Showing posts with label Drop the I-Word. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drop the I-Word. Show all posts

Monday, March 17, 2014

St. Patrick's Solidarity

In grade school, I dyed my bangs green with food coloring on St. Patrick's Day.  That same green the Chicago River is dyed on that same day.  This day didn't have great significance to me.  I'd never been to Ireland, though I'd wanted to go since I was little. 

This year, though, St. Patrick's Day has a special meaning.  Not only because I've now been to Ireland and have heartstrings-attachment that isn't just a faraway 'someday...' wish to visit this ancestral homeland.  Today I'm thinking about the St. Patrick's Day celebrations today in Mexico.

What's Mexico have to do with St. Patrick's Day?!  Well...


Only a week after giving a Travel Talk on Ireland at Sovversiva Open Space, sharing stories and images of medicinal plants and wild foods (like seaweed!), urban gardens, the Famine/Starvation, and Sheela Na Gig from my various trips to the island, my compañerxs were in the Vermont statehouse, testifying and speaking out against injustice.  Grassroots community organizations have fought for an anti-biased policing policy by the VT State Police.  Though many communities are targeted and racially profiled, the group I'm most connected with is Migrant Justice, a grassroots organization of migrant farm workers in VT, and their allies. (The majority of migrant farm workers living in Vermont are originally from Mexico, with smaller numbers hailing from Guatemala and other countries.)  Despite the anti-biased policing policy, 
law enforcement officers continue to racially profile people of color - and continue to call Border Patrol when they stop people that they assume are undocumentated

I've often heard people claim that their family came to the US "the right way," whether that was in this lifetime or many generations ago, and that other immigrants should "get in line. (For more on this myth: here and here and here and the image here)  At a hearing addressing discrimination and bias a VT Representative asked a Latino speaker if he was a US citizen, after he *didn't* ask this of a previous white speaker from the same organization.  Another VT Representative claimed that he was part of the Irish community and basically said that they are all documented.  


Well, I'm not going to delve deep into Irish history, but I would like to recommend the film The Wind the Shakes the Barley to understand a bit about the British occupation of Ireland and the people's resistance.  I'd also like to recommend the book Famine Diary: Journey to a New World by James J. Mangan/Gerald Keegan for a personal account about the very intentional starvation of the Irish people by the British government/landlords, who stockpiled food and sent ships full of food to England while the people starved, were incarcerated in huge numbers, or were forced to flee the island.  The Irish that crossed the Atlantic and survived the journey, found more discrimination.  The NINA (No Irish Need Apply) sign below is just one example: 




Multiple times when I've been in Ireland, I've noticed a strong affinity and sense of solidarity with the people of Palestine.  This photo was taken in a Dublin pub, of the Irish and Palestinian flag hung side by side:





I didn't know until recently about the history of solidarity between the people of Ireland and Mexico as well...








La canción con subtítulos en español aca.



Mexican music by St. Patrick's Battalion Pipes & Drums 
"Banda de Gaitas del Batallon de San Patricio"





When I've been in Ireland and spoken with people about Migrant Justice, I've been told by people there that they have sons or cousins or other loved ones that are in the US without documentation.  Though they may be less targeted because Irish people tend to blend in with the racist idea of what a US American looks like and who "belongs" here (read: white), still people without documentation are forced to live with the constant stress of being deported and being unable to visit loved ones back home for fear of not being able to re-enter the US.  More about the 50,000 undocumented Irish living in the US here in "America's New Irish Immigrants."






While mainstream "honoring" of St. Patrick's Day often looks like wearing loads of green plastic and getting drunk, I'm reflecting on solidarity across oceans and human-made borders.  I'm grateful for all those who have resisted colonization and questioned racist ideas of who the enemy and scapegoat is.  To honor my ancestors and their struggles, learning more about how they were received and later the privileges they were given and we still are given, as well as what we lost, I'm standing in solidarity for racial and immigrant justice within what is now known as the US and beyond.  As descendants of those who survived -  whether it was crossing the ocean, a desert, mountains, or being from this land since the beginning (and I'm not talking about 1492 or 1776!) - we owe it to each other to end the cycle of dehumanization and work for the rights of all peoples.


