Black Lives Matter At School in Solidarity With UTLA & the LA Educators’ Strike

The national Black Lives Matter at School coalition stands in solidarity with Los Angeles educators as they go on strike January, 14th, 2019. Th

e demands of the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) strike are in direct support of students and parents, and are directly aligned with the four demands of the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. It is therefore our duty to stand with UTLA in it’s fight for:

• More nurses, counselors, school psychologists, librarians

• Smaller class sizes

• Less standardized testing

• Sustainable community schools

• End to privatization and charter expansion

• End to criminalization of students through unlawful and random police searches

LA Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent Austin Beutner, a corporate businessman with zero background in education, continues to withhold $1.8 Billion that should go towards investments in quality resources for LA students and schools. Furthermore, he plans on moving forward a privatization model that is undoubtedly designed to destroy public education in Los Angeles. We have seen this all over the country and even the world–from Detroit to Newark, from to Chicago to New Orleans, from Philly to Puerto Rico. It is no coincidence that the cities and districts most targeted for divestment in public education and investment in privatization are communities with majority Black and Brown students and families. We urge all those involved in the Black Lives Matter at School movement to support the just demands of the UTLA community.

In Solidarity,

Black Lives Matter at School