presidente Trump hace dos meses para poner fin al programa de DACA fue una continuación de los ataques abiertamente racistas en contra de los inmigrantes desde el primer día de la presidencia de Trump. Más de 800,000 niños y jóvenes enfrentan de nuevo la amenaza de perder el único hogar que conocen. La mayoría de ellos llegaron a los Estados Unidos siendo bebés o niños infantiles. Los trajeron sus papás escapando una fatal condición económica causada por el imperialismo estadounidense. Otra vez, los Soñadores están tomando las calles para exigir justicia.

La protesta del viernes fue organizada por el Movimiento Estudiantil Interracial (ISM), un grupo estudiantil formado apenas hace tres semanas. Angélica Bello, uno de las principales organizadoras, sintió la necesidad de tomar acción. “Estoy afectada por un sistema injusto y realmente deseo hacer algo para cambiarlo porque yo sé que mi futuro es inseguro. Queremos una Acta de Sueños limpia que no incluye fondos para construir el muro ni quite las ciudades santuarias ni contrata más agentes de inmigración,” dijo Bello. Los protestantes exigieron al Congreso pasar una Acta de Sueños limpioa y exigieron la legalización para todos, reconociendo a sus papás como los primeros Soñadores. Los estudiantes también exigieron la renovación del Estado de Protección Temporario (TPS) para todos los inmigrantes bajo esta protección.

Siguiendo con sus ataques constantes contra los inmigrantes, la administración de Trump el lunes también anunció el fin del Estado de Protección Temporario (TPS) para los inmigrantes nicaragüenses y sudaneses, mucho de ellos que han vivido en los Estados Unidos por dos décadas. Esta decisión destruirá a casi 6,400 familias más y crea temor para más de 400,000 beneficiados del TPS de países como Honduras, El Salvador, Haití, Liberia, y mucho más.

La acción del viernes mostró que los jóvenes inmigrantes están listos para liderar la lucha en contra de los ataques viciosos de Trump. Con los estudiantes que salieron de sus escuelas se juntaron varios miembros de grupos comunitarios y sindicatos, como el Comité por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes de Minnesota (MIRAC), la Coalición por Justicia para Jamar, SEIU Local 26, y muchos más.

#MinneapolisMN #students #ImmigrantsImmigrantsRights

The protest was part of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) National Day of Action on Feb. 15 and is demanding greater protections for Muslim and undocumented students at the U of U. The students are responding to the threat that the Trump presidency poses to these vulnerable groups.

Students are demanding university administrators refuse to work with ICE operations on campus, hire a designated immigration lawyer, withhold student information requested by federal authorities, and make a public declaration that the university is a sanctuary campus. The ultimatum promises that if the university does not act by March 8 “immediate action” will be taken. It is not known what the “immediate action” will be.

This is the second protest rally for a sanctuary campus by students at the U. of U. SDS also presented a petition that 600 students signed. SDS is still waiting for campus administrators to respond directly.

Administrators and campus institutions did send emails to students following some of Trump’s executive orders. These emails express support for undocumented students, but do not respond to the demands of SDS, in particular making University of Utah a sanctuary campus.

“We are here today to demand a sanctuary campus from University of Utah administration. We are demanding this because we understand that we need to start taking action here at home to fight against Trump,” said Theresa Nielson at the rally.

Union Building staff and student government members interrupted Nielson’s speech by tugging on her arm, and then attempted to interrupt the speeches of SDS members Lucia Miramontes and Ian Decker. University staffers wanted the protest shut down, claiming a reservation had not been made and was disrupting a conference upstairs.

Trampling the students’ free speech, staffers threatened to contact the police. After students ended the rally and marched away, police were present at the office of the president of the university and watched while students chanted and posted the ultimatum to the doors.

SDS members at the University of Utah continue to gather support for the sanctuary campus by reaching out to professors and students to voice their support for Muslims and undocumented immigrants.

