The Oakland Unified School District held a meeting Wednesday. The meeting comes about a week following the violence that broke out during a protest at the closed Parker Elementary School.
Video shot last week showed protesters rushing into a building at Parker Elementary School and hired OUSD security guards were also seen trying to keep people out of the closed campus.
Some of the shouting in the video indicated that someone was on the ground as protesters demanded officers to let the person go.
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Parker Elementary School is one of 10 schools that the OUSD board members voted to close or merge this fall.
As of Wednesday, Parker Elementary School was still being occupied by protesters.
At a rally before the meeting, parents and teachers spoke out. They said they were angry about what happened at Parker Elementary School as they said the school board should be held accountable.
Max Orozzo showed the bruises he said he sustained during the pushing and shoving.
“Someone said 'take him down.' I went down, sustained injuries. I was put in handcuffs,” he said.
Retired teacher and substitute Craig Gordon said during the rally that he believed he was fired because he is vocal about the school closures.
“These racist school closures in Oakland, mostly in the Black and Brown poorest communities in Oakland. And this district is just desperate to try to shut down the movement,” he said.
The group said that they plan to file a lawsuit against the board and the city of Oakland. They added that they will not stop fighting until their voices are heard and the schools are reopened.
