Update on NJ teacher Marylin Zuniga

April 16th, 2015

Update: GOOD NEWS, But Keep Up the Pressure! Solidarity With Marylin!

Please Spread this Petitionhttp://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=11166

The meeting with Orange School Board members that we attended last night was like nothing I’ve experienced in my life. We organized to get local people out and the turnout, over 100 p eople, was impressive. Dozens of people took the mic and spoke powerfully to clear the record on Mumia and in defense of Marylin Zuniga. We were especially impressed by the number of people who got up and spoke about Mumia. Here we have to thank our movement’s longstanding relationship with POP and Larry Hamm. We’ve been working closely with him and the night before the school board meeting, we went to a big event he helped organize at Bethany Baptist church with Cornel West. Larry asked us to talk about the issue from the front of the room, and many of those folks showed up at the Board meeting the next day.

Last night, the Orange School Board came in ready to terminate the teacher, and union lawyers had convinced her to resign at the meeting, in order to protect her teaching license. In fact they tried to convince her to call off the public meeting. But we kept at it with her, offering a challenge to the administrati on’s line and the public meeting happened. The local protestors were raucous, on fire, and their statements profoundly moving. Collectively we pushed the board back and when the board tried to stem the comments from the audience, one of the board members took a dramatic stance saying that if the public is not allowed to speak there was no reason for her to remain in the meeting, and at that point she walked out in solidarity with us. That was a game changer, a kink in their armor and at that time the crowd exploded with cheers.  Before long the Board met privately and decided not to fire Marylin, to keep her salaried, although still suspended, and to reconvene at a later date to discuss the matter. The protestors also empowered Marylin to stand her ground and to reconsider her resignation which she was going to read at the meeting, but didn’t. She read an edited version instead.  Below please find an article in the star-ledger with videos, and more videos. Please circulate.

LINKS:

http://www.nj.com/essex/index. ssf/2015/04/nj_teacher_speaks_ out_amid_supporters_after_ suspen.html#incart_river_ mobile

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ ysVtGkgzEgU

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