#SaltLakeCityUT #SaltLakeCItyUT #StudentMovement #PeoplesStruggles #students #Immigration #Trump

Chicago, IL – The announcement of Donald Trump’s visit to the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) came one week before his scheduled, March 11 appearance. Within minutes, there was a Facebook page announcing plans to protest. There was also a moveon.org petition calling on the administration at UIC to cancel the rally.

By later that afternoon, over 5000 people signed up to protest, and by later that night, 50,000 had signed the petition.

The gathering of student leaders on Mar. 7 wasn’t full of movement veterans. There were 15 or 20 members of Students for Justice in Palestine, who had experience winning a vote in the student government for divestment this semester. But during the meeting, when the question was raised, “How many people here have been to a protest?” 20 of the 100 students present raised their hands. Then the question was asked, “How many have organized a protest?” only a few hands went up.

One of the hands was that of Ethan Viets-Van Lear. Viets-Van Lear is a member of Black Youth Project 100, and was part of the We Charge Genocide delegation that went to Switzerland in October, 2014. There, they testified to the United Nations Committee Against Torture about the Chicago Police Department.

Cassie Robledo, a member of the College Democrats, said, “My first protest was when I was 12. My dad and uncles are members of the Steel Workers Union. They took me to the megamarch for immigrant rights.” But the protest against Trump was the first time she was organizing anything like this.

Planning the actions

The students agreed to support two sets of tactics: one inside the Trump event and one outside. It became clear within the meeting that the main drama would be the protests taking place to disrupt Trump’s speech. Cassie Robledo was going in. Usama Ibrahim of Muslim Students Association intended to go in as well.

Another veteran of past protests, Nathaniel Lewis, a grad student in public health, was incorporated into an informal leadership group for the inside group.

Communications were set up, including the use of the app Signal, which allows for encrypted communication. A plan was hatched for the groups planning to disrupt to be organically developed, and then coordinated by dividing up the period of the Trump rally into ten minute intervals.

The tactics for the mass march and rallies outside the Trump event venue were debated during the meeting. Given that the protest was only four days away, there was an emergency character to the planning. There was tension in the room. But after a wide-ranging debate in which more than one third expressed their views, the organizers were able to present a plan which united the room.

The march

When Friday, March 11 came, the Quad on the center of campus was packed, with 1000 people who gathered at 4:30. The organizers realized that they had to be to the corner of Harrison and Racine, outside the Pavilion where the Trump rally was occurring, prior to 5:00. Since the news stations start broadcasting at 5:00, Lewis said, “It is important to get established as soon as possible.”

It was agreed to have only a few speakers. The rally was emceed by Viets-VanLear, also a spoken word poet, who helped keep it short and lively.

The plan was to attempt to take over Harrison Street and then march to the corner with Racine. The police had placed metal barricades in the median in Harrison.

As the crowd marched across campus, it swelled to several thousand people. When it reached Harrison, the tactical leadership of the march made the call: They would take only one the eastbound lane. The barricades were locked together, and once separated into two lanes, the protest would be divided.

Confronting the police

The next challenge was dealing with the Chicago Police Department (CPD). In meetings with the administration earlier in the week, Juan Rojas reported, “They told us that we had to go to the parking lot across the street from the Pavilion.” One activist with SEIU Local 73, the main union on campus, called the lot a “cattle pen,” because it was surrounded by high, wrought iron fences.

Rojas explained why they still went into the meeting with CPD and the administration. “Essentially to tell them that we’re taking Harrison and that we want them to keep off the crowd and let us as organizers control it.” After the meeting, Rojas reported, “CPD wants us to march from the Quad and take the crowd into the parking lot.”

As the ever-growing crowd got within sight of the Trump crowd lining up at the Pavilion, CPD bike cops blocked the street, trying to force the front of the march to divert into the parking lot. Ethan Viets-Van Lear, Juan Rojas and Bear Steck, the tactical leadership group, stood firm. “We have the right to confront the hate that has come to our campus,” said Rojas.

