{"article":{"id":129724,"heading":"Alhambra: And Then They Came<\/font><\/b>","author":"Leslie","created":"2005-06-19 23:30:48","modified":"2013-11-11 00:34:05","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 07:34:05","article":"\n

It was a few minutes after 9:00, and it was already clear that Joe,\r\ndeterminedly grinning, and his ragtag crew from Save Our State had lost their\r\neffort to stop Alhambra Home Depot shoppers from supporting the store's hiring\r\npractices. What wasn't clear was why the police let most of the Alhambra\r\nand Los Angeles counter-demonstrators stand behind and on either side of the\r\nsmall Ventura group, as well as across the street, for more than an hour. \r\nThirty Alhambra, Monterey Park, and Glendale police lined up along Morengo\r\nStreet facing both groups on the sidewalk, those complaining about Home Depot's\r\ncommunity-based hiring practices in front and those supporting it directly\r\nbehind them and to spilling along the sidewalk on either side.<\/p>\r\n

A hundred and fifty or so day labor supporters had surrounded fewer than\r\ntwenty SOSers when the police moved the out-of-towners to the south corner of\r\nthe driveway entrance. Somewhere in the move, the three skinheads with\r\nU.S. flag handkerchiefs in their pockets who had stood with the SOSers drifted\r\naway, diminishing their number further. By 11:00, the swelling ranks of\r\ncounter-protestors, now two hundred and fifty or more, filled the north corner,\r\nthe west side of the street, and even the sidewalk east of small band of\r\nanti-Mexican protestors. Unless the SOSers had busloads of supporters on\r\nthe way, they were outnumbered fifteen to one. A helicopter circled\r\noverhead for ten minutes and flew away.<\/p>\r\n

This time the SOSers gave up their trademark sports pants and sundresses of\r\nBaldwin Park and Garden Grove for jeans, baseball caps, and one droopy Cat in\r\nthe Hat hat that mimicked the the U.S. flag. They held up signs declaring\r\n\"This land was Mexican once and will be American Forever.\" Their\r\nsmirking leader, Joe Turner, carried a printed poster that said \"This is\r\nour land. This is our fight. saveourstate.org\" Another sign\r\nread \"Home Depot Partners with Racist La Raza.\"<\/p>\r\n

From all sides, chanting supporters of la raza and day workers, mostly local\r\nChicanos and Mexicanos, responded to remarks on the SOS website with homemade\r\nplacards declaring that \"Alhambra Is Not a 'Cesspool',\" \"Alhambra\r\nIs a Racist Free Zone,\" and \"All Work Is Legal in\r\nAlhambra.\" Mexican flags, yellow anti-racism banners, and an\r\nanarchist flag waved over the crowd. About every fifth car honked their\r\nsupport for the chanting locals and their allies. On the back of one T-shirt\r\nfrom Cerritos College MEChA was the observation \"They call us violent cause\r\nwe're no longer silent.\"<\/p>\r\n

The counter-protestors took up a collection for the day workers watching from\r\nthe back of the parking lot and the three green-hatted National Lawyers Guild\r\nobservers delivered the collection. Telemundo, NBC Channel 2, and\r\nABC Channel 7, roamed the crowd and waited in their vans, waiting for something to happen.<\/p>\r\n

Suddenly smirking Joe appeared among the counter-protestors on the west side\r\nof the street, vainly roiling those in front until he was escorted back to his\r\nfollowers across the street by an Alhambra sergeant, slapping Joe on the back as\r\nthey crossed.<\/p>\r\n

At 11:15, the police distributed riot kits and helmets among their ranks and\r\nstepped forward toward the counter-demonstrators on the west side of the\r\nstreet. At 11:35, the\r\npolice escorted two late SOSers to their companions. The sun was nearing its apex, and the warm weather hinted at the\r\nheat of summer, but today was not the day for a showdown.<\/p>\r\n

And then they came. In crisp white t-shirts and carpenters' caps, homemade signs\r\nheld high, twenty jornaleros from San Gabriel Valley appeared in the south, marching toward Save Our State. The police stopped them\r\nbriefly until counter-protestors called from behind the cops to let the workers pass. \r\nThe crowd roared as the laborers joined the eastside counter-demonstrators and\r\nheld up their messages: \"Jornaleros unidos del Monte\" and \"Fue,\r\nes y será de México.\" The contingent of jornaleros and the eastside\r\ndemonstrators crossed the street to cheers of \"El pueblo unido jamás será\r\nvencido!\" <\/p>\r\n

