[www-features] PROPOSAL: 100, 000 Protest for Immigrant Rights in Chicago

[onto]

i think i'm gonna change the feature to resemble the chicago imc one
more. is that cool?
thanks
onto

onto wrote:
> posted: http://publish.indymedia.org/en/2006/03/835162.shtml
> 
> !
> onto
> 
> 
> pina at riseup.net wrote:
> 
>>
>>i´m not a chicago imcista, but i defenitilly think this should be promoted
>>into a feature
>>
>>=)
>>
>>pina
>>
>>
>>
>>>Here's a compilation from deletetheborder.org:
>>>http://deletetheborder.org/node/761/edit
>>>
>>>Shall we make it a global feature?  What do Chicago imcistas think?
>>>
>>>TITLE: 100,000 Protest for Immigrant Rights in Chicago
>>>
>>>Image: http://static.flickr.com/34/110776348_89f2a14ab5.jpg
>>>
>>>Abstract:
>>>
>>>On Friday, March 10, 2006 Chicago’s downtown was paralyzed by an
>>>immigrant march estimated at more than 100,000 people. They carried
>>>hand-lettered signs saying: “We are America,” “My Mexican immigrant son
>>>died in Iraq,” “I’m a dishwasher—not a criminal,” and “Don’t deport my
>>>parents.” The peaceful crowd stretched two and half miles, from Union
>>>Park on the West Side to their destination in Federal Plaza. No
>>>immigrant justice march like this has happened in Illinois history since
>>>some 80,000 immigrants marched down State Street demanding an 8-hour
>>>workday in 1886. <a
>>>href="http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/71000/index.php">[more]</a>
>>>
>>><br><br>
>>>
>>><b>Photos and Story:</b> <a
>>>href="http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/70983/index.php">1</a>
>>>| <a
>>>href="http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/70996/index.php">2</a>
>>><br><br>
>>><b>More Photos:</b> <a
>>>href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metroblossom/sets/72057594079526091/">1</a>
>>>| <a
>>>href="http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/70995/index.php">2</a>
>>><br><br>
>>><b>Another Report: </b><a
>>>href="http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/71007/index.php">1</a>
>>>
>>>
>>>STORY:
>>>Taking the EL to Union Square Park (a half hour early!), every car and
>>>platform was flooded with the overwhelmingly Latino participants in the
>>>demonstration. White people curled in fear or made sarcastic remarks,
>>>Black people inquired about the goings on, and it became clear that the
>>>vast majority of the mobilization came from within the Latino/Latin
>>>American communities of Chicagoland, and the Spanish-language news media
>>>and radio stations gave a huge boost to the numbers. Towns from Aurora
>>>to Addison had rented out every last available bus to Suburban
>>>protesters, and some even came from Wisconsin and Indiana. The evidence
>>>was laid out for all to see: it is possible to get massive numbers in
>>>the streets of the Windy City!
>>><br><br>
>>>Some groups had been organizing for over a year, with a powerful show of
>>>force in last June's South Side demonstration, where between twenty and
>>>forty thousand (20-40,000) overwhelmingly Brown people showed they would
>>>not be hushed into silence by the national efforts to promote xenophobia
>>>and racist patriotism. The capitalist news media, from Lou Dobbs to FOX
>>>News, has been increasingly spouting hate, which has in turn energized
>>>racist groups like the Minuteman (whose origins are alleged to have come
>>
>>>from the likes of the John Birch Society and/or the Ku Klux Klan in the
>>
>>>1960s and 1970s). Rounding it out, several competing motions in Congress
>>>and state legislatures have pushed to eliminate the human rights of the
>>>undocumented, or else to secure their inalienable rights. Bills like HR
>>>4437 call for the elimination of rights to health care, education, and
>>>all constitutional rights for the undocumented, as well as laying the
>>>groundwork for the possibility of huge detention camps where people are
>>>held until deportation and mass deportations the likes of which this
>>>country hasn't seen since the deportations of millions of Mexicans
>>>during the Great Depression. HR 4437, also known as the Border
>>>Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act, would
>>>even criminalize any act by a citizen that did anything for an
>>>undocumented person, including provide health care, teaching, renting a
>>>home, and everything else. HR 4437 has passed the House, and is going on
>>>to the Senate. The DREAM Act and other proposed bills counter by
>>>promising basic rights for all human beings within these borders.
>>><br><br>
>>>But yesterday was not just Mexicans, but large numbers of Ecuadorians,
>>>Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Irish, Poles, Chinese, and some Asians,
>>>Africans and peoples from elsewhere. Unions, local businesses, churches,
>>>bike clubs, even competing street gangs, all came together for the
>>>immense show of force. This was a united voice of people coming out for
>>>their very surival. Other demonstrations had happened in other cities,
>>>but no where on the scale of the one here on Friday.
>>><br><br>
>>><b>The plan of the protest and an obstruction</b>
