Immigrant Rights

A Day Without Immigrants Rally: Standing Up for Essential Workers in America

info@paulimurraycenter.org — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 07:31:35 +0000

A Day Without Immigrants Rally: Standing Up for Essential Workers in America info@paulimurr… Wed, 07/07/2021 - 03:31

“We the People are All Immigrants.”

“Immigrants Make America Great.”

“No More Separation of Families.”

On February 16, 2017, hundreds of Americans across the Triangle area participated in the nationwide protest against the Trump administration’s immigration policies by staying home from work and keeping their children home from school, causing dozens of local businesses to close. More specifically, “A Day Without Immigrants” protested the administration’s promise to increase deportation, build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, and implement a travel ban. The protesters came from all walks of life, consisting of both Latinx immigrants and their allies, some of whom also closed their businesses in a show of solidarity with their fellow workers.

This was not the first occurrence of an “A Day Without Immigrants” protest. On May 1, 2006, over one million immigrants took to the streets of numerous American cities to express their disapproval of a U.S. bill which proposed the militarization of the U.S.-Mexican border and the erection of 700 miles of border fencing among other harsh immigration policies. Nevertheless, the February 2017 rally represents the first presence of such a movement in Durham itself.

North Carolina U.S. Census data shows that Hispanics and Latinos constitute approximately 9% of the state’s population, and up to 11% of the Triangle’s population. In a neighboring county, nearly 50% of the elementary and middle student body was absent on the day of this movement. Among the restaurants and businesses that shut down, all 28 locations of the Latino-owned Compare Foods supermarket across the state remained closed in solidarity. This movement demonstrated the essential role that immigrants play in the success of the nation’s economy.

Sources:

https://abc11.com/a-day-without-immigration-immigrants-economy-travel-ban/1757761/

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article133076989.html

https://www.wral.com/-day-without-immigrants-closes-triangle-business-/16532682/

https://indyweek.com/food-and-drink/news/triangle-restaurants-close-a-day-without-immigrants/

https://www.cbs17.com/news/50-businesses-across-the-triangle-close-for-day-without-immigrants-boycott/

https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/7717

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/16/515555428/a-day-without-immigrants-promises-a-national-strike-thursday

Date

Thu, 02/16/2017 - 12:00

Location Coordinates

POINT (-78.88847 36.01563)

Tags:

Protest

Immigrant Rights

Compare Foods (Roxboro address)
2000 Avondale Drive
Durham, NC 17704

Amiya Mehrotra

Farmworker Families Deserve Dignity: Student Action with Farmworkers

info@paulimurraycenter.org — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 18:57:42 +0000

Farmworker Families Deserve Dignity: Student Action with Farmworkers info@paulimurr… Mon, 03/29/2021 - 14:57

Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF) is a Durham-based non-profit organization committed to fostering collaboration and understanding between students and farmworkers in order to promote justice in agricultural systems and equitable, safe, and dignified working conditions for farmworkers.

SAF’s beginnings can be traced to child psychiatrist Dr. Robert Coles and Duke Public Policy professor Bruce Payne, who led 12 Duke students in a project to investigate conditions in migrant camps during the summer of 1976. These students successfully lobbied for the creation of NC Farmworker Legal Services, and the group began to grow, creating spaces for student interns to work with agencies serving farm workers during the summers of the early 1980s. In 1992, SAF was officially established as a non-profit, and in the following years, SAF started to incorporate the needs of students from farmworker families into its focus by establishing scholarships and recruiting student participants through College Assistance Migrant Programs across the country.

But SAF was just getting started; in the years since its official establishment in 1992, SAF has been awarded the first Peace Prize from the North Carolina Peace Corps Association, published campus guides for how to involve students in farmworker advocacy, started “National Farmworker Awareness Week,” collaborated with justice organizations and legislators, and created documentaries and artistic publications. To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic SAF has given away more than $121,000 in mutual aid to participants and alumni.

SAF’s wide-ranging programs in education, mentoring, activism, leadership, legal advocacy, and community collaboration have created a far reaching impact in and beyond Durham. But at the heart of all of SAF’s diverse programs is one vision: to create a world in which communities speak up for farmworkers, in which migrant children can attain their goals, and in which all farmworkers can live and work with dignity, agency, and respect.

Learn more at www.saf-unite.org

Location Coordinates

POINT (-78.918091534697 36.004113562574)

Tags:

Bridges House Center for Documentary Studies, 1317 W Pettigrew Street, Durham, NC 27705

Sara Heilman

La Cooperativa Latina Credit Union - Financial Empowerment for Immigrants

balau — Thu, 05 May 2016 20:47:01 +0000

La Cooperativa Latina Credit Union - Financial Empowerment for Immigrants balau Thu, 05/05/2016 - 16:47

(text in English below)

Usando un banco por primera vez y tratando de comprender las finanzas en una economía compleja pueden ser un reto para cualquiera persona. Sin embargo, para los últimos inmigrantes Latinos que no pueden hablar inglés, a menudo es insuperable. En la década de mil novecientos noventa, Latinos comenzaron a emigrar a la zona de Durham en grandes cantidades. En el año 2000, 8.6% de la población era Latino. Muchos Latinos nunca en su vida habían usado un banco, porque venían de una economía basada en el dinero en efectivo y no podían confiar en los bancos. Después del día de pago, en Durham, muchos de los inmigrantes Latinos cobraban sus cheques y mantenían el dinero en sus bolsillos en lugar de ponerlos en un banco.

