LABOR BEAT: Elected school board fight has grueling history in Chicago lately, including the current Board's dragging its critics out of the room!... Labor Beat archives share some highlights of the fight that led to the historic 90 percent vote for an elected school board...
Chicago Demands Democratic Control of Public Education will be aired on CAN TV this Thursday (March 12). Friday, and next week as Chicago comes to terms with the overwhelming vote on February 24, 2015, in favor of an elected school board for Chicago. In February of 2015 nearly 90 percent of Chicago voters said "YES" to an elected school board. Because the referendum was non-binding, this fight will obviously continue, now with increased energy and conviction.
Substance reporter and editor George Schmidt explained in the Labor Beat video how the Board of Education edited out all of the violence against protesting citizens from the video rendition of the Board meeting. Labor Beat photo.This week and next, Labor Beat goes back into its archives to present two dramatic meetings of the Chicago Board of Education which illustrate what an appalling patrician atavism the present appointed board system is, and the determination of the public schools community to take democratic control of public education. The videos will be aired:
Chicago - CAN TV Channel 19
Thursday, March 12, 9:30 pm
Friday, March 13, 4:30 pm Thursday, March 19, 9:30 pm
Friday, March 20, 4:30 pm
Segment 1: Out You Go!
May 22, 2013. Using official and independent footage, Subtancenews editor George Schmidt deconstructs CPS's media manipulations as the Board makes its final historic decision to close the largest number of public schools in U.S. history. In CPS's version that it put on cable tv, physical ejections of community spokespeople are edited out, so the public wouldn't see the 'blood' on the slaughterhouse floor. Even the names of the closed schools are not specifically mentioned, but are given impersonal numbers instead. We show you exactly where these edits were made.
Two respected community activists (Erica Clark [Parents4Teachers] and Shannon Bennett [Kenwood Oakland Community Organization]) at different points during that board meeting were physically manhandled out of the meeting as they protested the Board's action. Included are interviews with Clark and Bennet about what happened and what they were trying to say.
Erica Clark of "Parents 4 Teachers" was dragged out of the Board of Education meeting on orders of Board President (millionaire banker) David Vitale after she continued reading the names of all the schools the Board was going to vote to close that day. Clark's attempt to simply read the Board's "Hit List" of schools to be closed at the May 2013 Board meeting was interrupted when she was halfway through. The list was so long, and Clark predicted, accurately, that the Board would not even read out the names of the schools on the "Hit List" when it voted later in the meeting to close the schools. The Board wouldn't allow her to continue reading. Labor Beat photo. Erica Clark notes that the action of the board will drive home more forcefully that the era of a Mayor-appoint school board in Chicago must come to an end.
Can also be viewed at: http://youtu.be/oyVrSQURGH4
George Schmidt dissects the CPS propaganda machine, noting scenes edited out of the public tv version of the 'slash-and-burn-50-schools' meeting. Photo: Rachel Dickson / Larry Duncan / Labor Beat
Segment 2: Chicago Student Union: CPS Board Resign!
At the July 2013 CPS Board meeting a group of students who were part of a newly forming organization -- Chicago Student Union -- confronted the Board with a number of demands. Student Ross Floyd, before CPS security guards chased him from the microphone, listed them:
1. Moratorium on all school closings
2. Democratically elected Board of Education, including resignation letters from the current Board members. 3. All future TIF (Tax Increment Financing) funds be directed to CPS schools and not private institution.
Another Chicago Student Union activist, Violeta Valenzuela (CSU member), compared the Board to one of the snakes on the head of Medusa. She told them:
"The Medusa's head is this country. You are one of the snakes. In order to fight the snake we must fight the head. We have to cut off the head to kill the snake...I consider you part of the oppression of our people...Now these budget cuts that I see, apparently you don't have the money, I don't have the money, so who has the money? This country has the money, these corporations have the money...these banks have the money." Here the audience in the Board room began to cheer.
In an interview afterwards, Violeta told Labor Beat: "I feel that the head is like the U.S. and the institution of capitalism. Each snake is like a little branch that we have to fight. One is like corrupt politicians, another one is like police beatings, another is poor conditions in our neighborhoods. No matter how much we fight each little snake, we have to go down to the root, we have to go down to the head." Also on YouTube at: http://youtu.be/62YqVadnC7k
Violeta Vanelzuela tells the board that they are one of the snakes on the Medusa's
head. Photo: David Vance / Labor Beat
Extra credit question: Can you ascribe to the snake's heads the names of other contemporary institutions or individuals, besides the ones Violeta mentions. Image based on a drawing by 'lil larry'.
Produced by Labor Beat. Labor Beat is a CAN TV Community Partner. Labor Beat is a non-profit 501(c)(3) member of IBEW 1220. Views are those of the producer Labor Beat. For info: mail@laborbeat.org , www.laborbeat.org . 312-226-3330. For other Labor Beat videos, visit YouTube and search "Labor Beat".
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