Column of the Americas
A letter to Birmingham: From the anti-Mexican State of Arizona
A special-length column
By Roberto Cintli Rodriguez
Posted at Censored News
Dear Birmingham…
I write this to you from Tucson, Arizona, from a state synonymous with dehumanization and racial profiling, from a land of fear and hate. Birmingham, I think you know what I speak of. But don't think I am alluding to your past; also today.
HB 56, the bill that your state legislature recently passed and that your governor signed, is being touted as the toughest anti-immigrant bill in the country, one that was affirmed by a U.S. District judge this September. This measure requires school officials to act as immigration agent sand permits police officers to detain people without bail, based merely on suspicion of being in the country illegally. That it has fomented hate and caused panic and fear was the point, wasn't it?
You might be wondering why someone from Arizona would be writing to a Southern city or state capitol? The answer is simple; Birmingham represents memory; it is etched into the psyche of the nation. It is also seared into Tucson's memory, not just because many of us from the U.S.Southwest also lived through the civil rights era, but also because on May 3 of this year, one of our elders in our community was arrested for attempting to read the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," by [...]
Submit your suggestion / comments / complaints / Takedown request on lookyp.com@gmail.com
A letter to Birmingham: From the anti-Mexican State of Arizona
A special-length columnBy Roberto Cintli Rodriguez
Posted at Censored News
Dear Birmingham…
I write this to you from Tucson, Arizona, from a state synonymous with dehumanization and racial profiling, from a land of fear and hate. Birmingham, I think you know what I speak of. But don't think I am alluding to your past; also today.
HB 56, the bill that your state legislature recently passed and that your governor signed, is being touted as the toughest anti-immigrant bill in the country, one that was affirmed by a U.S. District judge this September. This measure requires school officials to act as immigration agent sand permits police officers to detain people without bail, based merely on suspicion of being in the country illegally. That it has fomented hate and caused panic and fear was the point, wasn't it?
You might be wondering why someone from Arizona would be writing to a Southern city or state capitol? The answer is simple; Birmingham represents memory; it is etched into the psyche of the nation. It is also seared into Tucson's memory, not just because many of us from the U.S.Southwest also lived through the civil rights era, but also because on May 3 of this year, one of our elders in our community was arrested for attempting to read the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," by [...]
Submit your suggestion / comments / complaints / Takedown request on lookyp.com@gmail.com
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