Immigrants rise up from California's Central Valley to the Central Coast; CA Assemblyman Leland Yee supports the movement

At the California State Building in San Francisco at noon today California Speaker Pro Tem Leland Yee [a former SF Board of Education commissioner] stood with dozens of Asian and Pacific Islander and Chicano/Latino organizations to call for unity among Chinese, Asian and Latino immigrant commuities. Assemblymember Yee is introducing a bill in the state legislature that will support human rights for all immigrants. Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition director Sheila Chung was there with me and Chinese Progressive Association Chairman Leon Chow and dozens of seniors from the Community Tenants Association to call on our communities to continue to demand dignity and justice for all immigrants. Yesterday SF Immgrant Rights hunger strikers ended their weeklong fast with a demonstration at Senator Diane Feinstein's downtown office. They also united with the Latino Peace activists that finished their 241 mile march for peace also in the City.

Protests have been strong in the Fresno and the Central Valley and are spreading to the Central Coast as well -

The Independent Media Center is reporting many other walkouts and examples of immigrant community organizing and resistance from California’s Central Valley to the Central Coast. http://www.indybay.org/immigrant/

Fresno High School walkouts
Watsonville, Santa Cruz, Monterey immigrant communities and supporters stand up to the racist anti-immigrant attacks.

Thousands of Fresno High School students walked out and protested for immigrant rights on Monday. [great photos from Mike Rhodes]
http://www.indybay.org/centralvalley/

Immigrant Rights - The Protests and Walkouts are Growing Larger in Fresno
by Mike Rhodes Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2006 at 1:43 PM
Mike Rhodes 559 978-4502
In Fresno, the immigrant rights marches and walkouts by high school students are growing in strength and numbers. On Monday there were over 500 students at the march and rally. Today the estimates were as high as 6,000.
Immigrant Rights - The Protests and Walkouts are Growing Larger in Fresno By Mike Rhodes Estimates of the number of students at the immigrant rights marches and rally in downtown Fresno ranged wildly today. The Fresno Police Department captain on the scene estimated 2,000. The Reverend Floyd Harris, president of the California chapter of the National Action Network, estimated 6,000. What was certain is that thousands of students made their way downtown today, in the pouring rain, to protest against the anti-immigrant HR 4437 that is being discussed in Congress. The march and rally was significantly larger than the spontaneous walkout and march, led by student activists yesterday. See http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/03/1811395.php for the story and pictures from that event. Today the students came from almost, if not all, local high schools. The students gathered at City Hall, held a rally, and marched to the Fulton Mall and back to City Hall. Shortly before Noon there were several splinter marches heading in various directions and you could hear chanting and the yelling of these massive marches all over the downtown area. Perhaps the largest contingent, once again, came from Fresno High. There arrival created an uproar from students who had already arrived that could be heard for blocks. One of the last groups to arrive was a group from Hoover High, which is at least 5 miles North of downtown. While there was a massive police presence, there was no evidence of arrests taking place at this peaceful rally and march.
www.fresnoalliance.com/home

Marches In Watsonville and Salinas for Peace and Immigrant Rights!
03/22/2006 241-MILE MARCH FOR PEACE FROM TIJUANA TO SAN FRANCISCO
On March 25th, over 2,500 latino immigrants joined Gold Star Families for Peace member Fernando Suarez del Solar, and Iraq War resister Pablo Paredes for the 5 mile Watsonville leg of their 241 mile march for peace from Tijuana to the Mission District in San Francisco. Along with chants for peace, many on the march were also moved to take a stand against the draconian anti-immigrant bill HR4437. photos: 1 2 3 4 5 6audio: Short Interviews After the march, the Watsonville Police Department targeted one organizer (a Brown Beret) and wrote him a citation with 8-10 counts against him, including criminal charges. Read more Shortly after the march in Watsonville, a thousand latino immigrants joined Fernando Suarez del Solar and Pablo Paredes for the 5 mile Salinas leg of their 241 mile trek.
Read more about the march for peace from Tijuana to San Francisco

500+ March for Immigrant Rights in Santa Cruz
03/19/2006 UNITED AGAINST HR4437 AND FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
More than five hundred people joined rallies and marches against HR 4437 in Santa Cruz on March 17th. The rally started at the Santa Cruz County Building and then marched to Beach Flats Park, with the community running out of their homes and into the streets throughout the night. People then left the Beach Flats, headed up Pacific Avenue, and back to the County Building for a final rally of the night. HR 4437 would make it a felony offense to be in the U.S. without proper documentation. This would push undocumented immigrants further underground, and increase the potential for exploitation by employers. This bill would also criminalize nurses, teachers, clergy, social workers, and anyone else who aids, assists, or otherwise has regular contact with undocumented immigrants. (protest announcement). reportbacks: Por que somos emigrantes, Por que somos ilegales, si señor. Report from Friday's Marches and Rallies in Santa Cruzphotos: 1 2 3 4audio: Speakers from Santa Cruz Rally Against HR 4437observations: Sentinel has no online coverage of Friday's March for Immigrant Rights in Santa Cruz undercover cops at immigrant rights march?

100+ Take to the Streets in Monterey in Oposition to HR 4437
03/20/2006 HR 4437: AN ATTACK ON EVERY PERSON OF EVERY COLOR
On Wednesday March 15th, over one hundred activists congregated at Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey to voice their opinion on the new HR4437 bill that had just passed in the House of Representatives and is now on its way to the Senate. The activists included students, community members, Brown Berets, veterans, and children. After a rally at the park, the demonstrators marched to Downtown Monterey (Alvarado Street) to tell the general public how they felt. As the protest moved towards downtown the number of demonstrators increased as they found more supporters to their cause. At one point the demonstration blocked one lane of the road as the demonstrators took to the street.
Read more

California High School Walkouts Spread to SF, Oakland, Richmond, San Jose...

CA High School Student Walkouts/ Blowouts Spread North to SF, Oakland, Richmond, San Jose...

CNN and other news sources [http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=133985] reported more walkouts on Monday 3/27/06 not just again in Los Angeles High Schools but now spreading to other high schools throughout the state.

The LA Times Reported more than 40,000 students walking out in Southern California -

Nearly 40,000 students from across Southern California staged walkouts to protest proposed immigration legislation Monday, blocking traffic on four freeways and leaving educators concerned about how much longer the issue will disrupt schools. The protests are believed to eclipse in size the demonstrations that occurred during the anti-Proposition 187 campaign in 1994 and even a famous student walkout for Chicano rights in 1968.
Some principals put their schools on lockdown Monday to keep students from leaving campus, and Los Angeles Unified School District officials said all middle and high schools will be on lockdown today. Monday's demonstrations appeared to start in Los Angeles but quickly spread to San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange and Ventura counties. Though the protests were mostly peaceful, there were a few clashes and several arrests.

