Taking on oppression in
We woke up this morning with freedom on our minds….Received with warmth and songs by civil rights veteran Hollis Watkins of Southern Echo, the People’s Freedom Caravan departed Tuesday morning on a civil rights tour of the struggles in his home town of
Humbled and inspired by the courage and conviction of the freedom fighters of 
e want it? Now!”, spirited demonstrators showed WalMart that the struggle continues in
“ 25% of my people here in
“Walmart is eating the flesh off the bones of the workers, stealing benefits from workers and families,” said State Representative Jim Evans who came to support the demonstrators. “To unionize Walmart, we need a spark. Today, you are that spark.”
“Those working inside this store right now are the ones making the buck, creating the enormous profit, for the Walmart Corporation,” Latoya Davis of
“I can really relate to the Walmart workers struggles for a living wage because, as a server at Chili’s, I only earn $2.13 an hour,” said Dominic Reyes, 22, from
Chavel Lopez of the Southwest Workers Union, also in 
o happen.”
Joined by yet another bus in
People’s Freedom Caravan joins spirit and struggle of
The People’s Freedom Caravan joined with the community and survivors of
Rooted deep in history and struggle, hundreds of freedom riders witnessed the power of people to recreate their lives, rebuild their city, and keep their culture vibrant. From community-run health clinics to organizing immigrant workers to the reoccupation of housing units to celebration with food and music, the caravan continues to build power of numbers to bridge the democracy divide.
A bus load of over 40 members of the caravan, joined with the CJ Peete public housing community in their struggle to return to houses that the government has shut down to keep the poor and African-American community from coming home. In support of their efforts, members cleaned mounds of trash that have been ripped from homes and used as an excuse for preventing residents from returning.
“We want everyone to come back home, fix up our houses, the same ones the they [the government] tore up,” Rosemary, a lifelong resident of this community told the group.
“You never hear about the reality. I saw the power of the community here and I am excited that we could help in some small way,” said Jessie Weahkee, 13, from
Others met with migrant day laborers, walked the oldest African-American neighborhood in the country (Treme) and went on a witnessing tour of the lower 9th Ward. In the spirit of
“Let us come together to overcome the barriers set up to keep us divided. As hurricane season is upon us, we must join together to a just rebuilding and reconstruction of our city. The other
The afternoon was spent with families of Liberty Bayou, in
Today I joined the group that went on the walking tour of the Treme Community. To begin our tour we met at Louis Armstrong in
After
Next we proceeded to the African American Museum of Art, Culture, and History. The building that houses the museum use to be a “Big House” where wealthy Europeans housed their concubines and their children. Behind the “Big House” the slave quarters still stand. At this time inside of the museum there is a Charles Hooper exhibit. In each of the rooms inside of the museum you can find beautiful paintings depicting the struggles and the emotions of the people of
After we visited the African American Museum of Art, Culture, and History we walked down to St. Augustine Catholic Church.
The last stop on our tour was the Back Street Museum. The Back Street Museum is a museum dedicated to the Mardi Gras Indians, and a culture known to
I enjoyed the walking tour of Treme.
When I first saw the news coverage 2 years ago of hurricane Katrina when it hit, I was at complete shock. It seemed like a complete failure by the government to protect their own people. Since then, I have been deeply interested in how the people of
When we first came upon the area I was filled with so many emotions- sadness, anger, frustration, and confusion. I just could not believe the amount of devastation and the lack of restoration nearly 2 years after the storm hit. Why was it taking so long to get the people back into their homes? Why was the government discouraging people from returning to the only home they know and an area they have lived in for generations? The government is clearly ignoring the people and it is not right. 14,000 people used to live in this area and more than 1,700 died as a result of the storm. Currently only about 20 families live in the area.
I learned many things about Katrina that the media does not tell you. I’ve always heard from the media that the levees failed, but with little explanation. The residents there said that during the night of the storm, they heard explosions, which eyewitnesses say was the government blowing up the levees in order to re-direct the water away from the wealthy and tourist areas and directly into the lower 9th ward. Since it was the middle of the night, all the families were sleeping and had little to no time to evacuate. The water rushed into to their houses and rose to 20 feet within minutes.
I was also shocked to hear that it took one year for this area to get FEMA trailers for the residents that wanted to remain in their community because FEMA and the city were arguing over whether or not the water was okay. Also, after 2 years, these people still do not have land lines for their homes. This is just inexcusable and a completely racist act by the government.
This whole experience left me even more inspired to help communities like the lower 9th ward to fight the system and demand that they be treated fairly. I am currently majoring in environmental justice & policy and hope to use all of my knowledge from school as well as my experience on the People’s Freedom Caravan to put all my energy and effort into helping people that our government chooses to ignore.
- Debbie Moschak, 21
We did not know what to expect when we signed up for the debris clean up. For some odd reason we had the idea that we were going to be out with nails in our mouths building homes for the displaced Katrina victims. We loaded the bus at about 7:30 AM and headed to
We went into what looked like a room that once belonged to a teenage boy. There were sneakers and deflated basketballs all over the floors. When we saw the amount of trash that there was it seemed very overwhelming and nearly impossible but everyone that went to help worked as a team and the task grew easier by the minute. We were throwing away beds, sofas, clothes, dressers, microwaves, TVs’, and other random personal belongings. The thing that got us the most was when we went into the rooms and saw the destruction that had happened because of Katrina. The rooms were full of debris and we saw personal belongings that were left behind such as photo albums with pictures dating back to 1977. In that same room also there was a letter that had a check from FEMA in it for $188.
