Thread: Quick reports needed

I need a collection of reports of what happened and did not happen at these different rallies please. I have two more shows to do and need to prep a wrap up.

Please post articles and observations here.

W

judging from what i have heard since Lou Dobbs show, the amount of protesters was was lower than expected.
here in dallas they were saying about 2000, but the organizer said he would be surprised if there was a couple hundred
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the houston chronicle on its website says only 200 showed up there----

More than 200 supporters of immigrant rights rallied in downtown Houston on Thursday, calling for an overhaul of immigration laws and an end to a recent spate of workplace raids.
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LA Protest report
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I went down early and stayed till 3:30 not many people. There were more
media and police then protesters. I talked to a friend who is legal and sells
tacos, he said that a lot of employers gave the IAs a payed day off to
attend, they were given instructions on how to behave etc. the entire deal
is a farce. A few commies and kooks and lots of vendors selling everything flags, food, t shirts ,hats. There was a bigger crowd at the book fair I took my cam but the new battery was NG. So no pictures.
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Minnesota
May 1, 2008 3:47 pm

500 Activists March For Immigrant Rights
ST. PAUL (AP) ―

About 500 immigrant rights activists and their supporters are marching through St. Paul to the state Capitol to advocate for immigration reform.

They gathered at a park overlooking the Mississippi River then marched down to the Capitol shouting "Yes we can!" in Spanish and English.

The group is part of a nationwide immigration rights rally that is demanding legalization for illegal immigrants already in the United States. They are also calling for a stop to raids and deportations.

Other large rallies are being held all across the country from Oregon to Arizona to Chicago and Washington.

Minneapolis resident Francisco Caraves says immigrants "just want to be treated like everyone else."

http://wcco.com/local/immigrant.rights. ... 13733.html

Channel 2 in chicago says
Police estimate about 5,000 protestors hit the streets, carrying flags as they marched from Union Park to Federal Plaza for a huge rally.

CBS58 in Milwaukee says
There were at least 30,000 people in today's march, compared with 80,000 last year.

KNBC in Los Angeles says
Demonstrators met at three different locations at about 11 a.m. At 5 p.m., LAPD officials estimated the crowd at Broadway and First numbered about 8,500.

Fox 6 San Diego says
About 200 pro-immigration demonstrators called Thursday for comprehensive immigration reform during a march and rally in downtown San Diego that coincided with similar events nationwide.
Last year it was 3,000

KOIN in Portland reports
About 1,000 people gathered on the steps of the Capitol to call for major changes in immigration and workplace laws within the first 100 days of the next congressional session.


KSTP in the Twin Cities report
About 500 showed up at the capital

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

I need a collection of reports of what happened and did not happen at these different rallies please. I have two more shows to do and need to prep a wrap up.

Please post articles and observations here.

W

so umm who's radio shows are you going to be on so that we can listen

wow, sounds like they completely bombed out there!

W

The Associated Press
8:44 PM CDT, May 1, 2008 WHO MARCHED?: From Washington to Miami to Los Angeles and Chicago, thousands of chanting, flag-waving activists rallied in cities across the country Thursday.

WHAT DO THEY WANT?: The activists demanded citizenship opportunities for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and an end to raids and deportations. The march was also an attempt to reinvigorate calls for Immigration reform in a presidential election year.

HOW MANY SHOWED UP? Turnout has fallen sharply since the first nationwide rallies in 2006, when more than 1 million people -- at least 400,000 in Chicago alone -- clogged streets and brought downtown traffic to a standstill. About 15,000 people rallied in Chicago in one of the largest demonstrations of the day.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 2137.story

