9/4/06: On “Labor Day” about 500 people, mostly Latinos, marched and rallied in Houston in defense of immigrants, with or without documents. It was a spirited march, with indigenous dress, dance, and drumming leading the way. Though the numbers were not like they were in the powerful protests of last spring, there continued the determination to stop the powers-that-be from laying down new, more repressive laws, like the Sensenbrenner bill, which would criminalize a whole section of the working poor in this country.
There were groups of trade union workers in their local tshirts,
including the Justice for Janitors. There were Catholic nuns. There
were student groups, like the Jovenes Inmigrantes por un Futuro Mejor,
demanding approval of the “Dream Act”, which would enable students
without papers to attend college. There were flags of all kinds,
including the American flag. And different views on carrying it.
In this situation, many welcomed and took copies of the call of the
WCW and were talking about attending the meeting on Sept 7th and
organizing for October 5th. Many who I talked with were happy to see a
movement that links up what’s happening to immigrants with the war in
Iraq and the other outrages of the Bush regime. And that calls out the
whole Bush program for what it is, and takes on the whole thing. We met
college students and others who wanted to know why the Democrats are so
“lame”. Two filmmakers interviewing people were working on a piece
called “Heathens” which takes on the religious fundamentalism coming
straight out of the White House. And there was a lot of talk about
taking responsibility for changting the world–especially now as the
future hangs in the balance.