For more info about Ireland and (im)migration, please see:
(Im)migration and Lip Balms for Social Justice?!

Saturday, February 02, 2013

Love & Migration: Migration is Beautiful & Natural. So is Solidarity.

Febuary is here and with it, a month to celebrate Love in it's Many Forms.  While February is sold as the month for romantic love, there is no reason to limit ourselves to this one form.  There's self-love, community-love, family-love (chosen family &/or blood family),  community work/labor-of-love, and global/universal/solidarity-love, to name of few.  These forms of love are not separate and exclusive.  There's overlap.  Our romantic and/or family love can feed our community work/labor-of-love.  Our self-love is vital in order for us to be fully engaged and healthy in that community work.  And that global/universal/solidarity love feeds our day-to-day community activism love.  And there's so many ways to celebrate these all - ie. reflecting upon and appreciating the love in our lives, cultivating more, sending love notes to friends and family near and far, breaking bread together, creating a culture of love.  

I strongly believe in Khalil Gibran's quote "The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain."  I take great comfort knowing that a broken heart is an open heart.  And a vital way for my heart, in all it's battled and bruised glory, to keep open, and for me to be and feel fully alive, is being part of movements for social justice.


In celebration of Love in it's Many Forms, let's focus on the global, take-action! love.  We're beginning with migrant justice, a movement that's near and dear to my heart.  I am so heartened by the courage and creativity of everyone in this movement that are working not only to change policy, but to liberate our minds from racism, xenophobia, and other divisive forces that create a climate of violence, target communities, separate families, and break hearts.


Favianna Rodriguez is a fierce creatrix of community and art.  She's co-founder of Presente.org, is a national organization that amplifies the political voice of Latino communities (on Facebook here).  Migration is Beautiful: Voice of Art is a recently-released program that shows how artist-activists are creating a culture of resistance and transforming conversations and perceptions  around (im)migration in the U.S.


 Also, check out Dignidad Rebelde, a graphic arts collaboration between Oakland-based artist-activists Jesus Barraza and Melanie Cervantes, as well as the art of undocumented, queer artivist Julio Salgado.











I love when artists, actors, musicians, politicians and others use their influence to send a powerful message of truth and solidarity.  Wisin & Yandel take a romantic-love song, 'Estoy Enamorado' (In English: I'm in Love), and using powerful images, create a video that's a call to action.  While mainstream US culture often clumps all Latin@ cultures together, I think it's important to note that while the images in the video are most likely of people originally from Mexico and Central and South America, Wisin & Yandel are Puerto Rican.  Mainstream US culture often portrays Puerto Ricans in "those people" terms, and many people don't realize that Puerto Ricans, either living in the US or on the island, are US citizens.  Sometimes Puerto Ricans and other Latin@s with US citizenship/papers are pitted against others who lack documentation, or are perceived to lack documentation.  For this reason, Wisin & Yandel using the video to send a clear message about inhumane immigration law in the US is a blatant refusal of divide and conquer tactics and beautiful act of solidarity!





The message at the end of the video is: 

"Creemos en la protección de los derechos de todo ser humano. La Ley SB1070 representa una violacion de esos derechos y una injusticia contra la integridad de nuestras comunidades. En nuestra unión esta la fuerza. Unámosnos. Recuerda en este mundo TODOS somos iguales!"

In English: "We believe in protecting the rights of every human being. (Arizona) SB 1070 Law represents a violation of those rights and an injustice to the integrity of our communities. In our union there is strength. Unite. Remember, in this world, we are ALL equal!"



Activists and artists are making it so easy and so beautiful to become educated and get involved.  Through this movement, I am continuing to unlearn racism, reclaim my humanity, and know true solidarity.  As a white, English-speaking U.S. citizen, and with respect for my ancestors and their journeys from Ireland, Scotland, and England, I feel so blessed to be on the right side of history and part of such a creative, beautiful, loving, and fierce movement.  


