See original: BWFJ
I got arrested on Tuesday, July 20th with 19 others all fighting for school equity.
I have never been handcuffed, thrown into a paddy wagon, fingerprinted or had my mug shot taken. It was a sobering experience.
I have been in a jail before. I volunteered with Prison MATCH (Prison Mothers and Their Children) and worked with Job Start, both programs that seek to decrease recidivism and the impact of the cycle of incarceration. I spent hours with incarcerated young women who look like me. The prison system is full of people of color. I thought about them as I decided that I would take a stand against the elimination of the socioeconomic diversity policy in Wake County schools, which I believe will result in more young people entering the school-to-prison pipeline.
Thousands Rally
My day started marching with my prince kings and several thousand people down Fayetteville Street. We marched because we believe in equity in our schools. It was a powerful march. The diversity of the marchers was beautiful. Speakers spoke eloquently about the history of the struggle against segregation. It was more than 40 years ago that the U.S. Supreme Court made segregated schools illegal in Brown vs. Board of Education.
At the rally, speakers talked about the moral imperative to stand against any effort to segregate our community. It reminded me that we no longer can just sit in our pews and pray. We are God’s weapons against injustice and it will take all of us together to fight for a united community. One speaker said of the marchers,” this is what my neighborhood looks like.” I was touched by his statement. I understand that we cannot retreat back into our neighborhoods. We live in a global community. We will either learn to work together or we will all perish together.
We Prayed
We left the rally and went to a prayer meeting at Pullen Memorial Church. This is a predominately white church led by the Rev. Nancy Petty. She has was arrested at a school board meeting a few weeks ago with Rev. William Barber, the state NAACP president, Tim Tyson, a Duke University professor and author of ‘Blood Done Signed My Name,’ and Mary Williams, a renowned gospel singer and freedom fighter. They drafted a statement about why they choose to get arrested.
"In the best American traditions, from Henry David Thoreau to Ella Baker to Martin Luther King, Jr., we recognize the necessary place of civil disobedience: breaking a small and unjust law in order to protect a larger and broadly significant law, honoring the very spirit of law by yielding to punishment in order to meet the necessity of an urgent moral crisis. We seek to make a moral and spiritual witness that we feel is urgent, necessary, and right."
School Board Meeting becomes a Police State
After the prayer meeting I dropped my sons off and I went to the school board meeting which was set up like a police state. Over 50 police had secured the parking lot with metal barriers. I had to park down the street and walk because they were not letting anyone park in the lot.
Opponents of the diversity policy had asked their supporters to fill the meeting room’s 164 seats. They were unable to reach this goal. Outside, Rev. Barber arrived and read a statement. He and three others were immediately taken to jail. The police told people who were standing with Rev. Barber that if they remained on the sidewalk and didn’t move behind the gated parking lot they would be arrested. Several people refused to move. The police officers asked “who wants to get arrested?” This was ridiculous because no one was violating the law. The sidewalk is big enough for people to stand and wait. Tensions were rising.
I went inside. At first, I could only get into a room that had been set up to accommodate those who could not fit into the main board room. This room had a blurry television screen to show the proceedings. The school board has been asked many times to move the meetings to a space where the public can attend. Unfortunately, they have refused. A protest broke out in the hallway when people who wanted to see the board meeting were forbidden to enter the main room.
Eventually I was able to squeeze into the main board room (thanks Lauren). We planned to stand with Michele Laws, president of the Chapel Hill chapter of the NAACP, when she went up to make her statement. I walked to the stand and I was not alone. Many people joined me and we locked arms. We began to chant “Forward ever, backwards never.”
Handcuffed for School Equity
Quickly, the police surrounded us and told us to stop chanting. We refused, and our hold on each other tightened. Michele’s daughter, MD, was in the middle of our group. Police began to pull and push at us, violently twisting arms. At one point a supporter of the board smacked a member of NC HEAT in the head.
When Keith Sutton, the only black school board member, tried to calm tensions, police grabbed him and forced his arms behind his back in an attempt to arrest him.The crowd began to yell: “He’s a school board member. What are you doing?” Eventually, another officer intervened and Sutton was released.
One by one, they broke our circle apart. Finally, one woman was left. She was on her hands and knees on the floor, surrounded by officers, crying, “Don’t touch me.”
When I knelt to pray with her, they arrested both of us.
My day ended in the Wake County jail, waiting to be processed and watching people of color continue to come into the jail in handcuffs — real handcuffs, not the plastic bands they used on us.
The NAACP has released an official statement to represent the Solid 19 that were arrested on Tuesday. Please read the official statement attached below.
