Support Edison High School youth Activists

[seventhsonchosen1]

Please Forward:

Please sign on to the online petition in support of the amazing work of the
youth of Miami Edison High School. They have been organizing, leading
school boycotts, protests and developing demands to bring. Show them that
they are being supported by signing on to the online petition and forwarding
it widely.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/jus4edyo/petition.html

Additionally, support by calling

Principal Teel at (305) 751-7337 to say that you support the demands of the
students to have those responsible for this brutality brought to justice,
and to implement Restorative Justice in the school as a way of healing and
ensuring that this doesn't happen again.

Also, please call State Attorney Kathleen Rundle at 305.547.0100 to tell her
that you support the demands of the students to drop all charges and arrest
Assistant principal Perez .

Background:

This morning 300 students boycotted attending Miami Edison senior high, the
first day after police brutally beat and arrested masses of students on
Friday. The youth are organizing to demand that Assistant Principal Perez be
fired, that all demands against arrested youth are dropped and that
restorative justice be implemented in the schools in order to prevent this
from happeneing again! This level of oganizing is unprecedented and amazing
and everyone needs to be out there supporting as much as possible. Join them
tomorrow morning at 7:30 am to continue the struggle.

After successfully propelling themselves onto the stage of a public meeting
regarding police attacks on protesters, Miami Edison Senior High School
students are preparing to boycott what they call an "unsafe" environment at
the school. The boycott started on Monday, March 3, 2007 at 7:30am at
Athalie Range Park, across the street from the school on 62nd Street and NW
5th Avenue.

In response to the incidents of Friday, February 29, when school, city of
Miami and Miami-Dade County police brutally beat, tased and sicked K9 dogs
on students protesting police brutality on campus, the school principal
called an open meeting on Sunday, March 2 at the school. She began the
meeting by announcing that students will be heard on Monday, at a school
assembly, but not at the public meeting. In addition, the public was not
allowed into the school assembly, a clear attempt to prevent the student's
from publicly relaying the events of the 29th.

Students, however, maintained their protest spirit, chanting until the
Principal agreed to allow students to speak. While she promised the police
would be available to answer questions, neither Chief Darling of Miami-Dade
Public Schools or any other police officer answered questions from students,
parents or the public.

Student leader Chris Green spoke eloquently about what he witnessed and the
biased media reporting on the story. Green also laid out the student
demands, including the arrest of assistant principal Perez for assault on a
student; dropping all charges on those arrested Friday; No retaliation
against students; and the institution of Restorative Justice as a problem
solving model, instead of arresting more young people in the future.

In addition, Green and other students announced the boycott. Students are
asked to arrive on time and in full uniform for school, but instead of
reporting to school, gathering at the Range Park across the street. Many
students and parents expressed concern that they were to return to the same
school and police force responsible for the violence on Friday.
Organizations supporting the student movement are organizing workshops and
classes at the park. Students say the boycott will continue until all
demands are met and they feel safe at the school.

Defying charges of apathy and lack of civic involvement, the youth of Edison
saw a wrong and organized to stand up for their rights. Instead of talking
to the students and working towards a solution, the administration ordered
the police to beat and arrest the mostly Black students. These young people
are on the front line of a new wave of student activist and need our support
and understanding, not beatings and jail time.

CopWatch is calling on activists to show up at the Athalie Range Park, with
video and still cameras, to support the students and protect them from other
potential attacks by the school administration and police. Students are
gathering at 7:30am Tuesday to continue this struggle!

Max Rameau, CopWatch, a project of the Center for Pan African Development



Julia Daniel
Power U Center for Social Change
1633 NW 3rd Ave. Miami, FL, 33136
305.576.7449

"The greatest tool in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the
oppressed." -Steven Biko

[MsLioness]

I went to Central.

I am so glad to hear this news. My heart is the most happy right about now. Our students need support and I pray that all of the demands are met. And I hope that all schools in Miami in our areas follow suit because our students deserve better than what they are throwing at us.

And thats the beauty of the Haitian community in Miami. Haitians stay together. They understand family and defending one another. Once we all realize that none of us are treated equally or fairly, perhaps we will understand that we are one people, and must stay together and defend one another.

Let the struggle continue.

Fire all of those lame teachers who are there for a paycheck. Fire all of those figure head principals. Get some money in the schools, and maybe then we can graduate.

[MsLioness]

Oh yeah, and I am sure you all know this, down there:
Do not stop struggling.

Jail and police brutality....thats because the European doesn't understand any other way than force. He will try anything to not do the right thing.

I say force him to do the right thing. Continue to protest, and struggle. Make the community feel it.

Organize with Central and N.Western and Carol City. They should feel threatened by what has happened at Edison.

Find an organization that is at all of the schools and pull it up. Get them involved and let them know that they will be next. The city is trying to shut all of those schools down anyways.

Get them to boycott and protest with you all.

I wish I was down there.....

[MamaDahomey]

Thanks for this info.This is sort of shocking news to me. I went to Edison for a short summer program and several of my friends graduated from Edison. I will defiantely support this.