>>>The protest marched from Union Square Park down Jackson to Federal
>>>Plaza, but early on I overheard police plans to cut the march in half at
>>>a certain point so that it wouldn't totally clog the Loop. This was
>>>indeed carried out, though there has been little discussion of how many
>>>were cut off.
>>><br><br>
>>><b>Estimates on the Number</b>
>>>Early police commanders' unofficial estimates ranged from seventy-five
>>>to one hundred thousand people (75-100,000), but CBS reports final
>>>police estimates at three hundred thousand (300,000) and organizer
>>>estimates at five hundred thousand (500,000). The Associated Press puts
>>>the police estimate back down to one hundred thousand (100,000). The
>>>Tribune sided with the AP, also noting that the crowd stretched for over
>>>twenty blocks at one point. On this one, I will go with the police over
>>>the organizers, but it was certainly too high to accurately estimate.
>>><br><br>
>>>In any of the research that I have ever done, throughout the Civil
>>>Rights Movement, late 19th Century class struggles, and other periods, I
>>>have never heard of a protest in the city of Chicago of more than one
>>>hundred thousand people. So please inform me if I'm wrong, but
>>>yesterday's immigrant human rights march was possibly the largest
>>>protest in Chicago history, and certainly in more than a century. More
>>>details on the numbers below.
>>><br><br>
>>><b>Minuteman's laughable response</b>
>>>CBS reports that Minuteman's Illinois leader race-traitor Rosanna Pulido
>>>said “I don’t care if there’s three million people out there, if they
>>>are illegal they do not have a voice in America.”
>>><br><br>
>>>HOY reported that Minuteman had a counter-protest… at Grant Park at 10am!
>>><br><br>
>>><b>Policital criticisms in short</b>
>>>A longer discussion should be had, though, about the politics of the
>>>protest. The complexities can be summarized in this way: Latinos in the
>>>USA are generally more conservative than nuestro pueblo in Latin
>>>America. The radical Latino voices of Chicago were absolutely drowned
>>>out by the overwhelming attempt by most participants to mainstream
>>>themselves. The radical and progressive groups, including Zocalo Urbano,
>>>Pueblo Sin Fronteras, several union contingents, Zapatistas, la Voz de
>>>Los de Abajo, and many others were engulfed in a crowd where
>>>pro-McCain/Kennedy signs were not uncommon. The McCain/Kennedy signs
>>>trumpeted the two Senators for promoting an alternative that would be
>>>better for immigrants, but it was still a bit unsettling to see them
>>>name of the Republican Senator instead of the name of the Bill. There
>>>was more red white and blue than red white and green, and this
>>>moderations also revealed itself in the roster of speakers, which was
>>>filled largely with elected officials: Governor Rod 'Pornstar'
>>>Blowjobavich, Herr Daley, Senator Dick Durbin, Representative (and
>>>amazingly a former Black Panther leader) Bobby Rush, Representative Luis
>>>Gutierrez (y'know, the pro-war congressman whose speaking at the
>>>anti-war protest next week), and others. As it ended
>>><br><br>
>>>Police attempted to push the remaining thousands onto the sidewalks,
>>>while young men started chanting Cuuuuuuuleros. To the police who did
>>>not realize what this meant, it is one of the many ways that the Spanish
>>>language gives us to say assholes. ABC has a report decrying the weak
>>>police presence (proving again the capitalist news media's preference
>>>for fascism), though I have snapshots of riot police contigents that
>>>were within a few blocks of Federal Plaza.
>>><br><br>
>>>At one point, I went up to the Federal Building which houses the Federal
>>>courts, where I found Palestinian torture-victim and political prisoner
>>>Muhammad Salah's wife watching from the floor where her husband's trial
>>>is being held. As we sat there together, we agreed that the struggle for
>>>survival will never end in defeat as long as the people are united.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Abigail Thornton wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Is anyone going to post info on the protest that happened yesterday in
>>>>Chicago against the HR 4437 immigration bill?  There were over 100,000
>>>>people there and it effectively shut down the center of the city.
>>>>Unfortunately, all I can do is urge you at Indymedia to post something
>>>>up on this international site about it, as I do not have any photos -
>>>>however there is some info off the Chicago indymedia, and it could be a
>>>>place to start.
>>>>Please consider it, as movements like these need to be known about
>>>>everywhere, especially since this kind of mobilization is not as common
>>>>as it should be in the United States.
>>>>
>>>>Thanks,
>>>>In solidarity,
>>>>Abby
>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>www-features mailing list
>>>>www-features at lists.indymedia.org
>>>>http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/www-features
>>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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