May Day march, rally draws about 1,200 in Tucson (with video)
Counter-protest attracts about 250
Staff and Wire
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.01.2008
Turnout for a May Day immigrant rights march in Tucson appears lighter than expected.
About 1,200 flag- and sign-carrying activists are marching from the city’s south side to Armory Park near downtown. More people are expected to join in as the marchers near the park, but turnout so far is well below the estimated 10,000 to 12,000 people who took part in a similar event in Tucson in 2006.
About 250 counter-protesters calling for the enforcement of immigration laws also congregated Downtown Thursday morning.
Led by conservative talk show host Jon Justice, the protesters gathered at De Anza Park at North Stone Avenue and Speedway early Thursday and then marched Downtown to El Presidio Park.
The counter-protest also called for support of the U.S. Border Patrol, which Justice said should be a universal sentiment regardless of a person’s stance on illegal immigration.
The pro-immigrant rights march is one of more than 200 planned across the nation Thursday by activists hoping to revive the stalled push for immigration reform.
The Tucson event was organized by a coalition of immigrant advocate organizations and labor union locals. Speakers at the park plan to address border and immigration issues, ethnic and racial justice and education, health care and jobs.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/236994.php

Hundreds rally in San Francisco for immigrant rights
Tyche Hendricks, Carolyn Jones,Charles Burress, Chronicle Staff Writers

Thursday, May 1, 2008

(05-01) 17:42 PDT SAN FRANCISCO - -- The Bay Area celebrated May Day in traditional fashion today - with an array of protests around the region - for an end to the war in Iraq, against education budget cuts and in favor of legalization for undocumented immigrants.

Dockworkers with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union made the earliest and biggest impact today, walking off the job at ports up and down the West Coast this morning, calling for an end to the war. Union officials estimated the number of workers at 25,000 while maritime officials placed the number closer to 10,000.

By late afternoon, attention shifted toward immigrant rights - with thousands of marchers taking to the streets in San Francisco and Oakland.

In San Francisco, an energetic crowd of several hundred people left Dolores Park - bound for the Civic Center - at about 4 p.m., chanting and drumming for immigrant rights. In contrast to the morning protests, which drew an older crowd, the march through the Mission District drew a decidedly younger crowd, including students, Mission District hipsters and young immigrant parents pushing children in strollers.

Two dozen teenagers led the march, carrying a banner that depicted flags of all the nations of the Americas - from Canada to Chile. A man with a megaphone in a pickup truck followed behind, loudly exhorting people to come out of their houses and into the streets. A few people heeded the message, but most merely watched the march pass. Marchers were accompanied by a mixture of bouncy Mexican corridos and sing-song chants in English, including "We are people, we are not illegal."

Carlos Cartagena, of San Francisco, carried a sign that read: "No, no, no, no. This is not Cinco de Mayo. It's the first of May, International Workers Day."

"It's a special day in Latin American history," he said. "It's no fiesta."

Across the Bay, hundreds of immigrants and supporters flooded the Fruitvale BART station for a rally and march to Oakland City Hall that began about 3 p.m. The rally featured Aztec dancers, singers and speeches demanding better rights for immigrants.

"All we want to do is work and put food on the table," said Jamilent Canaca, a mother of two from Hayward who works in construction, through a translator. "But it's very difficult to find employment and support your family. We still have to struggle, like we're still in a Third World country."

Protesters said they want laws making it easier to work, obtain drivers' licenses and keep families united, without constant fear of deportation.

"We're fighting so families don't get separated," said Juan Ruiz, a painter from San Francisco. "We're fighting to see short-term improvements in immigration status for everyone. We're law-abiding citizens, we just want to work and keep our bellies full without the threat of losing employment."

Juan Maravilla, a construction worker from Antioch, said many Americans don't recognize that people have been traveling between California and Mexico for thousands of years.

"We're all native North Americans," he said. "We have a right to walk from the north of Alaska to the tip of Argentina."

Marcos Castro, a construction worker from Oakland, said the plight of immigrants could be improved by more sympathetic government leaders.

"Authorities don't care about us," he said. "They treat us like we're animals, like we're nothing. But all us are trying for a better life - we just want to work and become citizens."