I have been asked why I got arrested and if it was “worth it.” We took a stand and would not be moved. We know that the Wake County system was not perfect to begin with. Indeed, my son was suspended twice this year. We have a lot of work to do. We still stand against the elimination of the diversity policy because we know it will only make a challenging situation worse. I did this because:
1. I am a mother and believe all children deserve a sound basic education and this requires equitable schools, preserving the socioeconomic diversity policy, quality teachers, and parental involvement and eliminating zero-tolerance discipline policies.
2. Low wealth schools will only serve to widen the school to prison pipeline. The elimination of the diversity policy and the transition to neighborhood schools will result in an increase in the number of low wealth schools. The increased number of low wealth schools will lead to an increased in the number of students that become residents of jails and prisons. Across the country our prison system is filled with young people of color. I recently learned from Critical Resistance that at least 50% of the young people entering our prison system are being sent there by school resource officers that work in our public schools.
3. We have a right to control/influence/participate in the schools in our communities. We have been shut out of this process. Yes, they were elected with 6% of the registered voters, but when surveying the parents they found that over 90% of parents were happy with the school their children were attending. Overwhelmingly the public has spoken out against eliminating the diversity policy. There have been letters to the board, public comment, rallies, town hall forums, data presentations by experts, letters to editor, meetings and much more that have little to nothing to move the board majority. They refuse to hear us, indeed they mock us, call us animals loose from our cages. If they say that about our efforts to challenge their position on this issue, how can they possible hear our children’s needs?
4. The data and the research all lead to one conclusion: eliminating the socio-economic diversity plan will yield more high poverty schools. I have heard from many that they believe integration has not always served black children. They believe we should control the destiny of our schools. I think they have a point, but I strongly believe- that without a socioeconomic diversity policy we will never have equitable funding across all of our schools in Wake County. They can promise more resources to the segregated all black school in my part of town, but they will not keep their promises. My sons will be fighting the same battle I am fighting. The cycle has to stop somewhere.
5. Strong schools are good for the economy and high poverty schools are bad for business. We know that housing, transportation and education are all tied together and necessary for a strong economy. If we allow them to weaken our school system, they will weaken our economic base, we will loose jobs, will loose money. We literally can’t afford to allow this to happen.
Wake did fall asleep at the wheel. Voter turnout was so low that we allowed these ideologues to gain control of the most valuable enterprise in our county-our schools. For that oversight we must all work harder to take back the helm of our schools. We need community investment and control of our schools. We need parents and students working with the experts (teachers and administrators) to create a more just and equitable school system. We need to vote in the upcoming election.
We need your help. Please join us on July 25th for the After the March – Stay in the Struggle" get together, July 25, 2-5 pm, YWCA 554. E Hargett St. We will continue to fight. Forward Ever, Backward Never!! Was it worth it, yes. Will I do it again? Yes, if it’s necessary. Someone said to me today, “if the struggle ain’t worth going to jail, then it probably it ain’t worth it at all.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/21/national/main6698403.shtml#comments
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/21/north.carolina.schools.protests/index.html?hpt=T2
Erin Byrd, Mother
Member of NAACP Political Action Committee, Black Workers for Justice and Southern Partners Fund
Employed by Blueprint NC
The official NAACP press release:
Immediate Release
21 July 2010
Contact: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President,
Mrs. Amina J. Turner, Executive Director, 919-682-4700
Atty. Al McSurely, Communications Chair, 919-389-2905
NINETEEN NAACP LEADERS, MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS ARRESTED AT WAKE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD: A REFLECTION BY ATTORNEY AL MCSURELY.
Raleigh, NC – A historic coming together of Black and White clergy leaders in front of the North Carolina State Capitol to bless and inspire thousands of young people, parents, and NAACP members who were protesting the decisions and actions of the five-member majority of the Wake County School Board to turn the clock back, and establish high-poverty, racially-identifiable, re-segregated schools in the County.
Over 30 religious leaders, from the predominantly African American AME ZION Church (all 12 of its Bishops were represented and the President of the Board of Bishops introduced Bishop Thompson of NC to speak), a Bishop in the United Methodist church, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese, the N.C. Council of Churches, the Presbyterian Church, the Disciples of Christ Church, the N.C. General Baptist Convention, (Rev. Dr. Greg Moss), the Jewish Faith, Muslims, Unitarians, and Baptists. These religious leaders where joined by a vast array of parent, student, and labor groups. The diversity was incredible. Many observers remarked that it was the first time they had ever seen so many of the leaders of groups who worship the same God, and who preach from the same texts on Saturdays and Sundays, come together in a common cause, led by Rev. Dr. William Barber, who’s Disciples of Christ Congregation has supported his five year ministry of Justice in North Carolina.
