Thread by @xianb8

Let's talk about what happened in Chicago today.

#LoriLockout
#ChicagoLockout🧵

Over the past 3 days, @ctulocal1 leadership has engaged parents, students, medical professionals and educators. This has been conducted via conferencing, social media, one to ones, etc.

And has been on-going before that.

Using those communications, @Ctulocal1 constructed an offer that met those groups' needs and expertise while moving as far as possible toward @chicagosmayor's position.

We literally pushed it to where any more of the mayor's position would get people killed.

This isn't new. @CTULocal1 is led by a group that grew within @coreteachers, a union electoral party that was started by a dozen classroom educators around the principles of collaboration and struggle for the needs of the communities we serve.

From here, the plan was taken to the CTU executive board, a larger group of around 30-40 members 100% of whose voting members are elected by the portions of the membership we represent. Every single one of us is an active educator.

After a vibrant discussion to fully understand and tweak the proposal, it was passed with utter consensus by this group of educators representing education in the city.

Then, it had to...

At this point, immediately (like the two meetings were back-to-back) it was sent to the "House of Delegates" a group of 100s of elected leaders representing all of the schools in Chicago. Like if you have a child in CPS, your kid's teacher voted to decide your school's rep.

Again, using the expertise of the body, it was vetted and discussed. and could have been altered and revoted by ANY of the elected members of the body.

It passed with IIRC (double check this for preciseness please) with over 93% of the body in support.

In full transparency, I was part of the 7% as I had to abstain because I was taking care of an issue with a hungry 5 year old. But I certainly would have supported it again.

At this point, the members of the elected @CTULocal1 leadership whose kids are some of the kids locked out by #lorilightfoot held a press conference to share with the media, and more importantly families of the city, the proposal.

Watching and participating in this whole process I was brimming with hope and pride.

This is exactly how education should be determined (except for if it was up to me, a student union would co-draft the proposal, but CPS has often punished students trying to organize this)

Chicago's mayor flanked by zero elected officials (the school board of Chicago and the CEO of the district are entirely appointed by the mayor) responded with this tweet.

https://twitter.com/chicagosmayor/status/1479903837825683457

I've worked for over a decade on growing community-oriented democratic process in @ChiPubSchools. I have stood with and been taught by people who have decades more experience in this struggle.

To have my child's safety dashed in a split second by a mayor who only has this power because the State of Illinois created a completely Separate/Unequal school code for our district preventing families of color from choosing school district leadership is pretty demoralizing.

I want you to remember a single thing about #ChicagoLockout.

We are living, breathing human beings. Whether school is open or closed, we raise, teach and love our children just like everyone else does.

#LoriLockout

We are merely asking for the same protections that the people in charge receive for their families.

The fact that we even have to risk and fight to receive them rather than receive them as human beings is a grave injustice.

#LoriLockout
#ChicagoLockout

We see what is happening. We know why pundits and education thinktanks and national politicians-almost exclusively white-oppose us.

I ask that everyone with justice and love in their hearts remember WHO didn't think the families of Chicago, New York City, etc. were human beings.

I ask that we remember who thought it was "good news" that disabled people are dying from Omicron and that children of color, especially Black, disproportionately losing caregivers to this preventable genocide was an "acceptable loss".

And I ask that we channel the resulting righteous rage into creating something better--an educational system and world that we all, and especially our children deserve.

#LoriLockout
#ChicagoLockout

Note: This is Chicago-focused not because we have it worse than others. It is Chicago-focused because I am a multigenerational Chicagoan who loves my city.

Please read closely @AnnieTangent and folks from other communities similarly impacted. We all deserve better.

And if you need help building/organizing elsewhere, so many of us are here to support your communities. There are people far more knowledgeable and skilled than me, and I can't speak for them. But we are here and ready to mutually learn and build because we all need each other.

Now, I need to go deliver a giant cat pillow to a kid who is missing it, so I'm going for a brisk evening walk.

Much love and solidarity from Chicago--where we love this great city and its beautiful neighborhoods, we just hate the people in charge.