Close schools, leave work, and hit the streets — that’s what some activist groups want the schedule to be for Friday.
A handful of students and teachers urged Oakland Unified — as well as other school districts and the University of California system — to shut down schools on Friday, in support of those who oppose the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump.
They argued that everyone should by joining strikes, coordinated across the country, and they decried Trump’s statements regarding, among other things, public education, deportation, a Muslim registry, and women’s and immigrant’s rights.
Yvette Falarca, a teacher and national organizer for BAMN — a group that wants the removal of Trump “By Any Means Necessary” — called for a “shutdown of the Bay Area” by asking people to not go to school or work on January 20.
“Future generations are on the line,” she said at a press conference in front of Oakland’s City Hall Tuesday evening.
Bryan Montano, a fifth-grader at East Oakland Pride Elementary, fears some of his family may be at risk of deportation under Trump. Skipping school Friday to protest instead would show Trump “we won’t work for him if he keeps saying mean stuff.”
“If we don’t fight, it’ll only get worse,” he said.
A Facebook event page for daylong protests in Oakland has 2,600 people interested in attending, as of Tuesday night.
