'We who believe in freedom will not rest until it comes...' New Labor Beat video captures movement against latest attacks on Chicago's public schools, with video of the march and rally at Rahm Emanuel's home and narrative from the February 22 school board meeting
Jitu Brown of KOCO (the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization) speaking to the February 20, 2012, crowd at Lakeview High School before the march to the home of Mayor Rahm Emanuel began. Substance photo by Sharon Schmidt.A new 26-minute video from Chicago's Labor Beat, entitled "The Shell Game", captures a great deal of the militancy and unit that has characterized the opposition to the attacks on public education by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the seven members of the Board of Education appointed by the mayor. The two points of activity depicted in the video are the rally, march, and silent vigil from Lakeview High School to the home of Mayor Rahm Emanuel on February 20, 2012, and the Board of Education meeting on February 22, 2012.
The video is called "The Shell Game".
Teachers from CORE carry their banner in front of the home of Chicago's mayor at 4228 N. Hermitage Ave. in Chicago on February 20, 2012, two days before the mayor's school board voted to destroy another 17 schools. Substance photo by Sharon Schmidt.With the chanting of the words "We who believe in freedom will not rest until it comes..." the video hears from dozens of parents, students, teachers and others who protested against the latest attacks on democracy and public education in Chicago, the city that has pioneered many of these attacks for the nation. (Some of the narrative and background for the video is provided by this reporter).
On March 16, Labor Beat reported the dates that the video will be aired on Chicago Cable TV with the following press release:
The Shell Game
Chicago - CAN TV cable tv Channel 19:
Thurs., March 15, 9:30 pm
Fri., March 16, 4:30 pm
Thurs., March 22, 9:30 pm
Fri., March 23, 4:30 pm
Evanston - Cable Channel 6:
AVAILABLE LIVE ON THE INTERNET.
USE LINK BELOW ON DATE AND TIME LISTED:
streamed live on Internet
Mon., March 26, 5:30 pm
Wed., March 28, 7:00 pm
Sat., March 31, 12:30 am
Mon., April 2, 5:30 pm
Wed., April 4, 7:00 pm
Sat., April 7, 12:30 am
This video marks the end of one chapter in the fight of Chicago's working class communities to stop the closings and turn-arounds of 17 public schools. But it also marks the beginning of a new chapter: the campaign for an elected school board to end the current system of an appointed school board. Here are scenes from the final week of teachers union and school communities mobilization before the final decision (a decision already made long ago in secret) of the Chicago Public Schools Board about the fates of targeted schools.
We cover scenes from the big and spirited rally in front of Lakeview High School on the Northside, just blocks from Mayor Rahm Emanuel's house, to where everybody then marched. There are also scenes from the Piccolo School occupation. And the notorious school board meeting, at which the non-elected board of the 1% dropped the ax on 17 schools, soundly confirming deepening convictions that the so-called public hearings on whether to close or turnaround the schools constituted a sham and a fraud. George Schmidt, of Substancenews.net, provides some useful commentary on what this all means now, and the video concludes with images from the joint Operation PUSH/Chicago Teachers Union resolve to now move forward with a broad campaign for an elected school board. We see in this video the continuing and growing movement against educational apartheid in Chicago, a movement now evolving in its understanding of what needs to be done.
Speakers include: Jitu Brown, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization; Rosie Hudson, school parent; Larry Davis, President, Youth Rep, Local School Council; Jose Candelario, Parent, Member of Local School Council; Dr.l Carmen Palmer, Retired Educator, Chicago Public Schools; Ryan Jackson, Parent, Tilden High School; Rico Gutstein, Teachers for Social Justice; Trenton Perry, Tilden High School Alumnus; Pat Bell, Retired School Crossing Guard. Length: 26:18. Donate to Labor Beat (Committee for Labor Access) at - https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9789970
Some of the more than 500 people who took part in the February 20 rally, march and prayer vigil against the school closings and turnaround head north on Hermitage Ave. towards the home of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Substance photo by Sharon Schmidt.The URL for the video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhViFTVbGlg&feature=youtu.be