The re-invigorated counter-protestors shouted \"You're the problem!\"\r\nto the anti-immigrant group, and by 12:15 most of them had disappeared into the\r\nparking lot. One stayed and rolled up his flag, and Joe, looking for all\r\nthe world like a captain on a sinking ship save for the perpetual sneer, faced\r\nthe protestors with his sign rolled up and bent in one hand until he, too,\r\ndrifted down the sidewalk.<\/p>\r\n

The jornaleros took the bullhorn to thank the crowd and the organizers, the\r\nSan Gabriel Valley Friends of Peace and Justice. Announcements followed\r\nfor Baldwin Park, Chicano Park, and the summer border actions. As the\r\npolice walked to their cars I shouted to one, \"We're not so scary. \r\nWhat's with the riot gear?\" He said, \"Better to have it and not\r\nneed it than to need it and not have it.\" I answered, \"But it\r\nmakes everyone edgy.\" Like a recording, the cop behind him repeated with the same intonation,\r\n\"It's better to have it and not need it.\"<\/p>\r\n

On the way to my car, I passed a Home Depot shopper talking on his cellphone\r\nas he loaded lumber onto the roof of this van. \". . . people who are\r\nextremists and don't want the Hispanics here\" was all I caught.<\/p>\r\n\n<\/body><\/html>\n","contact":"lradford@radiojustice.net","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"Report from the Alhambra Home Depot Save Our State anti-immigrant demonstration and counter-protest","numcomment":31,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2005\/06\/129724.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":129760,"heading":"Support Home Depot","article":"

Home Depot has a strong policy in support of diverse hiring, as proven by the\r\nSOS attacks on it.  I'm sure they're under pressure from SOS and\r\norganizations like them across the country.  If you can, take a moment to thank\r\nthe Home Depot corporate\r\noffice for the community support at 770-433-8211 <\/span>or fill in their\r\nweb-based email\r\nform<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n
\r\n

SAMPLE LETTER<\/b>\r\n

To Home Depot:<\/font>

Thank you for your work to support and hire from within local\r\n communities.  I recognize you are under pressure from Save Our\r\n State and white supremacist groups to reverse your commitment to the\r\n National Council of La Raza and to the most oppressed workers among\r\n us, the day laborers, and I thank you for standing strong.<\/font>

I want to\r\n commend the staff and management of Home Depot #6610 in Alhambra\r\n especially for cooperating with pro-labor, pro-immigrant demonstrators\r\n who stood in support of your "United We Can" campaign. \r\n They were exemplary in their cooperation and each one is an employee you\r\n should be proud of.<\/font>

Sincerely,<\/font><\/td>\r\n

\r\n

HOME DEPOT POLICY<\/b>

just a\r\n taste--there's more on their website<\/a><\/b><\/i><\/td>\r\n

\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

UNITED WE CAN SM<\/font><\/sup><\/p>\r\n

\r\n

TAKE ON CHALLENGES.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

SHAPE CAREERS.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

IMPROVE COMMUNITIES.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n <\/blockquote>\r\n

At the Home Depot, we believe in the abilities and talents of all\r\n people. It is talent above all else that is cultivated, nourished and is\r\n considered to be the foundation of our culture. The greater the diversity<\/a>\r\n of our people, the greater our ability to serve our customers.<\/p>\r\n

As part of our National Hiring Partnership, The Home Depot is proud\r\n and honored to have alliances with some on the most prominent and\r\n respected Hispanic organizations in the country. Together we are united\r\n to bring positive change to communities across the U.S. from economic\r\n development, education and health, to specialized job training. <\/p>\r\n

The Home Depot is looking for qualified people who are seeking a career\r\n that offers challenge, opportunity for advancement and great benefits<\/a><\/strong>.\r\n If you enjoy serving customers, learning new skills and helping make\r\n people's dreams come true \u2013 join\r\n us<\/strong><\/a>. Be sure to select your referring organization when\r\n applying for our full time, part time, seasonal or corporate<\/a>\r\n opportunities.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Click on the organization's name below for a detailed overview of our\r\n dedicated partners and a link to each of their sites. The following\r\n organizations are proud members of the Hispanic Association on Corporate\r\n Responsibility (HACR).  HACR strives to ensure that there is\r\n equitable participation of the Hispanic community in corporate America.<\/p>\r\n