Born Out of Struggle: 10th Anniv. of the Little Village Hunger Strike!

[Orlando Sepulveda]

Little Village Lawndale HS will be commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Hunger Strike that made this school possible.   The celebration will take place at the campus on Wednesday, May 25, from 4-7 PM. Address is 3120 S. Kostner (4400 West), just over the bridge from Cicero on Chicago's Southwest side, in Little Village. All are welcome!   For more details see forwarded message below.   ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Eric (Rico) Gutstein <gutste...@earthlink.net> Date: Sun, May 22, 2011 at 2:08 PM Subject: Born Out of Struggle: Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Little Village Hunger Strike! To: tsj friends <1-TSJ...@earthlink.net>     PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!  PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!  PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY! TSJers- On May 25, the Little Village/Lawndale community will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the historic Little Village Hunger Strike of May-June, 2001. This is one of the most important and militant education activist fights in Chicago history and has real lessons for our struggles today. Brief History: In the 1990s, residents of the Little Village (one of the largest Mexican immigrant communities in the US) demanded a new HS, as their local school, Farragut HS, was overcrowded. In 1998, the CPS Board allocated funds for a new school, along w/ funds for Walter Payton and Northside College Prep HSs, two new, selective-enrollment schools (now two of the "jewels" of Chicago's public schools). Both Payton and NS were to be (and are) in whiter and wealthier communities than Little Village. But the Board "ran out" of money, and only built 2 of the 3 schools-not the one in LV. Residents and community organizations were furious and stepped up their protests and organizing. Eventually, in May 2001, 14 residents (parents, grandparents, and youth, male and female) at "Camp César Chávez" embarked on what turned out to be an historic 19-day hunger strike, during which they occupied the proposed school site and slept over, while the media blared, "Mexican Mothers Hunger Strike for School!" The activists, supported by people from around the city, called the strike off after 19 days for health reasons, and shortly afterwards (with continuing pressure), the Board "found" the money and agreed to build the school. A beautiful new school was built, and the Little Village-Lawndale HS Campus (http://www.lvlhs.org/) opened in Fall 2005 with four small HSs inside, each based on a theme expressed by the community: MAS (Multicultural Arts School), Infinity (Math, Science, and Technology Academy), World Languages, and Sojo (the Greater Lawndale/Little Village School for Social Justice). Students from both Little Village (Latina/o) and North Lawndale (African American) attend the schools. These four are neighborhood CPS schools. Any student in the attendance area can attend. And despite CPS' fabrication on its website, they are not Renaissance 2010 schools, but were created under the Chicago HS Redesign Initiative. In fact, in December 2004, at a press conference, the Hunger Strikers made that clear: "We just want everyone to remember that our schools were the result of a community struggle that did not have anything to do with Renaissance 2010." said Linda Sarate, parent and hunger-striker. Celebration: The celebration will take place at the campus on Wednesday, May 25, from 4-7 PM. Address is 3120 S. Kostner (4400 West), just over the bridge from Cicero on Chicago's Southwest side, in Little Village. All are welcome (see attached). There will be a "Hunger Strike exhibit," student and parent performances, entertainment, and of course, the Hunger Strikers will speak. Significance: As we go forward into a new Mayor and CPS Board/Administration, the lessons of the Hunger Strike teach us several things. Like the occupation at Whittier School ("La Casita") this past year, determined and organized people can win victories through struggle, sacrifice, developing broad support, and sharp strategy and tactics. The presumption of "uninvolved" parents and community members is a blatant lie. Grassroots, community-based participation is an essential condition of education democracy. There CAN BE excellent, NEIGHBORHOOD Chicago public schools. We do NOT need privatized, charter, contract, or turnaround schools. We have learned through bitter experience that no victory is ever assured. We must be constantly vigilant, especially in the current privatization-madness climate in which we live.         --  ******************************************************************************* this email sent to you by: TEACHERS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE (Chicago)           http://teachersforjustice.org/         teachersf...@hotmail.com                  NOTE: TSJ will occasionally forward info from others to our email list. That does NOT necessarily imply endorsement of the ideas or opinions, but rather that we feel the material is along our general principles and that you all can decide for yourselves.