Monday, October 17, 2011

The People's Education Trial/Tribunal Was a Great Start! 
On to the People's Board Of Education! 
 Some of the early morning crowd who came out to DC37's Main Hall.

On Saturday 15 October more than 50 people testified about the decade-long educational crimes and violations they or their children have endured from the Bloomberg Mayoral Dictatorship regime.

Nearly 200 people were in attendance throughout the day at DC37. Those in attendance as well as the 8 prominent judges were moved by powerful testimony not only about the daily atrocities parents, students and educators have to face in our public schools, but also about how those who testified resisted and fought back... and were -at times- victorious.
 City Councilman Charles Barron making a point in his testimony as the judges and State Assemblywoman Inez Barron listen .

The 8 judges were:
•  Attny Esmeralda Simmons- Director, Center for Law and Social Justice (CLSJ) at Medgar Evers College
•  Attny Joan Gibbs- Senior Counselor, CLSJ/National Council of Black Lawyers
•  Attny Roger Wareham- December 12th Movement
•  Father Luis Barrios, PhD- Pastors for Peace
•  Ejim Dike- Human Rights Project (Urban Justice Center)
•  Attny Damon T. Hewitt- NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund
•  Attny Thomas Mariadason- Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund
•  Attny King Downing- American Friends Service Committee
The first group of witnesses to testify came from Brooklyn's La Union. They gave powerful testimony concerning the daily racist onslaughts they and their children have to face as Latino immigrants and English Language Learners.
===================
CPE Members attending to the final work of the day. (Left to right: CoChair Muba Yarofulani, Roberta Pisker, Benita Rivera, Charmaine Phillip, Sandra Rivers, Akinlabi Mackall)

Over the next week or two, look to this blog and our website: www.forpubliced.org for all the video proceedings and documents submitted at the Trial/Tribunal.

The Coalition for Public Education/Coalicion por La Educacion Publica (CPE-CEP) will also be calling for the Founding Convention of the People's Board of Education within the next couple of months. So, be prepared to come and participate in envisioning, organizing and fighting for a new more democratic school governance system rooted in our communities and cultures.

No comments:

Post a Comment