“Note to Readers” On a Narrative Account of a Strike
By Heath Madom
The experiences recounted here grew out of the efforts of a small group of Oakland United School District (OUSD) educators to encourage Oakland teachers and community members to tell their stories about the 2019 strike. The goal of that effort was—and continues to be—for individuals to share personal stories in order to promote communication, understanding, and healing in the aftermath of a strike that was incredibly powerful and unifying, yet also bitterly divisive and heartbreaking. Composition wise, the idea was to use an oral history structure similar to what Jacques Levy used in Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa, but with individuals writing their own stories.
What follows is a narrative account of the strike as I experienced it as a teacher at Oakland Technical High School. I did not initially plan on writing as much as I did, but once I got started, the project sort of took on a life of its own. I did my best to capture and represent my experience of the strike as honestly and accurately as my memory would allow. Any errors—factual, grammatical, or otherwise—are my fault alone. I hope that by sharing my story, others who were involved in the Oakland strike, or any of the recent teacher strikes across the nation, will be motivated to share theirs as well.
And with that, click HERE
…
