Miami Edison High School students watched more than two dozen of their friends taken away in handcuffs after the police riot at their school Friday morning

In response to a police invasion of the school on Friday, Feb. 29, when school, city of Miami and Miami-Dade County police brutally beat, tased and sicked K9 dogs on students protesting police brutality on campus and surrounded the school with 70 police cars, the school principal called an open meeting on Sunday, March 2, at the school. She began the meeting by announcing that students would 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 students 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. In addition, Green and other students announced the boycott for what they call an "unsafe" environment at the school. Students are asked to arrive on time and in full uniform for school, but instead of reporting to class, gathering at the Range Park across the street. Many students and parents expressed concern that they would have to return to the same school and police force responsible for the violence on Friday.

The trouble began on Thursday, Feb. 28, when a teacher apparently put a student in a choke-hold during school, according to eye witnesses and CBS 4 News (http://cbs4.com/local/disturbance.miami.edison.2.665835.html): "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 entered the classroom and brutalized the student before arresting him in front of classmates and a teacher, according to eye witnesses and the Miami Herald (www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/438888.html): "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."

Police were called in to break up the protest and when the students refused, exercising their right to protest, police attacked them and the students defended themselves. In this case, school authorities started the fights and inflicted the majority of the violence.

While CNN.com is calling this a "school fight," the truth is that the police were rioting against the students. Police arrested large numbers of students, but no police or administrators have been arrested for assaulting students. The story has been all over local and national news, but it is being skewed against the students.

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 them. These young people are on the front line of a new wave of student activism and need community support and understanding, not beatings and jail time.

How you can help

CopWatch and the Power U Center for Social Change are calling on people everywhere to support students' right to protest and condemn school, city and county police for mistreating students. Activists are asked to show up at the Athalie Range Park with video and still cameras to protect the students from other potential attacks by the school administration and police. Students are gathering at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday to continue this struggle!

Sign on to the online petition in support of the amazing work of the youth of Miami Edison High School who have been organizing, leading school boycotts and protests and developing demands to bring about justice. After signing on to the petition at www.PetitionOnline.com/jus4edyo/petition.html, please forward it widely.

Additionally, call Principal Teel at (305) 751-7337 to say that you support the demands of the students to have those responsible for this brutality brought to justice and to implement restorative justice in the school as a way of healing and ensuring that this doesn't happen again.

Call the Miami-Dade County school board to complain about the police abuse: (305) 995-1000. Also call State Attorney Kathleen Rundle at (305) 547-0100 to tell her that you support the demands of the students to drop all charges against them and arrest Assistant Principal Perez.

Max Rameau, who can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , works with CopWatch, a project of the Center for Pan African Development, www.TakeBacktheLand.net or http://takebacktheland.blogspot.com.

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