Exclusive Video of CEJ Rally and Civil Disobedience at Tweed

A ride of mostly NYC students near City Hall in NYC focused on theforced closing of schools as piece of the movement to privatize byshort-changing these schools of resources. Over 20 people blockedChambers Street near the entryway to the Brooklyn Bridge and werearrested. Students began a process to the precinct but on the way theywere told the law to obviate the border were taking the arrested toanother precinct.

The result was organised by the Coalition forEducational Justice, consisting of community based organizations. We have heard for weeks that this rally called by CEJ (Coalition for Educational Justice) would ramp up the protests into civil disobedience. Originally scheduled for last Weds, the day ahead the Stop School Closing Rally but postponed by the snow it was held on Monday, Jan. 31. Why two rallies? Complex, but the simple solution is two different messages and approaches between GEM and CEJ but we are communication and supporting some efforts. We are mostly teachers and they are mostly parents and students and one day soon the train shall meet. Joel Klein called the misnamed "achievement gap" the "civic rights issue of our time." His and the other ed deformer strategy of forcing the settlement of many inner city schools to give way for favored privately controlled charters is the real civil rights issue of the time, as this video shows with students and parents declaring that their schools have been purposely set up for failure so justification can be ground to close them land and reverse the valuable real estate their buildings represent over to charters. Here is 14 minutes of edited video I shot: the rally, excerpts from speakers, the drive into Chambers St. the arrests and the follow-up process to the police station. Fabulous stuff from a big crowd of students who did us all proud. http://vimeo.com/19443862

Rally Opposing NYC School Closings Leads to Civil Disobedience from Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo. Here is Lindsey Christ's story on (NY1) Also watch out this amazingly supportive piece from Gabe:Gabe Pressman Supports Teacher Experience