Today’s Immigrant Rights Rally at Boston’s drizzly Copley Plaza attracted a few hundred demonstrators. According to an item on Boston IndyMedia, the annual May Day event
is an effort by “immigrant communities and citizen allies from around the region” to raise awareness of immigrant concerns among the voting public, “show New England politicians that they need to take immigrant concerns seriously and get much more positive main stream coverage for immigrant concerns.” Rally organizers also hope to provide a forum for coalition building among immigrant communities, share victories, and “bring together a diverse array of immigrant communities for a unified show of strength.”
Over half of the over 30 organizations co-sponsoring the rally are new to the coalition, including the Boston chapter of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation. According to Hamza Pelletier, who works with the freedom foundation they have done a major push to attract the Muslim community to the event. The group has been promoting the event on the web as well as, “Trying to promote it during Jumua, which is our congregational prayer on Fridays, and advertising through our newsletter which went out to over 1000 people.”
I didn’t notice an organized Muslim presence, but did see a Jewish banner:
A handful of counterprotesters also showed up, some of them wearing “U.S. Border Patrol” hats like the people out there on the border last month keeping us safe from invading Mexicans trying to earn a living doing work most US citizens would rather not touch. My one conversation with a couple of the True Patriots clarified the gulf in world views.
At the rally I picked up a flyer calling for a protest next weekend when the neo-Nazis are coming to town for Holocaust Memorial Day. This is also from IndyMedia:
Billy Roper, the national chairman of the neo-nazi White Revolution, will be in Boston from May 7-8 to protest Holocaust Memorial day. FUCK THAT! Join Northeast Antifascists in telling Roper and the nazi trash that follow him around they aren’t welcome in Boston.
Bash the Fash! Sunday, May 8th 1:00pm
Congress Park (near Faneuil Hall,) Boston
Hi there! I was doing a Google image search and saw came across this entry in your blog. My name is Matt, and I’m the staffperson for Tekiah, the group whose banner you saw at the May Day demonstration. Thanks for including us! In case you or anyone else is curious, we’re a relatively new group–been around since 2000, though we’ve only had staff since 2002, and it’s still part-time).
Our goal is to be a progressive voice in the Jewish community and a Jewish voice in the progressive community. We’re focused on local and domestic work, particularly around racial and economic justice. Currently, that leads us to work primarily on immigrant rights as allies to immigrant-led groups. We’re particularly focused on the campaign for equal access to education for immigrant youth, regardless of their legal status. For more on that, you can visit http://www.miracoalition.org/access_to_higher_education.htm . We also do a lot of educational work on oppression issues–racism, classism, anti-Semitism, etc. both within the Jewish community and in society at large. And we have a lot of social events, including our annual Latkes and Vodkas holiday party (since you can’t go wrong with potato products).
Anyway, apologies for what’s obviously a shameless plug, but I thought that you might be interested to know what’s behind the banner. Anyone who wants to know more or contact us can try http://www.tekiah.org or e-mail tekiah_boston@hotmail.com. Thanks again for including the photo, and take care!
-matt
i think dat the immigrants shuld stay here and that the anti- immigrant ppl need a damn life cuz they think si their country! no it aint! everyone makes up this country! or do u see their name wriiten on the declaration of independence or on the constitution…NO! So in other words lets all get along! plz! be4 we all destroy each other! THANX!!
MAN…WHY ALL YOU WHITE PPL BEING RACIST?????? WHT IF THZ HAPPENED 2 U……HOW WOULD U FEEL????JUST TAKE A SECOND AND THINK????? I HOPE KARMA HAPPENS 2 ALL U
THIS IS FOR ALL YOU WHITE PEOPLE WHO ARE RACIST….
IF U THINK WE ARE CRIMINALS……..WELL U R ALL WRONG…..WE SUFFURED THROUGH PAIN AND WORRIES ANS RISKED OUR LIVES JUST 2 COME HERE AND IF U THINK WERE GOING BACK……WERE NOT…….KEEP THAT IN MIND……WE CAME HERE TO HAVE A BETTER LIFE AND HELP OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND HOPPING OUR KIDS WILL HAVE A BETTR LIFE AND A GOOD EDUCATION……………SO JUST REMEMBER……IF U MESS WITH 1 OF US….U MESS WITH ALL OF US