Newark PL’ers Link Budget Crisis to Capitalism: Mass Student Walkout Against School Cuts Hits the Streets

          NEWARK, NJ, April 27 — “When Christie says Cut Back, We Say Fight Back,” chanted a multi-racial group of over 2,500 Newark high school students as they walked out of school today and marched to the Board of Education building protesting Gov. Chris Christie’s latest education cuts. Christie is slashing $820 million in school funding — to municipalities, colleges and universities, student financial aid and from the state pension fund. The protest here was part of a state-wide anti-cut demonstration of 9,000.

Plans were for students to leave their schools at 1:00 PM but that quickly changed. Students at Weequahic H.S. left at 9:00 AM and rallied outside University H.S. to win those students to come out. Moments later the two schools took over Clinton Ave., marching in unison to the Board of Education building.

At East Side H.S., students pulled the fire alarm, sparking a first wave of over 300 students to walk. Then at 11:00 AM another 600-700 left. Students arriving at Board of Ed offices met a Technology H.S. contingent that had already taken over part of Broad Street. Within minutes cop cars, unprepared for the early morning walkouts, raced into the area trying to contain the students.

Workers across the street were watching. One said, “Look at these cops trying to barricade all these students in.” Another commented, “That’s because they’re afraid of students fighting back.” A third responded even more specifically, “They’re afraid of black and Latino students fighting back.”

How We Organized

A college student’s entry on Facebook opposing the cuts spread like wildfire, attracting about 18,000 students through texts, calls and especially face-to-face at group meetings.

PL’ers were involved since March 4, holding study groups with students, teachers and parents to discuss the significance of these cuts and struggling to organize more fight-back. Our influence is growing, evident in signs like “Cut-backs mean we gotta fight back,” held by students from other schools we didn’t know.

Nearly a week before the walkout, a PLP May Day fundraiser enabled students, teachers and parents to discuss plans. Additionally, they were introduced, and invited, to the May Day celebration. The fundraiser drew them — and most importantly, workers — to participate in the May 1 March and dinner. It laid the groundwork both for May Day and for the walkout itself.

This PLP gathering helped ensure that the walkout would occur, including its success in Newark. Many students who attended it carried the message to other schools as well as got students in their own schools on board.

The day before the walkout, representatives from five schools met to coordinate it, involving them in the planning — suggesting time and locations and ensuring contact with one another the following day. Students encouraged and inspired each other to proceed with the action.

At that meeting some parents tried to turn it into a campaign against Newark Mayor Corey Booker. Others pointed to Christie and his administration as the enemy.

PL Politicizes The Fight

However, PL members’ systemic analysis said these cuts resulted from a ruling class, led by the banks, trying to cut spending for the working class overall. They also want to better fit the school system into their agenda: creating a working class willing to fight and die in the rulers’ imperialist wars instead of battling for better living standards here.

We also stressed the cuts’ racist nature, hurting black and Latino youth much more than white suburban students.

Despite the public’s opposition to the cuts, Christie will push ahead. Not a surprise — like other politicians, Christie serves the capitalist class, showing no concern for the cuts’ destructive force, destroying the aspirations, ambitions and futures of thousands of students and teachers, especially in the urban areas.

This walkout was by far the largest student demonstration in Newark in over 40 years. Its success represented students’ dedication and commitment against the upcoming budget cuts and their anger towards the government and the Board of Education. But also, most significantly, it shed light on the perpetrator of these racist cuts and attack on the working class: capitalism.

More Work To Do

Two hundred PLP leaflets and CHALLENGES were distributed during the walkout. Most welcomed the paper; some gave it back saying, “I’m not a communist.” This shows that PLP members still have work to do: to educate more students about capitalism’s evils and the need for communist revolution.

Overall the event demonstrated PLP’ers’ advance. We held many more discussions with the students about the direction of the struggle and the need to organize for May Day. While working closer with the students, we must strive more with teachers and parents to support the fight. Moving forward, we’re making this much more of a priority, as it’s necessary in recruiting more workers to PLP and ensuring the Party’s growth in our fight for a communist world.