The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.60/No.28           August 5, 1996 
 
 
Demonstrations In California Defend Affirmative Action, Immigrant Rights  

BY CAROLE LESNICK AND GALE SHANGOLD

LOS ANGELES - Chanting "Defend affirmative action! Down with CCRI!" about 200 people gathered July 12 in Downtown Los Angeles with La Marcha for a spirited march to the Los Angeles City Hall. La Marcha is a group of young activists who started walking from Sacramento, California, on June 3 and arrived in the Los Angeles area on July 10. Their destination is San Diego. According to Dario Gutiérrez, a marcher and student at San Diego State University, La Marcha is walking this long distance to defend and educate state-wide about the need to support affirmative action.

Opponents of affirmative action, from Governor Pete Wilson to the State Board of University Regents, are proposing a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November called the California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI), now known as Proposition 209. This would severely limit the implementation of affirmative action in California on the job and in the schools.

"CCRI is a racist initiative. We won't tolerate it," Gutiérrez said. "In San Diego we'll educate people, register them to vote and have them pledge `No.' We'll be involved in big protests on August 12 and 13," coinciding with the Republican Party convention there.

For many, like 18-year-old Cynthia, this was not their first march. "I'm here to support the march against CCRI. I marched against Proposition 187 last year," she said, referring to the anti-immigrant referendum that passed in November 1994.

The rally drew support from campus and community groups who gave their greetings and support. A group of four people drove 25 miles from Long Beach to participate. High school student Jorge Arellana expressed his support for the march. "As a student I realize it takes more than one group of people to make an impact on the community. We have to unite to make a bigger impact," he said.

How does affirmative action affect students? Adrian Nuñez, who joined the march in Stockton, California, put it this way: "Thanks to affirmative action I will be in school at UC Davis this fall. I'm not afraid to say it. Affirmative action is not a burden to anyone. It helps society as a whole because racism and discrimination are still out there and affirmative action is a tool to help us. CCRI will set us back 30 years. We've been asleep. Now we're waking up to these attacks and youth are getting involved again."

Patrick Sánchez-Powell is a student at Delta College in Stockton. He is president of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztla'n (MEChA) on campus and the main organizer for La Marcha in the San Joaquin Valley. Sánchez-Powell explained, "This proposition is anti-affirmative action. They purposely misnamed it to throw people off. I encourage people to use their ballot as a bullet on this issue."

The day before, on June 12, La Marcha activists met at a park near the University of Southern California. They marched northward, chanting and passing out leaflets along the way. When La Marcha reached this city's Koreatown, they were greeted by a rally of about 50 supporters who were organized by a coalition of Korean organizations.

The groups included Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates, Center for Korean Youth Culture, Korean Youth and Student Union, UCLA Korean American United Students for Education and Service, and UCLA Korean Cultural Awareness Group.

After the rally La Marcha continued east to a Korean restaurant where they were treated to lunch. Then they marched to MacArthur Park, in the center of the Latino community, as their final destination for the day.

La Marcha will be in the Los Angeles area until July 22. Then they will continue south to San Diego to protest attempted cuts in affirmative action at the Republican Party National Convention. For more information on upcoming activities call toll-free 1-888-789-1632.


BY VANESSA KNAPTON AND BARRY FATLAND

LOS ANGELES - On July 4, more than 350 protesters gathered across the street from the Westwood Federal Building to demonstrate against a rally of some 200 anti-immigrant, Proposition 187 supporters.

The rally was called Americans for America, Voices of Citizens Together (the backers of 187), United We Stand America (Ross Perot's campaign organization), and California Coalition for Immigration Reform. About half of the participants in the mostly older-aged crowd were women. There a few Blacks and Latinos, but the overwhelming majority were white. Their demands included securing America's borders, deporting "illegal aliens," and supporting the police.

Waving American flags and wearing T-shirts of red white and blue, their picket signs included, "No Prenatal Care for Pregnant Illegals! Deport Them!" and "No Mexicans." Many wore "Buchanan for President" T-shirts.

The overwhelmingly young crowd of counterprotesters came from various organizations in the area that support immigrant rights and Chicano liberation, including UCLA Asian Pacific Coalition, Brown Berets, Young Socialists, Gay and Lesbian Community Service Center, the Filipino organization Bayan International, and Aztlán Underground, a Chicano music group.

The counterprotest grew as the demonstration continued, despite police barricades that had blocked off all three street entrances and helicopters circling overhead.

Early in the march, an ultraleft group called Progressive Labor Party left the counterprotest to attack the anti-immigrant demonstrators. Within minutes, the police attacked them and more police came on the scene. Cops beat a number of protesters and arrested some. By the end of a melee, there were two helicopters circling the protest, more than 30 cop cars, and hundreds of cops in riot gear holding the protesters in line.

The counterprotest was not stopped by the action and more people joined the march. A big contingent of mostly immigrant workers who are organizing the October 12 national march on Washington for immigrant rights came chanting "Esta es nuestra tierra - This is our land." Dancers in Aztec dress and Korean drummers danced and beat music as protesters held banners and chanted. For three hours, the defenders of immigrant rights stayed until all the rightists left.  
 
 
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