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Full accounting of weapons and apologies received: Strategy Center declares victory over LAUSD militarization
A vocal and sometimes disruptive group of mostly student activists declared victory this week over federal weaponry being used by LA Unified police. The group received letters of explanation and apologies from two board members and the school police chief. The Labor/Community Strategy Center’s Fight for the Soul of the Cities, a nonprofit civil rights...
By Mike Szymanski | May 26, 2016
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Apology for involvement in police weapons program not enough for protesters
The Fight for the Soul of the Cities, which has disrupted school meetings with calls to end the militarization of school police and reduce their forces, said they are not satisfied with the response from the LA Unified school board. After students and activists protested Friday afternoon outside LA Unified’s Beaudry headquarters, school board members Steve Zimmer, George...
By Mike Szymanski | April 25, 2016
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Fight over weapons in LAUSD not over, group says
A civic group protesting the military-style weapons once held by LA Unified police said they will continue to disrupt meetings and hold demonstrations until they get answers and action. The group, Fight for the Soul of the Cities, took over a committee meeting at the LA Unified school board headquarters last month, and this week...
By Mike Szymanski | March 11, 2016
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Protesters angry over school police weapons plan to disrupt LAUSD board committee meeting
A group of community activists including students and parents plan to disrupt LA Unified’s Committee of the Whole on Tuesday afternoon to protest weapons on school campuses. Fight for the Soul of the Cities is protesting the federal government’s 1033 Program, which outfitted school police with machine guns and other weapons. The local civil rights group is asking that...
By Mike Szymanski | February 22, 2016
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Civil rights group unsatisfied with LA school police’s demilitarization
Superintendent Ramon Cortines of LA Unified confirmed in June that the district’s police force has ended its involvement in a federal program that delivered military-grade weapons to school districts. The decision on the so-called 1033 Program came on the heels of President Obama‘s announcement in May that he was severely restricting the parameters of the program. The response...
By Craig Clough | July 30, 2015
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VIDEO: Protesters want LA Unified police to demilitarize
A small but loud group from The Labor Community Strategy Center’s Fight for the Soul of the Cities and Community Rights Campaign protested outside of LA Unified headquarters yesterday, demanding that the LA School Police Department give up any military weapons it received through the Pentagon’s controversial 1033 Program. Check out the attached video for highlights...
By Craig Clough | December 19, 2014
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Group to protest LA school police department’s military weapons
The Strategy Center’s Fight for the Soul of the Cities and Community Rights Campaign is holding a rally and press conference outside LAUSD headquarters at 4 p.m. to protest the Los Angeles School Police Department’s possession of military-grade weapons. Earlier this fall, media around the country began to focus on the Pentagon’s 1033 Program in the...
By Craig Clough | December 18, 2014