Hunger Strike 4 Education Begins at Oakland City Hall

Media Contacts:
Fast Participant- César A. Cruz
510-388-3587 (24-hours at campsite)
Organizer, Child Advocate- Scottie Smith
510-233-1992
Organizer, Teacher-WCCUSD- Mike McDonald
510-414-3730


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kids, Parents and Teachers Return from 70-Mile March
and Announce a Full-Fledged Fast 4 Education

Richmond, California--nine individuals, including a mother, two teachers, two students, and four community members will undergo a full-fledged, water-only, fast beginning on Monday, May 10, 2004. The fasters will camp out 24 hours per day and go without eating to call attention to the gross inequities in education funding throughout the state.

Campsite location: Frank Ogawa Plaza (14th & Broadway)
Downtown Oakland (Next to State and Federal Buildings)
BART to Oakland 12th St. station, take escalator to Frank Ogawa Plaza

The fasters demand that Prop. 98 (passed by voters in 1988) be fully funded.

The Governor reduced Prop. 98 by $2 billion, gutting the budget of school districts throughout the state. In West Contra Costa alone the counselors, psychologists and librarians have been eliminated starting this fall, and other California school districts are now making similar cuts.

On this 50-year anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, and the 40-year anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, school districts in California are still separate and unequal. Education is a human and civil right declared in the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and 40 years later California ranks 40th in education spending, but 1st in prison spending. In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez and Mahatma Gandhi, drastic circumstances call for drastic measures.

Profile of the Fast Participants
Fast Participants Profile Contact #
Fred Jackson African-American elder, community organizer, led sit-in protests in 60s 510-233-3733
Karina Oliva Salvadoran mother, graduate student at UC Berkeley 510-734-6319
Thomas Prather Japanese-American 4th grade teacher, WCCUSD 415-272-1692
Jessica Vasquez Xicana 3rd year student at UC Berkeley from the Central Valley 510-847-2523
Israel Haros Mexican youth mentor, OUSD Urban Promise Academy, from East L.A. 510-526-0495
Wendy González Xicana 3rd grade bilingual teacher, WCCUSD, alum, UC Davis 530-400-4368
Gabriel Hernandez SEIU Union organizer, long time human rights activist
David Johnson African-American, Contra Costa College student, Richmond resident 510-799-4766
César A. Cruz Mexican community organizer, coordinator ENDdependence Collective 510-388-3587


Itinerary
Thursday-Sunday Prep for Fast

Sunday (May 9th)
2:30 p.m. Prep Meeting at Opportunity West 3720 Barrett Ave. Richmond, CA. 94806
6:00 p.m. Drop off supplies at March 4 Education Ally Office, Downtown Oakland
11:00 p.m. Fast participants will arrive at March 4 Education Ally Office, Downtown Oakland

Monday (May 10th)
6:30 a.m. Fast participants awake - Set-up at Frank Ogawa Plaza - Fast Begins
12:00 p.m. Press Conference on 12th hour of fast - Present Demands
5:00 p.m. Community Rally
8:00 p.m. Daily Candlelight Vigil

*****
What YOU can do to help:

-- Join us around the clock and fast in our solidarity tent.
-- Contact the Governor and your local Representatives to ensure that our demands are met.
-- Let your family, group and/or organization know about our fast.

Kenneth Saechao (4th grader, WCCUSD, speaking in Sacramento) states:
"I am glad that my own teacher will not eat
to make sure that our schools look better than jails."