Endorsement and Participation Request:
Education not Incarceration Coalition (www.may8.org)
Teach-in – Speak-Out to Further Our United Fight for Resources for Our Schools and Not for More Prisons
Saturday, MAY 1st, 10AM-3PM; Oakland Technical High School, 4351 Broadway (near the Macarthur BART), Oakland, CA
CARRY ON THE HISTORICAL AND FIGHTING TRADITION OF INTERNATIONAL
WORKER'S DAY, MAY 1ST.
Join
Education not Incarceration’s day of teach-ins and speaking out!
Ø
Learn
more about the link between cuts to education and rising prison populations in
interactive workshops where everyone will be given a chance to speak.
Ø
Create
graffiti art, spoken word and video for the afternoon
speak out where you can raise your voice for education not incarceration to invited
elected representatives and officials.
Ø
Childcare
and food will be provided.
How your organization can participate:
1. Endorse the event
2. Send an outreach e-mail to your members
3. Send a flyer to your members, available at http://www.may8.org/TeachAction/speakout.pdf (or go to www.may8.org and click on the flyer link)
4. Send representatives to the next planning meeting on Monday April 12, 7-9PM at the Neibel Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave in North Oakland.
5. Organize your members to attend the event
To Commit Your Organization: please send your name, e-mail, phone #, address and expected # of attendees to Jonah Zern (EAST BAY) jzern1@yahoo.com, 510.654.8613 or Lisa Gutierrez Guzman (San Francisco and other) at LGGWWT@HOTMAIL.COM
Workshop Goals:
Each session should teach people about both education and
incarceration issues
Each session should be linked to a set of demands, thus
preparing participants to present the demands in the speak-out
Each session should be interactive and produce something to
present in the speak out, e.g. video, talking points, spoken word, graffiti
Each session will have a small team of facilitators
including: lead presenters, people to focus on products for the
speak out and ENI members to help prepare for the speak out.
Tentative Schedule:
9:30 presenters
meet and prepare
10:00 breakfast,
tabling, art/sign-making
10:30-12:30
workshops (including presentations and productions)
12:30-1:15 lunch
and preparing the speak out
1:30-3:00 speak
out
Potential Workshop
Topics:
1. Education and
Prison Budgets
demands
Reduce the prison budget by reducing the number of prisoners
Restore jobs and funds to k-12 and higher education systems
Forgive school district debts in Oakland,
W. Contra Costa and Emeryville(?)
possible presenters
CFJ person on community funding agenda
Jason Zidenberg (formerly Justice policy institute)
Rebecca Gonzalez (Ca. Budget Project) on how to impact
budgets,
Barb (Just Economics)
SEIU teacher from inside, on prisons
Former prisoner
Rose, Craig
2. School and prison Closures
demands
Don't close a single school in California
Don't open the Delano II Prison
Close Pelican
Bay State
Prison, Folsom State Prison, Valley State Prison for Women,
And California
Correctional Center, Susanville
possible presenters
Oakland parent(s)
from the Coalition against school closures
someone from the Prison Closure
group
Dawn Williams, Amy V., Cassandra, Rose
3.
Who makes
the Decisions? Control of Education and Incarceration Systems
demands
Add former prisoners and prison activists to the Schwartzenegger's new prison review panel
Restore control of state-occupied school districts to
democratically elected representatives.
Organize teacher and community councils to oversee
school-site budgeting
possible presenters
Greg Hodge on Oakland
schools
Someone from the "shadow commission" to review
prisons
4. Tearing Down
Barriers
demands
abolish California's
three-strikes law
end discrimination against people
with felony convictions and support re-entry for
people
coming home from prison
increase financial aid for higher
education and education inside prisons
Don't punish students and teachers with high stakes
standardize tests
possible presenters
All of Us or None
Californians for Justice
5. Criminalization vs. Empowerment of Youth
demands
Stop sending youth to the CYA/shut down the CYA as we know
it
transfer youth incarceration
resources to community councils for new school design
build youth leadership of
community-controlled education
possible presenters
Books Not Bars, School of Social Justice and Community
Development
6. Federal Assaults
On People of Color
demands
Flood struggling schools with resources. Impose educational spending caps on affluent
communities.
Refuse to comply with No Child Left Behind's testing regime
Repeal the Patriot Acts.
Keep military recruiters out of our schools.
possible presenters
Tammy Johnson (ERASE initiative, ARC) on No Child Left
Behind
People from the anti-military recruitment campaign
Afternoon Speakout
schedule to be drafted later this week.
Roughly: each workshop group takes 15 minutes to speakout. Each group could present both passionated/heated testimonial and information/analysis
that leads up to a key demand for that area.
Press will be invited to cover the speak
out.
