March 5, 2010: 14 years ago, March 4 2010, thousands of students and educational workers [...]

14 years ago, March 4 2010, thousands of students and educational workers in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Vallejo, Concord & Napa staged walkouts and demonstrations to protest budget cuts, tuition hikes, layoffs & other austerity measures, as part of a national day of action

Following the 2008 financial crash, public education across California endured massive budget cuts. The 2009-2010 school year saw student and faculty protest against cuts and tuition hikes, including a highly militant student occupation movement that swept through the state

The March “Forth” Day of Action to Defend Public Education took place in the context of this movement, which demanded free education and an end to cuts. In Oakland, marches from UC Berkeley and Laney College merged downtown. Elementary, middle, and high schoolers joined

Hundreds of demonstrators marched through downtown Oakland before blocking the I-880 freeway at the height of rush hour traffic, where several protesters were badly beaten by police. 157 were arrested, and one person was injured after falling 30 feet during the arrests