"Being brown is not a crime, state-sanctioned discrimination is!" - Local action in solidarity with Arizona. SATURDAY EVENT
Comite 10 de Marzo
Press contacts:
Orlando Sepúlveda - 773-387-8225
Jorge Mújica – 773-852-8815
WHO: Hundreds of people will march from Pilsen to a store located near
downtown and announce a boycott in solidarity with the people of
Arizona.
WHY: Arizona’s new immigration law forces police officers to arrest
people “suspected” of being undocumented immigrants, and suspicions
can only be based on racial profiling.
WHEN: Saturday, May 29, starting at 12 noon.
WHERE: March will start at 1 p.m. at Tenochtitlan Plaza (18th Street
and Blue Island, Pilsen,) to go to 1100 S. Canal Street, by the
PetSmart store. Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?created&&suggest¬e_id=433142366619#!/event.php?eid=117401838298836
May 29 has been declared “International Day in Solidarity with the
People of Arizona” by hundreds of organizations world wide who oppose
recently approved bill SB 1070. On Saturday, hundreds of thousands are
expected to march in Phoenix, and hundreds of events will be taking
place in solidarity in over 30 states in the United States and many
other countries in the world.
Arizona’s SB 1070 mandates all police officers in the state to arrest
and report to immigration authorities people they “suspect” may be
undocumented immigrants. Once in detention, the burden to proof legal
status or citizenship is on the detainee. This violates the legal
principle that authorities have to prove their accusations, and it
will force every citizen to carry proof of his/her citizenship at all
times.
Their authors argue SB 1070 came about because lack of action on
immigration by federal government, but the law does not solve the
problem either.
Since the approval of the law, dozens of artists, professional
organizations and even cities, have made clear that Arizona should not
profit from hate and racial profiling, and have joined a wide boycott,
cancelling concerts, academic and professional conventions, and picket
lines follow the Arizona Diamondbacks around the US. Tostitos,
Anheuser-Busch Bud Light Beer, Jimmy Johns Gourmet Sandwiches are now
in a national boycott list, as companies that fund hate and support
SB1070.
On Saturday, Chicago activists will march to PetSmart on Canal Street,
to deliver a letter letting them know that, as a corporation based in
Arizona, we expect them to publicly denounce and repeal SB 1070 or
face a national boycott.
Being brown is not a crime, state-sanctioned discrimination is!
--
Jorge Mujica