Saturday, hundreds of people in San Luis Obispo joined a worldwide movement protesting the inhumane treatment of people at U.S. immigration detention centers.
My spouse and I were among the participants.
Over the past many months, I have been reading with growing horror and outrage, the news reports detailing the inhumane and illegal treatment that children, women, and men are suffering in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers located on our borders and around the country.
Especially distressing is that thousands of children have been separated from their families and are living in what are basically prisons. Imagine if it was your child or a child that you love. These children will be scarred for the rest of their lives by the experiences they are enduring now.
This cannot be happening in the United States of America—but it is.
When I spotted the Lights for Liberty announcement in my social media feed, I could easily have scrolled past it. But I didn’t. As I sat looking at the image of the Statue of Liberty on the event poster I found myself wondering “What would she do?”
Just two weeks ago, for Independence Day, I wrote a post entitled 4th of July – Patriotism and the Environment about the intersection between patriotism and environmentalism. I included Emma Lazarus’ beautiful sonnet that is engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty. Here is an excerpt from the end of the sonnet.
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
I think of myself as a patriot and an environmentalist, but if I am not willing to stand up for the human rights of other people, then what kind of an American am I?
I knew participating in the Lights for Liberty rally would not fix the situation immediately but I do believe that people in the streets can affect change. So I asked my spouse to join me, marked the date on my calendar, and transformed my reusable sign into the one you see above.
Lights for Liberty in San Luis Obispo
Many Lights for Liberty events around the country were held on Friday, July 12 in the evening and involved lights. Our San Luis Obispo, CA rally occurred on Saturday, July 13 during the day. It was organized by Allies for Immigration Justice, SLO County and Women’s March San Luis Obispo.
On Saturday morning, I slathered on sunscreen, filled up my reusable water bottle, and found a strap for my spouse’s camera so that I could wear it around my neck at the rally.
We arrived late so we missed the first speakers. The crowd of several hundred people was split into those willing to stand under the hot sun close to the courthouse steps near the speakers and the rest of us trying to find a bit a shade under the trees.
We heard the harrowing story of a local man who had been arrested and detained by ICE. Some people held large photos of people who have died in ICE custody as we listened to their histories being recounted. After each name was read, the crowd repeated the word presente as a way of remembering them.
One speaker talked about the importance of calling your elected officials to voice your concerns and ideas. She mentioned a group called 5calls.org that provides scripts for calls on a variety of issues. I liked her suggestion for phone averse people (like me), which is to call at night and leave a message.
The last speaker said something that I think is very important and she asked the crowd to repeat it several times (I hope I remembered it correctly).
Do the right thing.
Don’t turn away.
Stand up.
I understand the desire to turn away from things that are frightening or painful to think about, I feel it, too. But you and I can choose to do the right thing and stand up for the human rights of all people.
After the rally and vigil, we did a sidewalk march through downtown San Luis Obispo.
That means we peacefully walked down the sidewalk carrying our signs and chanting things like “Free the kids, close the camps,” while making room for the people going in and out of the stores and restaurants.
We obeyed traffic signals resulting in there being a number of marching clusters. One thing I realized is that each cluster needs someone willing to suggest chants and to keep them going. I am not that person, but a few of us in our cluster did the best we could.
After the march, my spouse and I walked to a local ice cream store for a cool and refreshing treat and then we headed home.
What Can You Do?
Below are just a few ideas of things you can do to help. (These ideas are pertinent to all kinds of human rights issues like racism, homelessness, and discrimination, to name a few.)
- Participate in rallies, protests, and marches.
- Contact your elected officials. (I contacted Senator Feinstein, Senator Harris, and Representative Carbajal.)
- Talk to your family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors.
- Donate time and/or money (see the resources section for articles that contain suggestions).
- Find out what is going on in your community.
We are all human beings deserving of life, liberty, and a chance for the pursuit of happiness.
Featured Image at Top: This is my reusable sign transformed for Lights for Liberty.
Related Posts
- 4th of July – Patriotism and the Environment
- 4th of July – What Does it Mean to be an American?
- Environmentalists Care about People AND Polar Bears
- Global Strike for Future – San Luis Obispo
- Green New Deal for the 21st Century
- It is Your Community, Go to a Public Meeting
- Rise for Climate Wherever You Are on September 8, 2018
- San Luis Obispo 2019 Women’s March
- Tools for Grassroots Activists – Book Review
- Voting is an Environmental Act
Resources
- 20 Ways You Can Help Immigrants Now – by Julia Travers, Yes! Magazine, 06/25/19
- Detention by the Numbers: Where are people detained in the United States? – Freedom for Immigrants
- How to Help Families at the Border Right Now – ACLU, 06/28/19
- ICE Launched Raids Targeting Migrant Families – by Caitlin Dickerson, Nick Corasaniti and Edgar Sandoval, The New York Times, 07/14/19
- I Was Arrested At The Mexican Border Because The War On Immigrants Is Also Targeting Their Allies – by Ana Alderstein, BuzzFeed, 06/06/19
- ‘Lights for Liberty’ Vigil Reflects Growing Resistance to Immigrant Detention Policies – by Tovin Lapan, Fortune, 07/11/19
- Thousands of people are organizing a huge, nationwide vigil at detention camps across America – by Annie Reneau, Upworthy, 06/24/19
- What You Need to Know About the Crisis at the Border – by Dahlia Lithwick and Margo Schlanger, Slate, 06/24/19