From the Immigrant Solidarity Network in Los Angeles -

24,680 Los Angeles Students Walk Out to Protest H.R. 4437

LOS ANGELES, March 27, 2006 - The Los Angeles Unified School District is reporting 24,680 students have walked out of classes today to protest anti-immigrant law H.R. 4437. An official from LAUSD said that students from 52 separate middle schools and high schools throughout the district have walked
out. Many students have joined a rally now taking place at city hall numbering
in the 1000’s. There are also reports of walkouts in other school districts. The district is expecting more walkouts tomorrow.
From the newswire: Students WALK OUT at Riverside high school LA school district is reporting 24,680 students have walked out Walkout in the West SGV Hundreds of Orange County Youth Protest Anti-Immigration Law!
VIDEO: Marshall High students walkout

MAYOR, OTHERS, ADDRESS STUDENTS ON STEPSOF CITY HALL; SOME MARCHERS TAKE THE STREETSAND FREEWAYS; NO ARRESTS UP TO 2:00 P.M.by don white - LOS ANGELES March 27, 2006

Peaking at about 5000 students, a demonstration Monday on the south lawn of City Hall in downtown Los Angeles was addressed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as the youth chanted, applauded and waved banners and flags. His appearance from a City Hall door created a surge of students to the steps of the building. Earlier students poured into the City Hall lawnafter walking out of scores of local high school and middle schools to protest the immigration legislationnow in Congress. As each student contingent enter the area, deafening cheers greeted the newcomers.

Richmond, Oakland and San Francisco High School and Middle School students turned out in the thousands in the pouring rain today to march with the immigrant rights organizations, faith-based human rights and grassroots social justice organizations, and to join the Immigrant Rights Hunger Strikers and the Latino Peace marchers at a huge demonstration at Senator Diane Feinstein’s financial district office.

For more photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericmar/sets/72057594092271645/

The San Jose Mercury News reported hundreds of students walking out of San Jose Unified and East Side Union school districts. Hundreds of immigrants and folks in solidarity rallied at San Jose City Hall later monday evening as well.

Students who walked out from the Richmond, Oakland and San Francisco schools are representing a tradition of walkouts and ‘blowouts’ from the Civil Rights movement to the Chicano/Latino movements of the 60’s. Asian American students at San Francisco's predominantly Chinese American Galileo High School also walked out at different times in the late 1960's over racism and an unequal education system for immigrants, working class, and students of color.
Retired UC Berkeley Chicano Studies Prof. Carlos Munoz, a veteran of the Chicano Movemiento and a college student supporter of the March 1968 high school ‘Blowouts’ in East Los Angeles gives a great history at http://65.61.160.86/news/article_tol.jsp?id=740
For more on the HBO Edward James Olmos film Walkout which premiered on HBO earlier this month. See my earlier blog entries.
Walkout/Latino-voice-for-peace-march-mexico
CABE - bilingual education teachers/parents support language equality

Pictured to the right is East Oakland Community High School co-founder Wayne Yang, one of the SF Hunger Strikers, who was supported at SF's rally today by his entire high school according to organizers of the protest.

Blowouts and walkouts are also spreading in many other areas of CA and throughout the Southwest. For example, the aztlanrising.com website is reporting –

Monday, 27 March 2006
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN NEWS BULLETIN -Los Angeles, Alta California - March 27, 2006
School walkouts spreading throughout Aztlan
We are getting reports that school walkouts by Latinostudents are now taking place in San Marcos, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Antonio, Houston and El Paso.
http://aztlanrising.com/cms/content/view/634/105/

The Anti-war and immigrant rights movements seem to be converging more now not only with today’s uniting of the Latino Peace Marchers with the SF Hunger Strikers and their supporters but also with United for Peace and Justice in NYC and the ANSWER LA supporting and helping lead the historic Mach 26, 2006 Los Angeles immigrant rights march and rally.

In solidarity with the immigrant rights movement – The NY-based United for Peace and Justice has put out an action alert –

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ 212-868-5545

Please forward widely!
Tell Congress: Vote No on Sensenbrenner's, Specter's, or Any Other Anti-Immigrant Bill!

Congress is on the verge of passing legislation that will decide how immigrants will be treated for decades to come. 11 million undocumented immigrants and those who help them get food, a job, or a home would be turned into criminals -- unless we act now!

CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY
United for Peace and Justice urges you to add your voice to the chorus that is calling for real immigration reform that does not criminalize immigrant adults and children or the social workers, nurses and others who provide them with help:

Capitol Switchboard: (888) 355-3588 (toll-free) or (202) 334-3121

Please call both of your Senators TODAY. You can ask for the Senator by name at the number above. If you don't know his/her name or the line is busy, see: http://www.senate.gov
and click on "Senators" at the top left.

Tell your Senator to vote NO on HR 4437, the Sensenbrenner bill, Senator Arlen Specter's bill, or any other version that retains anti-immigrant provisions. Instead of undermining civil rights and civil liberties, they should support immigration reform that enables undocumented immigrants to legalize their status and gain a path to citizenship, reunifies immigrant families, stops mandatory deportations and indefinite detentions, and supports the rights of all workers.
To find out about protests in your community, see: http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/

Thanks as always for your hard work on behalf of peace and justice,
United for Peace and Justice
Visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/
APRIL 29
New York City
March for Peace, Justice, and Democracy
End the war in Iraq -- bring the troops home!
Unite for change -- let's turn our country around!

Immigrant Solidarity Network spreading analysis and news about growing movement

That's one of the most amazing photos I have ever seen - from today's Sunday LA Times.
The Immigrant Solidarity Network has been doing a tremendous job with analysis and information about the growing immigrant rights movement throughout the United States. Though they are based in Los Angeles where the strongest base of the movement seems to be, they are also linked with organizations from Milwaukee [where 30,000 people marched and demonstrated for immigrant rights on 3/24/06] to Denver [where the mainstream press reported over 50,000 in the streets and folks are protesting a Colorado version of CA's Prop 187 which scapegoats immigrants]. More on Denver protest.
In Sacramento, CA where at least 5000 marched, and in Stockton immigrant communities are also rising up.
Check out this blog. Sacramento
Also see the report from the Stockton Record - Hundreds take to the streets in protest of immigration bill Zachary K. Johnson Record Staff Writer Published Sunday, Mar 26, 2006.

From the Immigrant Solidarity Network -
3/25: Los Angeles: Between Half-million to One Million People Protest against Anti-Immigrant Law!
http://www.NoHR4437.org
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/
For More Photos, go: Photo Album
Today in downtown Los Angeles, over 1 million people demonstrated in support of immigrant rights. This was the largest demonstration in the history of California. March organizers announced from the stage that the crowd was over 1 million. Univision and other Spanish-language television reported that up to 2 million people marched. The Los Angeles Times, reflecting police estimates, gave the march 500,000 - police estimates have been trying to minimize pro-immigrant rights demonstration for the last few weeks.
Reports:
ANSWER LA
3/20-25: IMMIGRANTS HIT THE STREETS
By Immigration News Briefs (INB) Between Mar. 20 and 25, tens of thousands of immigrants demonstrated in cities and towns across the US to protest anti-immigrant legislation being considered by the Senate and to demand legalization for out-of-status immigrants
3/24 LOS ANGELES, CA: STUDENTS WALK OUT
By Immigration News Briefs (INB): In the Los Angeles area on Mar. 24, school district officials estimated that more than 2,700 students walked out of at least eight schools to protest anti-immigrant bills being considered by Congress.Video: Drummers Marchers-1 Marchers-2
Photo Album
More background info about HR 4437: http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/

