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My Turnby Maileen Hamto |
 |
From The Asian Reporter, V17, #43 (October 23, 2007), page 6.
Opposing hate
The venue chosen for the rally was Lents Park, at the epicenter of the increasingly diverse southeast Portland neighborhood. The purpose? To counter the message of hate brought by a convention of the Hammerskin Nation, one of the most organized neo-Nazi groups in the country, with a call for solidarity among all anti-racists.
About 200 people attended the rally, organized by the Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism in Portland. As white supremacists gathered in the greater Portland area, community members and anti-racists throughout the Pacific Northwest organized a protest in response. The rally brought together diverse groups, including the Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, in a stand against fascist organizing and violence aimed at communities of color, Jewish people, gays, lesbians, and other sexual minorities.
Heightened security during the rally was evident in the number of police cars circling the area. Organizers reminded people with cameras and camcorders to use their discretion when using footage or photographs in public domains. At the end of the speeches, organizers reminded the crowd:
"Be safe. Leave with people you came with. Let’s not linger here."
Portland’s ugly history of racist violence was the main reason for concerns about safety during and after the rally. Twenty years ago, Ethiopian student Mulugeta Seraw was beaten and murdered on a southeast Portland street, and members of the racist group Volksfront were linked to the crime. Community leaders were shocked and shaken by the crime and became determined to eliminate the scourge of racism on Portland streets. They swiftly organized to educate and mobilize neighborhoods against racism in the community.
1987 wasn’t that long ago. White supremacist groups are back in town, using the maelstrom of anti-immigrant sentiment to recruit alienated white people into their fold.
It doesn’t matter where you live in the United States: Pick up the local paper any given day and you’re bound to come across an article quoting an unhappy local blaming immigrant workers for lack of employment and job security in his or her town. Immigrants also are blamed for being a drain on school systems and abusing social services.
"Historically, we have always scapegoated and blamed immigrants, especially in times of economic struggle. This happened with the Irish, Italians, the Japanese, and Jews in Nazi Germany," said Amy Dudley, an organizer and program director at the Rural Organizing Project. She talked about the importance of understanding how U.S.-led economic policy is driving global migration. "Scapegoating does nothing but divide working class people from one another, and to let the folks who have some control of economic and political circumstances off the hook."
The key phrase is working class: Low-income people of all colors are struggling in this economy. Billions of dollars each month are pumped into the war machine, where both Iraqis and Americans die by the score everyday.
White supremacist groups get the brunt of anti-racist action, because their message is extreme and their violent motives are clear as day. Yet, white supremacist/racist ideology permeates society at many levels, and manifests itself in different ways. Increasingly, anti-immigrant groups such as Oregon For Immigration Reform and the Portland Minutemen chapter are drawing support from the mainstream.
"Communities of color are organizing and taking on the work to survive white supremacy and resist the oppression that goes on daily in their communities. As white folks in an overwhelmingly white Oregon, we have a real responsibility to be building a strong base of anti-racist white folks who can stand up for racial justice," Dudley implored. "As white folks, our communities are not targeted by white supremacists in the same way that communities of color are targeted. But we are targeted for recruiting, as they capitalize on folks’ unhappiness and economic struggles. We can resist the notion that our communities are a ready-made base for hate groups."
Well said, and bravo, Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism in Portland. As members of communities of color in Portland, we couldn’t do the work of resisting prejudice and discrimination without the support of anti-racist allies.