B.E. article on APhiA Arizona Boycott.
 

In the spirit of Greek unity I share this laudatory column about the Alpha's moving their convention to Sin City from Arizona as an act of economic activism, written by Omega man and Black Enterprise Chairman Earl Graves Sr.

http://www.blackenterprise.com/magaz...-your-dollars/



Take A Stand With Your Dollars
While we are often conflicted about immigration issues, Arizona's anti-immigration law has everything to do with us



General President Herman "Skip" Gates and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity have taken a position worthy of the legacy of their late, great Alpha brother, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

As most people know, given the generous amount of purple and gold items in my wardrobe, I am an extremely proud member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. However, several weeks ago, when the members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. announced that they would confront the considerable challenges associated with moving their 90th general convention to Las Vegas this month rather than convene in Phoenix as planned, I cheered.

The decision came in the wake of Arizona’s governor, Jan Brewer, signing what is widely considered the nation’s toughest immigration law, also set to take effect this month. Arizona Senate Bill 1070 allows the police to challenge the legal residency status of any person they suspect is illegally in the United States.

Without question, the move makes the rampant racial profiling of Latinos and other minorities, including all black and brown people, inevitable—and completely legal.

In announcing the decision, the nation’s oldest historically black fraternity joined the city of San Francisco, the city of Los Angeles, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and others in demonstrating their outrage. But as righteous as they believed their cause to be, it could not have been an easy decision to make. Given that the convention was mere weeks away, the move represented not only a logistical nightmare, but a financial one as well. As the fraternity confronted litigation with some contractors, Alpha Phi Alpha General President Herman “Skip” Mason Jr. estimated the penalties they faced at more than $300,000. But they did it anyway. Like every group or individual that has ever taken a stand in every civil rights battle ever waged, despite the inconvenience, the risk, the sacrifice, and the pain, they did it anyway.

The Alphas’ dramatic stance put African Americans at the forefront of the rising protest against a growing anti-immigration movement in this country. It’s a movement we’ve been slow—and in some instances unwilling—to become invested in, arguing more often than not that this has nothing to do with us. But it has everything to do with us.

How many of us are first, second, or third generation Americans? How many of us were raised in homes where our parents or grandparents were still struggling to adapt to a new culture that routinely underestimated or devalued them entirely because of their accents? How many of us have relatives still moving here—perhaps from Haiti or West Africa or elsewhere in the Afro-Caribbean diasporas—with little more than eager hearts, hard-working hands, and high hopes? How many of us are among the millions of American Afro-Latinos from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and other Spanish-speaking countries? How many of us are suspiciously eyed—even “randomly” frisked—as we pass through airport security in these terror-filled times?

Let us be clear: Whether we are among the first to stand against this type of injustice or not, we will be among the first victims of any injustices wrought. That’s a guarantee. If history has shown us nothing else, our vulnerabilities remain clear. President Obama himself remains a subject of suspicion, scorn, and vilification by those who refuse to accept his very legitimacy as an American simply because of his skin color and his name.

So, rarely have I been more proud or felt as deep a sense of solidarity with the Alpha Phi Alpha brotherhood as I did in late April. And when they gather at their 104th anniversary convention on July 21st, I’ll still be cheering for them from a distance, applauding the courage it took for them to take a stand, and grateful for the example it sets for us all. As for the monetary cost of the relocation to their membership, Black Enterprise has run enough events for me to know it’s nothing compared to the millions of dollars the state of Arizona lost with their business.

Money talks. And, in this case, it also walked. In so doing, the Alphas sent a clear modern-day message that echoes the timeless words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was in fact one of their own: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Earl G. Graves is the founder, chairman and publisher of Black Enterprise.

There are two problems I have with the article:

1. I thought the bill was to prevent illegal immigration. The writer states that the bill is anti-immigration.

2. He makes this assumption that [American Blacks] should support the protest of the AZ bill since Afro-Caribbeans would be affected too. In a very short-sighted way, I don't see why American Blacks should be out front protesting. The AZ immigration issue is not 'our' fight.

Just to clarify: I'm not anti-immigrant. I'm anti-illegal immigrant, no matter what country you come from. Illegal immigrants use 'the system', but they don't pay taxes into 'the system' - that is the problem I have.

*love*

{{{{{hugs!!!}}}}}

Exactly. That's why you don't see many blacks at the immigration rallies. Because it isn't "our" fight.

As for his case for Afro-Carribeans obviously the author has not seen the great disparity between how Haitians are treated when they try to immigrate to America as compared to Mexicans (who are exploited for slave wages) and Cubans (who are held as heroes for daring to escape the communistic regime of Castro, which by the way I do not support as well.)

The bill is widely called the Arizona Anti-Immigration Bill. It may be more accurate to call it an anti-illegal immigration bill, but it's not outside the national conversation for the author to use such terminology in this article.

