PHOTO: Brett Myers, Youth Radio | Sara-Ji
On the week end of October 10 – 13, 2014, Laura García, editor of the Tribuno del Pueblo joined thousands in marching for justice for all. This March sent out the message to the world: Not one more. It was here that she interviewed Sandra Galicia and Lulú Martínez.
Tribuno del Pueblo (TP): Why did you come from Chicago to march in Ferguson?
Sandra Galicia (SG): We think is very important to be here. We’re part of a group of people who are oppressed in this country and the world, so this is a global and a local issue. We came to stand in solidarity with the black community because we’re part of a group who is known as a minority.
Lulu Martinez (LM): What happens in Ferguson also happens in Chicago. The way we’re portrayed in the media, we’re pitted against one other, that the communities of color do not work well together. I’m undocumented, and I know what it means to face violence from the police. I know what it means to possibly face deportation. We are aware as a community, and we connect with this issue. We’re here for ourselves and for the people of Fergusson.
TP: Many dispute whether it’s a class issue or a race issue, what do you think?
SG: The idea of intersectionality has to be explained in the discourse, how all these things intersect. It is race and class because those two go hand in hand. Who are these people who are rallying here? It’s people of color, it’s the working class. It’s both, is not just one thing, but both. The majority of people of color are working class low income, and the working class low income are people of color. There’s no way to go around it.
TP: How about immigration, will the struggle continue whether President Obama does anything or not?
SG: The issue of immigration is going to continue, and it’s going to get worse. We’ve seen these mass rallies for immigration reform in different cities, and the problem is that we need to be heard, and we need more of us out there raising awareness about this.
LM: I don’t have any hope for immigration reform this year or next year. I’m not going to put my energy into fighting for citizenship or immigration reform. I know that a lot of local immigrant rights organizations are doing different types of work — as community members they are being mobilized to count on themselves and their community to address these issues that are real. That’s why there’s a lot of undocumented and immigrants, and lot of Latinos and lot of Chicanos here today. We know that we have to support each other, because at the end of the day, we got who we got. Violence exists whether you have citizenship or not.
