May 1: A general strike?
Building on the galloping momentum of immigrant rights protests around the country, advocates have called for May 1 -- celebrated world-wide as International Worker's Day -- for a general strike:
Last Monday, I went to the 4,000-strong demonstration in tiny Siler City, North Carolina, and the dominant view of white locals came through in one fellow I interviewed, who said, "I knew there were a lot of Hispanics here, but not this many!"
Whatever happens on May 1, this movement isn't going away any time soon. And much of its consciousness-raising work is already done: waking American to the economic -- and cultural/racial -- realities of our current caste system.
U.S. immigrant rights advocates called Thursday for a nationwide boycott of work, school and commerce on May 1, seeking to capitalize on the momentum of recent mass demonstrations across the country.As we reported earlier, the South has been a leader in this movement, and I doubt May 1 will be any exception. The U.S. public is getting a crash course in how our economy runs in this country, and how much it depends on immigrant workers.
Last Monday, I went to the 4,000-strong demonstration in tiny Siler City, North Carolina, and the dominant view of white locals came through in one fellow I interviewed, who said, "I knew there were a lot of Hispanics here, but not this many!"Whatever happens on May 1, this movement isn't going away any time soon. And much of its consciousness-raising work is already done: waking American to the economic -- and cultural/racial -- realities of our current caste system.
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