No Education, No Life! The Baltimore Algebra Project Takes Its Fight to Annapolis

The Baltimore Algebra Project is a student-led inter-school coalition of inner city youths in Baltimore, MD. Originally formed as a study group to help students learn after school, it has grown into an activist organization fighting for the right to a good education in inner-cities.

BAP has done a number of great actions and is finding widespread support of their cause (I mean really, who's against funding education for everyone?).

So today, they stepped it up a notch, and went to Annapolis to make their voices heard. Maryland's Governor is Martin O'Malley, who before taking office was, funnily enough, Mayor of Baltimore. So to say the least, protesting O'Malley is nothing new for these activists.

The DC SDS website has a great compilation of media (including photos & video) of the protest, which garnered literally hundreds of people to the event, and included 20 people arrested for a planned civil disobedience action. From Baltimore Indymedia:

The theme of these was heavy: lack of education is killing our kids. This is not an exaggeration. Young people are are joining gangs to earn money because their schooling is leaving them virtually unhireable They are being funneled into jails to provide slave labor for multi-national corporations. They are starting families without being allowed to formally explore other options. And they are dieing in the streets because of it.

This point was brought painfully close to home for the Algebra Project when Zachariah Hallback, a dedicated Advocacy committee member was shot and killed during a robbery in early January (See Indymedia article from 1/18/08). One of the most active Advocacy members, Chris Goodman, mused publicly during his stint with the bullhorn about the (mis)education of the man who took our comrade's life. With grace and compassion, he turned this brutal act into an opportunity to forgive on the individual level and point the finger at the real enemy.

The Baltimore Algebra Project is a shining example of underprivileged, inner-city youth organizing themselves and fighting for their rightful voice in the disposition of their education. Keep it up.