BY SAMANTHA KERN AND CARLOS HERNÁNDEZ
This column is written and edited by the Young Socialists (YS), an international organization of young workers, students, and other youth fighting for socialism. For more information about the YS write to: Young Socialists, 1573 N. Milwaukee, P.O. Box #478, Chicago, Ill. 60622. Tel: (773) 772-0551. Compuserve: 105162,605

MODESTO, California - Some 150 teachers, parents, workers, and youth gathered here April 18 to protest Proposition 227, the initiative aimed at eliminating bilingual education in California slated to appear on the June 2 state primary election ballot. If approved, the law would require children who do not speak English to learn it in one year in classes not divided by age levels. This proposition follows fights over the last four years around Proposition 187 and Proposition 209, the anti-immigrant rights and anti-affirmative action initiatives, both of which passed.

The marchers wound their way through downtown Modesto, some carrying official signs of the march reading: "Vote no on 227! Don't lose local control! Do it for the children!" Other protesters made homemade signs reading: "Defend Bilingual Education!" in English and Spanish, and "Defend Affirmative Action! Equal education for all!" Organizers of the march lead chants emphasizing the financial cost of the initiative. Participants in the march created their own chants like: "What do we want? Bilingual Education! When do we want it? Now!"

"Proposition 227 is targeted at a certain group of people. It is a human rights issue; everyone has a right to be taught in their own language," said Gladis Williams, a teacher and head of the NAACP in Modesto, at a rally following the march. Proposition 227 "harms education opportunities for immigrant children and fortifies a climate of racism and immigrant scapegoating. It follows down the same path as proposition 187," said Bob Jackson, president of the Modesto School Board of Education.

Many protesters expressed similar reasons for participating in the march to fight Proposition 227. Two women who bought subscriptions to Perspectiva Mundial, thought it was important for their children to know their native language. The majority of the marchers were teachers, parents, or students involved in bilingual education programs.

Supporters of the Militant newspaper from San Francisco and Los Angeles attended the march in Modesto as part of a week-long regional team in the Central Valley of California. Later that day, they went door to door in a working-class neighborhood in Modesto selling the Militant and the Spanish- language monthly magazine Perspectiva Mundial. The team sold three subscriptions to Perspectiva Mundial and a number of single copies of both publications.

Samantha Kern is a member of the YS in the San Francisco Bay Area. Carlos Hernández, is a YS member in Los Angeles and the Socialist Workers candidate for the House of Representatives in District 35.  
 
 
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