Activism

Bay Area Activists Protest SF ICE for All of August

Published

5 years ago

August 17, 2019

Dozens of bay area groups and organizations as well as large crowds of unaffiliated people are protesting outside of ICE’s San Francisco federal building everyday around noon for the rest of August. The protests are part of the Month of Momentum to Close the Camps, a month-long event

that’s working to build collaborative resistance and rebellion against both the existence of concentration camps for immigrants and government policy that criminalizes immigration.

“Immigrants are fleeing danger and persecution and they’re being imprisoned here” said Lisa Geduldig, who ‘s part of the ad hoc group

of East Bay women who are organizing the action. While the group is encouraging people to attend any day they can, they’ve organized each day to support different professions and/or identities. The schedule lists days dedicated to lawyers, adoptees, health workers, journalists, poets and many others.

“I think people have been needing a forum,” said Gedul

dig. ‘They’ve been excited that they have their own day to show up with others in their profession or social group.

Aug. 19th’s Monday protest at noon, titled Queers Melt ICE!, will be dedicated to queer people. Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT), Gay Shame, and Lagai—Queer Insurrection are all helping to organize it. The groups have agreed to three points of unity: closing all the concentration camps, ending all deportations, and abolishing ICE.

“Solidarity knows no borders and it’s important to remember that queer people are everywhere,” said Kate Raphael, who co-founded QUIT and came up with the whole idea for the Month of Momentum. “Queer people are not safe in a lot of places, situations can change quickly, and they need to be able to freely move to get to safety.”

Aug 10th’s protest was dedicated to tenants. Members of Causa Justa/Just Cause, the East Bay’s Tenants and Neighborhood Councils, and the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco all showed up with supporters. Around 100 protestors waved signs, chanted in both English and Spanish, played drums, and gave and listened to speeches. Passing cars, trucks, taxis and city busses honked in support. When an unidentified man approached and screamed “Build the wall,” protestors chanted, “We stand with immigrants” and he quickly left.

“We’re out here making the connection between housing, migration, and forced displacement,” said Leticia Arce who works as a lead organizer for San Francisco Causa Justa/Just Cause.

“Immigrant tenants are intimidated by their landlords who tell them that since they’re undocumented, they don’t have rights and can easily be evicted,” said Arce. “They’re afraid to enforce their rights due to the ICE’s crackdowns.”

Faith groups have also been part of the Month of Momentum. Aug 9th’s event was co-hosted by the Interfaith Movement of Human Integrity (IMHI) and the Council on American Islamic Relations.

In a speech at the event, IMHI director Rev. Deborah Lee encouraged people to expand the focus of their rebellion beyond Donald Trump.

“It’s not just Trump,” said Lee. “We have to push the congress that continues to foot the bill for these detention centers, that continues to send weapons to Saudi Arabia that are bombing Yemen and Syria, that continues to send military aid, weapons, and tear gas to Honduras.”

The Month of Momentum’s organizers are especially encouraging people to come out for the final day’s protest at noon on August 31st entitled “EVERYONE: Sustaining the Momentum.” It’s the only day not dedicated to a specific group and is a broad call for anyone who wants to come out.

Protestors feel that when the Month of Momentum ends, the work must continue.

“We’re hoping the momentum builds into the following months and years,” said Kate Raphael. “Come September 1st our work’s just started.”

Zach Haber

Posts by Zach Haber

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

5 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

2 weeks ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”