There were strong exhortations to Never Go Back to Segregation by all the speakers. Music was provided by a band of high school students, led by Brenton Harrison, son of Rev. Troy Harrison of the
St. Joseph’s CME Church, and nationally-recognized Gospel Singer, Mrs. Mary D. Williams, started and ended the street meeting with a powerful old song: "People Get Ready, There’s a Train A-Coming, Don’t Need No Ticket, Just Get on Board."
Rev. Barber invited those who wanted to go to the afternoon School Board meeting to Rev. Petty’s Pullen Baptist Church to pray about how to best take a prophetic stand against the School Board’s decision to resegregate. When the crowd had gathered at historic Pullen Church, Barber read a letter he would hand-deliver to Board Chair Ron Margiotta, who had authorized a standing order to arrest Barber, Petty and Williams if they came on the Board premises without a promise that they would be nice. Lawyers believe Margiotta lacked statutory or constitutional basis for his ban. They say Margiotta had no right to keep people away from his public meetings just because he disagreed with their views, before they spoke their views. Barber told the crowd, Mr. Margiotta had the legal right to use police to stop what he believed were disruptive "crimes" after they began, but he had no right to send out chilling warnings to parents (Both Petty and Williams have children in the Wake County Schools) telling them they did not have the right to attend a meeting, unless they promise to be "nice." After more prayers and soul-searching, scores of people, led by Rev. Barber, Rev. Moss, Rev. Forbes(a SNCC founder), and Rev. Petty, left for the 3 p.m. Board meeting.
Although the virtually all-white Republican Party of Wake, which has provided the financial, political, and organizational backing for Mr. Margiotta and his four allies on the Board had promised to mobilize 160 supporters to fill the Boardroom seats to prevent Mr. Margiotta’s opponents from being allowed to speak their views, only a handful of Republicans showed up. Observers reported that Margiotta and his Republican caucus were more concerned than usual, because of the growing support from the white and black church leaders for retaining the nationally-recognized socio-economic diversity policy. Margiotta was being pressured, observers reported, to make a few concessions, and there were rumors that at least one of his caucus was expressing misgivings about the inconsistent and embarrassing statements a member of the Republican caucus was making to the media.
As soon as Rev. Barber began leading a crowd of pro-diversity people in prayer and chants outside the School Board building on a public sidewalk, police surrounded him. Barber tried to deliver his letter to Margiotta, but police would not let him, and instead tied his wrists with plastic handcuffs, and led him to an EMS vehicle to take him to jail. Rev. Gregory Moss, leader of the 500,000 member Baptist Convention, locked arms with his long-time friend, and made it clear that if they arrested Barber, they would have to arrest him. Rev. Petty, who was standing with her two friends, was arrested with them. Barber and Petty were charged with second degree trespassing, and Rev. Moss was charged with interfering with the arrest of Barber.
The WakeCounty jailers and Magistrate quickly processed Barber, Moss, and Petty. They had just gone outside, to enjoy the breeze of freedom, when word spread that Margiotta had ordered the arrest of at least a dozen more NAACP members and their supporters, and they had also detained, and tried to cuff, the only African American School Board member, Keith Sutton. Television shots and eyewitnesses agree that Mr. Margiotta apparently made a general order to arrest protesters. Pictures show that there were several people standing behind Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP President Michelle Laws, who was commenting on her disagreement with the Margiotta policies. Most of those standing in support of Ms. Laws did not get a chance to speak, and did nothing to disrupt the meeting other than show their support for her views, the police were apparently authorized to make arrests of anyone who was standing in the room, including School Board Member Sutton. He had walked over to Ms. Laws and other people, to try to insure peaceful, non-injurious arrests. Mr. Keith Sutton, mistakenly identified as a protestor, was almost arrested. See http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/8001507/
As can be seen in the video, 16 people were arrested. An unidentified Black man approached the police, to inform them they were arresting a school board member. Sutton was reluctantly released with no apologies. Television images of this stereotypical arrest are presently being sent around the world.
The 19 people arrested include 7 ministers, 6 young people of college and high school age, five members of the Executive Committee of the NC State Conference of Branches, 3 NAACP Branch Presidents, 8 white people and 11 black people, ranging in age from 16 to 60.
1. Ms. Laurel Ashton
2. Mr. Scott Bass
3. Ms. Erin Byrd
4. Rev. Anthony Davis
5. Mr. Tim D. Hodge
6. Ms. Marie Garlock
7. Rev. Curtis E. Gatewood
8. Rev. Jimmy Hawkins
9. Ms. Chinedu Ifejika
10. Mr. Bobby Jones
11. Rev. Michelle Laws
12. Ms. Camilla Lee
13. Ms. Maddie Miller
14. Mr. Keith Rivers
15. Mr. Rob Stephens
16. Mr. David Eisenstadt
17. Rev. Gregory Moss
18. Rev. Nancy Petty
19. Rev. William J. Barber II
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