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AFSC's Central Region Joins
the Nation in Welcoming New Freedom Riders

by Gabriela Flora

Excerpted from an article in AFSC Now, the newsletter of AFSC’s Central Region. The complete article is posted here.

AFSC offices in Denver, Austin, Kansas City, Des Moines and St. Louis organized to welcome the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride. Each event in the Central Region drew crowds from 400 to 1000 people. While I was anticipating a successful event in Des Moines, my “activities checklist” for the event did not factor in the deep, powerful energy and passion the riders brought forth.

Denver, like many other cities, had a similar experience. As Danielle Short of AFSC explained, "I was excited to welcome the Freedom Riders to Denver, but I didn't anticipate the intense emotional reaction I felt as the riders came off the buses one by one and ran into the church gym between two lines of chanting and cheering supporters." Danielle added, "I had to pause for a moment as I felt tears come to my eyes. The energy in the room was amazing and I felt overcome by both the risks that the riders had taken and the reminder that we are part of a movement that has justice on its side."

Each host city brought forth issues immigrants are facing and working to change in their community. Minsun Ji of AFSC emceed the events in Denver, which highlighted the success of the principally immigrant union activities of the Justice for Janitors campaign and the achievements of the Centro Humanitario, a day-labor center founded by AFSC. "Just as the original freedom riders in the 1960s transformed this country, so will these freedom riders today," Minsun said.

AFSC's TAO office helped plan the Austin rally and community fair welcoming the riders from Los Angeles. Additionally, staff helped sponsor Maria Luisa Bautista and Jaime Gomez from Inmigrantes Latinos en Acción (ILA, Latino Immigrants in Action) as riders on the buses departing from Houston. ILA is based at AFSC Austin's office and is a partner with AFSC in our immigrant rights work. Much of the Houston route followed the Freedom Ride of 1961. "I felt as if the brothers and sisters from the early Freedom Ride paved the way for us," Maria Luisa said. "While they were beaten and a bus was burned, many communities received us as heroes because they viewed us with hope that we were going to lobby for their rights."

In Des Moines, riders from Seattle and Portland, representing 22 countries, were welcomed by Jan Laue, Executive Vice President of the Iowa Federation of Labor, and other state leaders. In addition to a skit reflecting Iowan immigrant workers' experiences, a memorial service was held for the 11 victims found dead in a railcar in Denison, Iowa last year. As Sandra Sanchez of AFSC said, "The memorial service was a very emotional testimony of the risks that many undocumented workers face every day in their search for jobs to support their families."

In St. Louis, 1000 people, including some 200 from the immigrant community, participated in a welcoming rally where testimonies by locals and riders reflected the need for significant change in immigration law. Additionally, a memorial service was held for a freedom rider's son, a documented immigrant, who died while in custody at a US detention center earlier this year.

According to Faheemah Thabit of AFSC, connections were made between the freedom ride and other local issues, including the need for a civilian oversight board for the state of Missouri.

"Such a board would have had the power to investigate the death of the documented immigrant who died while in police custody," Faheemah said. "Until such boards are established, the 'Blue Wall of Silence' will continue to shield police officers from prosecutions and even investigations."

Throughout AFSC’s Central Region connections were made between labor, immigrants, religious bodies, domestic violence prevention organizations, and a host of other entities. Follow-up meetings have already occurred to develop the next steps of collaboration for supporting immigrant rights between these groups.

Chants of the Freedom Riders linger in my mind: "Si se puede! Yes we can!” And yes, we must, if we want to live in a just society.

Gabriela Flora is a regional organizer in Des Moines for AFSC’s Project Voice.

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