Four days of SB 1070 protests around three milestones
Hundreds of Latino activists and supporters are organizing four days of protests in Phoenix around three milestones involving SB 1070: The Monday, April 23 same-day anniversaries of Arizona native Cesar Chavez’s passing and the day the anti-immigrant measure was signed into law, leading up to a hearing on Wednesday, April 25 before the U.S. high court on a challenge to SB 1070’s constitutionality.
• 6 p.m., Saturday, April 21 at the Arizona state Capitol: Seeing off a busload of activists traveling to Washington, D.C. for a demonstration outside the U.S. Supreme Court building set for April 25, the day of the hearing.
• 6-10 p.m., Monday, April 23 at the Arizona state Capitol: Anti-SB 1070 vigil and procession around the state Capitol two years to the day after SB 1070 was signed into law and on the 19th anniversary of Arizona native Cesar Chavez’s death. The vigil resumes from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Capitol.
• 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Tuesday, April 24 at the Arizona state Capitol: Anti-SB 1070 vigil followed by a 10 p.m. procession to St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, 2038 W. Van Buren St., for an all-night prayer vigil leading to Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing.
• 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Wednesday, April 25 at the Arizona state Capitol: Anti-SB 1070 vigil resumes on the day the nation’s high court hears challenges to the law’s constitutionality.
Joining these demonstrations will be faith leaders, state and local elected officials, Latino students, Radio Campesina and organizations such as Promise Arizona and the United Farm Workers Foundation.
Cesar Chavez was born in 1927 in the North Gila River Valley outside Yuma and died in 1993 in San Luis. He was short with dark Indian features, black hair, brown eyes and a soft Spanish accent. He dressed much like the farm workers he was trying to help. Would Cesar Chavez have been suspect under SB 1070 in the state of his birth?
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