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Sunday, February 28, 2010

Protesters march to stop school changes - Wake County - NewsObserver.com

Protesters march to stop school changes - Wake County - NewsObserver.com:

"RALEIGH -- A call for equality in education took on an urgent and personal tone Saturday as protesters decried the potential end to the Wake County school system's policy of busing students for socioeconomic diversity.

The fourth annual march and rally, called HK on J, for Historic Thousands on Jones Street, drew a racially diverse crowd representing a wide range of local and national interests, from immigration reform to job creation. But it was the broad changes pending for the state's largest school district, which opponents condemn as a move to re-segregate schools, that drew some of the most pointed criticism.

'Hey-hey, ho-ho, John Tedesco's got to go,' some shouted, as Duke University historian Tim Tyson led marchers in a chant aimed at the Wake school board member, one in the new majority moving the system toward neighborhood schools. The crowd, which stretched about two city blocks, walked through downtown Raleigh to the Legislative Building, where Tyson stood onstage at the microphone."