700 students storm TUSD in Arizona

http://arizona.indymedia.org/

Meeting canceled after 700+ students walk out of classes and blockade TUSD headquarters. Fifteen arrested during occupation of Arizona state building

Breaking: On Tuesday, May 11 Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed HB2281, a bill that legally prohibits ethnic studies programs from Arizona public schools, equating such classes with sedition and removing state funding from districts that offer them.

On the morning of May 12th state superintendent Tom Horne, who for years has advocated eliminating ethnic studies, tried to hold a meeting with Tucson Unified School District officials to discuss the district’s curriculum. Rumors began circulating around 10:00 a.m. among Jr. high and high school students that Horne was in Tucson to immediately “pull the plug” on their classes.

In response, more than 700 spontaneously walked-out of their classes, with participants from Rincon, Cholla, Tucson and Pueblo high schools. Students then marched to TUSD headquarters and proceeded to surround the building and blockade the entrances to prevent Horne from entering. Shortly thereafter, school district officials canceled their meeting, claiming that Horne, who is running for state Attorney General, had turned it into “a political event”.

After learning that the meeting was canceled, about 200 among those gathered left TUSD and marched through downtown Tucson to the Arizona state building, where Horne was scheduled to hold a press conference at 2pm. More than a hundred entered and occupied the building lobby, and fifteen were ultimately arrested for refusing to leave.

In addition to HB2281, student demonstrators spoke out against SB1070 and SB1097, a bill that would force school districts to check the legal status of all students and eliminate public funding for those undocumented. A statement was circulated at the rally encouraging others around the country to engage in protests and direct action on Friday, May 14 in solidarity with students in Arizona.

See also: SB1070: Battle at the Grassroots

May Day 2010: Attack SB1070 and prisons everywhere

From Anarchist News:

By Marek A. Edelman
Let us not be melodramatic or ironic, SB1070 is some fascist shit. For years now ICE has been rounding up our fellow workers, stealing them from their families, children, and communities, often regardless of their immigration status. In 2009, 380,000 people were detained in 350 facilities, and the roundups continue. Detainees are held for months, even years, in conditions often worse than prisons built for “citizens” (although many who are “legally” in the US end up there anyway). Along the US-Mexico border, defense contractors have built massive walls at the safest crossing points, forcing migrant workers to make perilous desert crossings. Many [Editor’s note: hundreds a year] will not make it alive.

This was all true before next week, and now matters are significantly worse. SB1070 will require this Gestapo-like behavior from all law enforcement in Arizona. It gives racist pigs the opportunity to round up whomever they please, for any reason, whenever they want, and turn them over to ICE where they will be, essentially, disappeared.

As anarchists we are aware of the extreme racism that exists in our culture, and that all legislation increases the power of the state, so we are not surprised at the extreme violence and hatred that SB1070 represents, but that does not mean we are not OUTRAGED. More than ever, it is time to attack* ICE, defense contractors, racist organizations who are pushing for this legislation nation-wide, and the politicians who support it all.

This is just the latest step in the expansion of the police state. Let us not forget the Anarchists currently in CMUs alongside unknown hundreds of Arab-Americans locked up without evidence since September 11th.

As one Anarchist News commenter said: “Arizona is now free game for ANY kind of resistance, this ‘Germany in ’36’ shit ain’t gonna fly here. And unlike most of the time when ‘anarchists attack’, I think there’ll be more support for us than usual. It. Is. On.” But we cannot limit our scope to Arizona. Those who support and profit from SB1070 are everywhere. It is time to research, conspire, and act.

The Importance of May Day
Since May 2006 Hispanic-Americans and their allies have marched by the millions across the country. Their solidarity inspires us, but marching is not enough. Demonstrations are not meant to show the dedicated size of an electorate contingency, but are meant to threaten or actualize physical resistance to capitalism, the state, and the police. Mass-movement organizations will pacify crowds at every turn, attempting to control our anger and suppress direct action. A full scale riot almost broke out at the Arizona Capitol Building after Governor Jan Brewer signed the bill into law, video shows police unable to control the crowd, but the peace police did their job for them.

We must make efforts to end the recuperation of May Day— an international day of struggle– by leftist organizations and political parties. Two ideas on how to do this:

1. Show up to your area’s main march in black, agitate, and break-off. Head towards a target. There are some listed below.
2. After/before/instead of the march create an affinity group and attack the target on your own.

Start talking to your friends and comrades today. Find a target near you. See you in the streets.