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Old Civil Rights Groups Missing-in-Action
As Immigrants Hit the Streets
By
Earl Ofari
Hutchinson
Hispanic Media at the Forefront
of Protest March: News Report, Eduardo Stanley
Editor's Note:
As a groundswell of immigrant rights activism spreads
across the country, the old-guard black civil rights
movement is dragging its feet, writes Earl Ofari
Hutchinson, an associate editor at New America Media and
the author of "The Crisis in Black and Black." --
New America Media, Mar 27, 2006
LOS ANGELES--The great irony in the
gargantuan march of hundreds of thousands in Los Angeles
and other cities for immigrant rights is that the old
civil rights groups have been virtually mute on the
explosively growing movement. There are no position
papers, statements or press releases on the Web sites of
the NAACP, Urban League or SCLC on immigration reform,
and nothing on the marches.
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) hasn't done much
better. It has issued mostly perfunctory, tepid and
cautious statements opposing the draconian provisions of
the House bill that passed last December. The
Sensenbrenner bill calls for a wall on the Southern
border, a massive beef-up in border security and tough
sanctions on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will wrestle with the
bill this week.
Only nine of 43 CBC members initially backed the liberal
immigration reform bill introduced by CBC member Sheila
Jackson Lee in 2004. The lone exception to the old
guard's mute response on immigration-related issues was
their lambasting of Mexican President Vicente Fox last
May for his quip that Mexicans will work jobs that even
blacks won't.
The silence from mainstream civil rights groups and the
CBC's modest support for immigrant rights is a radical
departure from the past. During the 1980s, when
immigration was not the hot-button issue it is today,
the Caucus in 1985 staunchly opposed tougher immigration
proposals, voted against employer sanctions for hiring
illegal immigrants and opposed an English-language
requirement to attain legalization. That was an easy
call then. Those were the Reagan years, and Reagan and
conservative Republicans, then as now, pushed the bill.
Civil rights leaders and black Democrats waged low-yield
wars against Reagan policies.
In 2002, the NAACP made a slight nod to the immigration
fight when it invited Hector Flores, president of League
of United Latin American Citizens, to address its
convention. The NAACP billed the invite as a "historic
first." But it was careful to note that immigration was
one of a list of policy initiatives the two groups would
work together on. That list included support for
affirmative action, expanded hate crimes legislation,
voting rights protections and increased health and
education funding. There is no indication that the two
groups have done much together since the convention to
tackle these crisis issues, and that includes
immigration reform.
The CBC and civil rights leaders tread lightly on the
immigrant rights battle for two reasons. They are loath
to equate the immigrant rights movement with the civil
rights battles of the 1960s. They see immigrant rights
as a reactive, narrow, single-issue movement whose
leaders have not actively reached out to black leaders
and groups. Spanish language newspapers and radio
stations, for instance, drove the mammoth march and
rally in Los Angeles. Their fiery appeals to take action
were in Spanish, and many of the marchers waved Mexican
and El Salvadorian flags.
Black leaders also cast a nervous glance over their
shoulder at the shrill chorus of anger rising from many
African-Americans, especially the black poor, of whom a
significant number flatly oppose illegal immigrant
rights. But illegal immigration is not the prime reason
so many poor young blacks are on the streets, and why
some turn to gangs, guns and drug dealing to get ahead.
A shrinking economy, sharp state and federal government
cuts in and elimination of job and skills training
programs, failing public schools, a soaring black prison
population and employment discrimination are the prime
causes of the poverty crisis in many inner city black
neighborhoods. The recent studies by Princeton, Columbia
and Harvard researchers on the dreary plight of young
black males reconfirmed that chronic unemployment has
turned thousands of young black males into America's job
untouchables.
Yet, many blacks soft-target illegal immigrants for the
crisis and loudly claim that they take jobs from
unskilled and marginally skilled blacks. Black fury over
immigration has cemented an odd alliance between black
anti-immigrant activists and GOP conservatives, fringe
anti-illegal immigration groups and racially tinged
America-first groups.
Historians, politicians and civil rights activists hail
the March on Washington in August 1963 as the watershed
event in the civil rights movement. It defined an era of
protest, sounded the death knell for the near century of
legal segregation and challenged Americans to make
racial justice a reality for blacks. But the estimated
million that marched and held rallies for immigrant
rights in Los Angeles and other cities dwarfed the
numbers at the March on Washington. If the numbers and
passion that immigration reform stirs mean anything, the
judgment of history will be that it also defined an era,
sounded the death knell for discrimination against
immigrants and challenged Americans to make justice and
equality a reality for immigrants, both legal and
illegal.
The battle over immigrant rights will be fought as
fiercely and doggedly as the civil rights battle of the
1960s. That battle forever altered the way Americans
look at race. The immigrants rights battle will
profoundly alter the way Americans look at immigrants.
