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Immigration
and the Black Community:
Conflict or Common Interest?
Presented
by the Equal Justice Society and Black Alliance for Just
Immigration
Co-Sponsored by Latino Issues Forum, Greenlining Institute
and Centro Legal de la Raza
Tuesday,
July 31, 2007
Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St, Oakland, CA
Reception 6 p.m.
Program 7 p.m.
Followed by Open Discussion/Reception
Event is free to the public but RSVP required.
Use registration form below or
call 415-288-8700.
A
counter-demonstration in favor of immigration lined
the sidewalks of Crenshaw Boulevard on June 23, 2007.
LAPD officials called the nearly 500 protestors an
"illegal assembly.” Ted Hayes, rally organizer
and homeless advocate, had a permit to hold a rally
he called "Choose Black America - Not Amnesty
- Not Illegal Immigration" in the Leimert Park.
However, anti-rally demonstrators surrounded the perimeter
and no one was able to enter the park. (Photo by Anne-Marie
McReynolds) |
Our
country is experiencing increased conflicts between Blacks
and Latinos:
- In
Austin, a group of men assaulted the driver of a car
that accidentally hit a child. The passenger of that
car was killed while trying to intervene.
- In
Los Angeles, gangs target youth of the other communities
- and each other.
- Black-Latino
political alliances are straining in rapidly changing
communities.
This
growing tension between Latino and Black communities stems
from many sources — including the right wing
offensive against civil rights law that seeks to drive
a wedge between different communities engaged in a common
struggle for equality. Karl Rove and others are expert
at distracting the public. Recall that the recent focus
on immigration was not on the radar of the current Administration
until the scandal broke about wireless surveillance. In
the blink of an eye, public attention was redirected to
immigration and increased tensions surfaced between communities
fighting for social equality.
We
invite you to an informative, open and frank discussion
of the relationship between immigration, civil rights,
tensions between the Latino and African American communities,
and social justice.
Our
discussants include:
- Eva Paterson (President, Equal Justice Society)
- Reverend Phil Lawson (Black Alliance for Just Immigration)
- Prof. Bill Ong Hing (Law Professor, UC Davis)
- Nora Vargas (Executive Director, Latino Issues Forum)
- Larisa Casillas (Director, Bay Area Immigrant Rights
Coalition)
In
the wake of the recent discussions of immigration reform
and recent Supreme Court cases that directly bear on the
future of racial justice, Latino immigrant and African
American communities must decide how to best alleviate
the barriers to opportunity we face.
Audience
members will be invited to submit
questions online and during the event.
Event is free to the public but RSVP required.
Use registration form below or call 415-288-8700
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