NO to H.R. 4437!
NO to Sensenbrenner/King!
NO to murderous walls
NO to death
NO to incarceration of human rights workers

Massive movement growing; Latino March for Peace UNITES! with SF Immigrant Rights Hunger Strikers Monday 3/27/06

Over 1/2 a million marched in Los Angeles today, and following the tradition of the 1968 East LA High School 'blowouts' - thousands of LA high school students walked out in protest of the racist anti-immigrant legislation and attacks on immigrant communities.
In San Francisco on Saturday longtime labor and social justice activist Bill Schwalb was also out for the national day of solidarity and to support the SF hunger strikers at the Federal Building. He has been working with the organizers of the "241 mile March for Peace" which began in Tijuana on March 12th and is ending Monday March 27 in Oakland and San Francisco. See our blog entry from a few weeks ago.
The Chicano/Latino peace marchers will converge with the SF Immigrant Rights Hunger Strikers as well.
At 10:30 am the Peace marchers will be at Laney College in Oakland.
At Noon they are expected at the Montgomery BART station probably to join the Immigrant Rights hunger strikers for a demonstration at Senator Diane Feinstein's office at Montgomery and Market.
The peace marchers also plan to gather at Dolores Park in the Mission District after 3:15pm and to close their 241 mile 'long march' at 5pm with a ceremony and celebration.
Congratulations to the Chicano/Latino peace marchers for building stronger unity between the anti-war movement and the growing immigrant rights movement!
For more info - 510-722-0889
For their website - guerreroazteca.org
Click here for the marchers' daily blog.

National Day of Solidarity builds movement for justice for immigrant communities

As hundreds of thousands marched and demonstrated in Los Angeles, Denver, Milwaukee, Tennessee and throughout the United States, hundreds of San Francisco Bay Area folks braved the rain and wind on the National Day of Solidarity to support the 30 or so immigrant rights hunger strikers who have been camping out in front of the Federal Building in San Francisco.

I just posted a bunch of photos from today’s rally in San Francisco –
march 25 national day os solidarity photos san francisco

At the rally Jeremiah Jeffries of Teachers for Social Justice and the SF People’s Organization raised the spirits of the hunger strikers with a great solidarity statement.

“HR 4437 and the Specter bill are part of a long history of criminalizing and abusing and being hateful for people of color the world over,” he said.
We will tell legislators in a united voice of brown colorful hues together that we will rise and let them know that this is unacceptable. It is time to organize our schools, our neighbors, our merchants, our fellow workers to fight the anti-immigrant racism.”

To loud cheers from the audience, he said, “We will shame you in office and shame you in public – all you racist legislators who voted for this bill in the house.”
“We will take power locally and we will push it to the state to get rid of Arnold [Schwartzenegger] and we will press on the federal government. We will vote out of office anyone who is not there for the people.”

Jeffries teaches 1st grade at John Swett Alternative Elementary School in San Francisco not far from the Federal Building.

The audience also listened to solidarity statements from activists in others states like Tennessee and Ohio and from queer immigrant rights activists.

I saw another veteran from the 1995 SF hunger strike for immigrant rights, Edwin Rodriguez who was one of the leaders of CARECEN and the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights in the 1990's. Edwin now does a TV show on Univision TV 14 [SF Bay Area].

Edwin's organization A NewAmerica produces a regular weekly segment on TV14 about immigration. For more info http://anewamerica.org

Longtime labor movement leader Bill Shields who built the great labor studies program at City College of SF was at the rally to support one of his students who is a hunger striker. Several San Francisco state students are also hunger strikers. My colleagues Ethnic Studies Professors Andrew Jolivette [Native American Studies] and Clarissa Rojas [Raza Studies] from SF State University have been especially supportive of the student hunger strikers by bringing out their classes to the federal building to learn about solidarity and immigrant rights.

On Friday, Colin Rajah from the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights coordinated the solidarity action in the rain outside the federal building. Grassroots youth organizations PODER and the Chinese Progressive Association brought out young people to support the hunger strikers.

Filipinos for Affirmative Action, BAYAN and other Asian and Pacific Islander organizations are also supporting the strikers. Kawal Ulanday, Chairperson of BAYAN-USA joined the hunger strike on Thursday.

It is our responsibility to even put our bodies at risk if this is what it takes to get those in power to act in a human way and recognize that being able to work and live in the United States with dignity and to provide food for your family here and for your loved ones who you haven't seen in years is a human right that must not be compromised or criminalized.

If there is any foreign presence to be questioned on a foreign land, it is the presence of trans and multinational corporations in the Philippines, South America and Mexico reaping super billion dollar profits from our homelands, crushing any hopes for national industrialization, jobs and the ability to keep our own resources to build self-reliant economies that provide jobs at home.

Teacher and artist Jay Jasper Pugao from the East Oakland Community High School has been fasting for the entire week.

We must be present here to represent the long-time struggle of our community and unity with other immigrant communities whose ability to survive are being threatened like never before.
I am an immigrant to this country and my parents worked the asparagus feilds of Stockton when I was young. It's time that this generation remembers those struggles and sacrifices and takes a stand for those Filipinos living in the shadows of America today and fighting for their family's survival.

------------------
For 1st hand accounts of the hunger strike – check out the

hunger strikers’ blog

For more on queer and LBGT community solidarity with hunger strikers – go to http://www.immigrationequalitysf.org/

Support grows for SF Immigrant Rights Hunger Strikers

San Francisco Immigrant Rights Hunger Strikers were in good spirits last night during their nightly candlelight vigils. The weather was a little warmer and the wind wasn't ripping through the concrete barriers surrounding the SF Federal Building as much last night.
Richmond/San Pablo activist Marilyn Langlois who works with CALCARE, an anti-high stakes testing alliance, was there to support her fellow West Contra Costa County teacher/activist hunger strikers Raul Alcaraz and Cesar Cruz.
SF teachers and education activist have organized a support rally this Saturday 3/25 -
RALLY: Saturday, March 25th, 2006, Noon at the FederalBldg. (Golden Gate and Larkin, SF) Teachers 4 SocialJustice.

