Leaders of the New School
Photo: Courtesy Wade Kyle
Tuesday marked the first day of summer vacation and I took to the streets to march for student rights. I drove to Miguel Contras Learning Center in Los Angeles, expecting to hear UTLA’s new president, Cecily Myart Cruz, speak on defunding the police. Something entirely different took place.
I saw people of all ages in the crowd—Whites, Blacks, LatinX, old and young, crowding the downtown streets on a muggy Tuesday. Many came with homemade signs calling for social change. A sea of homemade art flooded the street with progressive messages: “Defund the Police,” “Black Lives Matter,” “End Systematic Racism.” UTLA president Cecily Myart Cruz and former UTLA president Alex Caputo Perl, both great public speakers in their own rights, were in attendance; however, it was Sarah who stole the show. (UTLA is the United Teachers of Los Angeles, an increasingly progressive and powerful teachers union.)
While many adults with fancy job titles and credentials argue over how to defund police programs in schools, these students and the stories they had to tell most clearly articulated the issue.
While many adults with fancy job titles and credentials argue over how to defund police programs in schools, these students and the stories they had to tell most clearly articulated the issue.
Sarah Djato is a 16-year-old Dorsey High graduate. Let me say it again: Sarah Daito is a 16-year-old high school graduate. She and many other students came from LA’s Crenshaw district—the heart of Black LA—to speak about their experiences in high school. While many adults with fancy job titles and credentials argue over how to defund police programs in schools, these students and the stories they had to tell most clearly articulated the issue.
Sarah spoke about a time when a fight broke out on her campus last year. The school police responded with pepper spray that hit her friends on their way to class. She said the police sprayed everyone in the area, regardless of who was actually fighting. In fact, the Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD) confirmed the incident in a report to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). A LAUSD spokesperson said there were 34 documented uses of pepper spray out of 188 total use-of-force incidents over the last three years. This overly aggressive approach demonstrates why we cannot trust police to shape the lives of our youth.
