Next Civil Rights Movement?

Building on the rich tradition of those that came before us some are announcing a new civil rights movement--

HISTORIC MARCHES NATIONWIDE DECLARE NEW CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

* NO on HR 4437!
* Defeat the racist attacks against minorities and immigrants!
* Full and equal rights for all immigrants!
* Build the New Militant Integrated Civil Rights Movement!
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NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION TO DEFEND IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
* Monday, April 10 *

Rally and March in Los Angeles, in conjunction with other
cities Assemble 10:30am, Cinco Puntos (Lorena + César Chávez
in East LA)

Monday, April 10th has been declared a national day of action
to defend immigrant rights. It has been called by the AFL-CIO
leadership, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, U.S.
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Change to Win Coalition, and
other organizations. Already, at least 10 cities around the
country will participate. On this day, the people of Los
Angeles must march together. We call on every community
group, religious organization, labor unions, and civil rights
group to participate.
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Today’s L.A. demonstration of more than one million people
and other demonstrations around the country against the
attacks on immigrants are a declaration by the Latino
population of America that a New Civil Rights Movement has
been launched. The youth of BAMN are going to be a decisive
part of the leadership of this New Civil Rights Movement.
Today, we marched to take a stand for the full rights and
dignity of immigrant communities across the country. Today is
the day we declared we will no longer accept racist
disrespect and degradation. Today we stood strong, proud, and
united with all our sisters and brothers of all races. We
marched to demand that the United States Senate VOTE NO on
HR4437, the federal anti-immigrant legislation proposed by
Wisconsin Senator James Sensenbrenner. We marched to defeat
all of the current national attacks on immigrant communities.
If passed, HR4437 would criminalize undocumented immigrants
in our nation and any organization or person who provides aid
to them. This racist legislation is aimed at making easier
the super-exploitation, racist harassment, and intimidation
of Latina/o people in the U.S.

Today we said NO! No more bigoted attacks against minority
and immigrant communities in America! Our government has no
right to deprive any of its people of opportunity simply
because they are from Mexico, Central America or any other
nation.

Over the last two weeks, people across the country have
marched and rallied in defense of immigrant rights. They have
taken a stand against the attacks on immigrants. These
actions show us a doorway to the future of America. They mark
a moment in the new civil rights movement in this country. On
March 10th, over two hundred thousand people marched through
the streets of Chicago to oppose HR4437. High school students
took the day off or walked out of many Chicago schools in
order to attend. Workers took the day off of work en masse.
This march was the largest in Illinois in over one hundred
years and one of the largest marches ever in the U.S. for
immigrant rights. Here in California, Maywood, Pomona,
Huntington Park and Bell Gardens have all passed resolutions
opposing HR4437. Maywood has declared itself a safe haven for
undocumented immigrants and said they would defy the law if
it is passed. Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Los Angeles has declared the Catholic Church
in LA would stand in defiance of the law if it is passed as
well.

We are strong. America is entering a new period of mass
political awakening. The Latina/o community has been growing
in numerical strength and political power in our nation.
HR4437 is part of a set of national attacks on this emerging
power. Our city is a center and a national leader of the
fight for immigrant rights. That gives us a very important
responsibility. What we do here matters. What is needed here
is more organization and youth leadership. We must organize
in our schools and workplaces. We must unite Mexican, Latino,
black, Asian American, other minority and anti-racist white
people in the fight for the dignity and equality of
immigrants both documented and undocumented.

On Tuesday, March 7th, students led by BAMN won the right to
be a part of an historic legal case American Civil Rights
Foundation v. LA Unified School District. Ward Connerly,
California’s notorious black Republican opponent of
integration and affirmative action, has launched a very mean-
spirited and racist attack against the youth of our city in
the form of a lawsuit to eliminate our school district’s
integrated magnet schools, district-wide busing program
(PWT), and teacher integration plan. By eliminating the
district’s integration plan, Connerly’s aim is to create a
school system in LA in which the best schools are maintained
for white students and the second-class, overcrowded, under-
resourced schools are left to Latina/o, black and other
minority students. If Connerly succeeds, Latino people in
California will be forced into a permanent second-class
position in California. The youth of LA will not accept the
resegregation of our public schools. The fight over the
future of LA public schools will determine the future of
Latina/o’s and immigrants in California.

We can defeat these attacks by building the power of this new
movement. In CA, it is assumed that Latina/o people will do
the worst jobs for the least amount of pay. California is too
much characterized by institutional racism and inequality. By
making this fight, we can not only defeat the attacks on
immigrants and minorities, we can bring about a new period in
American history of progress for all. BAMN is committed to
building this new civil rights movement.

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Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and
Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means
Necessary (BAMN) - California@bamn.com (323) 317-7675
BAMN.com