Consider the following:
- The Civil Rights Movement created the first concrete changes to how America would treat her Black citizens – unfortunately, we find ourselves at the worst moment in history when Black Lives are in continuous danger.
- The Civil Rights Movement and the consequent legislation directly sculpted the American migration policy. Today, we are facing some of the greatest dangers to our immigration and asylum policies. In particular, the treatment of Black asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants has plunged to horrifyingly terrible lows.
- As we see our nation and the entire world reel from aftermath of COVID-19, we must also acknowledge economic justice especially salient in this moment where we are seeing a K-shaped recovery from COVID that is leaving our vulnerable, immigrant clients homeless and a pandemic that is hitting people of color far more than it’s affecting white people.
Slavery forced countless African men, women and children against their will to work in fields and factories across our land. A century later, wide swathes of people from African nations were excluded from migrating because they were considered racially unfit for admission to the U.S; to current day America where Black people are horrifically targeted and the outgoing admin. is sending hundreds of vulnerable African asylum-seeker back to their persecutors.
The time to celebrate milestone days will come – right now is the time to take action. To truly honor the work of Dr. King, we can take a few steps today to invigorate and elevate his work. This is what you can do:
ADVOCATE: Get to know organizations that are at the front-lines of civil and human rights work dedicated to migrant Black Lives, and disperse through your circles. Check out this report by BLACK ALLIANCE FOR JUST IMMIGRATION.
EDUCATE: Bear witness to fearless work done by our community. Mi Famila Vota has created a great resource in the past 6-months called “Fighting anti-blackness in non-black Latinx communities” that extensively discussed black history in Latin America and in Latinx communities, while creating a dialogue about current issues with policing, ICE, and outlining protesting rights.
DONATE: Replenish these heroic efforts by supporting orgs in services of civil and human rights. We suggest the following:
The Afiya Center: @theafiyacenter
Cameroonian American Council: @CamAmerCouncil
Haitian Bridge Alliance: @haitianbridge
UndocuBlack Network: @UndocuBlack
At HRI we do not limit our thoughts of Martin Luther King Jr. to just a day. We believe in action first and words later. So today when we invite you to salute his work, we do it after we’ve committed 20 years to protecting the human rights of vulnerable migrants. Join our efforts.
ABOUT HRI: For the past 20 years, HRI has provided free legal aid and comprehensive transitional support to help clients achieve legal status and employment and build the foundations of new lives. HRI’s clients are survivors of human rights violations, eligible to apply for legal status under humanitarian provisions of American immigration law. Learn more: hrionline.org
#ImmigrantrightsAreHumanRights #AsylumIsLegal #EndMPP #SetThemFree #ReuniteFamilies #RegulateICE #MLK #BLM
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