Strollers were adorned with signs, children chanted "si se puede" (yes, we can), and senior citizens moved along with them during a 30-minute immigration rights march held at the top of Beacon Hill. While their ages were different, their voices all expressed the same disapproval.
"Our basic premise in the U.S. is that we are going to listen to the voice of the people," Dominique Vijarro, a teacher at El Centro de la Raza (The Center of the People), said. "This is the people, showing up and sharing their voice"
On Thursday, April 27, El Centro de la Raza staff hosted a march in protest of the new immigration laws currently being considered in Washington D.C. Seniors, youth and children all participated in the walk around Beacon Hill generating a turnout of more than 100 participants, some as young as a year old.
The march was created because some of the children who attend Vijarro's class were disappointed they were unable to participate in the protest that took place in downtown Seattle on April 10. The seniors at El Centro were also upset that they have been unable to play a part in the larger protests that are taking place because the walks are too long for them. The community center's staff came up with the idea to put together their own smaller march so that everyone could have a chance to fight for what they believe in.
The march started in El Centro de la Raza's parking lot. From there police officers escorted the protestors to Beacon Avenue South, continued to 17th Avenue South and then back to the community center. Hilda Magaña, El Centro's child development center director, said their walk was also held in preparation for the larger march that took place in Seattle on May 1.
"We contribute to the march because we believe immigration isn't a problem, but a phenomenon," Magaña said. "We want reform that is justice for everybody."
AN OLD FIGHT
El Centro de la Raza was founded in order to address local issues of poverty, literacy, racism, and inadequate health care and education. In 1972, when the English and Adult Basic Education Program at South Seattle Community College was canceled, dozens of Latino students were left without education opportunities. These students, teachers and their families fought back and peacefully occupied the abandoned Beacon Hill School, creating El Centro de la Raza.
After years of hard work, the center has evolved into one of the largest community-based organizations in the nation. El Centro de la Raza offers childcare to families with children ages 1 to 5, job placement services, English-as-a-second-language programs and more.
As part of their curriculum, the organization also involves kids in social justice activities, such as civil and human rights issues. Vijarro felt the march was a good way to get the children involved in the issues they are teaching inside the classroom. With the center's help, the kids also attend anti-war rallies, which Magaña feels are very important. El Centro de la Raza focuses on the teachings of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which Magaña said helps the children learn how to solve their problems in a non-violent way.
"If a child is active since the beginning then they can be active in social justice issues later in life." Magaña said. "We must take the wisdom the seniors give us. We need to take action together."
JUSTICE NEEDED
Magaña and Vijarro both feel there should be more justice given to immigrants due to the large role they play in the economy. According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF), immigrants do not require government services. They attend public schools and when they get sick, they go to public hospitals. But many Americans worry that immigrants are taking jobs from U.S. citizens. According to CRF, some experts believe that immigrants generally take the low-paying jobs that most Americans turn down. However other experts disagree, stating that immigrants keep wages of unskilled workers low.
"We don't agree with people being criminalized," Magaña said. "Bilingual children will help international trade. People are contributing no matter where they are from."
Vijarro feels strongly tied to the issue, as he is a child of immigrants.
"By buying clothes, they are paying taxes," noted Vijarro. "This is part of who I am. This issue, and not just that I'm attached to it, but in humanity in general, it's an issue of families trying to feed their families."
Vijarro said people need to look to examples in history in order to prevent repeating mistakes. With this in mind, he noted the unjust, anti-African American Jim Crow laws that existed in the American South during the last century.
"We changed [the Jim Crow Laws]," he said. "If we remember our history, they didn't work out well."
Vijarro asserted that our society does not want to make a similar mistake when it comes to creating immigration legislation.
"There may not be a true equal, but there has to be a system that will honor people for who they are," Vijarro said about the current round of proposed immigration laws. "We are not asking. We are demanding them to recognize that we are human beings and we are here."
Katie Kirschke may be contacted via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.
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