Media coverage from the progressive and alternative press has been good, but the mainstream press seem to be 'whiting out' the hunger strikers and immigrant communities in general.
For a great article see Beyond Chron
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=3072#more
National Immigration Forum's Director Frank Sharry has a great piece in the New California Media's website as well -
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_alt_category.html?category_id=14

For other resistance growing in immigrant communities -
check out the Immigrant Solidarity Network -
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/

March 25-28 Nationawide Weekend of Actions to Support Immigrant Solidarity!
3/25 Los Angeles GRAN MARCHA 2006!10 AM OLYMPIC AND BROADWAY, LOS ANGELESURL: http://www.nohr4437.org/Info: Jesse Diaz: (951)756-5712
3/25: Immigrant Rally at Denver, COSaturday, March 25th 10:00 AMCivic Center Park, downtown Denver, COContact: Jordan T. Garcia (303)623-3464
3/26 New York, NY: Protest HR 4437 NYC1:00 PM, at 165th Street and AudubonContact: Radhames (646)796-8657
3/26 Los Angeles, CA: Religious Mass, 3:30 PM Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels 555 West Temple St. Los Angeles, CAInfo: (213)637-7690
March 26-28 Washington DC: Conference & lobbying day Organized by Rights Working Group. URL: http://www.rightsworkinggroup.org/
3/27 Washington DC: National Action at the Capitol for Immigrant RightsMarch 27, 2006 @ 11 AMWest Lawn of the United States Capitol
Local SF Immigrant Rigths info -
http://immigrantrights.org/
http://www.indybay.org/immigrant/

Kayo Hatta's Picture Bride - Asian American Film Festival San Francisco

I was fortunate to catch a special showing of the late Kayo Hatta's beautiful 1994 film Picture Bride [starring among others Tamlyn Tomita [Stargate-SG-1, Come See the Paradise, Joy Luck Club] and Youki Kudoh [Memoirs of a Geisha, Snow Falling on Cedars] and with a cameo by the legendary Toshiro Mifune] last night at the Center for Asian American Media's San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.
The film captures the struggle of women, families and Asian American immigrant workers in the plantation labor system of Hawaii. I used to use the film more in my Ethnic Studies classes at SF State in the 1990's. But watching the film again last night allowed me to marvel at its incredible cinematography [Claudio Rocha - Like Water for Chocalate], and its sharp political statement against racism, sexism and super-exploitation of immigrant workers and communities in America.
The director, Kayo Hatta, passed away on July 20th last year in an apparent swimming accident. She was only 47 years old. I remember when I first moved out to SF in 1984, Kayo was a cultural and political activist who supported Asian American musicians and poets and community struggles. I remember visiting her at her North Beach/Chinatown apartment to borrow Asian American jazz albums for the radio work I was doing at KPFA and KPOO radio stations at the time. She was a great film maker, but more importantly to her friends and family an incredible human being. Her niece and nephew go to school at the JBBP-West [Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program]/Rosa Parks Elementary School in SF. Their mom Julie has been active in the Asian American movement for decades.
At the film showing Kayo's other sister Mari talked about Kayo's life and her struggle to make Picture Bride. To the delight of the audience as well, Tamlyn Tomita also talked about how the actors and film crew sacrificed to support Kayo and the making of the important film.
Kayo definitely lives through her films and the cultural and political stuggles she supported.

For more on Tamlyn Tomita's work - http://www.asianamericanfilm.com/chat/tamlyn.html
For more Tomita - I loved Greg Pak's
microbudget indie film Robot Stories - http://www.robotstories.net/

For more on Kayo and Picture Bride - http://www.picturebridefilm.com/home.html

Eric

Omnibus education bill in Sacramento?

Hello all,
Omnibus education bill?
I understand that there is talk among lobbyists at the California Capitol of passing an “Omnibus” education bill which would bring together all the education interest groups.
This proposal may well be dangerous to students of color and teachers.
The groups discussing a grand bill, by rumor, include Secretary of Education Alan Bersin ( and Margaret Fortune), ACSA (school administrators), CTA, and more.
CTA would get full funding for Prop.98 which is tempting.
However, Bersin and Fortune have demonstrated severe anti teacher positions and their participation representing the Governor gives me cause for concern. These two, neither of whom have been teachers, represent the conservative corporate side of governance.
(For more on Bersin and Fortune see the links on my blog:
http://www.choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com)
Bersin’s proposals a few weeks ago were anti teacher, seeking to gain in the legislature what they were defeated about in Prop. 74.
I encourage each of us to watch the legislative positions of our unions, associations, etc. and to be wary of any Omnibus education bill.
There is no reason to trust these people.
It might be better to fight for separate bills, such as adequate school funding, than to join together in an omnibus bill. Does anyone know more about this?
As the saying goes, if you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.

Duane Campbell
Sacramento

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
~ George Orwell

Educational Justice Conference: Sacramento

Teachers conference:
Multicultural Education and Social Justice
Sat. March 25, 2006. CSU-Sacramento :University Union
We offer this conference each year: free to teachers and students.
Social justice issues such as bilingual education and immigrants' rights will be at the core of Sacramento State's 12 th Annual Multicultural Education Conference beginning at 8:30 a.m. on March 25 in the University Union.

The conference, "Education Reform and Social Justice Issues: A Grassroot[Re] Examination of Race, Class and Society," is directed toward K-12 teachers, student teachers, administrators, university educators, community members, activists, parents and all others interested in multicultural education issues.

Antonia Darder, educational policy professor at the University of Illinois, will give a keynote address at 9:10 a.m. in the University Union Ballroom on motivating educators and teachers' organizations to become activists in a renewed educational vision.

Born in Puerto Rico and raised in East Los Angeles, Darder is a poet and an activist whose life-long commitment has been to social justice, human rights and economic democracy.

The conference includes sessions concerning parent/community involvement, leadership and advocacy, and peace and conflict resolution. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, call Maggie Beddow at (916) 278-4127 and for a complete list of topics and times visit http://edweb.csus.edu/. For media assistance contact the Public Affairs office at (916) 278-6156.

Duane Campbell will be offering a presentation on Teaching about Cesar Chavez and a presentation on the current The anti immigrant legislation HR 4437 currently before the U.S. Senate would build a 700 mile wall along the U.S. Mexican border. ( The infamous Berlin Wall was only 46 miles long). 287 people died trying to cross it. The current U.S. wall is 70 miles long. At present some 3,500 have died trying to cross it.

This workshop will analyze the current immigration conflict and search for progressive organizing alternatives.

####
California State University, Sacramento • Public Affairs
6000 J Street • Sacramento, CA 95819-6026 • (916) 278-6156 • infodesk@csus.edu

Photos from March 18, 2006 Anti-War March - San Francisco

The March 18, 2006 anti-war march in San Francisco was as spirited as ever. With the incredible springtime weather, my daughter and I marched with the Strength in Unity contingent of students and grassroots people's organizations. I was proud to see so many SF State students representing LFS, ASU, La Raza, GUPS, and groups like the Chinese Progressive Association, Filipino Community Center, United Playaz, Asian Immgrant Women Advocates, CJWP, API Coalition Against the War and many others.
I have posted about 30 photos of the March 18, 2006 anti-war march. Just follow the flickr link and check out the slide show. www.flickr.com/photos/ericmar/

SF Immigrant Rights Hunger Strikers begin their fast

It was dry but cold out there today at the San Francisco Federal Building as longtime activist Renee Saucedo and 29 other San Francisco and East Bay teachers, students, parents and immigrants began a weeklong hunger strike for immigrant rights and justice.
A number of the supporters included many SF State Raza students and teacher Clarissa Rojas. I also stood beside longtime Salvaroran community leader Ramon Cardona. My daughter Jade made a bunch of new friends including Saucedo's little doggy CoCo. Renee and I participated in a similar immigrants rights hunger strike over 10 years ago at the same spot protesting the passage of CA's Prop 187 and the onslaught of anti-immigrant federal legislation at that time.
Tomorrow Wed 3/22/06 the Chinese Progressive Association and the May 1st Alliance [grassroots alliance of low wage worker organizations] are organizing a noon rally at the SF Federal Building.
KTVU Channel 2 had a great segment on the hunger strike with good analysis of the anti-immigrant legislation currently being debated in Congress - the Specter bill in the Senate and the Sensenbrenner bill in the House HR 4437.
For a great comparison of the various bills and their harmful impact on immgrant communities and civil liberties click here for the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights analysis.
See also NILC [National Immigration Law Center's] analysis as well -
http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=18648
Arnoldo Garcia of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights urged community members to call their senators to speak out against the 2 bills.
For ways to do this - see the Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalitions action page -
http://www.immigrantrights.org/actionalerts.asp#antiimmigrantbills
Please come out to the SF Federal Building every evening after work from tonight 3/21 until 3/27 to support the courageous hunger strikers and our immigrant community organizations.
Eric