Please see National Day Laborers Organizing Network's arts and culture page for more powerful videos (in English and Spanish).

image by Julio Salgado


Other good resources:

Drop the I-Word
No More Deaths/No Más Muertes
(Im)migration and Lip Balms for Social Justice?! blog post

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Scapegoating Disguised as Sustainability

My recent letter to the editor:

I must admit that I was surprised to read that immigrants are to blame for the US’s supposed population problem in Mark Powell’s Nov 17-30, 2011 letter to The Bridge (Montpelier, VT's free independent local newspaper). I assume that when the author, representing the New England Coalition for Sustainable Population, declared that immigration is the cause of our problems, he was not talking about college-educated, white British people or English-speaking, middle-class Canadians. While less explosive than the dehumanizing and racialized terms like “illegal aliens,” use of “documented and undocumented” still conjures up images of people of color, specifically those crossing the militarized border between Mexico and the U.S. That the people who have been impoverished by U.S. policy and multinational corporations to the point that they are forced to leave their families and communities to work tirelessly to harvest our crops and keep our dairy farms alive is disgraceful. Europeans who colonized the Americas, including my own ancestors who came as Pilgrims without invitation, were undocumented, as it were. They proceeded to enslave the people indigenous to this land and later stole and enslaved people from Africa. Their descendants have benefited from such genocide and some seem to feel entitled to determine who belongs in this country and who doesn’t. We need to take a long look at our nation’s history, our personal ancestry, and the sustainability of our own lifestyles. This is not a time for pointing fingers, nor for perpetuating racism and classism by scapegoating groups of people. This is a time for solidarity. This is a time for identifying and unlearning narrow thinking that divides us, seeking creative solutions, and working together for justice.

This letter to the editor is in response to this:
"Uncontrolled Population Will Lead to Famine" Page 26, Nov 17-30, 2011

Trust Your Struggle graffiti art in Brooklyn, NYC.
Speak the Truth, Even
if your Voice Shakes.

New Year's (at least in the Gregorian/Western/Christian calender) Resolution:
Write more Letters to the Editor. 300 words or less?!


Click here to Take the Pledge!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Migrant Farmworkers in VT Stand Against inSecure Communities

Two weeks ago ICE (Immigration and Custom Enforcement) announced that their "Secure Communities" program, which three states have already opted out of, is now mandatory in every state. The program requires all law enforcement officials to send fingerprints to ICE, turning local and state police into immigration agents whether they wish to participate in the program or not. This misnamed program targets marginalized communities, separates families, and creates even more fear among those who already live with the daily threat of detention and deportation. It is clear that this nation's immigration system is broken. It's clear that this nation completely depends on the labor of those who are unable to obtain documentation (i.e. work visas are not available for year-round work, such as on dairy farms). Community organizations across the country have renamed this program "(in)Secure Communities" and have coordinated rallies, walk-outs, community forums, petition drives, and call-ins. For more information on (in)Secure Communities, see the earlier ICE Is Drawing the Line, Which Side are You On? post.

In solidarity with the actions happening across the U.S., last Thursday Vermont migrant farmworkers and their allies held a press conference, delivered a petition that was written and signed by VT migrant farmworkers to the Governor, and spoke with media, as well as state and national Representatives. Press coverage (television, newspaper, and blog), as well as a video about (in)Secure Communities created by VT migrant farmworkers, are posted below. If you haven't already, please take a moment to
encourage Governor Shumlin to take a stand against this program by signing the petition here. Please also sign the national petition here, calling President Obama to end the (in)Secure Communities program. Below you will also find postings about some of the actions happening across the country.

VT Press Conference against (in)Secure Communities


Over Lopez, Danilo Lopez, and Natalia Fajardo of Migrant Justice 
speak out against inSecure Communities.


Local Press on Actions Against (in)Secure Communities in Vermont:

Vt. Migrant Workers Decry Immigration Crackdown: Gov. Shumlin Asked To Intervene by Stewart Ledbetter, NewsChannel 5 – WPTZ, Aug 19, 2011 (click on title to view)









Migrant Farmworkers to Shumlin: Denounce Immigration Enforcement Program by Andy Bromage, Blurt: Seven Days Staff Blog, Aug 18, 2011



And this video created by Leonel and Danilo, members of the VT migrant farm worker community, and allies with Migrant Justice:

(in)Secure Communities (S-Comm)





Radio interview with Natalia Fajardo of Migrant Justice, WDEV 96.1FM, Aug 23, 2011 (link coming soon!)

