AN URGENT MESSAGE TO EDUCATORS ON THE WORLD CANT WAIT CALL TO DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME
From Larry Felson, teacher and OEA site rep at Oakland High, Oakland, California
November 2nd, 2005 is shaping up to be a major day of protest against the Bush regime, a day which will usher in a whole new movement to change the course of history! There are demonstrations and actions called for in over thirty cities, thousands of endorsements are coming in, and WORLDCANT WAIT/DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME is picking up steam. As educators what we do can make a huge difference. On October 3rd, 2005, the Oakland Educational Association (OEA) representative assembly, in a spirit of righteous solidarity, unanimously passed a resolution I authored which “supports the right to participate in the November 2nd national day of protests and supports the policy of no reprisals against students, teachers and others in the school community who may take-off work or school to take part in protest activities that day.”
If this was Germany in the early 30’s and you could see the outlines of the oncoming onslaught of Hitler and the Nazis, would you support a call to build a movement to drive them out? Would you join with or stand up for students and teachers and thousands of others who walk out of schools and jobs to take part in a day of resistance that could spark a whole new path forward against the rising fascism?
If this were Selma or Birmingham or Kent State or San Francisco in the late 60’s, where would you be, who would you stand with? What about Cesar Chavez and the farm- workers, the Rodney King uprisings, the struggle to free Mumia Abu Jamal, the Battle of Seattle, and the protests against the Iraq Wars I and II? These have all been momentous struggles in which students and teachers have played pivotal roles, and have not only walked out of schools and jobs but put their hearts and souls and bodies on the line. And we are facing just such a critical moment in history right now, with perhaps even more to lose and a whole world to win!
The continuing slaughter of the Iraqi people! The exposure of Bush and the government surrounding New Orleans and the horrendous treatment of Black people. The vicious attack on poor and immigrant youth and youth of color represented by “No Child Left Behind,” as well as the attempt to turn our schools into recruiting centers for their wars of expansion and greed! These are outrageous crimes that must be stopped!
As the WORLD CANT WAIT call puts it: “The Bush Regime is setting out to remake society very quickly, in a fascist way, and for generations to come. A new movement is now forming to stop this disastrous course by taking action and on November 2nd it begins: a mass political resistance that will not stop until this regime is driven from office.”
I urge educators across the country to take up WORLD CANT WAIT/DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME activities on November 2nd and to pass similar resolutions of support and no reprisals against those who participate. NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT!