Protesters occupying a closed Oakland elementary school clashed with district security officers Thursday.
Video taken at Parker Elementary School showed members of the public trying to push their way into a building. Some of the shouting in the video indicated that someone was on the ground as protesters demanded officers to let the person go.
NBC Bay Area spoke with Misty Cross Thursday. She is one of the organizers of the group who wants to keep Parker Elementary School open.
“For the last two months, we've been giving community resources and things that they need. What we did was hold youth programs, give food distributions, community empowerment,” she said.
Parker Elementary School is one of dozens of schools that the Oakland Unified School District is planning to close or merge over the next two years.
Community members and protesters have been fighting hard to keep Parker Elementary School open because they said that the closure will impact students of color.
"We are continuing to occupy the building because the bigger fight is that our kids are being attacked by privatizers and capitalism, that is continuing to flow over into neighborhoods to where we do not have that much control over," Cross said.
Activists said they are planning on their next move and what it will be on Friday.
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Oakland Schools released the following statement Thursday:
“OUSD staff went to Parker today and found all the people, who had been inside the building had left the premises. So, we changed the locks and set the alarm. Someone picked, cut or otherwise broke through a lock to get back inside the building. They were removed. Now, we are doing what we can to keep several others from entering the building."
