Hunger strike ends; Dyett protesters want elected school board
Participants in a hunger strike pray Sept. 4, 2015, after responding to the city's proposal for Dyett High School in Chicago. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Activists on Monday formally declared an end to a weekslong hunger strike mounted in an effort to pressure the city into reopening a South Side high school, and said they would now focus on a campaign for an elected school board.
"We are by no means broken," organizer Jitu Brown, one of the hunger strikers, told reporters Monday while standing with supporters including the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
"We are elevated, energized and inspired by this fight," Brown said. "This was a righteous fight. This was 'good versus bad,' and making sure that our children and our communities get the respect we deserve. And we will make sure that Dyett High School meets the needs of children in Bronzeville."
Chicago Public Schools earlier this month said it planned to open a new arts-focused, neighborhood school on the Dyett High School campus in fall 2016. The district's plan did not satisfy community activists who wanted the city to accept their proposal for the school.
In addition to the hunger strike, organizers led by the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization had mounted spirited protests that in one instance forced Mayor Rahm Emanuel to leave the stage during a public budget hearing.
"We have elevated the fight for educational justice by demonstrating that we can and we must fight back, but on our terms," said Monique Redeaux, one of the protesters. "Not the terms of those who do not love our babies."
The district's plans for the Dyett campus on the northern boundary of Washington Park include a scientific branch assisted by the Illinois Institute of Technology. On Monday, the district announced that two groups of "technical advisory committees" would collect Hunger strike ends; Dyett protesters want elected school board - Chicago Tribune:
