MONTGOMERY, ALA. – The St. Louis Chapter of Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, led by Lew Moye, joined thousands of marchers retracing the steps of those who made the historic 1965 march from Selma, Alabama’s Edmund Pettis Bridge to Montgomery, Alabama. They ended their five-day journey, March 4 through 9, by converging this weekend at the steps of Alabama State Capitol.
The big dagger aimed at Alabama’s immigrants is H.B. 56, the cruelest immigration law in the nation and a law that is wreaking havoc on the state’s economy.
CBTU National President William “Bill” Lucy spoke to the crowd acknowledging “that labor and the trade union movement will fight alongside the Latino community to repeal HB 56 in Alabama.”
“They were marching again in 2012 to demand an end to Republican-led attacks in Alabama and around the country on voting rights, workers rights and immigrant rights,” Lucy said. After the 54-mile trek, marchers jammed the area around the capital building and many local college students joined the rally on Friday afternoon. The marchers actually grew in numbers as the days went by.
“These laws in Alabama aren’t immigration laws. They’re Jim Crow laws,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, a leader of the march. His words fired up the crowds.
Among the powerful speakers at the event was the actor Tyrese Gibson who had joined the march a day late. He rented a car to catch up with the others who had already completed 12 miles, then he marched with them the rest of the way.
Gibson put forward what he called a “challenge” to “every performer and entertainer watching this today from home.” He said it was incumbent upon each of them to exercise “all the power you have to register people to vote in the 2012 elections.”
In the beginning, many of the marchers were union members, their friends and allies, but members of Alabama’s immigrant communities joined in along the way. Many said they joined the marchers after hearing about the event on Latino radio stations.
Estimates are that the state has lost $750 million since the law has gone into effect and continues to lose $1 million in revenue every day.
“It’s time for the Christian right to be right Christians,” said Sharpton. “The Good Samaritan didn’t ask for papers or green cards before offering his help.”
“Together we are one. Together we will make change,” said AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker. Holt Baker had marched the entire route from Selma to Montgomery. She told people at the capital that they were witnessing not just the end of a march but “the beginning of a renewed, bigger and stronger movement.”
