On June 4, 2002, roughly 100,000 students, teachers, parents and rap fans crammed eight blocks outside New York’s City Hall in Lower Manhattan in protest of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal of drastic new school budget cuts. The city had also failed to approve a pay raise for the severely underpaid teachers, who had been working 18 months without a contract.

The demonstration, organized by rap mogul Russell Simmons of Def Jam Records as part of his HipHop Action Network and in conjunction with United Federation of Teachers and the Alliance for Quality Education, drew a who's who of celebrities: Alicia Keys, LL Cool J, Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, Rza from Wu Tang Clan, Erykah Badu, Common, Rah Digga and P. Diddy, among others. 

Taking place a day before Bloomberg was scheduled to present his proposed $1 billion cut in the city’s education budget to City Council, artists voiced their disapproval in a generally peaceful rally, that being until rapper Wyclef Jean was arrested in his own protest, which prompted chaos to break out in one block. With kids rushing the block, some of them throwing boxes and bottles at the police van carrying the rapper, some of them sobbing.

All week, activists had been protesting outside City Hall. But this rally was the first to join artists with labor activists and students.

Earlier, Jay-Z took to the airwaves on New York radio stations, urging students to join the protest after school let out. Organizers said police were not prepared for the large turnout.

Many in the crowd were teenagers who said they wanted to demonstrate against the budget cuts in their schools -- and to catch a glimpse of their favorite artists. Artists whom said they were also products of the city's public school system, an adamant Alicia Keys spoke onstage: “We are not just gonna take what we’re given,” she said. “We’re not gonna take $1.2 billion in cuts. We’re worth more than that. I’m a New York City resident, born and raised here. When I was in school we were fighting the same fights against budget cuts. Once again they constantly want to take from the system of education, from schools, from the people that are going to be the future. I’m out here to show my support that we’re not going to accept this.”

Continuing: “It’s important that we’re here for each other and make support for public education our priority.” Also demonstrating that her younger brother Cole’s school had already cut some programs due to budget constraints.

After the rally, Mayor Bloomberg said that he would be postponing the proposal.