Radio interview with Dana L Woodruff, community herbalist and volunteer with Migrant Justice and the Central VT Farm Worker Coalition talking about borders, No More Deaths, and (in)Secure Communities, WGDR 91.1FM's "Quilting Hour" program with Deborah Reger, Aug 24, 2011, click here


National Actions Against (in)Secure Communities:
The National Day Laborer’s Organizing Network and a National Community Advisory Commission published a shadow report entitiled “RESTORING COMMUNITY: A National Community Advisory Report on ICE’s Failed “Secure Communities” Program” This report can be download here or read online here.

Federal Policy Resulting in Wave of Deportations Draws Protests
by Julia Preston, NY Times Aug 16, 2011

The Two Faces of Obama on Immigration: He stays some deportations even as he extends the draconian 'secure communities'. Will the real president please stand up? by Sarahi Uribe

How to Walk out of a DHS [In]secure Communities Hearing This is the testimony/call for a walk out by Alaa Mukahhal, given at the public hearing on Secure Communities in Chicago, August 17th, 2011. After this call, over 300 people walked out of the meeting to join a civil disobedience by undocumented students outside.

For a national listing of actions against (in)Secure Communities, click here.

Join the “Drop the I-Word” Campaign. Calling a person “illegal” denies their human dignity. The slur opens the door to racial profiling and violence and prevents truthful, respectful debate on immigration. People are not illegal. “I will not call people “illegals” or other racially charged words that dehumanize, confuse debate, and fuel violence. I pledge to join communities nationwide in asking media to do the same.”

For more information please see earlier posts: Statehouse Adventures: Immigrant Rights are Human Rights and Healthcare is a Human Right and (Im)migration and Lip Balms for Social Justice?!













Thursday, April 28, 2011

Statehouse Adventures: Immigrant Rights are Human Rights and Healthcare is a Human Right

Today I parked in front of the Statehouse planning on doing some computer work nearby. But the golden dome called. I've been meaning to go on a tour forever, as I believe it's important to go there other than just for Healthcare is a Human Right rallies and HIV/AIDS Awareness Days. I went in to speak with my legislators about H.202, the healthcare bill that will hopefully make Vermont the first state to lead the country in providing universal health care to its people. "Its people." When I write this I mean everyone within the created border of this state. Regardless of age, color, ethnicity, religion/spirituality, ability, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, legal status, etc. It is this last example here that I am particularly concerned with today. Legal status.
The healthcare bill H.202 passed the house, however in the Senate an amendment was included that would exclude undocumented Vermonters. This means that the people who crossed a desert not only with the threat of death by dehydration and exposure, but also the threat of being caught by immigration officials, or worse, shot at by "
Minutemen" (anti-immigrant vigilantes who patrol the US side of the Mexican-US border), the people who crossed an entire continent to reach the Northeastern US, those people who work so hard (as in 12.5 hour shifts 6 days a week, for example) to keep our Vermont dairy farms running would not be included in "healthcare for all." But they're here illegally, people say. When I hear this I try to keep a straight face and cool head, but this is the image and emotion that comes to mind:


Image created by Yolanda Lopez

My Pilgrim ancestors did not receive an invitation before departing aboard the Mayflower. And that may seem like ancient history to some, but 400 years in the big scheme of things is not a long time. I do not claim this land as mine. There were people here long before my ancestors arrived and I don't feel as though I'm more entitled to live here than someone who's just recently arrived. The term "illegal" makes my skin crawl (as well as referring to someone as "a Mexican," "an Indian," etc. It usually implies a male gender and it lumps people together in a faceless mass. Likewise, when I am outside the US I don't like being referred to as an American - which excludes our neighbors both to the North and South - and when I speak of my nation of birth I specify that it's the United States of America, not just America.) I'm not the only one bothered by people being referred to as "illegal," there is a campaign asking people to pledge to stop using the I-word and encouraging the media to do the same.