The marchers stood their ground and kept up chanting. Meanwhile, at the intersection, another 1000 anti-Trump protesters had gathered on the corners, behind barricades. Jerry Boyle of the National Lawyers Guild, a legal observer, explained to the police, “Those people have moved into the intersection, and are marching east to meet the larger group.” At this point, the commander realized that the bike cops were surrounded, and pulled them out of the intersection.

The front line of the march cheered, and surged forward to meet those waiting in front of the main doors to the venue.

A rally was then held just in front of the Trump crowd standing in line. Over the next two hours, the police would have to retreat two more times as the protesters demanded to take the entire intersection so that those speaking out could be heard by more of the anti-Trump group that stretched back over a block along Harrison.

Inside

Perhaps 1000 anti-Trump protesters inside the Pavilion filled an entire section of the arena. Before Trump made his announcement that he was chickening out, every 10 minutes, another group would raise their voices. Police would come and remove them. Trump wasn’t facing violence. He was facing courageous youth who were determined to speak out against his hate. As Ibrahim said later, “We would not allow racism, bigotry and xenophobia tarnish our pavilion, nor our city, nor our presidency. Not in our lifetimes.”

Ibrahim continued, “Yesterday, the University of Illinois at Chicago made history. Could this be a turning point in the Donald Trump campaign? Could we have portrayed his cowardice to the millions of Americans and tens of millions of non-Americans across the world? We'll have to just wait and see.”

#ChicagoIL #StudentMovement #PeoplesStruggles #students #Antiracism #Antifascism #Elections #DumpTrump

Tampa, FL – Student got together here, August 18, to make some of the thousands of signs that will be carried at the August 27 march on the Republican National Convention. The protest will demand good jobs, health-care, affordable education, equality and peace.

“We are going all out to get ready for the march on the RNC,” stated Skye Schmelzer, a protest organizer and member of Student for a Democratic Society. “In just 9 days, students and others are going to make a powerful statement against the Republican agenda, and the agenda of the 1% that runs this country.”

The August 27 RNC protest will begin with a 10:00 a.m. rally at Perry Harvey Sr. Park, located at 1200 N. Orange Ave in Tampa, FL.

#TampaFL #RepublicanNationalConvention #students #RNC

Raleigh, NC – A massive crowd of 8000 teachers, youth and community members wearing red shirts swelled outside the North Carolina State Legislative Building on May 3 to protest cuts to education. The rally was organized by the North Carolina Association of Educators. Dozens of community and grassroots organizations, including the NAACP, Farm Labor Organizing Committee and Students for a Democratic Society, mobilized to show their support for public school teachers and to defend education from attack by right-wing legislators.

About an hour into the rally, a lively contingent of 150 students from the North Carolina Defend Education Coalition arrived in the plaza after marching from North Carolina State University, chanting, “No cuts! No fees! Education should be free!” Five youth with North Carolina Defend Education were later arrested while unfurling a banner inside the legislative building while legislators were debating the cuts to education.

“The cuts that have been proposed are absolutely outrageous and will devastate education as we know it,” said Ana Maria Reichenbach, a member of the University of North Carolina Students for a Democratic Society and an organizer of the student contingent. “We see this as larger attack on public services that benefit the working class; it is a direct transfer of wealth to the rich and the corporations.”

The North Carolina Association of Educators noted in their press release for the rally that “3000 education positions are on the chopping block, class size continues to grow, healthcare costs are skyrocketing and national board and master’s degree pay are in jeopardy.” Thousands of participants at the rally came from 100 counties across North Carolina to echo this message.

Cathey Stanley, a former student-teacher at Carrboro High School, said her message to the legislators debating the cuts to education is, “Get in the classrooms, see the people you’re affecting and see the students your harming and the teachers you’re doing a great disservice to who are teaching your students and your children, who are the future of this state.”

#Raleigh #RaleighNC #SDS #PeoplesStruggles #Protest #PublicSectorUnions #education #students