Photos and Update from Day 3 of the Fast 4 Education

These kids were amazed when they heard about the funding cuts in the West Contra Costa School District, and wanted to have their picture taken in front of the banner. They were just passing by with their coach and wanted to know what was going on.

One of the many signs around the Fast 4 Education encampment.

Oakland's new City Manager, Deborah Edgerly, telling an organizer that the city will fence off the tree tomorrow and post no trespassing signs on the fence in an effort to get the fasters to move somewhere else. She does not believe that the fasters have a right to be in Frank Ogawa Plaza and has made that clear through continuing to harrass the fasters in petty ways over the last couple of days. She seems to equate the fasters with homeless people and doesn't seem to believe that there is such a thing as the first amendment, or the right to assemble on public property such as Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Here is the City Manager's info if you choose to call her, email her, fax her, or just drop by her office for a while to express your frustration with her petty harrassment of the fasters.
Oakland City Manager - Deborah Edgerly
One City Hall Plaza, 3rd Floor
Oakland, California 94612
Telephone: 510-238-3301
Fax: 510-238-2223
TTY/TDD: 510-238-3724
citymanager [at] oaklandnet.com
http://www.oaklandnet.com/government/cmo/cmohp.cfm

There were quite a few United Farm Worker shirts in the crowd tonight and a United Farm Worker flag at the encampment. Dolores Huerta will be stopping by tomorrow(Thursday May 13th)at 1:30pm to lend her support to the fasters in their struggle for education funding and true equality for inner city schools 50 years after Brown v. Board of Education.

2 UC Berkeley students and 1 graduate are fasting right now, and a lot of UC Berkeley students and alumni are involved in the struggle for equality in education and access to higher education. Some of these students were involved in the hunger strike at UC Berkeley in 1999 to save the Ethnic Studies department, and many others are involved in recruitment and retension efforts to get students into UC Berkeley and other institutions of higher education.

There were about 100 people tonight particpating in a danza ceremony and candlelight vigil. I could not take pictures out of respect for the ceremony, but the ceremony was very beautiful and empowered the fasters and supporters with the prayers of la Raza.

The fasters have to go to an undisclosed location every night since the city of Oakland continues to harrass them and will not allow them to stay in Frank Ogawa Plaza overnight. They will return to Frank Ogawa Plaza tomorrow morning and will be there all day regardless of whether or not the City Manager and city of Oakland officials decide to fence off the tree that the fasters have been setting up under for shade during the day.