May 1, 2006: Actions Everywhere
Seeing as how we’re already easing into the wee hours of Wednesday, we’re sure you’ve heard all about Monday’s biggest immigrant-rights actions by now, so we thought we’d provide a glimpse into what went down in one of the many smaller cities and towns that also buzzed with pro-immigrant, pro-worker spirit on May 1, 2006. Guest blogger Christine Petit offers this report on the goings-on in Southern California’s Inland Empire region:
An orange a day keeps the racists away …
At least that’s how the saying went for University of California–Riverside activists on Monday. Approximately twenty student activists — many of them members of United Students Against Sweatshops and UAW Local 2865 (the union for academic student employees) — gave away free lunch in front of the University Commons to encourage those who did come to school to join in the day-without-an-immigrant boycott by not purchasing food.
Sommer Hassan, a second-year botany student, said that, in addition to providing people on campus with an alternative to buying food at the Commons, “the action gave them a chance to ask questions” and learn more about the issues.
So what was on the menu? Piles of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, snacks, water, and an Inland Empire staple: oranges. Three hours, sixteen loaves of bread, and four large jars of PB&J later, the action ended with pro-immigrant chants.
Legalization, Yes! Criminalization, No!
In downtown Riverside, an estimated 3,400 demonstrators rallied outside City Hall in support of immigrants’ rights. People wearing white clothing and black ribbons marched to the rally from all parts of the city. Some of the many participating groups included MEChA, the Southern California Human Rights Network, the National Alliance for Human Rights, and people from from UCR’s Chicano Student Programs.
Grad student Daniel Diaz Reyes described the crowd as a mix of students, workers, and families. While the rally’s participants were overwhelming Latino, Diaz Reyes said that a wide array of communities were represented.
Diaz Reyes said he was there to protest the social intimidation of immigrants and the common perception that immigrants “should not have the right to speak.” He stressed the importance of being part of local actions and said, “I think it was a good way of demonstrating to Riverside our opposition to all the anti-immigrant legislation and overall antagonism.”
Elsewhere in the IE
In addition to Riverside, marches and rallies took place across the Inland Empire, including in Moreno Valley, Palm Springs, Perris, and San Bernardino. Toi Carter, a sociology graduate student, attended the San Bernardino rally, which she said turned into an unplanned march around the city. Police in riot gear met the thousands of protestors as they reconvened at the City Hall. The spirited and peaceful rally continued until several police began preparing their gas masks — an indication that tear gas might be used to disperse the crowd.
That may have prompted a premature end to that particular rally, but there’s no doubt: La lucha continues!
–Christine Petit