Perhaps because he wasn't speaking to "me," I had a different take. What I got from the article was that the author was saying everyone should be concerned. Then, he spoke out of his own experience (i.e. a person with Afro-Caribbean ties).

While I understand and appreciate what boycotters are trying to do, on the other hand, why punish the business owners who do not support the bill? I think it would have been a great move for Alpha Phi Alpha (among others) to have found an Arizona-based business that was vocal about opposing the bill and then given that person/company all their business.

I would expect the "average American" to probably call it the anti-immigration bill, but as a journalist for a prestigious publication, he should get his facts straight.


I am concerned. I just don't feel that as an American Black this is an issue that impacts me directly. Thus, I will not be out there protesting the bill.

This would have been a better option.

I should have been more specific. I was referring to journalists representing outlets including the Wall Street Journal and CNN.

Same expectation would apply. That is the problem - you (general you) should be able to rely on these publications for accuracy. I guess not.....

With time constraints and what was needed to pull off this convention, I don't think that would have been possible. Nice idea though.

I agree.

To be clear, I appreciate the praise that Earl Graves gave Alpha. You don't see that very often and it was appreciated.

Alpha Phi Alpha has strong reasons for boycotting Arizona, and one might say that the reasons are intrinsically tied to the soul of our organization. I'm not one to say "do your research" because you'd have to know what you were looking for, but I will say that Alpha was always intended to be a social justice organization, regardless of race.

I am glad to hear this. I wish my own fraternity had done the same. The current president of my collegiate chapter is a new citizen born in a South American country and made sure to note (in jest partially and in truth partially) on her facebook status that she intended to bring her passport with her. Many of chapter's alumnae (if not all) traveling to the event were also Latinas. I wish HQ had chosen to make a strong a stand as Alpha Phi Alpha has.

That's because his fraternity does not have our history.

Did something happen between last night and this morning?

The dude apologized for posting in a fraternity specific forum and then apparently deleted both posts.

And then Sen did too?

Or a mod did it all. In which case I don't care if this sticks around after BluPhire sees it.

So, should I not care about Domestic Violence against women because as a man I'm not affected, or harmed, by it?

Even a casual look at the history of minorities in America shows the need for at least strategic concern if not outright action in the face of discrimination. Yes, America is a daily freak show and we fly off the handle about too much, but against something as egregious as this legislation, action is necessary.

If I ignore your skirmish today, can I really expect you to help me fight my war tomorrow?

Devil's advocate.

What's so discriminatory about the Arizona law? How does it differ from Federal law?

Thank you.

As I always say, the devil doesn't need an advocate. ;)

Have people read the Arizona law thread(s) on Greekchat? There's some good back-and-forth for both sides of the debate. Agree or not, it provides a framework for the issue.

I've read it. Read the threads, participated in the conversation.

Then the issue isn't being the devil's advocate about the law itself but rather understanding why some organizations are approaching this head-on, as in the case of Alpha.

I agree 100% with TonyB06 eventhough I see the pros and cons of the Arizona law.

That's what happened, and I only deleted mine because he asked politely, but I still told him that I appreciated respectful discourse no matter what lane it's in. I don't care about "lane swerving" if you can intellectually contribute to the discourse.

You with your reasonableness.

LOL

I can't be bad cop all the time. :D

Sure you can.

Though, now I feel bad for not contributing to the real thread topic, but been there, done that and I don't have any reason to boycott as I was never at a risk of going to AZ in the first place.

All sunny and hot and ew.

That would make you predictable. :)

I agree with you and your point.

But let us stick to the issue at hand - the AZ bill is about preventing illegal immigration. Maybe the way they are going about is not the best, but something must be done. Illegal immigrants become a drain on society because they are using government agencies that they don't pay for.

I think that it is wonderful that we live in a country that is willing to provide a decent amount of services to it's citizens - I have no problem with that. I do have a problem when Maria is at Harris County Hospital having her 6th kid, no insurance, all the while she and her husband are sending their money back to Mexico, and my property taxes keep going up because Maria keeps having kids she can't pay for, but I have to.

Exactly.

what about illegal EUROPEAN immigrants?

Same issue applies.....

It's not the origin of their country, it is the fact that they are illegal.


It's just that in this part of Texas, illegal Hispanics seem to be the most common. Besides, of the Europeans that I know, they really don't have a hard time getting visas to stay in the US. For everyone else, it can be a very long and very expensive process.

This has also been my experience.

But, it is about the country of origin. The illegal immigrant initiatives aren't targeting all illegal immigrants. They are directed toward illegal immigrants from brown and black nations and particularly Spanish speaking countries. These are the countries whose immigrants have been correlated with disproportionate crime and low income living in America. The immigrants from white nations get a pass, regardless of what people say to be PC, because they easily assimilate into whiteness (or, into America since "whiteness" and "America" still go hand-in-hand).

I caught a snippet on CNN that this illegal immigrant law is about to pass in AZ and another state that is far away from the borders is considering a law.

