by Debbie X: Posted by M
Wednesday, Mar. 29, 2006 at 11:54 PM
Yesterday at about 9:45 am, at least about 400 or more students walked off campus from Norte Vista High School in Riverside. Other walk outs were happened from so many other campuses too--NOrth High, Arlington High, Poly High, and so on. But--I will detail the path of Norte Vista kids.
They marched downthe street about a mile to Loma Vista Middle School--but, the kids at Loma were put on lock down, and forced to sit w/ their heads down on their desk so as not to be "tempted" or whatever so tehy couldn't see the marchers passing by.
Then, they carried on another mile or 2 to La Sierra High School When they arrived at La Sierra (all the Norte kids), the La Sierra kids were screaming w/ excitement thru the other side of the large metal / iron fencing separating them, and kids tried to jump over this horrific imprisonment they are daily captured in as security tried to lock them down as well,
But--things got all hectic; they beat this one kid (which my friends have on video tape), he got so bloodied up, and couldn't even stand--he was a little guy too, only a freshman.
The police proceeded to tear gas the crowd, shooting them with rubber bullets, and only a few La Sierra kids managed to join the march.
Onward they continued--by this time acocmpnied by at least 2 helicopters, hundreds of police in full riot gear, and calling for outside assistance from Riverside County Sherrif.
The march had full take on the street, very busy intersection near 91 frway, and they marched around the corner and down Magnolia towards the Tyler Mall, trying to reach the next high school about 5 miles down.
But, by the time the hit around the mall--the cops just closed in on the crowd and started dispersing everybody, rubber bullets, beating, everything.
From that point on--most of that delegation was dispersed thru out the streets, I am still waiint on reports of how many more arrests etc. About an hour after, I saw major streets blocked off and surrounded by 6 or more police in riot gear around Wells St. and Tyler, and I prsume they were just rounding off youth as they saw them, doing "sweeps" on anyyoung, brown kid walking the streets.
Later, about 2pm, I was driving away from Norte Vista and saw 2 police cars speeding ahead of me, so I followed them as it turns out--to-- RAMONA high school, where a Ramona cotningent had alraedy walked out and were still waiting for hte Norte and La Sierra contingent (which didn't really make it cuz they were all scared and beat up, running away or hiding fromt he cops, etc).
So, myslef and several UCR peoples came to the Ramona high school protest and it grew for several hours, they put the remaing kids at Ramona on lock down and releaesed up to several hours late from school so as to prevent them from joining the mexico and US flag waving crowd, chanting things like---Si se Puede, Equality for All, and similar.
Today, I have no idea what is to follow up. Most of the kids I know I think are pretty scared and I don't know what if anything will follow up today. I know the schools are going to lock down very hard today to prevent htis so-caleld "anarchy".
Yesterday in particualr, I think the youth of our communities very brilliantly took the brunt of a huge political struggle. I could not imagine feeling more joy or pride (though it's nothing related to my actions) in all these kids stepping up and int he forefront of this struggle, and feel intense solidarity and outrage over the militarized brutality they got in response.
I think this goes to show that--although people may be out there always trying to "educate" the youth or whatever, to plant seeds or whatever--that, these kids are already primed and waiting for somethign to call them out that hits them personally. And, without any collaboration from any outside, "adult" forces or whatever--these kids jsut decided on their own, I heard them all mronign yesterday--all these random kids before the walk out--in circles around the basketball courts, going OFF on all this research THEY had done on this HR legilsation and stuff, informing their peers.