Students walk out in Philly

SOME 2,000 public school students in Philadelphia walked out of class on May 17 and marched on the headquarters of the Philadelphia School District on North Broad Street. Assembling in front of Building 440, they bellowed chants about the importance of public education, the voice of students and the injustice of austerity.

The school closures disproportionately target Black communities in a city where more than half of public school students are African American. As the Philadelphia Inquirer reported:

In six of the eight schools that either closed or began the closing process in June, at least 13 percent more African American students are enrolled than the district average, [according to community organizing group Action United]...At Harrison Elementary in North Philadelphia, closed in June, for instance, African Americans were 94 percent of the population. At Drew Elementary in West Philadelphia, also closed in June, 79 percent of the students were African American.

The vast majority of students who participated in the walkout were youth of color who will be most affected by the closures. The district plans to close as many as 64 more schools in the next five years--maybe more.

http://socialistworker.org/2013/05/23/students-walk-out-in-philly