The Kids Are Alright

The sun came out from behind the clouds over Fruitvale Plaza as a group of high school students holding anti-ICE and pro-worker banners rallied next to a booming sound system. Drivers passing by honked their horns in solidarity, including an Amazon Prime delivery driver who waved from his cab.

Destiny, a senior at Life Academy in East Oakland, organized their classmates to walk out of school on Friday, in solidarity with May Day marchers. They made an Instagram account called OUSD Students Against ICE and talked to students one-on-one to drum up support. For Destiny, who comes from a family of immigrants, the links between the student’s anti-ICE banners and the wider worker’s movement is clear.

“All the issues that are going on right now that seem separate — the genocide in Palestine, what’s happening in Iran — it’s all related to a greater class issue."

“Today is International Worker’s day. A lot of families have to hold two or three jobs to live, and that’s not right. We need at least one job to pay enough money for us to live,” Destiny said. “A lot of Gen Z kids grew up with the idea of world peace... but there’s people like Trump ruining that for us. And then there’s ICE that’s literally taking our neighbors, our family, our friends off the streets.” 

Teachers from the Oakland Education Association (OEA) also rallied with their students. Erin Brandvold, a ninth grade ethnic studies teacher at Life Academy, says she works mostly with students who are immigrants, or the children of immigrants.

“It’s really important that people listen to young people,” Brandvold said. She recently participated in a teach-in about May Day with students, and sees how well-informed students are about politics. “Throughout our society, money is going towards a war in Iran, or the Department of Homeland Security,” she said. “Meanwhile, we’re in a school up the hill that regularly hits 90 degrees in my classroom because we don’t have air conditioning. [These students] are in a district where 400 teachers were just cut because of lack of funding. They’re seeing the funding going to places that are not the working class.”

The walk-out follows several similar actions since the beginning of the year. In January and February, Oakland students staged protests calling for ICE out of schools and classrooms. 

Cameron, Rosa and Alec, all 16-year old students from Skyline High School in the Oakland Hills, attended those rallies before walking out again for May Day. “All the issues that are going on right now that seem separate — the genocide in Palestine, what’s happening in Iran — it’s all related to a greater class issue,” Cameron said.

Rosa, the child of public school teachers, said May Day has always been an important holiday for their family. “It’s a way to really see everybody in your community that is there to support you, and that you’re there to support. There’s all these different struggles within the working class but it’s a good place to remind each other, and ourselves, will always be us together as a class.”