To the Senator

Hon. Martha Escutia,
California State Senate

Dear Senator Escutia,
Thank you for your recent letter in which you and 3 other Latino legislators ask for support of Steve Westly for Governor. We will consider your request and his record.
In the meantime, may we point out to you in your role as Chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus that the California schools are in crisis. We have a Latino drop out rate of nearly 50%. Latino high school graduates read at about the same level as Anglo 13 year olds.
Further, it is starkly noticeable that back in 1976 there were 5 Latinos in the California legislature and we were able to pass comprehensive bilingual education to assist immigrant students. Now, we have some 26 Latino legislators and you are not even able to be certain that English Language Learners have materials to assist them to learn English. Instead they are given materials designed for fluent English speakers. See the current issue before the California Curriculum Commission of the State Board of Education to provide appropriate materials for English Language Learners.
We hope that the Latino Caucus finds it voice and focuses on matters of importance to our children.

Cordially,

Dr. Duane E. Campbell Dolores Delgado-Campbell
Professor of Education Professor of History
CSU- Sacramento American River College

Jazz legend Keith Jarrett, 'stirring the pot', and educational justice

At the SF War Memorial Opera House on Sunday evening I was one of the few lucky people in the world! that experienced a rare solo performance by pianist extraordinaire Keith Jarrett. My older brother Ryan had seen a much younger Jarrett with the Miles Davis group in 1970 in Monterrey and again at the Winterland in SF. Besides Miles' band, he said the Grateful Dead also performed an amazing set that evening as well.
I remember my twin brother Gordon, an alto sax player in high school and college, turning me on to Jarrett’s My Song album way back in 78 while we were both aspiring jazz musicians at McClatchy and Kennedy high schools in Sacramento. The folksy ‘country’ and the beautiful ‘my song’ were my favorites from on that incredible album.
But what’s in my CD machine these days is Jarrett’s 1999 ballad album The Melody at Night With You that he dedicated to his wife Rose Anne with familiar standards like Someone to Watch Over Me, Shenandoah, and my 5-year old daughter’s favorite I Loves You Porgy.
I understand Garrett suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and struggled to put that album together while recovering from CFS. It is inspiring that he manages to perform and tour despite his CFS.
But the now 60 year old Jarrett played his heart out Saturday night with an amazing mixture of his new totally spontaneous ‘radiance’ music to tin pan alley-ish pieces and gorgeous ballads.
The audience was so appreciative that Jarrett did 5 encores – which included standards like As Time Goes By and It Might As Well Be Spring!

Jarrett’s self-reflection and constantly changing approach to his compositions and performances makes me think about the need for social justice activists and organizers to also constantly reflect on our practice and method as well.

SF Chronicle jazz writer David Rubien Chronicle Interview
did a great interview of Jarrett a week ago -

"Here I am a kind of mainstream accepted entity -- I have a big audience," Jarrett says. "Who else could take on the task or responsibility to try to burst another bubble that has been taken as reality? At the same time, I can explode my own myth.
"It's like a pot of soup on the stove. If you don't stir it occasionally, stuff sinks to the bottom and burns. Just for a brief time, I think I can be the person with the spoon who stirs the soup."

I think those of us working for educational equity and justice need to think and act like Keith Jarrett by always ‘stirring the pot’ and helping others, like students and parents to stir more from the bottom of the pot as well.

Chicago to SF - Immigrant community resistance growing

On March 10, 2006, hundreds of thousands of immigrant community members and grassroots organizations marched and rallied in Chicago to demand Immigrant Rights and Dignity now. On February 25, 2006 hundreds marched and rallied in Oakland, CA's Fruitvale district as well. People are resisting the Post 911 scapegoating of immigrants and our communities all over this country.
Over 10 years ago I participated with numerous grassroots organizations in an immigrant rights hunger strike in the aftermath of the passage of CA's Prop 187 [1994] and in the wake of the racist federal immigration policy changes [1996] at that time as well.
In San Francisco today, many of my comrades in the immigrant rights movement - from groups like the SF Day Labor Program, Chinese Progressive Association, Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Asian Immigrant Women Advocates and others - are supporting a new hunger strike beginning on Tues March 21 at the Federal Building in San Francisco.
More info on the anti-immigrant bills.
Please do what you can to help spread the word - SOLIDARITY NOW.

Hunger Strike for Immigrant rights - Join Asian American/Pacific Islander Contingent

March 21, Tuesday, 5 pm - Opening March, Dolores Park to Federal Building, SanFrancisco

March 22, Wednesday, 12pm the Chinese Progressive Association (415-391-6986) is coordinating participation of the May 1st Alliance, a multi-ethnicalliance of worker-based organizations, and the PressEvent in front of the SF Federal Building connecting African American and immigrant struggles and spotlighting the bills' impact on workers.

March 27, Monday, 11am Filipinos for Affirmative Action (510-465-9976) is coordinating the March toSenator Feinstein's office (Montgomery & Market) and the Press Event. You can also contact FAA if you want to volunteer to be a hunger striker.

For more information re the API Contingent at theMarch 21st Opening March, contact: Miriam Ching Yoon Louie (chinglouie@igc.org) and Elisa Gahng theangelswereastronauts@gmail.com) , Korean Youth Cultural CenterEunice Cho, National Network for Immigrant and RefugeeRights, & Jamae Sori (echo@nnirr.org) Sheila Chung, Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition(sheila@immigrantrights.org)

Check http://www.immigrantrights.org for updates about HungerStrike Action Week

SF and Bay Area Teachers are mobilizing to support the hunger strike -

This is from Karen Zapata of Teachers for Social Justice -
Hi all! At our last meeting we decided to mobilize tosupport the actions of the Bay Area Immigrant RightsCoalition in the fight against HR 4437*. Let’s get ateacher contingent out to make a statement againstthis attack on immigrant rights! (visithttp://www.immigrantrights.org/ for more info on the weeklong events they have planned)

RALLY: Saturday, March 25th, 2006, Noon at the FederalBldg. (Golden Gate and Larkin, SF) Teachers 4 SocialJustice will have a banner, RSVP if you can make it!
If you are interested in hunger striking, even for 1day (Friday eve till Saturday eve for example), pleasego to their planning meeting: Monday, March 20 from5-8pm, St. Peter’s Housing– 474 Valencia St., Room120, SF
*The Sensenbrenner Bill (HR 4437) would:

