May Day in LA: "We Will
Not Be Divided"
by Cynthia McKinney
"We should
demand fairness for labor and respect for the environment."
Former Georgia Congresswoman McKinney delivered the
following speech at an immigrant workers rights rally in Los Angeles, May 1.
Two centuries ago, the United States, Latin America, and Haiti were joined in
the struggle for dignity and freedom. In 1779, when a fledgling United
States was fighting for its independence, a unit of Haitian volunteers answered
the call and fought alongside George Washington in the Battle of Savannah.
When Haiti threw off imperial domination, it helped Latin America to become
free. In fact, Simon Bolivar received supplies from Haiti for his victorious
war over Spanish imperialism while Venezuela's first tri-color flag was
unfurled on Haitian soil.
Enslaved Africans in the United States fled to freedom in Haiti--and also to
Mexico.
Black people and the diverse peoples of Latin America share a bond of blood and
the struggle for freedom. Whether we are children of Bolivar or the
children of la negra Hipolita, we are one.
However, a few cynical, greedy, amoral people who do not share our values but
who have a whole lot of power, want to divide and exploit us for their own
selfish gain. We should never forget that Jesse Helms won reelection to
the Senate on a notorious TV spot that pitted white workers against black
workers. This tactic has always been used to keep labor divided.
We won't let it happen!
"Jesse Helms won reelection to the Senate on a notorious TV spot
that pitted white workers against black workers."
Slavery was abolished in this country in 1865. We won't go back!
200 million people worldwide should not be forced to leave their families
behind and head for developed countries because there are no decent jobs at
home.
Parents and children should not be separated because of global forces that
workers don't understand, but must respond to.
I.C.E. agents shouldn't be picking up people on the streets and holding them
incommunicado as if this horrible global assault on human dignity was caused by
them.
Our country can do better than this.
U.S. policy should uplift workers abroad and at home. We should demand
fairness for labor and respect for the environment in all of our trade agreements.
U.S. corporations must be held accountable wherever they might operate in the
world. We must demand a living wage.
There must not be any race to the bottom.
By now, the new Congress should have repealed the Patriot Act, the Military
Tribunals Act, the Secret Evidence Act, and George Bush's tax cuts. They
should have ensured the right of return for all Katrina survivors; cut off all
funding for George Bush's wars; and they should have impeached Condi, Dick, and
George by now!
"We must demand a living wage."
Sadly, the Democrats were too quiet on the theft of two
Presidential elections, too quiet on the lies of September 11th; too quiet on
the neocons misleading us into the Iraq War; and now they are too quiet on the
carnage in Somalia and the possibility of using nukes in Iran.
After his shocking incompetence during Hurricane Katrina, why is Michael
Chertoff still Secretary of Homeland Security?
Leaders in Washington, DC can change our disastrous
military, economic, and foreign policies that contribute to the shape our
country and world are in. What they do depends on us.
Between Democrats and Republicans in the corridors of power, the fix is
in. Now is not the time to be quiet. We will not be quiet. We
will not back down. We will not be divided! Our voices will be heard!
To learn more about Cynthia
McKinney's activities go to AllThingsMcKinney.com.
Dr. Gerald Horne is an author and historian who currently holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston.
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