Why Saturday's "Say No To Cuomo" Rally in NYC Was An Historic Event

Yesterday's "Say No to Cuomo Rally" at the Governor's offices in Manhattan was the largest and most diverse teacher led protest I have ever attended! There were teachers, principals, paras and school aides, representatives of community organizations and large numbers of parents and students. There was rage and defiance in the air, but also joy and determination because this was a crowd determined to make sure the Governor, the Legislature and the Media knew that it was THEIR SCHOOLS that the Governor was trying to undermine and that Big Money interests were not going to take those schools away from them. The message coming from the crowd, loud and clear, was that New York still belonged to the people who lived and worked in it and those who were going to try to smother their voices were going to have a very big fight on their hands.The.smiles from the police officers, and the honks of support from passing truck drivers reminded us that teachers were not only speaking up themselves, but for all working New Yorkers. Everyone at the Rally came away with their spirits lifted and their deterimination to fight reaffirmed.. This was a great day and those elected officials who try to ignore the message being sent may find themselves in the fight of their lives.,