Yesterday in the skies above Phoenix, 5 activists pulled off this brilliant action in solidarity with Arizona-based communities who stand against the enactment of SB1070.
Can you help us get $1,760 together to get these remarkable activists out of a Phoenix jail cell?
In love and solidarity,
Adrienne Maree Brown + John Sellers
PS. 287g is the parent law of SB1070, and in spite of 11th hour shifts, this struggle is not close to over!
We have dropped the Stop Hate banner in Arizona just hours before SB1070 goes into effect. We will not comply, we will not be silent, and we ask you to join us.
Statement from the Activists:
“SB 1070 and the federal program 287g are hateful laws. President Obama has the power to immediately stop them both.
We came to Arizona to support those at the epicenter of one of the largest human rights crises of our time. We join Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Cardinal Mahoney, and an outraged global community in denouncing SB 1070 in its entirety.
We know a partial injunction is not a solution for the people already living under Sheriff Arpaio’s terror, the day laborers who will be treated as criminals, or the communities soon to see their police enforcing immigration laws.
We say ‘stop hate’ because SB 1070 is not immigration policy. Like the experience of the Irish, Italian, Chinese or others, SB 1070 is simply scapegoating and targeting of the most vulnerable among us in these uncertain times; times that should call us to stand together as a people. Within days of SB 1070 passing, we witnessed vicious hate crimes against Latinos in the Southwest. We know that hateful laws legitimize hateful acts and that tolerating their passage signals a dangerous direction for the country.
We call on President Obama to do more than sue the state. Actions speak louder than lawyers. President Obama could solve the human rights crisis in Arizona with the stroke of a pen. Obama’s 287g program is what gave birth to the monster in Arizona he is now trying to slay. Stopping the hate means not just stopping SB 1070 and Sheriff Arpaio in Arizona but stopping all the Arpaios that the president’s ice access program is creating all across the country.”
Follow at @puenteaz, @nohateinaz, or search #altoarizona to see the latest updates today, and for the next few days as we support the community to escalate this campaign.
Ruckus is proud to be supporting this action effort in Arizona right now! We will update y’all as information comes!
While Judge Deliberates, Arizona Communities Pledge Non-Compliance on July 29th. With or Without SB 1070 Injunction, Human Rights Crisis in Arizona Continues
What: National Day of Non-Compliance with Arizona’s SB 1070. Protests, Rallies, & Peaceful Resistance.
When: July 29th, 2010.
Who: Puente Movement, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Somos America, and allies
Where: 9:00am pacific Sheriff Arpaio’s Office. 1st ave & Washington. Rally & Civil Disobedience
4:00pm pacific County Jail. 5th ave & Madison. Concert & Rally
(Phoenix, Arizona) On July 22nd, civil rights groups and the United States Department of Justice presented arguments in two separate hearings to block the implementation of SB1070 in Phoenix, Arizona. During the hearings, hundreds rallied outside the courthouse to demonstrate opposition to the racial profiling law. The day ended with seven individuals arrested in acts of civil disobedience after blocking the main intersection in front of the courthouse with a banner that read, “Stop SB1070: We Will Not Comply.”
Last week’s civil disobedience marks an escalation of a growing movement for human rights in response immoral and unjust immigration laws. The recent 100,000 person march on May 29th as well as the groundswell of community efforts in the past two months has galvanized the nation in opposition to Arizona’s anti-immigrant, racial profiling law.
July 29th, the day SB1070 goes into effect, marks a “Day of Non-Compliance” for groups across the state and throughout the country. In Phoenix, groups will rally at 9:00am outside of Sheriff Arpaio’s office and hold a concert outside Arpaio’s county jail at 4:00pm that afternoon.
Carlos Garcia of Puente explained, “In Maricopa County, we’ve been living under SB 1070 conditions without the law in effect. The Judge’s decision will not stop the rampant racial profiling, extreme terror, inhumane detention, and persecution lived under Sheriff Arpaio and others like him. Our community’s response will continue to grow until real justice comes to Arizona.”
Pablo Alvarado, Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, also acknowledged the deeper roots of Arizona’s crisis, “Empowering states and cities to enforce federal immigration laws is a dangerous trend that led to the rise of SB1070. A real solution to the growing hatred and targeting of people of color requires President Obama to assert the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration laws. Anything short of that leaves communities in jeopardy.”
