http://clamormagazine.org/blog/archives/blacks-for-immigrant-rights/ the official blog of Clamor Magazine. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:49:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.3 http://clamormagazine.org/blog/archives/blacks-for-immigrant-rights/#comment-2477 JoAnn Thu, 18 May 2006 19:35:02 +0000 http://clamormagazine.org/blog/archives/blacks-for-immigrant-rights/#comment-2477 It would be a real mistake to believe that 'racial beefs' don't exist just because the right wing is trying to inflate and inflame them. The Black Commentator is great; it's also radical, which most people aren't. And whatever given commentators or proclaimed leaders say, they aren't necessarily the voiceboxes of the masses. I've heard plenty of anger toward immigrants among black people, in schools, community, labor unions, even among militants in labor unions. A couple of years ago when org. labor put together the Immigrant Freedom Rides, the great Rev. James Orange did an awful lot of meeting and talking to get black trade unionists on with idea, and also to break the notion that all immigrants are Latino. On May Day in New York, Sharpton spoke, Roger Toussaint spoke but they didn't bring any people out. In Colombia, South Carolina, on that day people in the black community, even long activists, were complaining that the slogan "We are all immigrants" denigrated the history of slavery. In Cambridge, Mass, high schoolers told their classmate, a Latina friend of mine, that "as soon as the Mexicans learn English, they'll be 'white' and we'll be back where we've always been". Sharpton has been in argument mode with some of his supporters, saying, "Like we had jobs before the Mexicans came??" There's no monolith; people are all over on the issue. It's just a mistake to believe everything's hunky dory, black-brown together forever. The right wing knows exactly what it's doing by playing to black as well as white racial fears. It would be a real mistake to believe that ‘racial beefs’ don’t exist just because the right wing is trying to inflate and inflame them. The Black Commentator is great; it’s also radical, which most people aren’t. And whatever given commentators or proclaimed leaders say, they aren’t necessarily the voiceboxes of the masses. I’ve heard plenty of anger toward immigrants among black people, in schools, community, labor unions, even among militants in labor unions. A couple of years ago when org. labor put together the Immigrant Freedom Rides, the great Rev. James Orange did an awful lot of meeting and talking to get black trade unionists on with idea, and also to break the notion that all immigrants are Latino. On May Day in New York, Sharpton spoke, Roger Toussaint spoke but they didn’t bring any people out. In Colombia, South Carolina, on that day people in the black community, even long activists, were complaining that the slogan “We are all immigrants” denigrated the history of slavery. In Cambridge, Mass, high schoolers told their classmate, a Latina friend of mine, that “as soon as the Mexicans learn English, they’ll be ‘white’ and we’ll be back where we’ve always been”. Sharpton has been in argument mode with some of his supporters, saying, “Like we had jobs before the Mexicans came??” There’s no monolith; people are all over on the issue. It’s just a mistake to believe everything’s hunky dory, black-brown together forever. The right wing knows exactly what it’s doing by playing to black as well as white racial fears.

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