March 4th Day of Action, Internal Divisions: 'The White Student Movement'

From Queer. Black. Revolutionary, "Open Letter to the White Student Movement":

For those of us from oppressed communities the cuts to education mean more than prolonged graduation, these cuts are yet another strike from a brutal system that seeks to murder and imprison us. We understand that the brutality of this system is unyielding and cannot be fought through brass action and individualistic politics but true communal struggle with the working people who raised us. We have the understanding that these cuts strike the entire community of working class and underprivelged people and thus must be fought with them. Perhaps this is a form of understanding that comes from knowing that the Capitalist system seeks to use us for maximum profit and that for Black youth that means either imprisonment or militarism. Those who do not adheed and seek to create a better system are met with the violence of the state, that is the true threat of death that lumes, but perhaps you privelege has prevented you from seeing this.

The student movement thus far has been led by white students with no real world understanding of their caste in society and the reprocussions of their actions ....

And be sure to read the comments. The critique is hitting a nerve. And we saw the same, devasting criticism of the Weber's Bread gay rights leadership following the passage of Proposition 8 in 2008. See, Jasmyne Cannick, "The Gay/Black Divide."

Plus, here's the angry response from Occupy California:

Honestly, we are tired of being erased from the student movement. We are tired of being told that militancy is a product of testosterone-driven machismo or race-based immunity to police repression. We’re tired of debates about tactics that are masked as debates about identity. We want a discussion that acknowledges that not just a few but many women and people of color have participated in the occupations and confrontational demonstrations of the last few months. Most of all, we want the people who attempt to represent women and people of color when they condemn these actions to know that they don’t speak for us.

And previously:

* "March 4th Strike and Day of Action: 'Why We're Protesting - A Letter to Parents'."

* "National March 4th Calls for Action and (Communist) Endorsements."

* "Education Protests Add to School Problems."

* "No Cuts to Education! Collectivize!"

* "Unions, Radicals to Protest Education Cuts Across U.S."

* "Shut it Down! March 4th Mobilization - Protest, Strike, Solidarity!."

* "California March 4th Protests: 'Berkeley Pre-Game Communiqué'."

* "Teachers Unions, Anarcho-Communists Launch 'Day of Action' to 'Occupy California!"