Backlash for Anti-War HS Walk Out in Tukwila, WA

In Minneapolis and its neighboring areas, MN Youth Against War and Racism (YAWR) organized a High School Walk Out Against the War which brought out over 800 students from high schools and some middle schools on November 16, 2007. Youth Against War and Racism in the Midwest has been a main collaborator with the Nonviolent Youth Collective of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in its Truth and Recruitment work. During YAWR's meeting post-walk out, we found out more about the situation with students who had walked out in Washington State (and more specifically about the students at Foster High School in Tukwila, WA).

The situation developing there has now been named: the Tukwila 6.

Wait, this sounds familiar…. no, no, i'm thinking of the Jena 6. The six young black men targeted in another racist interpretation of the law in Jena, Louisiana. Tukwila is another injustice towards 6 individuals, teachers, at Foster HS. A coinsidence? A case of the number 23 theory (2*3=6)? Perhaps. What these cases do have in common is that the population at Foster HS has some of the most diverse (read 'has the most number of brown people') out of many of the student crowds walking out that day against the war across the country.

What had happened was this.

Students heard about the call YAWR put out for students to walk out. They started organizing themselves by holding meetings and announcing their plans and reasons during their classes. A teacher created a lesson plan (that was approved by her department head and the principal) on it and encouraged dialogue about the idea. All this seemed to be fine with the school administration until they students actually walked out: 150 of them. Disrespectfully not believing that the students could have done this on their own, they assumed that there must have been direction from teachers. Hence the Tukwila 6. One teacher, a dynamic Mr. Rogers, walked out with the students and was suspended from work. Five others got letters saying that they were under disciplinary investigation in connection to the Walk Out.

One student, one of the main organizers, got suspended from school for having an ipod in class… when the student handbook allows for their existence on school grounds.

Hundreds of people have reached out to Foster HS's principal and the Tukwila School District but the teacher's solidarity group has not yet received all of their demands. Teachers and students could still be retalliated with. Join me in saying: Not on my watch.

A local from the area has made an unofficial, and very informative (lots of videos), website about the Tukwila 6. He is a great example of citizen journalism, something we could all do more of. His website is http://www.joe-anybody.com/id106.html. Show him some love and check it out.

Our friends at the MN YAWR My Space site, http://www.myspace.com/yawrmn, also have some good info re: solidarity actions.

That's it for now on this one, comrades.

Until next time. This has been a Kambucha drinkin' alejandra special. C ya!