Como resulto, los delincuentes comenzaron a robar a los inmigrantes Latinos en un brote de robos. Muchos inmigrantes, por temor a los funcionarios de la policía e inmigración, no los informaron de los crímenes. En 1996, para responder a estos crímenes, un movimiento de nivel local fue creado por los líderes Latinos de Durham. Se reunieron en El Centro Hispano para encontrar una solución al problema.

La comunidad inmigrante no podría esperar y mirar más cuando sus vecinos fueron elegidos como víctimas en asesinatos, violaciones, y robos violentos. Crearon la Cooperativa Latina Credit Union (una Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito) en el año 2000 para ofrecer servicios financieros para los inmigrantes Latinos, y ofrece servicios financieros bilingües, mejores opciones de crédito y educación financiera para sus miembros.

La idea de una Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito es que todas las personas tienen el derecho fundamental a tener acceso a créditos y servicios financieros asequibles. La cooperativa intenta concentrarse en individuos que no tienen otras alternativas financieras viables, y su misión es ayudar a los miembros a ayudarse a sí mismos. Más del 75% de sus miembros nunca han tenido una cuenta bancaria antes.

Dentro de cinco años de su creación, la cooperativa creció para servir más de 40,000 miembros en cinco diferentes ramas en Carolina del Norte. Se ha convertido en un modelo nacional y ahora es la Cooperativa de crédito que está creciendo más rápido del país, ofreciendo educación financiera y libertad a muchas poblaciones que no han recibidos servicios financieras en el pasado.

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The English version of the audio for this point is located here.

Using a bank for the first time and trying to be financially literate in a complex economy can be a challenge for anyone. For recent Latino immigrants who might not speak English, however, it is often insurmountable. In the 1990s, Latinos began immigrating to the Durham area in large numbers. By 2000, 8.6% of the population was Hispanic. Many Latinos had never in their lives used a bank, because they came from a cash-based economy where banks could not be trusted.

After payday, many of them would cash their checks and keep the money in their pockets instead of putting them into savings. As a result, criminals began to target Latino immigrants as victims in an outbreak of robberies. Many immigrants, fearing the police and immigration officials, did not report the crimes. In 1996, in response to these crimes, a grassroots movement led by Latino leaders from Durham met at El Centro Hispano to find a solution.

The immigrant community would not stand by any longer and watch as their neighbors were targeted in violent robberies, rapes, and murders. They created the Latino Community Credit Union, or the LCCU, in 2000 to offer financial services for Latino immigrants, as well as immigrants from other areas.

The LCCU is owned by members, and it offers bilingual financial services, better credit options, and financial education to its members. The idea behind a credit union is that all people have the fundamental right to access loans and affordable financial services. The LCCU tries to focus on individuals who have no other viable financial alternatives, and their mission is to help members help themselves.

More than 75 percent of their members have never had a bank account before. Within five years of its creation, the LCCU grew to serve more than 40,000 owner-members at five different branches in North Carolina. It has become a national model and is the fastest growing credit union in the country, offering financial education and freedom to many underserved populations.

Date

Mon, 06/26/2000 - 12:00

Location Coordinates

POINT (-78.898674 39.9981)

Tags:

Latino/a community

Economic Justice

Immigrant Rights

100 West Morgan Street

Liz Hanah

Refugee Rights – Church World Service

balau — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 18:56:46 +0000

Refugee Rights – Church World Service balau Tue, 04/19/2016 - 14:56

"Church World Service Exists because they recognize that human rights are violated in countries where these people are fleeing from, so I would say human rights activism is a core value of Church World Service." Since 1946, this refugee resettlement organization has been working earnestly in partnership with community partners and volunteers to welcome more than 80,000 refugees across the country including more than 200 refugees to the Triangle each year.

Sarah Ferguson, the refugee activities coordinator working with Church World Service through AmeriCorps shares some of the reasons why they are leaving the country and immigrating to the US. "I know for Burma its persecution in the form of religion, I think the majority of people from Iraq, its a war-torn country now, there's a lot of desperation. For the Congo, same kind of thing, just the hope for a better life." Church World Service recognizes that a stable and loving community is essential to needs of individuals and families whose human rights have been violated according to Sarah. Durham has done its best in welcoming and accepting refugees with open arms to the community.

"One of the reasons I think they decided to open in Durham was just its location being in the Triangle, with Chapel Hill right there, with Raleigh. A lot of times when they are considering where to open offices like this, they really take into account where refugees are going to thrive with the communities, they really want to see that a community would embrace them. They are not going to put a family, you know, in the middle of nowhere, where no one's gonna be sensitive to where they came from or not having the opportunities available." As the refugee activities coordinator Sarah plans different events to promote community awareness for Church World Service projects.

The one activity that Sarah is very passionate about is the crafting group for women hosted by the organization every Monday afternoon. "Its a great benefit to have, we're able to kind of have things like this, especially the crafting group for the ladies just to kind of offset the isolation that some of them may feel. This is a way to kind of bring these women together from all over the place, kind of enhance their English language skills and hope to bolster that self esteem and empower these women." There are many ways for the community to become more involved in the lives of the refugees coming to the Triangle. To Sarah, one of the best ways is to genuinely embrace them with loving care.

Date

Sat, 10/01/2011 - 12:00

Location Coordinates

POINT (-78.90902 35.99907)

Tags:

Immigrant Rights

Refugees

112 South Duke St., #4B Durham, NC 27701

Katie Vo