(Image: Alex Garland with permission)

The situation at Horace Mann isn’t exactly a stand-off but the tension has risen as supporters of the Africa Town Center for Education & Innovation put out a call Friday night for a community rally at the 23rd and Cherry school:

Seattle Police Department threatens raid of Horace Mann building today at 6pm. Stand in support of justice, equity and MORE for MANN. Bring your cameras.

As of Saturday night, police efforts to remove any people inside the Mann building had not taken place. Seattle City Light arrived at the scene Saturday — later, one person providing details via Twitter said generator power was now available.

Earlier, CDN reported on the ongoing tension around the situation for Seattle Public Schools which owns the building and plans a major renovation of the facility. Wednesday night, the school board voted to delay an action vote on the situation at the request of Superintendent Jose Banda.

Thursday, Banda again issued an order to vacate:

The groups in Horace Mann have been told to vacate multiple times since summer so renovations could begin to make way for a planned return of the Nova Alternative High School return next fall. While Seattle Schools has been mostly patient with the talks, there’s been a greater push for a solution as the construction schedule looms. The Seattle Times called More 4 Mann “squatters” and called for the groups to be removed from the building.

More 4 Mann, however, says it is doing much more than squatting in the building:

We want to continue to show the unified community of African-American parents, educators and students working together to take responsibility for the education of our children.

Now is the time to rectify the past inequities and ineffective methods to educate our children.

We will no longer accept and allow sub-standard resources, results, programs and policies directed to our young scholars.