The silence of civil rights leaders won't change that.
But there is no better time than now to end that
silence.
Source:
Pacific News
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To the Streets! Hispanic Media at the
Forefront of Protest March
News Report, Eduardo Stanley,
Translated by Elena Shore,
New America Media, Mar 27, 2006
LOS ANGELES, Calif.— It was the biggest protest in the
city’s history, according to the local police
department. More than half a million Latinos took to the
streets Saturday, March 25 wearing white t-shirts,
carrying signs and waving American flags, along with
flags from their native countries including Argentina,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru.
On small stage on the corner of Broadway and Second
Street, surrounded by huge speakers, cables and audio
mixers, Spanish DJs kept up the crowd’s spirits, giving
non-stop information and advice.
“We can’t see the flags. Where are all the flags?”
called one of them over the speakers; and in response
tens of thousands of flags waved in the air, above a
river of white shirts that covered more than ten blocks
of Broadway and extended in neighboring streets beyond.
The DJs were part of a campaign in which California’s
Spanish media outlets played a pivotal role.
They helped to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people
against HR 4437, introduced by Wisconsin Republican
James Sensenbrenner, and approved Dec. 16 by the House
of Representatives in a vote of 239 to 182. Now in the
Senate, the bill would criminalize undocumented
immigrants—who total 11 million people in the United
States—and punish those who help them, such as social
workers or religious groups. In addition, the bill calls
for the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico
border.
“At the beginning, about ten groups wanted to organize
the protest in Los Angeles,” says Noé Hernández, an
immigrant rights activist from the Central Valley. “Then
they invited members of the Spanish press, and
everything changed.”
According to Hernández, while organizations were
prolonging their talks and negotiations, radio DJs
decided to broadcast a call directly to the community.
As more Spanish radio stations joined the
movement—including stations in cities across
California—they helped mobilize people across the state.
But in keeping with the march’s climate of anonymity,
community and solidarity, the DJs on the stage did not
identify which stations they were from. Organizations
also kept their names out of the spotlight. The crowd
itself dressed in white shirts as a symbol of peace and
unity.
Well-known DJ “Eddie” Sotelo, known as El Piolín,
launched an intensive broadcast campaign about
immigration while mobilizing people to participate in
the march. His radio show, produced in Los Angeles and
aired nationally by Univision, is one of the most
popular among Spanish-speaking listeners.
“El Piolín did an incredible job, he did various
interviews and never failed to stress the importance of
the march for the dignity of our community,” says
Hernández, who was interviewed by El Piolín before the
protest. “He also interviewed one of the ‘Minutemen’ and
I think this convinced people to participate more than
anything because that man insulted Latinos and said we
should all be deported, even him, El Piolín!”
“Lots of people started calling the radio station asking
for information about the protest, so we decided to do
something,” says Diana Miramontes, DJ and programming
assistant for KLOG 98.7 FM in Merced. “We interviewed an
activist to explain the bill HR 4437 and we broadcast
information about the march.” The number of calls about
the protest increased, including one person who offered
a free bus and was looking for a licensed bus driver to
drive down a group of people.
“We invited people to participate,” Miramontes says with
sincerity. “As a Latina I believe it was the right thing
to do. A lot of people will suffer if this law is
passed.”
Hernández says other local stations in the Central
Valley conducted interviews with immigration activists,
allowing a large segment of the population to have
access to this information.
In Los Angeles, Spanish-language newspaper La Opinión
published various articles in the days leading up to the
protest. The day before the march, it published an
extensive article with details for those interested in
participating.
The headline on the front page of La Opinión Saturday,
March 25 was “A las Calles!” (To the Streets!).
Spanish TV stations Telemundo, TV Azteca and Univisión
helped mobilize people to go to the protest in Los
Angeles in a campaign similar to that of 1994 when
Spanish TV stations played an active role in protesting
Proposition 187 in California.
In Fresno, the day before the march, a reporter on
Univision announced what time and where people should
meet to drive down to Los Angeles. The reporter even
offered advice about the long drive, reminding viewers
to check their cars’ oil and antifreeze before making
the trip.
“Thank you DJs for awakening my people,” read a large
sign carried by Aniceto Polanco, an immigrant from de
Guerrero, México. “I want to thank the Spanish media,”
she says. “They did a great job.”
“I found out about this through the radio. I remember
the DJs saying that we have to wake up, we have to
participate for our own good and the good of our
families,” says Adrián López, who traveled from Madera
to Los Angeles with his family. He says he is grateful
for the role Spanish radio played. “They were right. Now
I hope the politicians take note.”
Source:
Pacific News
posted 29 March 2006 * *
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update 4 August
2008 |
