Printed on Oct 13, 2010 in Huffington Post. See link below.
Los Angeles, CA October 13, 2010. Zack de la Rocha founder of The Sound Strike Artist boycott of Arizona blogs on Huffington Post along with Sal Reza, leader of PUENTE movement in Arizona on why the Arizona boycott continues. This is first publication by de la Rocha explaining in greater detail what led over 500 artists to boycott commercial performances in Arizona.
Reza and de la Rocha explain in detail the variety of fronts on which attacks on immigrants are carried out in Arizona:
“attacks on migrants in Arizona didn’t start with SB 1070 and won’t end with the partial injunction granted to the Obama administration. It is time to end all federally funded partnerships such as the 287(g) program, Secure Communities and other ICE policies designed to marginalize and repress immigrant families and communities.”
In defending the strategy of boycotts as tactics in the battle for social and economic justice Reza and de la Rocha point to inspiration gained from the great Montgomery Bus Boycott.
“The Montgomery Bus boycott became a symbol of racial segregation, inequality, political disenfranchisement, and persecution of blacks in the South. Just like the Montgomery Bus boycott was about more than where blacks could sit on a bus, the Arizona boycott is about more than SB 1070.”
Pointing out multiple programs, both State and Federal, that infringe on the fights and liberties of immigrants and brown skinned people alike the two activists sharply criticize several law enforcement programs that are both ineffective and counterproductive.
“So long as there is a 287(g) agreement with local police; So long as the Federal Secure Communities program is in local jails; So long as federal programs are used to make Arizona a modern apartheid state empowering the governor and state legislature to violate civil and human rights. The resistance of organizations, artists, writers and governments will continue.”
To view the entire blog visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zack-de-la-rocha/why-the-boycott-of-arizon_b_761360.html.
In other news, two weeks ago Sound Strike launched “Sound Strike Songs” to raise funds for legal defense and grass roots organizing in Arizona. This exclusive collection of songs are for sale at http://www.thesoundstrike.net/soundstrikesongs.php for $2. The video has been viewed just under 200,000 times. Overall the Sound Strike web site has had over 3,000,000 visits and over 500 acts that have signed up online to join the boycott.
About The Soundstrike
Sound Strike is a coalition of Artists that have committed to supporting the International Boycott of Arizona in the wake of the passage of SB 1070. These artists have made a commitment to work together to be part of a larger artist community to raise awareness and opposition to the predatory and punitive treatment of immigrants in Arizona. Sound Strike wants to not only play a role in repealing SB 1070, but also in galvanizing a new generation of ideas that reject the old ways of thinking while affirming that we are all equal.
