Today, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments for the United States Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Arizona’s SB 1070. There was a call for statewide action and resistance against this racist law. Here is what happened in Tucson at the Arizona State Building.
Full set of pictures here: http://chrissummitt.com/blog/protestaz/protestsb1070_2012/
Press conference calling on Senator Dennis DeConcini to resign from CCA Board of Directors
FUERZA! COALITION HOLDS PRISON INDUSTRY, SENATOR DECONCINI RESPONSIBLE FOR SB 1070, LEGISLATIVE ATTACKS ON MIGRANTS
As the nation’s largest private prison company and leading jailer of migrant detainees, the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) stands to profit substantially from recent legislative attacks on migrant communities and was a leading proponent of SB 1070. Lifetime Tucson resident and three-term Democrat Senator Dennis DeConcini is a CCA shareholder and Board member and profits directly from the incarceration of Tucson families. Fuerza! holds CCA responsible for its targeting of migrant communities in Arizona and calls on Senator DeConcini to immediately resign from the CCA Board and denounce the company.
My Pictures from the event today
http://chrissummitt.com/blog/protestaz/deconcini2/
More info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/420290101318168/
FULL SET OF PICTURES: http://chrissummitt.com/blog/protestaz/boardmtg_4_10_12/
How it went down:
The board meeting tonight was epic. On the agenda was the vote on whether or not to renew Sean Arce’s (director of the Mexican American studies department) contract. There was a large turn out from the community to show support for Sean. The board meeting had an extended call to the audience which lasted 3 hours. Many people had very moving, very inspiring things to say about the MAS classes and in support of Sean.
These meetings always draw a huge crowd because of the huge community support and interest in saving the classes. Regardless, the board chooses to have the meetings in a tiny board room and force the majority of the community out onto the street to hear the meeting over a speaker system. This time they got a projector with a video feed of what was happening inside. This could easily be avoided by just choosing a bigger venue but it has never happened.
Once the call to the audience ended a large group of students and community supporters stood up and began chanting. They were all tied together at the wrist with zip ties. Using the chairs in the room they barricaded themselves into a circle and shut down the meeting. The security rushed to the front, the board members ran away, and the crown went wild. At that time they decided to pull the video feed so that none of this could be seen by anyone who wasn’t in the board room. Lots of chanting and community outcry took place.
After a fair amount of time had passed Mark Stegeman (board president) came out and attempted to issue his conditions for the continuation of the meeting. The crowd yelled back their terms, and eventually the board conceded and came back out. A vote was passed to fire Sean Arce. A smoke bomb was released. More chanting. The board leaves. The community exits the building and as this happens, security grabs a youth and tries to tackle him. The community members surrounding him fight to get him back and there is a huge struggle. Eventually he escapes and the security disperses. The meeting is over. Intense. Let the pictures tell the story better.
FULL SET HERE: http://chrissummitt.com/blog/protestaz/boardmtg_4_10_12/
The Cesar Chavez March started at St. John’s Catholic Church this year. For the past decade it had started at Pueblo High School. This year, (the year that ethnic studies courses were banned), the Tucson Unified School District decided to put restrictions on the use of Pueblo as a starting point.
TUSD has demanded there be no reference to the elimination of the successful Mexican American Studies program, an issue that has deeply affected the Latino community. They have also demanded that no disparaging comments be made about District administration, and that an emcee of their choice be selected to enforce this inexcusable level of censorship.
So, not only does the school district want to erase history that happened in the past, they want to take it a step further and erase it as it is made in the present.
Here are the pictures from the march: http://chrissummitt.com/blog/protestaz/chavez2012
Read more about the TUSD restrictions here: http://www.azpm.org/news/story/2012/3/29/1646-cesar-chavez-march-moved-after-event-restrictions-imposed/
