BY MEGAN ARNEY
SAN DIEGO, California - "Forward forever, backward never!" This was one of the chants that could be heard as more than 600 people rallied here August 12 to oppose the anti-affirmative action California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI), now named Proposition 209. It was an appropriate chant as hundreds of workers and youth converged on San Diego from across the country for a week of protests and demonstrations at the Republican convention.

The hottest issues were Proposition 209, immigration, and abortion rights. Organizers of the convention set up a "free speech" area that forced demonstrations near the convention site into a fenced-in area. Groups had to reserve a time slot and were given 50 minutes to protest. Some of the protesters included the Green Party, Amnesty International, Students Against Dole Increasing School Tuition, lesbian and gay groups, Carpenters Local 547, Hermanos en Acción Contra el SIDA, and Asian-Pacific Islanders Student Alliance. Many groups listed on the schedule for the free speech area supported the Democratic Party.

200 defend abortion clinic
A range of other actions took place around the area. Some 200 people met at 6:00 a.m. August 10 to defend the Women's Clinic in San Diego. Operation Rescue had announced that it would shut down abortion clinics during the Republican convention. While a dozen anti-choice demonstrators showed up at that particular clinic to pray, another clinic in nearby La Mesa was forced to close temporarily after a complete blockade of the entrance by Operation Rescue. The clinic operators had decided not to use a public defense, opting instead for paid security. Morale at the San Diego clinic remained high, and organizers declared victory.

Many people from San Diego have been part of clinic defense before, while others came for the first time. Sally Diggs, an activist from Palm Springs, came with the National Organization for Women (NOW) chapter in her area. She said that 25 high schools students were also planning to come to San Diego. Diggs said young activists in Palm Springs "kept seeing each other at events, then we started talking and doing things together." Diggs added that her NOW chapter, the United Farm Workers, and the NAACP have also begun doing classes on Prop. 209 in Palm Springs.

Leilani Clark and Torie Quinoñez, two students from a local community college, said they came because of the Republican convention. "I'm angry the convention is happening in my city. So I came out to do something about it," Clark said. Both she and Quinoñez are part of a feminist study group at their college and are veterans of the fight against the anti-immigrant Prop. 187 that passed in 1994 in California. Quinoñez explained that they were also against Prop. 209 because "living this close to the border we have to be aware about politics. The border is a war zone - if you're here you have to be active."

Nearly 500 people attended another abortion rights rally called by NOW August 13.

March to border for immigrant rights
More than 200 people marched nearly six miles to the U.S.- Mexican border near Tijuana August 10 to protest the attacks on immigrants. The march was initiated by activists at the University of California, Riverside campus and attended by members of MEChA chapters and other Chicano students from a number of southern California campuses. Activists marched chanting, "Raza, Si; Migra, No!"

The social and economic polarization around the question of immigrant rights was demonstrated when marchers passed a ranch house and were heckled by the occupants, who kept a shotgun on the porch and flew a Confederate flag. La migra, or border patrols, stood at the top of the hills that serve as the border, carrying shotguns which they once pointed at the marchers.

Chicano youth lead protests
Leading the resistance against Prop. 209 are Chicano youth, including a group who have carried out La Marcha, a protest march extending 700 miles from Sacramento to San Diego. Proposition 209 would end all governmental quotas in employment, end contracts set aside for minorities and women, and wipe out minority scholarships and diversity programs at state schools.

As the 15 core youth marched through the state, they stopped in towns and cities to hold speak-outs and forums against the proposition, register people to vote, and encourage others to join them in resisting the attacks on affirmative action. In many cities others joined La Marcha. The youth, who call themselves "marchistas," are mainly members of the Chicano organization MEChA. Many were part of the fight against Prop. 187 two years ago.

"We're marching against Prop. 209 and we're marching for social and economic justice," said Monica Reece-Hernandez, a marchista from Bakersfield, California.

More than 200 people participated in a leg of La Marcha on August 10. The demonstration was overwhelmingly young. Cesar Fernandez, a 23-year-old student at the University of California - San Diego, said that affirmative action is an issue that affects many students, particularly Chicanos. "The growing awareness is because of our everyday experiences - the attacks on Chicanos and Mexicanos. Because of the immigrant beatings we're keeping our eyes open for everything - and fighting back."

High school students are becoming involved in opposing Prop. 209, like they did during the fight against Prop. 187. Sylvia Muñoz, a 15-year-old high school student from San Diego, said she came out "because it's our future we're fighting for. If we don't do it, who will? It's not just for us, it's for everyone."

On August 12, the opening day of the Republican convention, La Marcha concluded its journey by holding a protest and march to the convention. About 600 people converged on the convention center for this last leg of the protest. Speakers talked about educating themselves and others, and learning about revolutionaries. They called for actions to fight Prop. 209 in the streets this fall and to travel to Washington, D.C. on October 12 to protest for immigrant rights. Eddie Torres, a marchista and a student from East Los Angeles, said, "We are at a historic moment here. We have women, Blacks, the campesinos [farmers]. We are all united to fight Prop. 209. It will be defeated and we will hold ourselves responsible." Speakers included representatives from the United Farm Workers, One Stop Immigration, the Gay and Lesbian Task Force with Voices '96, the San Diego Million Man March Committee, and the NOW

Young Socialists organize protest
Young Socialists (YS) organized a speak-out in the free speech area in front of the Republican Convention August 12. Jason Phelps, a member of the YS in Vancouver, chaired the event. He pointed to the stop lights behind him and said, "They want to tell us where to protest. They want to tell us how long to protest. When the light turns green, we can start talking; when it turns red, we have to stop. Well, we have something to say."

Phelps then introduced Socialist Workers vice-presidential candidate Laura Garza, as well as YS members and other fighters who had come from across the country to be part of demonstrations in San Diego.

The YS leaders explained that they had been participating in the dozens of demonstrations in San Diego, marching with La Marcha, visiting picket lines of striking workers, and defending an abortion clinic. Stefanie Trice, who just returned from the U.S.-Cuba Youth exchange told the crowd of about 70 that the 144 youth who had traveled to Cuba on the exchange are now busy doing reportbacks and getting out the truth about Cuba's socialist revolution. Ved Dookum from San Francisco encouraged people to join with the Young Socialists in struggles and fights today. He invited everyone there to join the YS in Washington, D.C. for a march defending immigrant rights on October 12. Brandy, a young anti-police brutality activist from Pittsburgh, also spoke.

Garza gave 16 media interviews, including the local NBC station, a talk-show, a local call-in radio station, the Mexican Press, Swedish media and First Broadcasting. Paula Moore, a Young Socialist from Washington, D.C., was interviewed on CNN at the speak-out, and the interview was aired nationally.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home