ETA: I also read the rest of your post about European immigrants having less difficulty getting visas. I agree and I believe that's also represented in the lower percentage of European immigrants who are illegal. That issue alone highlights another potential problem with this illegal immigration law. However, getting a visa with less difficulty doesn't erase the fact that you can overstay your visa and still become an illegal immigrant. That is something that has become an issue for immigrants from nonSpanish speaking countries. A CNN news story stated that illegal immigrants who have tried to return to their country are unable to do so because officials will see that they overstayed their visa. Therefore, they can't stay and they can't leave. What to do?

You're right. I don't know if you have seen in the news lately that there are extremely violent drug cartels in Mexico. They are / have been trying to push their violence into the US. The best way to stop it is to stop them at the border. There are also those Mexican citizens who have nothing to do with the drug violence, but because they 'all look alike', everyone becomes suspect. Is it right / fair? No, but that is what is happening. Also, I'm sure that if there were just as bad drug cartels coming out of Canada, there would be efforts to try to secure the US/Canadian border, who knows.

I agree here too.

I'd much rather states take the initiative to control this issue over those wacko blatantly racist militia groups who hang out in Idaho.

Hang out in Canada until they can clear up their issue?:p

So, for this reason and other reasons, country of origin and race and ethnicity do matter. This isn't just an issue of illegal immigration and people need to stop pretending as though there is equality in the illegal immigration debate.

This is exactly my point from earlier in the discussion. You all have laid out the issues quite clearly.

Besides the 'crime' issue, its also about jobs. 'They' are taking 'our' jobs, so 'they' have to go. Sound familiar?

Most of the "white" illegal aliens find themselves in that situation by overstaying their temp visas or end up being deported by default for failing to appear before a immigration judge when summoned. Once you are in the system and have your "green card" it's easy to stay current and legal. The problem with overstays is that it's near impossible to find them and if they happen to live in a sanctuary city.... Well, they might be able to stay hidden from immigration authorities forever.

The thing about "white" immigrants and why it seems they have it easier than poorer immigrants is because they do have it easier. Some things to consider.
1. Quotas- the US only issues out so many imm and non-imm visas a year, giving each country in the world a portion of them. Typically the visas in third world or poorer countries get snapped up first because more people are trying to leave those countries for the US than people already living in an industrialized nation, like EU countries. That's why it seems like they can get here "faster".

2. MONEY. You have to have it. You even have to prove that you have it and won't be a public burden. If you don't have a pot to piss in the US is not going to issue you a imm visa just so you can get off the plane and head straight to the welfare office. A lot of the immigrants coming from Mexico are deemed ineligible because of this fact that they have little to no money.

3. Actually applying- I work with immigrants and from my personal experience, it's easier for them to find someone willing to smuggle them over than it is to find someone willing to help them fill out the application. It's almost ingrained, especially in the smaller citys and pueblas, that if you want to go to America, just cross the river at night. I ask every single one if they have petitioned or applied for any sort of entry document and the answer is no 99.8% of the time. Obviously, when it comes to Europeans or Asians, they won't even be able to get on the plane without a valid passport/visa. Also, if you can drop a grand for a flight to NYC you can afford to spend a couple hundred more for your imm paperwork.

So I'm gonna say that it's not necessarily white imm VS brown imm, it's just that immigrants from Latin American countries just don't have the means or ways to immigrate like the ones from industrialized nations do.

It is what it is....

Socioeconomic status is highly correlated with race and ethnicity nationally and internationally. It is almost impossible to distinguish the effect of "white vs brown" from the effect of capital because it is no coincidence where the poverty lies in the world.

In regards to this comment, and after reading PiKA2001 comment, I have found that the biggest issue is money. And, as you know, in many contexts possession of money and race / ethnic origin are (loosely) correlated.

So, I disagree with you - there is equality in the illegal immigration debate. The inequality occurs whether or not that immigrant can afford the time and filing fees / attorneys to become legal.

Sigmadiva, read this post and think about your reply to my other post. Your reply made absolutely no sense to me. ;)

The correlation is not a loose one. It is a high correlation, just as it is when discussing race and social class in America. Just as when discussing social issues in America, if it's a matter of the "haves and have nots," it's basically synonymous with it being a matter of race and ethnicity. There are social patterns in who the "haves and have nots" are. We know where to find the "have nots" in the poor neighborhoods in America and in the poor countries in the world. We call it "city planning" in America and I call it "country planning" in the world.

So, as I said, people need to stop dancing around the issue. Stop pretending as though this is just a matter of the lucky ones with the money as though that's a coincidence. Stop pretending as though the country of origin and race and ethnicity don't matter...unless we're suddenly talking about drug cartels. Facing the inequality of the immigration debate doesn't mean that we agree with illegal immigration and are opposed to regulations. It means that we are being HONEST about the issues at hand and the pros and cons of the laws that are enacted. Put our brains and social consciousness to good use.