Caption by Ashmar Mandou

Hundreds of teachers, parents, activists, and public education supporters shut down Chicago on Friday, April 1st for a one-day strike in an effort to redirect funding back to public schools. Supporters were stationed across Chicago holding signs demanding Governor Bruce Rauner and Mayor Rahm Emanuel restore funding to communities that have been affected, primarily in the African-American and Latino communities. The one-day strike culminated at the Thompson Center where Chicago Teachers Union Karen Lewis and Reverend Jesse Jackson addressed the passionate crowd. Among the hundreds of students was Nidalis Burgos, a student from Lincoln Park High School, who said, “As a student, I’m striking along with my teachers because I’m tired of inequality in schools. We have, time and time again, been under attack by our officials, and this is our time to fight back as a whole. We are stronger when we fight together, and that’s what we will accomplish on Friday. It is up to us to change the corruption, so we will not only be rallying as students, but later joining the teachers in a citywide rally. This is where change begins, with us.”