"You wouldn’t call someone a w*tback, or the n-word. Saying “illegals” is just as bad. The I-Word creates an environment of hate by exploiting racial fear and economic anxiety, creating an easy scapegoat for complex issues, and OK-ing violence against those labeled with the word. People are not illegal. Let's stop feeding the hate machine. Drop the I-Word." - Colorlines

I just signed my pledge to drop the I-word, and they ask you to write why you're doing this. I wrote "I pledge to drop the I-word and encourage others to do the same not only because this language is dehumanizing and perpetuates misunderstanding and inequality, but also because besides indigenous people here in what is now known as the United States, we are all immigrants, including my Pilgrim ancestors." You can sign on to Colorlines' Drop the I-Word campaign.
Back to the Statehouse... I went in search of my representatives to talk with them about the Brock-Sears amendment. I got sent all over the place trying to find the conference committee meeting, since all meetings in the VT Statehouse are open to the people, as they should be. However, this particular meeting hadn't started yet, I found out later. As I searched for the room, I told everyone who directed me about why I was there. I ran into one of my Reps and one of my Senators, both of whom were in support of the bill and in opposition of the amendment (Thank you, Sen. Pollina and Rep. Hooper!). Eventually, I picked up a pile of pink "while you were out" slips to leave notes that the pages would deliver to my other Reps and Senators, as well as the people who are most likely to be appointed to the committee discussing the amendment. I figured a good old-fashion note might receive more attention than a quick email.

As I was looking around for a comfortable spot to sit and write, I overheard a conversation about healthcare and butted in. All but two men dispersed and I got talking with one of him, telling him that I was there in support of H202, but in opposition to the Brock-Sears amendment. I was talking with Senators Sears. As in the Brock-Sears amendment Sears. We had an interesting conversation (that was a bit confusing to me at times) and though we seemed to disagree on many points, I think we listened well to each other for the most part. As our conversation died down I found out that the other man standing there (I hardly know anyone at the Statehouse, so I just figured everyone was a legislator or lobbyist) was a reporter from the Associated Press. Right place at the right time, aye?!

Sen. Sears said that the same wording that was in the amendment has been part of the bill all along. When asked why the amendment was necessary then, he said it was just to make it clear. (I'm paraphrasing here. Note to self: get a recording device. Pink "while you were out" slips certainly do not provide sufficient space for taking notes for passing on accurate information, sorry.) He also said that the response to the amendment has been misconstrued by "these people" to raise money. He was referring to good people at The Vermont Worker's Center who have been working tirelessly over the last three years on the Healthcare is a Human Right campaign to make healthcare accessible to all. They are very outspoken about their political stance - directly challenging corporate control of our healthcare, as well as racism, homophobia, classism, and other forces both within the movement and in mainstream culture in general that keeps us divided and fighting amongst ourselves for crumbs while the powers that be hold a majority of wealth. They are also member-based, supported by donations. They've lost funding because of their strong stance of solidarity (i.e. losing a big grant because they refused to make anti-abortion statements in terms of healthcare). They are not raising awareness about this amendment for financial gain, they are doing this as a matter of integrity and solidarity.

Migrant farmworkers support a Vermont way of life by doing work that most people born here are unwilling to do. They pay state and federal taxes, Medicare, and Social Security, supporting services that they do not themselves benefit from. They are providing our communities with sustenance, yet they are almost entirely cut off from the community. They often fear leaving their farms to shop, attend church, or get medical care (if there's access to it) because of the possibility of being reported. This fear is quite valid, in the 2nd whitest state in the U.S. where people of color and/or those who speak another language stand out so much. Unfortunately there are those in our communities that believe migrant farmworkers don't belong here and take it upon themselves to report them to officials. This simple act of picking up a phone and making that call can lead to arrest, detention, and deportation. This act breaks up families, hurts dairy farmers and VT agriculture, and in the big picture, negatively affects us all. This fear and vindictiveness perpetuates the cycle of racism.

I need to double check this statistic, but I was recently at a Central Vermont Farm Worker Coalition where I learned that VT having the highest per capital deportation rate in ... the US? Northern US border states? I'll correct this statistic once I find out for sure. Regardless, the rate is high and the risk is real.

