You're Invited

Immigration and the Black Community:
Conflict or Common Interest?

Presented by the Equal Justice Society and Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Co-Sponsored by Latino Issues Forum, Greenlining Institute
and Centro Legal de la Raza

Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St, Oakland, CA
Reception 6 p.m.
Program 7 p.m.
Followed by Open Discussion/Reception
Event is free to the public but RSVP required.
Use registration form or call 415-288-8700.

A counter-demonstration in favor of immigration lined the sidewalks of Crenshaw Boulevard on June 23, 2007. LAPD officials called the nearly 500 protestors an "illegal assembly.” Ted Hayes, rally organizer and homeless advocate, had a permit to hold a rally he called "Choose Black America - Not Amnesty - Not Illegal Immigration" in the Leimert Park. However, anti-rally demonstrators surrounded the perimeter and no one was able to enter the park. (Photo by Anne-Marie McReynolds)

Our country is experiencing increased conflicts between Blacks and Latinos:

• In Austin, a group of men assaulted the driver of a car that accidentally hit a child. The passenger of that car was killed while trying to intervene.
• In Los Angeles, gangs target youth of the other communities - and each other.
• Black-Latino political alliances are straining in rapidly changing communities.

This growing tension between Latino and Black communities stems from many sources — including the right wing offensive against civil rights law that seeks to drive a wedge between different communities engaged in a common struggle for equality. Karl Rove and others are expert at distracting the public. Recall that the recent focus on immigration was not on the radar of the current Administration until the scandal broke about wireless surveillance. In the blink of an eye, public attention was redirected to immigration and increased tensions surfaced between communities fighting for social equality.

We invite you to an informative, open and frank discussion of the relationship between immigration, civil rights, tensions between the Latino and African American communities, and social justice.

Our discussants include:
- Eva Paterson (President, Equal Justice Society)
- Reverend Phil Lawson (Black Alliance for Just Immigration)
- Prof. Bill Ong Hing (Law Professor, UC Davis)
- Nora Vargas (Executive Director, Latino Issues Forum)
- Larisa Casillas (Director, Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition)

In the wake of the recent discussions of immigration reform and recent Supreme Court cases that directly bear on the future of racial justice, Latino immigrant and African American communities must decide how to best alleviate the barriers to opportunity we face.

Audience members will be invited to submit questions online and during the event.

Event is free to the public but RSVP required.
Use the online registration form or call 415-288-8700.

The Equal Justice Society is a national advocacy organization that promotes social justice and racial equality through the strategic use of law and public policy, communication and the arts, and alliance building.

Equal Justice Society, 220 Sansome St, 14th Flr, San Francisco, CA 94104, Ph (415) 288-8700