• Turn any person or organization that helps, employs,or provides any service to an undocumented immigrantinto a criminal, including family members.
• Promote collaboration between federal immigrationagents and local police agents, promote the use ofstereotypes and discrimination against anyone that“seems” or “sounds” foreign.
• Promote racial discrimination in employment,housing, and facilitate retaliation against anyimmigrant that defends her/his legal rights.
• Militarize the border even more, which doesn’taddress the root causes immigration, but has causedmore than 4,000 deaths since 1994.
• Will make it illegal to enter this country withfalse documents, which puts refugees and asylumseekers at risk, among others.

for more info visit http://immigrantrights.org/

Strength in Unity - Global Days of Action Against War and Racism - SF March 18, 2006

JOIN US and millions of others around the world on the Third @!#$$^ Anniversary of the War on IRAQ - March 18, 2006
Strength in Unity Contingent!
Saturday, March 18, 2006, 10am
Assemble at Powell and MarketDowntown San Francisco
People of Color Solidarity Program at Powell and Market then march to Civic Center where we will join thousands for the ANSWER National Day of Action

Strength in Unity Contingent is sponsored by: International League of People's Struggle (ILPS) Bay Area, Asian Pacific Islander Coalition Against War (APICAW), BAYAN-USA, Al-Awda Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) / Asian & Pacific American Community Program (APAC), AA Movement / Ezine, Asian Prisoner Support Committee, Asian Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership, babae, Chin Jurn Wor Ping, Chinese Progressive Association, Collision Course Video, Free Palestine Alliance, Korean Americans United for Peace, League of Filipino Students, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and a growing list of allies and supporters against imperialist war and occupation.
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!
WE GOT TO RAGE AGAINST THE BUSH MACHINE!
FROM IRAQ, PALESTINE TO THE PHILIPPINES!
For more information: http://www.apicaw.com

SF School of the Arts Student Assembly on ending racism

JOIN US! MARCH 18, 2006 - 10AM SF's Powell & Market area [look for the red flags]
STRENTH IN UNITY CONTINGENT FOR Global Day of Action to Stop the War and End Racism

One of the best things about being a San Francisco school board member is participating with teachers and students in days of reflection and action like today's School of the Arts Assembly on ending racism.

My friend Lani Silver, the head of the James Byrd Anti-Racism Oral History Project [Byrd was the African American man brutally killed in Texas in 1998], invited me and Public Defender Jeff Adachi to speak to the assemblies of hundreds of SOTA and SOTA Academy students.
Many students spoke, including my colleague on the SF Board of Education, student delegate and SOTA student Jason Wong, on their experiences with racism and how it has impacted their lives. The amazing SOTA orchestra and concert band performed Chick Corea's Spain and a version of Rodrigo's beautiful Concerto De Aranuez. The jazz ensemble directed by Melecio Magdaluyo also performed a Stevie Wonder tune Too High. I told the students that they made me feel so 'at home' with their comments and their amazing performances.

Below are some excerpts from my remarks -

Thank you to my friend Lani Silver and Principal Donn Harris and all of you for inviting me this morning!

I have one thing to confess first – When I was your age [30 years ago] at McClatchy High School in Sacramento [that’s where tomorrow’s speaker Jeff Adachi also went to school] – I wanted to be the next Miles Davis – I was a trumpet player – I did all the school musicals, and my life was music. Some of my heroes today are your teachers like Melecio and others who are trying to encourage and nurture the artists and leaders like you for our future.
Some of miles davis’ bands and ones that were inspired by him were great examples of multiracial unity AND creativity.

Racism and me – Growing up in Sacramento racism and my family’s internalized racism impacted me – part of the racism was the overt racism. Growing up in Sacramento in the 60’s and 70’s – very segregated; lots of racial violence towards Asians, Latinos and African Americans as I was growing up. But there was also the racism from school and the music industry that was not accepting of Asian American jazz musicians, or artists at the time.
Also our urban school districts did not have the resources that other wealthier communities had as well – I call that institutionalized racism in the defunding/underfunding of our schools and public education in general.
And lastly, there was the internalized racism in my family where family members refused to accept that I wanted to be - a jazz musician, not an engineer or a scientist - and that it was ok for young people like me to follow my dreams and to pursue what profession or career that would eventually make me happy.

You and Activism – As you discuss how racism or other forms of oppression have impacted you personally I want you also to think about how you can become [more] active to address the inequalities that surround us as well.

I didn’t really understand racism or racial oppression until I became a student activist in the 1980’s.

College at uc davis and later at sf state helped me understand that racism is institutionalized and pervasive and imbedded in our US culture and it will take every one of us to identify, address and dismantle and change the institutions that perpetuate it.

Drawing from one of my mentors Glenn Omatsu who teaches at CAL State Northridge, I always try to encourage students to learn about their history and to become involved in student and community organizations and movements.

Learning the history of how students have been the main voices for social justice in America and throughout the world is key. If we have any hope of ending racism and building strong anti-racist movements for the future – you folks will have to take the responsibility to lead those new movements.

Students like yourselves have always been the main proponents of social change in America - whether it was students in East LA high schools in the late 60’s fighting against racism, police brutality and racist conditions in the schools [check out HBO’s walkout [Edward James Olmos] later this week], or African American students challenging school racism and segregation throughout this country and in the Feb 1960 student sit-in movement and the Freedom Rides of the 60’s [Lani’s generation], or the 1968/69 Third World student strikes at SF State and UC Berkeley that opened the doors of higher education to me and millions of working class and students of color to learn about our true history and to use our education to serve our communities.

You stand in the shoes of those students that came before you and have a responsibility to carry on in that tradition.

I also brought up some quotes from one of our Asian American elders Yuri Kochiyama, a friend of Malcolm X, to encourage the students to learn from the rich history of multiracial justice movements and to realize their important role in changing history and serving their communities. And, as I usually do, I encouraged them to join me and many of my SF State Students in the Strength in Unity contingent for the upcoming

March 18th Global Day of Action to Stop the War on Iraq! Bring the Troops Home Now! End Colonial Occupation from Iraq to Palestine to Haiti… From Iraq to New Orleans, Fund People’s Needs Not the War Machine!

and to support local struggles like the African American community's efforts to resist the new gentrification and redevelopment of the Bay View Hunters Point neighborhoods, the efforts of some of my SF State students to prevent the 'sale of Japantown' to corporations and the destruction of that commuity, and lastly the work of a number of local SF immigrant rights organizations who are holding a hunger strike for immigrant rights at the Federal Building in SF from 3/21-27.

The students and teachers are amazing at SOTA, but also at all of our high schools throughout the district. They are the leaders for our future.

For more info on Lani Silver and the James Byrd Jr. Racism Oral History Project, or to request a brochure, please write to P.O. Box 27333; San Francisco, CA 94127 or call (415) 415-485-4208. The oral history project can be reached at mailto:%20Byrdproject@aol.com. If you would like to reach the Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing write to: 12180 Greenpoint Drive, PMB #244, Houston Texas 77060. You can e-mail the Foundation at Byrdfound@juno.com or call (888) 856-6414.

SF to LA - building youth leadership and linking to Ella Baker and the history of the civil rights movement

One of the most rewarding parts of teaching at San Francisco State University and serving on the school board in San Francisco Unified School District is working with and supporting the new generation of youth leadership in our communities.
I have just posted in the links section of this blog a number of youth groups from LA to SF and Boston to San Diego! - many of these groups are currently working to build stronger youth and community movements for social and economic justice - through their organizing and advocacy work.