"De qué me sirve el dinero
Si estoy como prisionero
Dentro de esta gran nación
Cuando me acuerdo hasta Iloro
Aunque la jaula sea de oro
No deja de ser prisión"

"What good is money
If I am like a prisoner
Within this huge nation
When I remember I even cry
Although the cage is golden
It's still a prison"

This quotation is from the
Golden Cage, an exhibit of portraits and interviews with migrant farmwokers and dairy workers, showing at the Amy E. Tarrant Gallery at the Flynn Center in Burlington, VT until June 10, 2011. As debates rage with the recent anti-immigration/pro-racial profiling legislation passing in Arizona and Georgia, the Golden Cage documents these issues that are playing out on our farms right here in rural communities in Vermont, amongst a population that is often hidden from sight and kept silent.

In December 2009 migrant farmworker José Obeth Santiz Cruz was killed in a farming accident here in Vermont. Migrant Justice
 sent a delegation to Mexico to return his remains and document his family and community coming to terms with his death and sharing stories about the causes, effects, and their experiences of migration. Their stories draw attention to the conditions and economic policies that force migrants from their homes in Mexico and suggest a need for a new dialogue about the root causes of migration. This journey was documented in the film "Silenced Voices."




Another film which documents the lives of Vermont migrant farmworkers is -
Under the Cloak of Darkness: Vermont's Mexican Farm Workers, a film by Bjorn G. Jackson

Though Senator Sears tried to dismiss his amendment as a non-issue and say that there was no story there, it's really just the tip of an enormous iceburg having to do with access to health care, immigration policy, human rights, farming, racism, and community.

For those of you in the area, I hope to see you at the Healthcare is a Human Right Rally this Sunday May 1st at 11am at City Hall, and then over to the Statehouse. There will be an Herbal First Aid and Street Medic Contingent, come find us! I also hope that you contact your legislators to let them know that you support healthcare for ALL in Vermont by signing this
petition and giving them a call/email/visit.


(To read more about
No More Deaths/No Más Muertes, a humanitarian aid organization that provides water and first aid care/supplies to those crossing the desert from Mexico into Arizona, herbal lip balm-making, and a popular education activity to trace workshop participants’ ancestry across oceans and borders please read (Im)migration and Lip Balms for Social Justice?! )
________________________________________________________________
Additions May 2, 3, and 8, 2011

The day after this amazing rally:
…Healthcare is a Human Right May Day Rally organizers and other community members were at the Statehouse from 8am until past 9pm to be present for the conference committee meeting that would be discussing the healthcare bill. There was a press conference at noon on the Statehouse steps in support of Universal Healthcare for ALL – with no one excluded. Signs read “Universal = Everybody: Strike the Brock-Sears Amendment” and “Everybody In, Nobody Out!”
That night the Brock-Sears amendment was struck down! Thank you so much to all the people who have been in touch with their representatives in recent days to bring about this positive change! Thank you to the Representatives and Senators on the committee (Fox, Ayer, Mullen, Larson, Fisher, and Copeland-Hanzas) who listened to the people and took a stand to help ensure healthcare for all! I’d like to also thank Senator Sears, who listened to the people and decide to not only oppose his own amendment, but also called for Federal Immigration Reform. And a HUGE Thank you to the organizers of the Vermont Workers Center and the Migrant Justice for all your work in bringing the people together to make this happen! The future is indeed shaped by the people that show up. Thanks for showing up, y’all! And for those who’d like to get involved, please contact these organizations to learn more.
Recent press:
Pre-recorded interview with Dana Woodruff (that's me), herbalist, health educator, and citizen activist. Tuesday Morning: News, Views, & Media Reviews with Renee, WGDR 91.1 FM May 2, 2011
Vt. health care bill draws debate over immigrants by Dave Gram, April 29, 2011

Activists decry exclusion of undocumented workers from H.202
by Anne Galloway, May 2, 2011
Lawmakers call for study of migrant worker health care by Anne Galloway, May 3, 2011

Everybody In, Nobody Out: Rallying For Universal Healthcare in Vermont
by Sam Mayfield, May 4, 2011
First Universal Health Care Bill in U.S. Marks Success of Vermont's Human Rights Movement by Anja Rudiger, May 7, 2011

Picture Healthcare as a Human Right Photo Petition: