“She wants us to think like Obama?” my student asked incredulously. “He’s the one who got us in this mess!” Moments earlier, we were meeting with a student-led social justice organization. Instead of discussing the fatal beating of a black student and it’s connection to our struggles against public school sabotage, a professor was ringing a chime and announcing, “We are progressing!” to transition from task to mind-numbing task.  This is progress?

The last straw was when an adult said our mission statement was too confrontational. Mission statement authors were stunned when the principal
suggested the students who were fighting at school “take it outside.” The authors were students from near where Derrion Albert had been beaten to death. The moderator added, “We need to think like Obama.”

At this, I walked out. To my surprise, a Summer Project participant was at my heels. I asked why he walked out. Though hesitant in L.A. about blaming Obama, he was dead-set today: “He got us into this mess!” From what the students learned fighting attacks on neighborhood schools, they instantly blamed Arne Duncan for what happened to Derrion. I asked if that made it Obama’s fault and they said “Yes!”

In the hall, we agreed Derrion wasn’t the only victim, all the young men involved are victims of this racist system. If they don’t get killed, they will be lost to prisons. When we returned, the meeting hadn’t changed. My friend struggled with me to give it a chance. I said it’s patronizing the students and wasting time we could discuss issues. I said telling students to be compliant with the system that’s destroying their schools invalidates their experiences with attacks and neglect in their schools.

He asked how PLP meetings are run. “With respect!” was my first answer. “We talk about immediate issues first. Everyone sees themselves as a leader, so everyone makes sure meetings run well. Our job here is to develop our students into leaders.”

Just then, a student interrupted the professor. “Why are we ignoring communication issues [between black and brown students] and talking about pens and paper?” He opened a dam, all the students chimed in, “This isn’t what’s wrong,” “We don’t run meetings like this!” When the students spoke up, my friend admitted, “I was wrong, you were right!”

Last year, this group organized and participated in more actions than ever before. They got the attention of teachers who want to get involved due to our militant line against the (now nationally-led) attacks on, and re-segregation of, Chicago Public Schools. Students who come around PLP are stepping up their political leadership. The student who walked out of the meeting now meets with a club and is pulling this group to the left as we struggle to recruit Chicago students to the Party.

Red Teacher