300 Attend Non-Violence Training in Prep. for Largest Civil Disobedience in History of Los Angeles
Labor Desk
September 15, 2006
Renowned Civil Rights Leader Rev. James Lawson trains attendees to use non-violent resistance in the struggle for immigrant rights.
Los Angeles — On Thursday night, 300 immigrant workers, religious leaders, community members, and students, who have committed to risk arrest, attended a non-violence training at Angelica Lutheran Church in the Pico-Union section of Los Angeles. Reverend James Lawson, who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement in the south, led the training which was held to prepare participants for the largest civil disobedience on record in the history of Los Angeles.
This historic action is scheduled for September 28th and will culminate in hundreds risking arrest as they demand an end to the exploitation of immigrant workers and protest Congress’ continued inaction on immigration reform. “We already have 300 people committed to risk arrest, and momentum continues to build. Risking arrest and going to jail is a great personal sacrifice for all those who will participate. But people are willing to do it because it is an important step to achieve justice for immigrants in this country,” said Angelica Salas, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA).
Joanna Herrera, a student at Cal State Long Beach explains why she decided to join the civil disobedience action on September 28th and risk arrest. “I am joining the civil disobedience because my parents are both immigrants. They had to work two jobs just to make ends meet and when I was a young girl I would go days without seeing my mother. I want to do everything I can to make sure that other children don’t have to go through what I did.”
The march will take place on the Century Corridor near the Los Angeles International Airport, where over a dozen hotels employ thousands of immigrant workers. Patricia Simmons, a server at the LAX Hilton explains why she is supporting this march. “I am an immigrant from Peru. I know what it is like to have to decide between paying your rent and paying your health insurance because you don’t have enough money for both. I had to make this choice three months ago and my family and I ended up homeless. Immigrants work hard and help make this country a better place. We don’t deserve to live in this kind of poverty.”
Los Angeles — On Thursday night, 300 immigrant workers, religious leaders, community members, and students, who have committed to risk arrest, attended a non-violence training at Angelica Lutheran Church in the Pico-Union section of Los Angeles. Reverend James Lawson, who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement in the south, led the training which was held to prepare participants for the largest civil disobedience on record in the history of Los Angeles.
This historic action is scheduled for September 28th and will culminate in hundreds risking arrest as they demand an end to the exploitation of immigrant workers and protest Congress’ continued inaction on immigration reform. “We already have 300 people committed to risk arrest, and momentum continues to build. Risking arrest and going to jail is a great personal sacrifice for all those who will participate. But people are willing to do it because it is an important step to achieve justice for immigrants in this country,” said Angelica Salas, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA).
Joanna Herrera, a student at Cal State Long Beach explains why she decided to join the civil disobedience action on September 28th and risk arrest. “I am joining the civil disobedience because my parents are both immigrants. They had to work two jobs just to make ends meet and when I was a young girl I would go days without seeing my mother. I want to do everything I can to make sure that other children don’t have to go through what I did.”
The march will take place on the Century Corridor near the Los Angeles International Airport, where over a dozen hotels employ thousands of immigrant workers. Patricia Simmons, a server at the LAX Hilton explains why she is supporting this march. “I am an immigrant from Peru. I know what it is like to have to decide between paying your rent and paying your health insurance because you don’t have enough money for both. I had to make this choice three months ago and my family and I ended up homeless. Immigrants work hard and help make this country a better place. We don’t deserve to live in this kind of poverty.”
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