Border Action Update - April 15th
We drove to the Virginia Immigrant People's Coalition meeting in Richmond from Louisa and Nelson Counties, Harrisonburg, and Washington, D.C. We came with packed bags, food and supplies sent from supporters. Our minds were turning over loose ends - money to care for families while we're gone, press contacts to add to our list, and phone calls to allies in Texas and Arizona to coordinate travel.
The meeting started in the fellowship room of the church with representatives from organized immigrant communities in Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Richmond, and Northern Virginia, and allies from the Virginia Anarchist Federation, The Defenders, and the Occoneechee-Saponi Village in Mecklenburg County. Inspired by our trip to the Highlander Center's training for Social Justice Interpreting, Aaron Samsel and Rachel Mehl built a radio transmitter and brought headsets for simultaneous interpretation, which brought our gathering to a new level. The conversations were entirely accessible, and we were able to share organizing successes and challenges from across the state with ease across languages.
Finally, the Coalition sent us on our way. And, we were off, barreling west inside the green wonder of Sue's mother's minivan.
We encountered border patrol within the first hour of our trip. At a Louisa County gas station border patrol recruiters were filling up on snacks and on the lookout for adventure-seeking recruits in rural economies. We took a picture, but avoided any kind of interaction. The encounter was a reminder of the expanding border region and the tangible impact militarized border and immigration policy has on even the quietest counties in Virginia.
Seven hours later we touched down outside Knoxville, Tennessee at the Highlander Center for Education and Research. Highlander has been the quiet backbone of 75 years of organizing in the South. The center has supported the community-led movements of 1930's workers, the Civil Rights struggle, Appalachia, and immigrant justice work. We're humbled by the Center's history, and excited to be sending at least two members of the Virginia Immigrants People's Coalition to the Center's THREADS Leadership and Organizing School. Highlander sent us off with plenty of encouragement and treats for the road.
And here we are in El Paso at the Annunciation House. It's a warm and welcoming place with open doors to anyone in need of a temporary community to call home, regardless of documentation. The house has been a continuous presence here on the El Paso-Juarez border for over thirty years; originally working with refugees from U.S. sponsored wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua in the 80's. We're grateful to have spent a little time with wonderful folks devoted to the cause.
Next Entry
We drove to the Virginia Immigrant People's Coalition meeting in Richmond from Louisa and Nelson Counties, Harrisonburg, and Washington, D.C. We came with packed bags, food and supplies sent from supporters. Our minds were turning over loose ends - money to care for families while we're gone, press contacts to add to our list, and phone calls to allies in Texas and Arizona to coordinate travel.
The meeting started in the fellowship room of the church with representatives from organized immigrant communities in Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Richmond, and Northern Virginia, and allies from the Virginia Anarchist Federation, The Defenders, and the Occoneechee-Saponi Village in Mecklenburg County. Inspired by our trip to the Highlander Center's training for Social Justice Interpreting, Aaron Samsel and Rachel Mehl built a radio transmitter and brought headsets for simultaneous interpretation, which brought our gathering to a new level. The conversations were entirely accessible, and we were able to share organizing successes and challenges from across the state with ease across languages.
Finally, the Coalition sent us on our way. And, we were off, barreling west inside the green wonder of Sue's mother's minivan.
We encountered border patrol within the first hour of our trip. At a Louisa County gas station border patrol recruiters were filling up on snacks and on the lookout for adventure-seeking recruits in rural economies. We took a picture, but avoided any kind of interaction. The encounter was a reminder of the expanding border region and the tangible impact militarized border and immigration policy has on even the quietest counties in Virginia.
Seven hours later we touched down outside Knoxville, Tennessee at the Highlander Center for Education and Research. Highlander has been the quiet backbone of 75 years of organizing in the South. The center has supported the community-led movements of 1930's workers, the Civil Rights struggle, Appalachia, and immigrant justice work. We're humbled by the Center's history, and excited to be sending at least two members of the Virginia Immigrants People's Coalition to the Center's THREADS Leadership and Organizing School. Highlander sent us off with plenty of encouragement and treats for the road.
And here we are in El Paso at the Annunciation House. It's a warm and welcoming place with open doors to anyone in need of a temporary community to call home, regardless of documentation. The house has been a continuous presence here on the El Paso-Juarez border for over thirty years; originally working with refugees from U.S. sponsored wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua in the 80's. We're grateful to have spent a little time with wonderful folks devoted to the cause.
Next Entry