Greensboro, NC – People from across North Carolina rallied here, May 10, to oppose the anti-immigrant Minutemen. The Minutemen are a racist militia organization devoted to armed patrols of the U.S-Mexico border, with the intent to ‘stop’ anyone crossing the border ‘illegally.’ They are touring the country to rally support for the anti-immigrant Sensenbrenner Bill (HR 4437) and are adamantly advocating a militarized wall on the southern border of the U.S.
Chicago, IL – Among the 700,000 people who took to the streets here for the May Day immigrants’ rights protest were anti-gentrification activists from the city’s South Side. Members of the Student/Tenant Organizing Project (STOP) carried signs saying, “Black and brown united!”
May 1 marks International Workers Day around the globe. Here in the U.S., immigrants’ rights coalitions called for a National Day Without An Immigrant, advocating no work, no school and no buying to show the impact that the immigrant community has. Millions of undocumented workers and their supporters took to the streets.
May 1, 2006 was an historic day, as millions of people, mainly Mexicanos (immigrants from Mexico), Chicanos and Central Americans, poured into the streets of United States to support the struggle for immigrant rights. Many have called this upsurge in protests a ‘new civil rights movement.’ We think that this is a very good description of the broad united front of labor, religious, community and youth organizations and the grassroots participation. Most importantly, this fight for equality and self-determination in fact represents a challenge to the monopoly capitalists that rule this country.
When the forces of reaction and racism decided to push their vicious anti-immigrant agenda, they lifted a rock, only to drop it on their own feet. Across the country, one of the most powerful waves of demonstrations in U.S. history is now unfolding. In Chicago on March 10 it became apparent something really big was in the offing; a sea change was under way. Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans and Latinos, along with other immigrants and their supporters, filled the streets. A general strike shut down hundreds of factories and businesses. This was followed by major demonstrations; some accompanied by work stoppages – that rocked Denver, Colorado; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Georgia and Phoenix, Arizona. Then on March 25, one million people took to the streets of Los Angeles.
