Ten University of Chicago students and anti-prison activists are staging a 24-hour hunger strike to protest against the school's new campus dining provider.
The following is from Jitu Brown, national director of the Journey for Justice Alliance and one of the Dyett Hunger Strikers.
As a CPS parent and long-time community organizer, I am appalled by the actions of Barbara Byrd-Bennett in stealing from Chicago's children to feather her already robust nest. What is more appalling however, is Mayor Rahm Emanuel's effort to isolate her actions as the corruption of an individual; and our acceptance of such nonsense. Corruption and discriminatory actions that disregard the voices of Black and Brown parents is central to the culture of the school privatization movement. While millions of dollars are pumped into selling the public on "school choice", nationwide corporate education interventions have failed to improve the academic outcomes in Black and Brown communities, while a laundry list of "reformers" have been caught violating the public trust.
Education activists celebrated the 34-day Dyett hunger strike during a rally at the Thompson Center Tuesday evening and vowed to press candidates on the issue of an elected Chicago school board during the 2016 state legislative elections.
The rally, attended by approximately 150 people, comes over a week after about a dozen Chicago parents and education advocates ended their hunger strike to keep Bronzeville's Dyett High School open. Dyett closed in June after being slated for phaseout in 2012.
"I'm really proud of the Dyett hunger strikers. They stood up for what they believed in," Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza told Progress Illinois at the rally. "They won. They kept their school open."
Still, Sadlowski Garza said it was unfortunate that parents had to put their health and lives at risk to improve education in their community.
"No one should have to starve or fight for a fully-funded education, not in the world we live in now," she said. "Kids, regardless where you live or the color of your skin, everyone should get an equal education."
Dyett protesters, who ended their hunger strike over the weekend after 34 days, detailed their next steps in the fight for "educational justice" in the city of Chicago Monday afternoon.
Health professionals and elected officials are expected to speak out on Monday in support of the Chicago activists who are now in the 29th day of their hunger strike over Dyett High School on the city's South Side.
The following is from Jitu Brown, national director of the Journey for Justice Alliance and one of the Dyett Hunger Strikers.
Education activists celebrated the 