Residents that had lived at the complex before Katrina hit were telling us what happened that day and how they had to be rescued by helicopters because they couldn’t leave on their own. They tried to go back about a month after the hurricane and they were forced out because the government had taken over and said they were trespassing onto their property.
Our results...
“we went to the projects where people are not allowed to return. the water didn't even flood here. one reason the government uses is because of the trash, piles everywhere... its their lives, everything got taken away from them. I don’t know how I’d feel if they do that to me and my family,” marsha womack, 18.
“it been like that for two years and nothing has been done by the city… people are trying to live there and no one wants to help them. We went out there and cleaned up, throwing away people's mail, clothes, mattresses…” jason lerma, 22.
“The nightmare for them hasn’t stopped…there is a lot to do,” emma gutierrez, immigrant, 38.
“after I looked at all that stuff, it made me want to fix houses and do things to help,” daniel garduno, 13.
“I came on this tour as a mother. i've learned so much. i can’t even imagine what they 
went through. communities there one day and gone within minutes. The water came in so fast, too later couldn’t even get out. i saw a spark of hope, the community built a clinic for people trying to return and rebuild. its all citizen run… you don’t really get it until you actually see it. I want to thank you all. In 2 days the things I’ve learned and seen is unforgettable.” Renee Rodriguez, 36.
“we visited a free health clinic that has seen 150,000 people since it opened. These people have united and not let got of their land, their pride, their roots, their culture. It gives me that strength to continue… and never to ignore what happens to other people” , monica garcia, 31.
“it may be one th
ing at a time, but we are all going to get everything accomplished… those who plan to get poor people out, out of their houses so the wealthier can get wealthier, they will come down,” eloy contreras, 49.
“i came from
“I’m very proud of the youth coming on this bus, from the stories they are telling, talking from their heart … I see hope from all the young people on the bus,” viola casares, grandmother, 63.
Unified, Freedom Caravan Reaches
Amplifying Voices of the Grassroots for clean water, alternatives to incarceration
Special Report: Live from the People's Freedom Caravan
Bringing energy and innovation to the struggle for clean air and healthy neighborhoods
“The foundation laid by the environmental justice movement is a critical component of what brought about the US Social Forum,” says Ruben Solis, from San Antonio currently in
2007 marks the 20th anniversary of the eye opening report ‘Race & Waste’ that documented the disproportionate siting of toxic facilities in people of color communities. Despite the effort by countless communities, 20 years later the situation has grown worse.
What do we want? Justice!
Where do we want it?
Texas!
When do we want it?
Now!
Si se puede! Si Se puede! Si se puede!
The chants were as constant as the flag waving.
Tourists visiting the Alamo got an eye and ear full Saturday, witnessing a rally of more than 150 immigration advocates demanding equal rights for immigrants, especially children.
The rally, organized by the Southwest Workers Union and several other local advocacy groups, focused mainly on what they allege are prison-like conditions at a family residential facility in Taylor, about 35 miles northeast of Austin.
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The T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility, which opened a year ago, is the nation's largest detention center for immigrant families. The 512-bed center — detractors call it a prison, the government calls it a shelter — has been a constant target for immigrant advocates.
A 72-page report from the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service recommended that the center be closed because the conditions are too much like a prison. The two advocacy groups were allowed inside Hutto and a similar detention center in Pennsylvania.
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Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have denied those claims, saying the Hutto center provides safe and secure conditions for detained undocumented immigrants. In February, reporters were given a quick tour of Hutto's classrooms, playgrounds and cafeteria but were not allowed to talk to detainees.
The rally was the first stop of the day for the local groups of advocates that call their caravan "The Freedom Bus." After the 30-minute protest, people packed into a bus for a trip to the Taylor facility, where they planned to meet hundreds of others from throughout Texas and Washington, D.C., in protest.
Tourists Clyde McCormick and his wife, Terri, of Cincinnati watched the rally from a wall across the street from the Alamo. "We didn't know why they were protesting," Terri McCormick said.
That is until Madeleine Dewar, a member of the San Antonio Area Progressive Action Coalition and a State Democratic Party committee woman, stopped to tell them.
Dewar buttonholed several tourists about the group's cause — hurriedly giving some facts about the facility, including the cost to taxpayers, and encouraging them to learn more about it. Some tourists stood and listened. Others walked away.
Rosa Rosales, president of the national League of United Latin American Citizens, said she has had meetings with Homeland Security officials about the facility but has not been granted a tour. She said out of 400 people detained in Hutto, 286 are children.
"No child should be in a jail because their parents don't have papers," Rosales said.
Lydia Williams, 41, of Carlsbad, N.M., said she was part of a Southwest Organizing Project group of about 100 who stopped for the protest on their way to a forum in Atlanta.
"We are really trying to make positive changes in the world today," she said.
Attendants of the Texas Association of School Board's Summer Leadership Institute got an education today on the impact of poverty wages on school worker families in San Antonio. Denied the right to collectively bargain, Texas public school workers do not make enough to sustain the basic needs of their families. Meanwhile, administrators continue to recieve disporportionate raises. SWU's report shows that San Antonio Independent School District Superintendent, for example, earns the annual salary of a cafeteria worker in just 11 days.
To see the statistics and the data about the kind of wages school workers make as opposed to administrators is flat out shocking. Our school districts have been keeping school workers such as custodians and cafeteria workers in poverty by keeping them from a living wage. That is why the Southwest Workers Union is taking action such as the one taken today. Today the Southwest Workers Union took action by marching in front of the Marriot Hotel and demanding a living wage for school workers, where hundreds of administrators from districts all over the state were gathered.
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