Coalition for Educational Justice – Los Angeles
Californians for Justice
CAPAY – Coalition for APA Youth - Boston
Chinese Progressive Association - SF
AYPAL – Oakland
Youth Together – Oakland
LEJ – Literacy for Env Justice
Inner City Struggle – East LA
Adopt-An-Alleyway Project- SF
Y-MAC –Youth Making A Change -SF

One of my friends SF Freedom School teacher Kathy Emery reminded me recently of the great lines from Ella's Song by Sweet Honey in the Rock [Bernice Johnson Reagon and former SNCC freedom singers] which emphasizes Ms. Ella Baker's nurturing of youth leadership -

That which touches me most is that I had a chance to work with people

Passing on to others that which was passed on to me

To me young people come first, they have the courage where we fail

And if I can but shed some light as they carry us through the gale

The older I get the better I know that the secret of my going on

Is when the reins are in the hands of the young, who dare to run against the storm

YouThink has done a good lesson plan for using Ella's Song in the classroom
LESSON PLAN

Students/Parents Challenge Discriminatory California High School Exit Exam

A huge legal battle will be unfolding in the next months as the CA state board of education has failed this past week to provide alternatives to the CA High School Exit Exam [CAHSEE] and tens of thousands of seniors, mostly low income and Black, Latino, ELL's and special education students face being denied diplomas at the end of this year.

Sacramento State University Professor Ken Futernick got it right in his opinion piece in the Oakland Tribune -

There is just one way out of this dilemma. Lawmakers must agree not to deny a diploma to students unless the state can verify that most of their teachers were adequately prepared and that their school environments have met accepted standards. Yes, some graduates will be less prepared than we'd like, but until the state holds up its end of the education bargain, it is we who must shoulder the cost of this inequity, not our students.

The vast majority of the hundreds of San Francisco public school seniors who face denial of their diplomas are low income, English learners, Special Education, African American or Latino students. The lawsuit brought by Richmond High School senior Liliana Valenzuela and hundreds of other students and their parents and supported by attorneys at Morrison & Foerster [Valenzuela v. O'Connell] will force the court to consider questions about inadequate funding, unequal opportunities to learn, and inequity for the vast majority of students in our urban school districts.

For a great source of information on the now landmark Williams v. California educational equity case and ongoing updates on the legal and political challenges to the distriminatory CAHSEE see
Just Schools California
Here's a sampling:

Who’s really flunking California’s high school exit exams?
Opinion by Ken FUTERNICK/Oakland Tribune
Ken Futernick, Ph.D., is professor of education at Sacramento State University.
COME THIS spring, tens of thousands of high school seniors in California will, for the first time, be denied diplomas for not passing the state-mandated California High School Exit Examination. Exam proponents argue that unless students are held to minimum academic standards, diplomas will have little value to employers, colleges, and others who use them as a screening device.

Exit exam option fails
State board rejects alternatives for ‘highly proficient.’By Laurel Rosenhall/Sacramento Bee
The State Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to reject alternatives for "highly proficient" students who fail the California High School Exam, echoing state Superintendent Jack O’Connell’s staunch support of the test. "If a student were highly proficient in both math and English, it would be a travesty if they could not pass this test because this test is very simple," said board member Donald Fisher, chairman of the Gap clothing company.

State school board gets behind exit test
Members reject alternatives; students’ fate in judge’s handsBy Jill Tucker/Oakland Tribune
Only a judge can stop the exit exam now. The state Board of Education unanimously rejected any alternatives to the California High School Exit Exam on Wednesday, as recommended by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell. A pending lawsuit is the last-ditch diploma hope for an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 seniors in the class of 2006 who have yet to pass the test.

Farewell Sister Anne Braden - don't mourn, ORGANIZE!

Longtime southern organizer Anne Braden has just passed away. See the memorial on the National Organizer's Alliance Website at NOA on Anne.
Here also was one of Anne's last articles on ending racism in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - BRADEN article
For more info - Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression

National Organizers Alliance statement on Anne Braden
Anne Braden, a NOA member since 1995, died early Monday morning, March 6th at the age of 81. Anne started organizing in 1948 in Louisville, Kentucky. At one time she told NOA that she started organizing because she grew up white in a racist society, and privileged in a classist society. We invite you to view or post public messages in the Guest Book.
Information on the March 10th Funeral and the April 23rd Memorial, as well as information on where to send gifts in honor of Anne Braden can be found on the webpage of Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
Anne was on the Firestarters panel at Gathering V. As a veteran anti-racist organizer she talked about the future of the movement. She said, "For white people we have an overwhelming challenge right now. White supremacy, I like that term better than racism, it's more descriptive of what we mean and you don't have to get into endless arguments about whether people of color can be racists. I'm really totally convinced if it weren't for the hold that white supremcay has...this revolution would have happened a long time ago."

Students Organizing in Oakland for better schools and a just society!

Hot off their 'wins' with their campaign against deportations and other work Oakland's youth organizing group AYPAL is busy organizing for better school conditions in Oakland schools along with their allies Youth Together. Please join them on Saturday March 11th in Oakland!

Get Hyphee For Education:
I Gotta Testify, My School Needs Some New Supplies!!

A Community Fair
Presented by AYPAL in unity with Youth Together

Saturday, March 11, 2006
Time: 11:00AM-3:00PM
Location: Fruitvale Transit Village (34th and International Blvd.)

***Live Performances and Music by***
* Kiwi and DJ Phatrick
* Brown
Buffalo Project
* Chino Flaco and Young Tey
* Airstep Breakin’
Crew
…and more!

Tell'em What You Want What You Really Want:
AYPAL's Campaign Demands:
§ Fully Funded Schools
§ Equitable Resources across School Sites
§ Full compliance with the William's Case Settlement

Background on Williams VS. California
Williams vs.. California was a class--action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of public school children denied basic educational necessities.
Filed on May 17, 2000, on behalf of Eliezer Williams, a middle school stud ent in San Francisco, and thousands of public school children.
Challenged the State's failure to provide all Californi a students with basic educational necessities.
Claimed that the state is Violating the California Constitution by failing to ensure the plaintiffs are receiving basic educational necessities enjoyed by most children across the State.
The lawsuit focused on: Inadequate learning facilities, lack of textbooks and instructional materials, lack of access to qualified the teachers.
After over four years of litig! ation, the State (under the leadership of Governor Schwarzenegger) agreed to the settle the lawsuit on August 13, 2004
Last year, the California Legislature and the Governor passed laws to implement the settlement.
State agencies have also issued new regulations to comply with the term of settlement.
Williams Settlement provides up to $1 billion
P $800 million for emergency facilities repairs for the years 2004-2008: API Deciles 1-3
P $138.7 million for textbooks for the lowest performing schools: API Deciles 1-2
P $50 million to implement the settlement in 2004-05, including $25 million for a first time, statewide facilities inventory of the lowest performing schools
P Continue the High Priority Schools Grant Program maintaining $200 million a year
P Make it easier for credentialed teachers from other states to gain a California credential

