Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1130365
" If you're tired of a system that benefits only a few, raise your fist in the air and say, 'Enough is enough!' We need to fully fund our public schools!" —CTA President Eric Heins Rally culminates in major victory for public schools By Julian Peeples Thousands Fill Capitol During #RedForEd Day of Action S A C R A M E N T O W E N T #RedForEd as thousands of educators, parents, students and supporters marched in the streets, filled the State Capitol, and rallied in support of public education on May 22, CTA's Day of Action. A sea of red covered the Capitol lawn and flowed through the streets with educators marching together for the funding and protection that public schools need and all students deserve. e day was a celebration of the movement for strong public schools, the fight against privatization and those who see kids as a way to make a quick buck, and the power of dedicated edu- cators and community united. The educators' uprising started last year in West Virginia before spreading across the nation — Arizona, Oklahoma, Kentucky, North Carolina — and landing in the streets of Los Angeles, Oakland and other communities this year. Thou- sand s of CTA m emb ers and public education suppor t ers filled the Capitol rotunda , singing the classic union song " W hich Side Are You On?" w hich Oakland ethnic studies teacher Marisa Villegas-Ramirez had turned into one of the theme songs of the Oakland strike. F o r a n h o u r, t h e r o t u n d a r e m a i n e d p a c k e d w i t h #RedForEd supporters, whose songs and chants expressed s om e of th e go al s of th e m o v em ent — " B o o k s , supp li e s , lower class size!" These combined voices carried through the halls of the Capitol into the Assembly chamber, where a f l o o r v o t e w a s u n d e r w ay o n A s s e m b ly Bi l l 1 5 0 5 . T h e C TA - c o - s p o n s o re d b i l l w o u l d g i v e l o c a l s c h o o l b o a rd s sole authority for approving charters in their districts and 38 cta.org Advocacy