*The Fast for Our Future*
The oppression of undocumented immigrants is perhaps the greatest American human rights crisis of our time. Millions of men, women, and children work hard, raise families, grow up, and serve communities in our country yet are confined to a life in the shadows, fearing for the security of themselves and their families and deprived of the basic rights and freedoms that are the heart of the American promise. Since the failure of comprehensive immigration reform in 2007, this crisis has grown strikingly worse. Amid an emerging national climate of growing hostility towards immigrants and often Latinos or brown-skinned people in general, the Bush Administration has pursued a policy of dramatically escalated and unregulated enforcement of the unjust laws of our broken immigration system. Hate crimes against Latinos and immigrants are increasing. Armed vigilantes patrol neighborhoods and the border taking the law into their own hands. Local communities and states have been left to craft and enforce their own immigration policies without federal guidance or supervision. And armies of ski-masked federal agents carrying automatic weapons have been unleashed to terrorize our workplaces and neighborhoods. This unprecedented escalation of immigration law enforcement and lawless anti-immigrant hostility is tearing apart our families and communities and shredding the rights and values that define our nation. In the face of this attack on our communities and our values, so many of us have nearly given up in discouragement and despair. But at this time of crisis, we cannot give in to fear. Instead we must rise and declare: America, we are better than this! The time has come for our people, for our movement, to speak with one voice and say, "Enough!" "Ya basta!" There is hope for our struggle in our history. We must remember the great marches, walkouts, and boycotts of 2006. Then, the nation and our leaders listened to the "awakened giant" of millions of Latinos and immigrants mobilized to demand respect for our rights. HR 4437, the "Sensebrenner" bill, was defeated and immigration reform with a path to citizenship for the undocumented became a possibility. Today, we are still a giant, and we can awaken once more. As we marched in historic numbers on May 1st 2006, we told the nation: "Hoy Marchamos, Manana Votamos" -- today we march, tomorrow we vote. Now, as this historic national election approaches, we must fulfill that promise and vote as one people, as a movement, in numbers greater than ever before. We must hold our political leaders accountable for the crisis they have created and tolerated and demand change. And we must call on our people, Latinos, immigrants, and people of conscience -- the immigrant rights movement -- to rise out of fear, act with hope, and vote as one for our future. So, to move our people to heed this call to action, we will embark on what we believe will become the largest hunger strike in American history, the Fast for Our Future. The Fast for Our Future will begin in Los Angeles on October 15th, three weeks before the November 4th election. Over 100 fasters will form a permanent encampment at the historic heart of our community, Placita Olvera, and begin a hunger strike, giving up all food and drinking only water. The Fast will continue and grow in numbers until at least one million people have signed a Pledge to vote for immigrant rights and, if possible, fast for at least one day to call on others to sign the Pledge. For the undocumented and those who cannot yet vote, the Fast and Pledge will provide an opportunity to participate powerfully in the election by moving everyone who can vote to commit to use that power and vote for change. We will hold public events at the encampment each day of the Fast and work to publicize our sacrifice and spread our message through the mass media to millions of our people. If one million people have not yet signed the Pledge after two weeks of the Fast, we will send delegations of fasters from Los Angeles to carry our message to cities in states where the Latino vote is most powerful. As leaders like Cesar Chavez have shown us, the tremendous power of fasting to make us remember, reflect on, and commit to what is most important can be used to move masses of people to rise and act together with courage. The Fast for Our Future will be an undeniable reminder to the millions of Latinos, immigrants, and people of conscience that make up our movement that we cannot forget the crisis that is upon us. We cannot forget HR 4437, the "Sensenbrenner" bill - or the laws it inspired that are being passed in cities and states across the country. We cannot forget the fear that Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the racist vigilantes he has deputized are striking into the hearts of Latinos and immigrants in Maricopa County, Arizona. We must remember Elvira Arellano and all the mothers and fathers who have been deported and torn away from their children perhaps forever. We must remember the ICE raids that have rounded up thousands of workers at gunpoint in Van Nuys, Postville, New Bedford, and cities throughout America. We must remember May 1st, 2006 and the marches, the boycott, the walkouts. We must remember the undocumented and the American promise of a better future that inspired our journeys to this country we call home. We must rise up out of our fear and vote with one voice, in unprecedented numbers - for our rights, for change, for our future. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Internet group address: http://groups.google.com/group/ChicagoMayDay To send e-mail: [email protected] To unsuscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
