The seven, who are Black, were all expelled for two years for a fight that broke out in the bleachers at a football game in September. No alternative schooling was provided for by the school board, most of whose members are white.

After mass rallies and demonstrations protesting the draconian punishment—for alleged involvement in a fracas that wasn't considered newsworthy in the daily paper's coverage of the football game—the expulsion was cut to one year and the board agreed to admit the youths to alternative schools.

Jackson and other supporters of the students are urging that a proposal by the state superintendent of schools that could result in the readmission of the students to Eisenhower by January be accepted.

Some 3,000 people marched November 14, capping a week of marches, rallies, school closings, and intense controversy in this central Illinois city. One young woman captured the sentiment of the marchers with a hand-written sign saying, "Zero tolerance for Racism." The multi-generational crowd was overwhelmingly Black. About half the marchers were from Decatur and the rest from Chicago and other cities in the region.

The controversy has gripped the city for several weeks now. Some homes and businesses are displaying signs that say "We support our school board."

Two much smaller actions took place November 14. Betty Stockard, a member of the city council who is Black, led a mostly white march of a couple hundred to "Stop the Violence" and in support of the school board.

The Decatur Herald and Review reported that at another location, 10 hooded and robed Ku Klux Klanners from Butler, Indiana, attracted "almost 200 people.... The crowd roared approval for the shouts of 'White Power' and for jokes made about African-Americans and Jews.... Some individuals on the fringe of the crowd did not cheer and appeared to be observing the spectacle."

Nancy Waterman of Decatur, who is white, shouted, "Take off your masks, cowards," as she held a sign saying, "Hey KKK! Open your small minds before you open your big mouths."

At the early morning mobilization of supporters of the expelled students on November 16, Brandi Carr told the Militant that she and about 20 fellow students from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana carpooled to Decatur "to show support for the Decatur Seven." Carr said they opposed the "extremely harsh punishment" and "want to see them back in their regular school in January."

Sarah Smith, a young worker from the South Side of Chicago, told the Militant that she came with other Black friends. "I feel they shouldn't end a person's education over a single fight," Smith said. "They should be happy people want to go to school."

Roy Hawkins, a psychiatrist who is white and counsels youth in the Decatur schools, referred to the importance of the labor battles here earlier this decade and noted that if the youth "were white they wouldn't have been suspended for two years. This is also a racial issue. It's the educational 'death penalty.' "

Lisa Potash, a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, contributed to this article.  
 
 
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