The day of protests began about dawn outside the Port of Oakland, where four-dozen anti-war protesters rallied outside the Port of Oakland's rail terminal for around three hours, conducting a "soft picket": waving signs and urging truckers and other port workers to join the longshore workers in staying off the job, but not trying to block their access. After about three hours, they packed up their signs and marched from the port to their cars to drive to San Francisco, where they joined a larger march and rally.

"Were here to support the longshore union workers," said Toby Blone, of El Cerrito, who was carrying a large peace symbol fashioned from a hula hoop and covered in artificial flowers. "This is a very courageous effort they're doing."

Operations in Oakland and other West Coast ports ground to a halt after ILWU workers stayed off the job, said Steve Getzug, spokesman for the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents companies that move cargo through West Coast ports.

"There is no activity," he said. "The ILWU struck West Coast ports and brought cargo operations to a virtual standstill."

The impact on ship traffic at Oakland was not expected to be significant, since only one ship was expected to arrive today, the Chicago Bridge from Los Angeles, sometime between 4 and 4:30 p.m., said port spokeswoman Marilyn Sandifur. Workers were expected to return for the evening shift at 5 p.m., so any delay is expected to be relatively short, she said.

In San Francisco, several hundred anti-war protesters gathered at the ILWU hall on Fisherman's Wharf and marched down the Embarcadero to Justin Herman Plaza, urged on by a spirited brass band and led by the ILWU drill team, wearing taps on their shoes and carrying grappling hooks in their hands.

At Justin Herman Plaza, a larger crowd of anti-war protesters mixed with curious Financial District workers on their lunch breaks. Clarence Thomas, an ILWU spokesman, praised the protesters for walking off the job, and called on others to join them.

"Could you imagine if this were being duplicated in more places in all the major sectors of the economy?" he said. "It would send a message that we want this war to end. It's killing our children and diverting resources from domestic needs."

Trent Willis, business agent with ILWU Local 10, reminded the crowd that May Day was the first Labor Day in the United States.

"It doesn't matter if you're a longshoreman, an office worker, a garbage man, a bike messenger ... the people who are going to end this war are working people," he said.

Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son in the war and is running for Congress against Rep. Nancy Pelosi, urged average Americans to join the fight to end the war.

"Over 4,000 of our soldiers dead, tens of thousands wounded, 18 veterans commit suicide a day - that's abominable," she said. "We have to do everything we can to put ourselves in the way of the war machine."

Actor Danny Glover paid homage to the early leaders of the labor movement in San Francisco and galvanized the crowd by reading from a speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. about fighting racism, poverty and militarism.

"Our children and our children's lives demand that we be here right now and challenge the empire and say it will not do business as usual on our watch," he added. "We're here today because we have that rare opportunity in our lifetime to build a movement for justice, not a campaign but a movement."

Students at San Francisco State University, UC Berkeley and other college campuses staged walk outs and teach-ins on the state's proposed cuts to education spending. A walkout at San Francisco State spilled onto 19th Avenue at about 12:45 p.m. when hundreds of students walked out of class and headed for Muni Metro to head to Dolores Park for an immigration rights rally, campus spokeswoman Ellen Griffin said. Before catching the train, they blocked traffic before being dispersed about 1:15 p.m.

And in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and other cities in California and across the country, immigrant rights advocates are expected to take to the streets later today. They are calling on Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration overhaul, including a path to legal status, and ultimately citizenship, for the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants living and working in the United States.

This year's marches were not expected to rival the massive immigrant rights marches during the spring of 2006, in which a combined several million protesters took to the streets of major American cities.

But tens of thousands of people are expected to march in Los Angeles and other California cities, calling for legalization and an end to immigration raids and deportations.

E-mail the writers at thendricks@sfchronicle.com, carolynjones@sfchronicle.com and cburress@sfchronicle.com

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 10F7K3.DTL