The REAL Story At Miami Edison Senior High School: Students Protest, Police Riot

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Published on Wednesday, 19 March 2008

Written by Max Rameau

Miami and Miami-Dade School police are rioting against students of Edison Senior High School on the morning of Friday, February 29th. The story is all over local and national news, but is being skewed against the students. Here is the real deal:

On Thursday, February 28th, a teacher apparently put a student in a choke-hold during school, according to eye witnesses and CBS 4 News ("One student told reporters that the fight started after students staged a protest Friday morning against a teacher at the high school who allegedly placed a student in a choke-hold Thursday.") Then, police enter the classroom and brutalize the student before arresting him in front of classmates and a teacher, according to eye witnesses and the Miami Herald ("The student," she [an unnamed teacher] said, "was handcuffed in front of his classmates and teacher. They felt as though the way the young man was handled wasn't proper; they felt it was too brutal,'' said the teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she did not have permission to talk with the press.")

The mostly black and largely Haitian-American Miami Edison students organized a protest this morning at the school courtyard. According to all accounts, the protest was peaceful, possibly including civil disobedience (Miami Herald: "The incident apparently began as a peaceful protest, according to a teacher inside the school, but got out of hand," CBS4: "The student said police were called to the school to respond to the protest, and when students objected a scuffle broke out, escalating quickly into an all out fight between students and officers.")

Police were called in to break up the protest and when the students refused -- exercising their First Amendment right to assemble -- school and City of Miami police attacked them and the students defended themselves against attacks by police.

While the media is trying very hard to connect this police riot to instances of violence at Miami-Dade schools over the past two days, it is clear that in this case the schools themselves started the fights and inflicted the majority of the violence. CNN.com is calling this a "school fight."

There are currently over 70 police cars at Miami Edison and police are arresting large numbers of students. No police or school administrators have been arrested for assaulting students.

CopWatch and the Power U Center for Social Change are calling on people to support students' right to protest and condemn school police for mistreating students.

Please call the Miami-Dade County school board to complain about this police abuse: 305-995-1000.

After successfully propelling themselves onto the stage of a public meeting regarding police attacks on protesters, Miami Edison Senior High School students are preparing to boycott what they call an "unsafe" environment at the school. The boycott starts on Monday, March 3, 2007 at 7:30am at Athalie Range Park, across the street from the school on 62nd Street and NW 5th Avenue.

In response to the incidents of Friday, February 29, when school, City of Miami, and Miami-Dade County police brutally beat, tased and sic'd K9 dogs on students protesting police brutality on campus, the school principal called an open meeting on Sunday, March 2 at the school. She began the meeting by announcing that students will be heard on Monday, at a school assembly, but not at the public meeting. In addition, the public was not allowed into the school assembly, a clear attempt to prevent the student's from publicly relaying the events of the 29th.

Students, however, maintained their protest spirit, chanting until the Principal agreed to allow students to speak. While she promised the police would be available to answer questions, neither Chief Darling of Miami-Dade Public Schools or any other police officer answered questions from students, parents or the public.

Student leader Chris Green spoke eloquently about what he witnessed and the biased media reporting on the story. Green also laid out the student demands, including the arrest of assistant principal Perez for assault on a student, dropping all charges against those arrested Friday, no retaliation against students, and the institution of Restorative Justice as a problem solving model, instead of arresting more young people in the future.

In addition, Green and other students announced the boycott. Students are asked to arrive on time and in full uniform for school, but instead of reporting to school, gathering at the Range Park across the street. Many students and parents expressed concern that they were to return to the same school and police force responsible for the violence on Friday. Organizations supporting the student movement are organizing workshops and classes at the park. Students say the boycott will continue until all demands are met and they feel safe at the school.

Defying charges of apathy and lack of civic involvement, the youth of Edison saw a wrong and organized to stand up for their rights. Instead of talking to the students and working towards a solution, the administration ordered the police to beat and arrest the mostly Black students. These young people are on the front line of a new wave of student activist and need our support and understanding, not beatings and jail time.

CopWatch is calling on activists to show up at the Athalie Range Park, with video and still cameras, to support the students and protect them from other potential attacks by the school administration and police. Students are gathering at 7:30am Monday and will remain throughout the school day.

Edison students not troublemakers

by Scott Miller (Edison Teacher) Thursday, Mar. 06, 2008 at 7:50 PM

As a teacher at Miami Edison Senior High School for the past four years, I have had many difficult and challenging days. But never have I felt as low and helpless as I did Friday. I was shocked to see students whose safety is entrusted to me being pushed back by police in riot gear and, in some cases, thrown to the ground. Seeing students crying, traumatized by what they had seen, while more police arrived with dogs, hurt me profoundly.

Contrary to what some may expect, the students arrested were, for the most part, not troublemakers. No weapons were found. A review of their academic records may surprise others.

At Edison we have been under unbelievable pressure to continue our gains on the FCAT. This year we have had many visitors who have come to see the "Edison Miracle," including Gov. Crist.

Some of the students handcuffed in the back of police cruisers were the same ones who were asked to dress up and greet our distinguished guests. Keep in mind that pep rallies, student clubs, dances and other social activities have been cut back or replaced with rigorous academic scheduling and rallies for the FCAT.

As a witness to the chaos that engulfed our school, I am thankful that nobody was seriously injured or killed. A thorough investigation of this travesty and the events leading up to it is necessary. But if we are to move forward and save our school, we must stop and listen to our children. As African-American History Month has given way to "FCAT Preparation Month," how ironic that our students, however misguided, had to give us a lesson in what happens when you replace imagination and vision with objective, measurable benchmarks.

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