Categories:
The National Council de
la Raza along with other national civil rights and labor organizations
announced a boycott against Arizona.
WASHINGTON – The National
Council de la Raza along with other national civil rights and labor
organizations announced a boycott against Arizona to remain in effect until the
state’s “oppressive and odious” immigration law is repealed
or Congress passes immigration reform.
During a press
conference at the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Latino advocacy
organization, NCLR President Janet Murguía said the council is asking all
affiliated organizations to cancel major events and conventions in the state as
a show of solidarity.
“Our system
is broken, but this Arizona law is not the answer,” Murguía said.
“Our immigration system should reflect both our nation’s interests
and values.”
Last month,
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the nation’s toughest state immigration
enforcement measure directing local police to enforce federal laws and to
arrest anyone “reasonably suspected” of being an undocumented
immigrant.
Opponents say the
law is “anti-Latino” and “un-American,” claiming
it will lead to the racial discrimination and profiling reminiscent of
the Jim Crow era in American history.
“Indeed
these practices go against all the progress that we had made as a nation to
ensure equality and freedom from discrimination for all,” said Wade
Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human
Rights. “The nation has come too far to overcome bigotry to tolerate
blatant violations of individual rights.”
Supporters defend
the measure as crucial to ensuring the security of Arizona’s border
regions, which have been riddled with violence from an explosive drug war.
Both anti- and
pro-immigration groups are incensed by the lack of federal leadership on the
issue, which is national in scope rather than just the border region. Murguía
said that, without immigration overhaul, states are free to enact other
controversial measures at the expense of the vulnerable undocumented
population.
This week,
President Barack Obama reiterated his commitment to pro-immigrant advocates to
“begin work” on comprehensive reform, but little progress has been
made to initiate a dialogue on Capitol Hill. On Sunday, Rep. Luis Gutierrez
(D-Ill.), the chief author of comprehensive immigration reform bill H.R. 4321,
was arrested in front of the White House in an act of civil disobedience with
other protesters.
Sen. Lindsay Graham,
R-S.C., regarded as the White House’s sole Republican ally on the issue,
has criticized the president for pushing a “dead” issue, saying he
doubts that it will receive any traction in this congressional session.
Arizona has long
drawn angst from civil rights groups, once refusing to recognize Martin Luther
King Holiday Day and prompting the National Football League to relocate the
Super Bowl XXVII from Tempe, Ariz., to Pasadena, Calif.
Karen Narasaki,
president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center, said the
state has a history of “anti-immigrant sentiment and a continuous pattern
of reckless immigration enforcement laws that ignore basic notions of fairness
and decency.”
NCLR is also
asking Major League Baseball to relocate its 2011 All-Star game planned for
Phoenix, after the player’s association came out against the law. Murguía
said 40 percent of MLB players are Latino.
Civil rights
leaders said the law’s passage is galvanizing Latino
factions in the country to register to vote and form alliances with other
communities of color. So far, the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People has not defined its position, although several leaders have
personally voiced their endorsement of the boycott.
Before the
announcement, several organizations, including the National Urban League and
the Puerto Rican Day Parade organizers, canceled trips and events in the Grand
Canyon State.
Pima Community
College chancellor Dr. Ray Flores said the boycott will have an impact on
Arizona’s tourism industry in the short run but does not stop supporters
of the law from doing the opposite.
“There are
some people who have anti-immigrant feelings that may see Arizona as a place
they want to live and could attract lightning elements,” said Flores, who
leads one of the largest community colleges in the United States. “But I
think the organized reaction of people staying away is probably going to
overwhelmingly have a more powerful effect than those who lay on the
anti-immigrant side.”
Flores said the
debate is mired in polarizing polemics, saying the field has been left open for
extreme elements to interject divisive dialogue. Most residents, he said, are
rightfully concerned about the border, but he winces at the cavalier attitude
taken by some toward civil liberties.
In a statewide
NCLR survey of registered Latino voters, opponents to the law stretch across
political parties and generations. About 86 percent of surveyed Latino
Democrats, 61 percent of Latino Republicans, and 78 percent of Latino
independents oppose the law, and a majority fear racial profiling. However,
Arizona Latinos are divided about supporting a boycott that could potentially
harm their businesses and communities.
Know Justice, Know Peace,
Rev. Dr. E-K. Daufin,
Professor of Communication
National Media Weight
Discrimination Expert
AEJMC MAC Divison Membership
Chair
ASU Faculty/Staff Alliance -
AFT/AFL-CIO, Co VP for Faculty
Alabama State University
915 South Jackson St.
Montgomery, AL 36101-0271
334-229-6885
[log in to unmask]
Thanks in advance for your
research and creative activity referrals: www.loveyourbodyloveyourself.vox.com
With all my heart I want
fulfilling work, for abundant pay, in a beautiful, functional environment,
working with and for only talented, loving, cooperative, generous people who
appreciate and respect me and I they. Ashe!