What can I file a Williams complaint about?
Complaints can address instructional materials, teachers, and school facilities. Some examples:
P You are missing textbooks to use in class or at home, or your textbooks or ! materials are unusable due to damage.
P You are in grades 9-12 and your science lab does not have working equipment.
P You have a long-term substitute teacher from the start of the year.
Your teacher is not trained in his or her subject or is not trained to teach English Language Learners, even though ELL students make up 20% or more of the students in your classroom.
Your school facilities are hazardous, have rats or roaches, or need emergency repair.
********************
More info: Tiffany Eng AYPAL Site Coordinator and OASES Program
Director, Oakland Asian Students Educational Services (OASES)
196 10th Street, Oakland, CA 94607
Tel. (510) 891-9928 x16
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For more see John Fong's summary of AYPAL's immigrant rights/anti-deportation campaign -
One Love, One Nation, Stop Deportation
AYPAL and DataCenter document devastating impact of deportations on immigrant families
by John FongAsian/Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership

Over 400 people showed up to a rally at the Oakland, California Federal Building on March 22, 2004 to call on Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland/Berkeley) to take a lead role in sponsoring legislation to stop deportations that are devastating hundreds of thousands of immigrant families every year.
The rally also featured the release of the report Justice Detained, produced by the DataCenter and Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership (AYPAL) to document the hardships that the deportations cause. (download report)
The report release and community rally followed an 18-month, One Love, One Nation, Stop Deportation campaign organized by AYPAL, an Oakland-based, 300-member youth organization seeking to change the relationship of power between young people and policy makers.
The campaign aims to reform and repeal the harshest elements of the 1996 Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), which mandates the detention and deportation of non-citizens convicted of crimes with sentences of one year or more of jail and/or probation combined. ...
As in all AYPAL campaigns, high school age youth have made all strategic decisions and done all the work for the Stop Deportation campaign, including working with the DataCenter's Youth Strategy Project to do research. Realizing that in order to move Congress, they would have to appeal to a much larger community base than in their previous, mostly local, campaigns, the AYPAL youth activists spent months finding families directly hurt by IIRIRA deportations and willing to share their stories, and to statistically document the wide-ranging impact of the unjust legislation. ...
VICTORY -
In May, AYPAL achieved a victory when Barbara Lee agreed to co-sponsor legislation that addresses almost all the group's demands. The Keeping Families Together Act, introduced by Rep. Bob Filner (D-San Diego), would repeal IIRIRA's loose definition of what counts as an "aggravated felony" and restore residency or status rights to immigrants who have been affected.
for further information contact:
John Fong, Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership (AYPAL), 310 8th Street, Suite 201Oakland, CA 94607, tel: 510-869-6062, fax: 510-268-0202.
to check out the Justice Detained report by AYPAL - click here
other articles regarding AYPAL advocacy and organizing -
International Solidarity and Peace with Korea
Mapping the impact of deportations
Fighting for Ethnic Studies in the High Schools
Dismantling the CA Youth Authority and youth prisons

Improving Teacher Quality - Rethinking Schools 2006

Rethinking Schools in its Winter 2006 issue - hits it right on the head again with their great special issue on school reform strategies aimed at improving quality teaching, especially in urban school districts like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Cincinatti.

"Districts, schools of education, unions, and legislatures all have a role to play in improving teacher quality. The time has come to stop viewing teachers as a problem and instead treat them as professionals deserving of respect, with important insights in how to improve the classroom.

One thing is certain: Unless this country addresses the vast racial and economic inequities that plague our schools, no one's definition of quality will be reached."

The editors point to the importance of teacher education programs around the country and urge them to "equip prospective teachers with a vision of what's possible as well as with the tools to dismantle the unjust."

Schools of education can also enhance quality by providing ongoing support for their graduates — whether through collaborations with
district and union mentoring programs, or through independent social justice teacher organizations...

The editors from Rethinking Schools also point out the important role of teachers unions in improving and reforming our educational system:

Teacher unions also can provide leadership. They are ideally situated to sponsor
curriculum libraries, ongoing seminars, and teacher work groups. They can also be a forum for teachers to discuss how to address and resist federal and district mandates that negatively impact teaching. Too often teachers rely solely on school districts to design curriculum and strategy workshops, but teacher unions could create their own collaborative communities of study and see their missions as developing an expanded professional capacity and sense of responsibility among their members.

In conclusion, they say that we must move beyond the 'silver bullet' approach to school reform:

School districts and individual schools must provide ongoing, embedded professional development and move beyond episodic visits of consultants and "teacher-proof" programs. School districts need to take a leading role in facilitating processes where teachers can share their expertise through districtwide curriculum conferences, ongoing classes, mentoring programs, and inservices that model outstanding teacher practices.

A number of the changes outlined above can be implemented even within our current and completely inadequate levels of school funding. But all of the changes require a radical shift in thinking and an acknowledgement that the knowledge and leadership of classroom teachers are the bedrock of improved teacher quality.
In the long run, addressing the crisis in teacher quality requires a multi-faceted mobilization that demands adequate state and federal resources for our public schools. To be most effective, this mobilization must include teacher unions, parents, and community organizations in alliance with local school boards and district administrators.
Improving teacher quality is key to building a better public school system. But it is not a matter of exhorting educators to do more with less, securing more teacher-proof curricula, or making test-driven threats. It's a matter of reform grounded in the classroom, of respect for teaching as a profession, of a broader vision of social justice, and of improved organizing and collaboration.
All of us — teachers, parents, and union, community and school leaders — have a role to play.

For the full editorial and some online articles from the recent Issue of Rethinking Schools
click here
http://www.rethinkingschools.com/archive/20_02/edit202.shtml

Parents & Teachers support language equality, bilingual education & HBO's Walkout

This week at the CABE [CA Assn for Bilingual Education] gathering in San Jose, CA parents, students and teachers cheered the premiere of the upcoming film Walkout.

[See CABE's great comments on the recently released AIR/WestEd study of Post Prop 227 education for English Learners]

CABE parents, students and teachers said that we need to understand our history of youth movements and community movements so that we can more effectively build new movements to change our society and school system today.
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Wednesday evening I also worked with the SF Freedom School and Mission High School teachers to view and discuss the great film With All Deliberate Speed [by the director of Hoop Dreams] which highlighted the African American led community movements that emerged to create equality in schools and communities throught the 50's, 60's and 70's.

Understanding the lessons of the Chicano movement, the Civil Rights and Black Liberation movements are key for teachers and youth to help point us towards new strategies for educational justice today.

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JOIN US!
On March 9 [Wed evening] Please join the SF Freedom School with another great film, dinner and a discussion on the importance of the labor movement in the fight for better schools -

The special guest will be Lawanna Preston, political director for SEIU Local 790, and a parent and longtime social justice leader.

MARCH 9 Black Labor History: the politics of divide and conquer
Film: Struggles in Steel (58 min, 1996)
Struggles in Steel documents the shameful history ofdiscrimination against black workers and one heroic campaign where they won equality on thejob.Interviews with more than 70 retired black steelworkers tell heart-rending tales of struggles with thecompany, the union and white co-workers to break out of the black job ghetto.
http://www.educationanddemocracy.org/ED_SFFS.html