In Arizona, Al Sharpton Urges Civil Disobedience

PHOENIX, Ariz.—Black civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton led a prayer vigil here on Wednesday at which he called for mass civil disobedience against the state’s new anti-immigration law.

Some 2,500 people in the diverse gathering at the Phoenix Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church signed pledges to join Sharpton, who vowed to commit civil disobedience if the law were to take effect.

The law, SB 1070, would make it a state crime for a person to be in Arizona without legal documents. It goes into effect on July 29.

“They are trying to legalize something that will only lead to racial profiling,” said Sharpton.

“We will bring people into Arizona in the spirit of the “freedom rides,” he said, referring to protests of the 1960s civil rights movement against segregation in the south.

Several politicians and community activists spoke during the gathering, including City Council Member Michael Nowakowski and Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox. Bishop Alexis Thomas and Rev. Eric Lee, of the California Southern Christian Leadership Conference, also spoke.

“This is not about immigrants taken out of the streets. This is about who is next,” said Phoenix City Council Member Michael Johnson. The former police officer recently alleged he was the victim of racial profiling.

The event ended with Sharpton leading a nighttime march through the heart of downtown Phoenix that stretched for blocks. The numbers seemed to grow as people joined along. Some stepped out of restaurants to express support or waved from balconies.

Others wore T-shirts that read, “I’m an illegal.” Voices joined in the chant: “El pueblo unido jamás sera vencido,” and “What do we want: justice.”

“I don’t want my parents to have to go back to Mexico,” said Daisy Molina, 13, one of the many young faces in the crowd. “I need them here to support me in my education.”

Sean Artist, 43, held a sign reading, “Stop the Hate.” “I don’t want to be pulled over and sent to Africa,“ he said. Artist, who is African American, said he has many Mexican friends.

“They allowed them to come here and build the country and now they want them out,” he said. “That’s not fair.”

Despite the increased fear caused by the new law several undocumented immigrants decided to join the march. Among them was Catalina Vargas, 67, a former farm worker.

“I’m going to fight as much as I can for legalization,” said Vargas, who marched out front holding an American flag.

Vargas was touched by the words of Sharpton.

“Like what he said, we are all one person," she said. "Regardless of our color or where we come from.”

Source

This is a heated topic and debate lately, the whole immigration issue that is. I, for the most part support it. I mean seriously, what other way is it going to be taken care of instead of riddled by complex laws and such. Not saying I "entirely" agree with it all but something has to be done eventually and this is something of interest I thought I would share. What say ye?

[edit on 6-5-2010 by Crossfate]

My statement here has nothing to do with my feelings about immigration, illegal or otherwise, AT ALL! That being said, I'm getting sick and tired of Al Sharpton's gravy-training.

Sharpton is a scoundrel of the highest order who will do whatever he has to to to keep his gravy train a rollin'. He doesn't give a jack squat about anybody but himself, believe it!

Peace

[edit on 6-5-2010 by Dr Love]

If the New America Media is correct in their quotation, Mr Sharpton can be charged as an enemy of the state using the Patriot Act. I do not care for this incite full being. His actions may be an example for the NWO is looking fo,r to begin filling the FEMA camps.
G_D help us all.

If the law makes it through it's 90 mark, I guarantee landfills will be filled with the t-shirts with "i'm an illegal" printed on them. I just had that funny picture pop up in my head.

Sharpton is a man that does nothing to bring people together, he only serves to make the divide wider. I learned that a long time ago and stopped listening to him. But that's just my opinion.

Such petulant children! Being called out for breaking the law. But have no fear Rev. Al is here. What a waste of oxygen that "man" is. All I can say is Tawana Brawley.

reply to post by Violater1


That's one thing I was wondering. If something happens after he urges something like civil disobedience and it happens, can't he be held responsible?

I really don't get what the big deal is about the AZ law. Why do people who break our laws and come here illegally think they deserve special treatment? Why do they think they deserve rights in a country who's laws they don't respect?

Al Sharpton is a joke! The guy acts like he's all for the people, but he's a joke in my opinion.

I think this will remain an issue as long as the each side continues to misunderstand each other.

The immigrants don't understand the issue of sovereignty. Would you have an issue with an immigrant that came to the U.S. legally, paid taxes, and obeyed all applicable laws?

U.S. laborers don't understand that the immigrants are simply acting in their best interests. If you could quadruple your wages by doing the same job 100 miles away, would you go there, even if it meant crossing an imaginary line?

Corporations don't understand how to cut costs without breaking labor laws. If you were a manager of a firm who was under pressure to turn a profit, would you reduce costs by hiring cheaper immigrant labor if you could probably get away with it?

The government doesn't understand how to educate its people so that their jobs cannot be "taken" by immigrants. If your public school system was failing to meaningfully increase the productivity of much of your labor force above that of a poorer neighboring country, would you stop the immigration at a substantial cost to productivity?

As you may guess, the long-term solution to immigration lies in educating our own population for technical fields, or what are considered "capital-intensive" fields.

It's all just a misunderstanding. You can tell when something is being misunderstood by how much shouting, inflammatory rhetoric, uncivil conduct, profanity, and all other forms of force are being used to "jam pieces into place", so to speak.

Be wary of those attempting to force others to their viewpoint without understanding each side of the issue.

Shane