Throughout the state there will be marches, rallies, religious events, and decentralized acts of civil disobedience. San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, and other cities are also rallying on the 29th in support of Arizona to protest SB1070 and unjust immigration enforcement policies. Community groups against SB1070 vow to continue to protest, organize, and boycott against this unjust law.
http://altoarizona.com. follow on twitter @ndlon & @puenteaz & @nohateinaz
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We are living in a crazy time right now. While the BP oil disaster is endlessly destroying life and livelihoods, and Arizona’s racist anti-immigrant SB1070 law is raising xenophobia and racial profiling to new heights, people are devastated, but they’re rising up. And Ruckus is working tirelessly to spread the skills and tools our movements need to win these critical fights.
Ruckus folks have been working with communities on the ground in Phoenix and Tucson ever since the day Jan Brewer signed SB1070 into law April 23, helping folks prep for the big May 29th Mass Action in Arizona, and to build the communities’ skills and strategy for the long battle ahead. Check our blog update on our work in Arizona!
As for the oil gushing away in the Gulf and steadily spreading, the only way to prevent the next big disaster is by forcing all the Big Oil and Big Energy companies to end their destructive, short-sighted, profits-based operations before it’s too late. That’s why we’re dedicating our annual action camp this year to developing a cadre of advanced-level action-ready climate and ecological justice activists who have what it takes to give Big Energy companies the boot once and for all! Stay tuned for more info about our Advanced Action Boot Camp for Eco-Justice, September 15-21, in Minnesota!
We stay on the grind – get involved today, or donate to support our efforts.
We have finally recovered from our East Coast trip enough to tell you a bit about it.
Since we are transitioning to a leadership team model in the fall, one of our key priorities over the next few months is to introduce Megan and Sharon (the new Co-Directors) to as many of our supporters as possible whom they haven’t yet met.
So Megan and I recently did a week-long mini-East Coast tour from may 3-7. Megan met up with me first in NY where we spent several days running from Harlem to Brooklyn and back again, meeting with funders and network members. We had an intimate happy hour with our network members on the Lower East Side, organized by old school network member Han Shan. Several members of our partner group Students for a Free Tibet dropped by to catch up with us over pizza and beer, and at appropriate points in the evening Bill B and John S joined us by phone and even bought us a round of drinks 
.
After a few days, we hopped on Mega Bolt buses to get from NY to DC – amazing how far you can go for $20 on the East Coast!
The highlight of our DC trip was the House Party that network member Cesar hosted for us. Over sangria and middle eastern appetizers we introduced Ruckus to some new folks in DC, and shared up-to-date information on the work we are currently engaged in, including the U.S. Social Forum, the Take Back the Land campaign, responding to calls for support in Arizona, and our upcoming camps [an indigenous Tar Sands Camp in BC this July and our Advanced Action Camp for EcoJustice in MN this September.
We are deeply grateful to everyone who crossed our path on this journey, and to seeing even more friends and family of Ruckus on our next journey east!
Arizona’s racist SB 1070 anti-immigration law signed by Governor Jan Brewer April 23, 2010, has of course sparked a wave of protests in Arizona and around the U.S., as other states like Minnesota have already started proposing similar laws. People are rising up everywhere to demand that President Obama intervene in Arizona and put an end to this racist law.
Ruckus sent trainer Isaac M. down to Phoenix immediately on April 23 after a call out for support by local Phoenix organizers. After several days of working with folks on the ground and getting the lay of the land, Isaac returned and Ruckus continued strategizing with folks about the lead-up to the big May 29th Mass Action against SB1070.
Ruckus’s Co-Director Sharon Lungo is now back in Phoenix helping to facilitate action planning, with more Ruckus folks on their way next week. We are plugging into and enhancing local action plans for May 29 as needed, and preparing longer-term strategy and tactical trainings with groups in Phoenix and Tucson for beyond May 29, to help build local capacity and develop the skills it will take to win this critical fight!
Here are some things you can do to support the fight!:
1. Donate to help fund Ruckus trainers’ travel to Arizona!
2. Send a letter to President Obama demanding he intervene in Arizona!
3. Come to Phoenix for the May 29th Mass Action! Register here to get updates.
4. Follow and support local partners in Arizona.
Stay tuned to ruckus.org and follow us on facebook and twitter for updates as actions unfold in Arizona!
