When your education is under attack, what do you do? Fight back!
Tuesday night's rescheduled meeting of the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Board was something of an ugly temporary win for supporters of the Mexican-American Studies (MAS) program, who have been fighting the elimination of the program by Arizona's notorious state government .
Mother Mags has an excellent diary HERE on the issues and the UNIDOS student takeover of the board room last week.
I attended the meeting on Tuesday and wanted to recount the night and share video of the disgraceful behavior of some members of the board and the absurd and offensive show of force by over 100 police officers, many in riot gear. Board President Mark Stegeman ordered the arrest of seven women who spoke out of turn, including U of A/Pima College Professor of History Lupe Castillo, 69, who attempted to read the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail. "
UPDATE
I have added a link to a video shot from inside the meeting and I think it really worth watching. Video created by David Abie Morales
http://vimeo.com/...
I arrived at the school board meeting located at 1010 E. 10th. street, first noticing a news van or two and the community gathering in front of the building
and a shocking number of police.
Students, parents, teachers, friends, and other supporters mingled, sang songs, laughed, chanted, and lined up to get inside the small board room.
Some clergy members had set up a display.
Speakers were set up outside so the hundreds of people left outside could hear the proceedings. However, the audio was terrible and many voices were inaudible. After a discussion of the funding of the Ethnic Studies program, members of the community were allowed only 30 total minutes to speak, three minutes each. There many fantastic speakers.
Isabel Garcia, Pima County public defender and director of the human rights group Derechos Humanos expressed outrage at the disrespectful treatment of community members with the ludicrous amount of police and screening procedures, including bag searches and wanding.
Two speakers tore apart the faulty analysis of board president Mark Stegeman, a Democrat, of the program, revealing numbers so manipulated as to wonder if he is incompetent or dishonest.
Jeff Rogers, head of the Pima County Democratic Party offered full throated support of the program and questioned why Stegeman was not standing up for the highly successful program against the onslaught of racist attacks by the extremist legislature, who have clearly made it known that their goal is to kill the program and also take away elements of Tucson's ability to govern itself.
Dr. Raquel Rubio-Goldsmith, University of Arizona Professor of Mexican-American Studies and long-time community leader, informed members of the board, "I think it's important to know how long we've been here. ... When this is over, you will be gone, and we will still be here."
Dr. Rubio-Goldsmith being removed from the meeting.
Clarence Boykins, executive director of the Southern Arizona Black Chamber of Commerce, wisely stating that he knew which groups were next on the hitlist, clearly and calmly informing the board that they were servants of the people and they answered to their constituents, they would give the children what they need or they would be replaced.
When the public comment period ended, University of Arizona professor Roberto Rodriguez, asked if more time could be given for public comments. Professor Lupe Castillo, professor of history at Pima College and the University of Arizona and who is a revered elder of the educational and civil rights struggle, wanted to read Dr. King's Letter. Stegeman pointed to Castillo, 69, and had several police, some with riot gear on, surround her and remove her from the room to be arrested. In all 7 women were arrested for speaking out of turn (3rd degree criminal trespass or something),
Video of Professor Castillo being removed from the meeting:
http://azstarnet.com/...
Most were loaded into a police van. Protestors locked arms to form a human chain,
that stretched around the corner. Two groups formed blockades in the rear driveways on either side of the block to prevent the van from leaving.
People sang songs, gave words of support to each other, discussions of how pepper spray can trigger asthma attacks. Reports of riot police with some type of spray guns/"air soft" guns around the corner.
At one entrance police suddenly charged the people with linked arms sitting on the ground and violently grabbed them by their arms and hair and threw them to the side. See the video below. After the van left, the students and supporters decided to return to the front of the building, arms linked.
The vote on Stegeman's resolution was postponed to a later date and there are talks of a community forum in the works.
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Please watch this excellent 3 minute video recap of the scene outside, from Pan Left Productions,:
http://www.youtube.com/...
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Links to eyewitness accounts of inside the meeting:
Ejercitodemujeres:
http://ejercitodemujeres.wordpress.com/...
Three Sonorans:
http://networkedblogs.com/...
UPDATE
I wanted to add this link to David Abie Morales' (Three Sonorans) video, which features a lot of footage from inside the meeting. It is 45 minutes long but I think it is well worth seeing the treatment of people trying to speak by the police and for hearing many of the great comments by the public.
http://vimeo.com/...